What goes up must come down, and that was the case for some giants of the collecting world. Let's give these cold comics a look, shall we?
The keyword this week is inflation. On today’s list, we see the first appearance of Silver Surfer and the debut issue of Iron Man’s first solo series. By no means are these unpopular issues; in fact, it is quite the contrary. The problem is that their prices are too high for many collectors, and that resulted in them being bumped out of the top-100 Hottest Comics. Let’s break down some notable drops.
Let's dive into these cold comics...
194. FANTASTIC FOUR #48 (-164)
It is hard to imagine Fantastic Four #48 not being a hot comic, but I see this as a sign of inflation.
Earlier this year, many high-priced “holy grail” comics saw significant drops in fair market value. As the economy has slowly recuperated, the FMVs have returned to their former glory.
In the case of FF #48, business is booming. Even for an incomplete 0.5, prices have inflated to $440 only a year removed from it being a $300 comic on average. With prices ballooning for what was already an expensive issue, it makes sense that the sales volume has taken a turn. Does that mean prices will follow this downward trend? Not hardly, especially with the prospect of Silver Surfer and Galactus coming to the MCU in the future.
200. IRON MAN #1 (-155)
The MCU’s Iron Man may be dead, but that has not stopped collectors from wanting his first solo comic. True, it dropped by over 150 positions on the index, but it follows the same logic as FF #48. Basically, it was too expensive for many collectors when there are so many hotter comics burning up the market. Still, Iron Man #1’s collectibility has not changed, and most grades are booming. When a 1.0 is bringing $250, that tells you everything you need to know about this comic. It also explains the fall from #45 to #200 because it was too pricey for most collectors, at least for this week.
167. VENOM #26 (-153)
Overall, Venom #26 is still a wanted comic, but the standard cover is not the top priority for collectors.
Six different Venom #26 variants made it into the top 100 this week with the Tyler Kirkham virgin edition ranking the highest at #50. If this is still such a popular issue, then why has the standard edition fallen so rapidly? One word: availability.
Of all the covers to choose from, this was the most widely produced. Since it is the easiest to find, naturally it would be among the least attractive to collectors.
140. ULTIMATE FALLOUT #4 SECOND PRINT (-131)
After the comic world lost its collective mind over Miles Morales earlier this year, every print of Ultimate Fallout #4 went through the roof. Even the second print topped out at a whopping $819, and it was regularly selling in the $400+ range in the summer. Once the inflation began to fizzle, values have slowly declined. Over the past week, the second print of UF #4 has been in the $200-$300 range. While that is still well above 2019’s FMV of $108, it is a sign that prices for Miles’ first appearance have reached a plateau. That is, at least until he is cast for either the MCU or the live-action Sony-verse. Then the inflation will start all over again.
67. SPIDER-MAN #1 SILVER EDITION (-52)
While the silver edition Spider-Man #1 did not fall outside the top 100 like the rest on today’s list, it did take a significant plunge. Over the past week, the silver web variant went from being the fifth-most popular comic to the 67th. Thus, it scores a place on our list of cold comics. Of course, that is not a major surprise. Although the debut issue of 1990’s Spider-Man series is hugely popular to this day, there are numerous variants. On top of that, only the platinum dealer-incentive variant was not widely produced. That is why all the other editions are worth close to the same amounts. There are just so many Spider-Man #1s available that no single cover is widely sought out, meaning the silver edition was bound to take a tumble in the Hottest Comics.
