Usually, a check of the GoCollect Market Overview for Copper Era books reveals the usual suspects.  I thought for this post I would comb through the sales charts, past Spawn #1 (usually at the top of the list), past the dozen or so books related to Spider-Man (including Venom and Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars titles), and even past the handful of usual X-Men books and share something different - Batman.

Reference to sales chart position is as of the time of writing this post and the position and popularity of any one book can fluctuate rapidly. Some of the Batman-related books on the Copper Era sales charts are related to movie news (which often drives interest in a book) and others are classically unique Batman books.  It should be no surprise that anything related to Lady Gaga is going to get attention.

Hello, Harley

The news that Lady Gaga is going to play Harley Quinn in Joker - Folie a Deux has been out since August of 2022.  The news led to Batman Adventures #12 - the first appearance of Harley Quinn -  hitting sales prices, for a 9.8 graded book, around $3,000 at that time.  The book is up ten places recently in the sales charts for Copper Era books to #30.

There doesn't seem to be any exciting news on the movie, except that Margot Robbie is out there talking about the fact she thinks Lady Gaga will be good.  It is hard for me to imagine Lady Gaga being better than Margot Robbie's version of the character, which was the gem of Suicide Squad.

The current valuation at about $2,450 for a 9.8 grade seems to have settled in but I expect more action as the movie moves along toward a 2024 release.

The "Broken Bat"

Batman #497 was a surprise hot book on the sales charts, moving up 50 places recently to land at #39 on sales action.  Like Batman Adventures #12, this book is a 1993 gem.  This is the "Broken Bat" chapter of the "Knightfall" storyline, in which Bane breaks Batman's back.

The issue moving is the variant cover, which has a half-overlay of card stock.  It is interesting that in the era of grading and displaying books for their cover art, this partially obscured cover would be hot.  That said, I do like the look of it and it is unique.

The standard 9.8 graded book has a GoCollect FMV of $75.  It is also interesting that for a book almost thirty years old, there are several 9.9 and 10.0 graded books - the 10.0 having an FMV of $600.

No Joke

Batman: The Killing Joke #1 is a book that is often on the list of top moving Copper Era books.  With its iconic cover and great story, this is the most common Batman book to appear on a regular basis.

A 9.8 graded book has an FMV of around $200, down 20% over the past several years.  There are nearly ten thousand graded copies of this book out there.  It was pretty easy to tell this was going to be a good book the day it came out, so most collectors I know have had at least one copy stashed for a long time.

A 10.0 graded book recently sold for $6,500, which shows that this book is still in demand but more importantly, that there is a huge premium for a mint condition book.

My favorite part of this book is that Joker actually makes Batman laugh at one point by telling a joke.  What a nice moment between two classic rivals of the DC Universe.

Great Covers Never Go Out of Style

Batman #608 (Diamond Retailer Incentive Edition - Jim Lee Variant art) shows up in a big way on the GoCollect Chart Busters list with a December 2022 sale of $6,301 for a 9.8 graded book.  This issue is the start of the "Hush" storyline, which was adapted in 2019 into an animated film.

While there is still an occasional note in the news about Hush, I think there is a huge draw to this amazing cover art, including Harley Quinn.  CGC Census shows just 52 of these with a 9.8.  There is always value where great characters, storylines, and cover art come together.

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.