In the 1990s the two biggest comic book publishers (Marvel and DC) decided to do a cross-over event called ‘DC Versus Marvel’. Several comics were released where the plot consisted of the biggest heroes from the DC universe fighting their Marvel counterparts. Well, in this article I want to set up a similar battle, but this time not by telling a story. Instead, I want to look at some major DC keys in relation to their Marvel counterparts. The question I originally set out to answer was the following: are the DC Silver Age keys currently undervalued in relation to the Marvel keys?

This might seem like a strange exercise. Undervalued compared to what exactly? While there are many indicators of any comic book’s value, the best and most reliable is probably its fair market price which can usually be determined by checking Ebay ‘sold items’ listings, or a collectibles website like GoCollect.com.

But the present monetary value of a comic is only one aspect of its overall potential value for a speculator. A good way to determine full value is also to look at other factors connected to that comic. Is a movie based on the comic coming out at some point? Do any signs exist that the trending price of sales will increase (or decrease)?

Unfortunately this is a lot more difficult than determining current fair market value. To determine whether DC’s Showcase keys are under-valued I decided to compare DC Silver Age keys with their peers from Marvel. I used the DC Showcase title, since it was perfect for this exercise. The original purpose of Showcase was to act as a platform to launch tryouts for new characters and ideas. This means that a select number of the early Showcase comics are modern keys regarding important first appearances. By a ‘peer comic’, I mean one that came out at about the same time, or that features a similar hero, or a hero with a similar significance in the respective comic universe.

In what follows, I will be looking at the following data: number of copies submitted to the CCG as an indicator of supply, value in lower grade (5.0), then sale of highest recorded grade in the last 15 years and the price fetched. Let’s start with:

Showcase #4 (October 1956) – First Silver Age Flash

The modern Flash premiered in October of 1956 and his debut in Showcase #4 is sometimes used as an unofficial date to indicate the very beginning of the Silver Age itself. The peer comic from Marvel in terms of date, simply doesn’t exist, but we can use Fantastic Four #1 (October 1961) since it is similar as regards importance and influence. FF#1 is the beginning of the Silver Age Marvel Universe in the same way that Showcase #4 is the beginning of DC’s Silver Age.

How do the numbers look?

Showcase #4:
Number of copies submitted to CGC = 446
Current fair market value at 5.0 grade = $28,000.00
Highest recent sale = 9.6 copy at Heritage Auction on 05/21/2009 for $179, 250.00

Fantastic Four #1:
Number of copies submitted to CGC = 2,101
Current fair market value at 5.0 grade = $20,000.00.
Highest recent sale = 9.2 copy at Heritage Auction on 08/01/2013 for $203,150.00.

While there seem to be fewer copies of Showcase #4 in graded form, it commands a higher fair market value at a 5.0 grade. When it comes to high grade sales, however, the FF beats it with higher sale numbers, but not astronomically higher (note that, this could change if a 9.6 copy of FF #1 goes up for sale). Verdict: they stack up fairly well, especially since there may be a Flash movie in the works and Marvel/Disney will most likely do something with the FF. I would rate Showcase #44 as NOT undervalued.

Showcase #22 (October 1959) – First Silver Age Green Lantern

Green Lantern is an important character in the DC Universe. GL is a charter member of the ‘Justice League of America’ and has had his own ongoing series throughout the modern era. Since he is a ‘green’ character and again there was no Marvel debut in 1959, I will compare the first Green Lantern to the first appearance of the Hulk in Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962).

Showcase #22:
Number of copies submitted to CGC = 945
Current fair market value at 5.0 grade = $4,800.00.
Highest recent sale = 9.2 copy at Heritage Auction on 11/16/2017 sold for $149,375.00.

Incredible Hulk #1:
Number of copies submitted to CGC = 1,559
Current fair market value at 5.0 grade = $14,500.00.
Highest recent sale = Highest recent sale = 9.2 copy on ComicConnect online Auction 08/27/2014 for $326,000.00.

As in the case of FF#1 it also has a higher high-grade sale and, once again, there are more copies recorded as graded, but unlike Showcase #4, Hulk is worth more than three times as much as Green Lantern’s Showcase premiere in 5.0 grade. This is true even though more Hulk comics have been graded. Verdict: Showcase #22 seems to indeed be under-valued. Green Lantern is just as popular as the Hulk. If a decent Green Lantern movie comes out it could allow this comic to catch up to the Hulk, who seems to have no solo movie plans over at Marvel. So, I would call this an under-valued book.

Showcase #34 (October 1961) – First Silver Age Atom

Regarding debuts, it is not Flash, but Atom who shares a first appearance date with the Fantastic Four (October 1961), but since we already used FF #1, and since the most similar comic from Marvel to DC’s shrinking hero is the original Ant-man (Henry Pym) who premiered in January of 1962 in Tales to Astonish #27, we’ll pair up these two tiny heroes here. This is actually a good pairing, not only due to similar powers, but because the release dates are fairly close (or at least much closer than in the above two cases). How do the numbers stack up?

Showcase #34:
Number of copies submitted to CGC = 645
Current fair market value at 5.0 grade = $375.00.
Highest recent sale = 9.4 sale at Comic Link on 08/27/2009 for $15,150.00.

Tales to Astonish #27:
Number of copies submitted to CGC = 905
Current fair market value at 5.0 grade = $3,600.00.
Highest recent sale = 9.4 sale at Comic Link on 12/08/2016 for $205,501.00.

An interesting comparison. The number of graded copies for these comics is about the same with TTA having a slight edge. When it comes to 5.0 value there’s no contest: Ant-man kicks the Atom’s butt being worth almost ten times as much in the same grade. The same story holds for highest sale price but here the numbers are even more in favor of TTA which sold for thirteen times the value of the Atom’s premiere. Verdict: I wish I could say that Showcase #34 is undervalued, but I can’t really see anything happening with Atom. Ray Palmer has appeared on TV, but the Ant-Man movies were much more popular and Ant-Man will be back in the next Avengers film. So, unless DC has plans to use the Atom, I conclude that Showcase #34 is currently NOT under-valued.