This week's Hottest Comics list has a sadder tone. As we all know, we lost a cherished icon. Black Panther actor, Chadwick Boseman, passed on August 28th. Diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, Boseman chose to keep his private life just that, private. His death came as a shock to me, I'm sure others feel the same. He will be very missed.
Hottest Comics Top 10
Hottest Comics Biggest Movers
Time to dive right in! This week yet again will be slightly different. Many jumped for the same reason. So I'm going to review their stats, but we all know why they jumped.
Black Panther
Black Panther #1 - Up 999
This comic is currently the number 1 spot on the Hottest Comics list. This is the first self-titled Black Panther series. It was released in 1976 for $0.30. The sales for these issues are insane right now. I can't even see how many have sold in the past week! Between the 29th & 30th, all 50 spots on the recent sales list are full. From a 4.5 to 9.8 and even a single signature graded 9.2 - there are lots of sales to look at. The signature grade 9.2 sold on eBay for $449. The most someone paid was $999 for a 9.8. The current estimated FMV is $850. There is not much of a surprise for the values going for more than previously valued.
Looking at the CGC census, there are currently 3,774 copies currently graded. The most common are 9.4's with 684, but 9.6 is close behind with 661. There are only 230 9.8's. Nearly all of those in the census are blue labels, there are 174 signature series.
Black Panther #2 - Up 896
This is in the number 9 spot on the Hottest Comics list. It was released in 2005 and went for $2.99. 22 copies have sold in the past week, compared to the handful the week before. A 9.8 signature was surprisingly not the highest sale! Rather, a 9.8 blue label that sold for $800 was the highest sale. Personally, I think someone got a bit too excited and snagged that 9.8 without actually looking around at what the others were going for. The current FMV is $350, and yes the prices tend to increase after passing. But even factoring that, only two sales were that high. Most averaged between $255 and $450.
Going over to the CGC census, there are currently 620 graded copies. 362 of those are 9.8. There are only 28 signature label issues as well. There is a little additional spec on this one. This is the first appearance of Shuri - which I've seen some people say should take the reigns on the screen as she did in the comics.
Black Panther #5 - Up 932
This is another 2009 release. 9 copies sold on the 29th compared to the 2 for the rest of the month. The most someone paid was $340 for a 9.8 when on the same day someone else got away with $199. The current FMV for a 9.8 is $250. So overall no one paid too high (other than the $340 possibly). The value of 9.4 increased by 213% while the values for both 9.6 & 9.8 also increased between 80% and 90%.
According to the CGC Census, there are only 75 graded. only 8 of those are the signature label. The most common grade is 9.8 with 41 copies. Similarly, with #2, this has the same speculation surrounding it. This is the first full appearance of Shuri as the new Black Panther. What would you like to see happen in the screen adaptation?
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four #52 - Up 155
This is the Holy Grail of some collector's Black Panther searches. This is the first appearance of Black Panther. Released in 1966 for the cover price of $0.12, this stunning comic has been at the top of the Silver age comic list for months. It currently sits at the number three spot on the Hottest Comics overall. A whopping 38 of these sold last week compared to the 4 the week prior. The most impressive sale was a purple label 9.0 that went for $2,025. The current FMV for a 9.0 is $5,000 so the fact that a restored copy sold lower doesn't surprise me too much. Looking through the grades looks like on average people paid $100-$200 above the listed FMV - which considering the circumstances doesn't surprise me.
The CGC Census lists 4,730 copies. The majority of those are 6.5. There are 479 signature labels out there. A mere 5 exist as 9.8 grade. There are currently (2) on a Heritage auction going on right now. A 9.2 with the current bid of $4,300 and a 9.0 with the current bid of $3,100. If you want to check that out go here.
Micronauts
Micronauts #1 - Up 377
This was the biggest mover in the top 30 that didn't coincide with the others. Landing in spot number 28, Micronauts #1. This comic was released in 1979 and sold for the cover price of $0.35. Twelve copies sold in the past week compared to the five the week prior. Compared to others on this list, this is a very affordable issue with a 9.8 having a current FMV of $180. Three people last week did pay $200 for 9.8's but that's well within reason if there is some speculation going on. There are currently 1,958 copies in the CGC Census with the most common grade being 9.6.
While we already knew that they were coming out with a Micronauts movie, this article announces the release dates. There was also a Heritage auction of this comic - so between those two, it's possible that people were sparked to buy this comic. However, there is speculation floating around out there that talk about Ant-Man and the Wasp. Making the Micronauts the reason they survived the Quantum Realm. Is this something that you think will be brought up in the new film? Let me know!
Hottest Comic Biggest Losers
As always, it's interesting to look at the biggest losers from the Hottest Comics list.
Batman #1 - Down 67
Umbrella Academy: Free Comic Book Day #nn - Down 53
Nova #1 - Down 47
Amazing Spider-Man #194 - Down 47
Amazing Spider-man #4 - Down 46
Hottest Comics Wrap-Up
That's all I got for you this week. Let me know your thoughts and if you have any additional insights for me! As a heads up for those who follow along each week - I will be out of town next week so I won't have this article up. We will do some social media focuses on the biggest movers instead. Have a great week y'all!
