The first appearances of Black Cat and Venom were on the decline this week. Find out why in this week’s Coldest Comics.

What are the Coldest Comics? Here on GoCollect, you can peruse the 100 best-selling comics according to eBay. These are based on the past 30 days of sales data, and it combines both raw and graded varieties. Not every comic can be a winner, and the Coldest Comics ranks the five issues that lost the most spots during that 30-day timeframe. 

Does this mean you should abandon ship on these coldest comics? Not at all. Comic investing mirrors the stock market in many ways, one of those being the ebbs and flows. An issue can be a rocket one week and climb into the top-10 only to be eclipsed by the flavor of the month a week later. Just because a comic isn’t getting the sales figures it did in the recent past doesn’t mean it won’t come roaring back to life.

92. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #194 (-63)

It wasn’t long ago that I was writing about Black Cat picking up steam in the market. The speculation about her joining either the MCU, the Sony-verse, or perhaps both is at a recent high. It all comes from the Morbius Easter egg in which a Daily Bugle headline mentioned Black Cat by name. The anticipation for her to arrive in live-action is escalating prices, and that is the likely reason it fell 63 spots in recent days.

The problem is that Felicia Hardy fans have been burned before. There was a time when Sony Pictures had a Black Cat/Silver Sable movie in development. Then came the abomination that was The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and all bets were off. In the years since, her name has been tossed around for one project or another. Just when buyers were scrambling for an ASM #194, word would spread that Black Cat was once again put on the sidelines.

The Morbius allusion is a good sign, particularly since Sony announced that Venom 3 is officially in development. Between a third Venom as well as solo films for Kraven and Madame Web, there are plenty of places for this cat to land on her feet. While some buyers are taking a break from Black Cat this week, it could be an opportunity to find a good deal. Although the 9.8 is approaching $5k, everything up to the 9.6 is averaging less than $2k.

86. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 NEWSSTAND (-35)

Venom may be getting a sequel, but we won’t be seeing Carnage. After fans were thrilled to see him come to life on the big screen, he met an ignominious demise in Let There Be Carnage. Despite being hyped since the post-credits scene of 2018’s Venom, Cletus Kasady had his head bitten off, and the Carnage symbiote was swallowed whole at the conclusion of LTBC. Unless Sony is planning to fuse Venom and Carnage together, that looks like the end of the psychotic symbiote. It also spells the end for mega price tags for the ASM #361s you’ve been stockpiling, including the newsstand editions.

There is a silver lining when it comes to all those Carnage keys, at least for collectors. As the end of his cinematic career shoos away the speculators and investors, Carnage fans can expect prices to continue to fall. If you have been waiting for the right time to get a newsstand ASM #361, be patient. For the past year, the 9.8 has averaged slightly over $1k. However, the past 30 days has seen that figure drop to $870. 

80. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #300 NEWSSTAND (-35)

Seeing an ASM #361 lose ground in the Hottest Comics rankings was no surprise, but when an ASM #300 drops by more than 30 spots, that requires a closer examination. 

As I mentioned previously, this week, Sony announced that a third Venom movie is on the way. Whether that is good or bad news depends on your perspective, I suppose. At any rate, that news should be a boost to all the Venom keys, specifically any edition of ASM #300. After all, that was the first full appearance of the deadly symbiote in all his Todd McFarlane glory.

Of course, this is no ordinary copy we’re talking about. This is the newsstand edition, which is harder to come by, specifically in a higher grade. That also makes the prices higher. In fact, a graded 9.6 sold for $1,850 on April 24. If you want a 9.8, the last sale was for $4,500 in 2020. 

Between high prices and lower availability, it is no shock to see a key newsstand issue lose sales volume. Logically, if a comic is expensive and hard to find in a higher grade, that is going to push away buyers.

83. SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #1 (-33)

Like so many other entries on the Coldest Comics, Something Is Killing the Children #1 is a victim of its own success, at least when it comes to sales volume. What often happens is that a key issue, particularly one that was produced in limited numbers, gets red hot. That causes the prices to inflate for months and sometimes years on end. The result is one seriously expensive comic that gets out of reach for many buyers.

SIKTC #1 has been one of the premiere indy horror titles of the past decade. Virtually all the early issues are highly collectible, and the mythical first print is becoming something of a modern grail in itself. The series has been so popular that Netflix has optioned the rights for a live-action show, and Boom! Studios has published a spinoff title, House of Slaughter. All the attention has pushed SIKTC #1 prices to record highs in the past year, and that is causing buyers to shy away from that first printing that has averaged nearly $1k for the graded 9.8 over the past year.

The other factor to consider is Netflix’s recent troubles. The streaming giant reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers this year for the first time in company history. That is not including the loss of the Russian market due to the war in Ukraine. As a result, Netflix has canceled its animation division, and it raises doubts about future productions, including the SIKTC live-action series. There are so many other viable comic options that it could cause speculators and investors to turn their gazes toward other prospects.

75. OMEGA MEN #3 (-28)

The first appearance of Lobo has been sliding for months now, though it never quite drops out of the top-100 Hottest Comics. Only days ago, it was ranked inside the top 50, and now it has fallen to the 75th position. Until the DCEU gives some indication about the character’s future, the yo-yo effect will continue.

I have written before, and I will write it again: Lobo is perfect for the future DCEU. James Gunn’s DC projects were hits for WarnerMedia, and the combination of ridiculous violence with irreverent humor proved to be the difference-maker. The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker did what Marvel Studios can’t, and that is to deliver an R-rated superhero entertainment. That is exactly the combination that is needed to make Lobo a star of stage and screen. For that matter, put the Main Man in Gunn’s hands, and WarnerMedia would have an almost guaranteed smash hit. 

Despite how obvious it would seem for Lobo to be included in the DCEU, there are no rumors or gossip about him getting a movie or series. Plus, he’s a DC property, and those tend to bring less on the secondary market than those from Marvel. On the bright side, it keeps the prices a little more reasonable. The graded 9.8 has averaged less than $400 for the past year, and a 9.6 can be yours for around $150. 

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