Which comics got the cold shoulder from collectors? Time to delve into the Coldest Comics of the week. 

It is common for Silver and Golden Age titles to fall to the bottom of the Hottest Comics rankings. With the index being based on the latest sales data, that makes sense. After all, Golden Age comics are some of the hardest to find, followed by those Silver darlings since serious collecting didn’t become a thing until later. That also makes these among the most expensive keys on the market.

Still, something has to be said for any title that leaps to the top of the rankings one week, then falls to the wayside the next. On that note, let’s take a closer look at five comics that landed on our Coldest Comics list.

938. SILVER SURFER #1 (-889)

Last week, Silver Surfer #1 was one of the hottest comics, rocketing through the rankings with over 900 positions gained in a week. It eventually landed in the 49th position. Seven days later, the sales figures turned sour. The Surfer’s first solo comic fell by nearly the same margin, and it is in danger of dropping off the Hottest Comics list altogether. 

Let’s not overlook the fact that, like most on today’s list, price is a factor here. Even if Silver Surfer #1 is slow in terms of sales volume, it still commands a high price tag.

 

930. IRON MAN #1 (-882)

Good guy Tony Stark didn’t want the Surfer to be alone at the bottom of the rankings. Iron Man #1 was barely ahead of Silver Surfer #1 this week, as collectors turned away from both issues with equal regard. 

This issue can be a roller coaster. Some weeks, it pushes its way into the top 100 or even the top 50 only to fall significantly seven days later. The premiere issue of Iron Man’s first self-titled series has been affected by Stark’s MCU death in Endgame. Whenever a character is written off on the big screen, collectors pull away from those high-priced keys. 

 

734. FANTASTIC FOUR #4 (-709)

Fantastic Four #4 is a great case in how quickly a comic can go from hero to zero in a matter of days. 

Last week, this was the single hottest comic on the market in terms of sales uptick. The first Silver Age appearance of Namor the Submariner earned 981 positions and ranked 18th overall. Those high prices caught up to it. While this is still a highly coveted issue and bordering on becoming a “holy grail,” it stumbled to the finish line this week. 

Part of the reason these weren’t selling as well this past week was due to Heritage Auctions. Last week, several higher grade FF #4s were sold at auction on the Heritage site, which is known for higher-end collectibles. Since there were fewer FF #4 auctions ending in the past seven days, that significantly cut back on the number of copies trading hands.

409. VENOM #3 THIRD PRINT (-366)

Back in the spring, there was no comic hotter than the third print of Venom #3. Certainly, all the variants and prints for Knull’s first appearance were big sellers, but his first cover appearance on the third print hauled in the most notable figures. 

With “The King in Black” building steam, Knull is very much in the Marvel spotlight, but his first appearances have plateaued in price. After the third print 9.8 reached as high as $1,000, this bubble was bound to burst at some point. These days, it has stabilized around $500.

As the values for the Knull keys level off, collectors are pulling away from the third print until either the price is more reasonable or there is new Knull news coming down the wire.

370. VENOM: LETHAL PROTECTOR #4 (-307)

Speaking of “The King in Black,” Lethal Protector #4 got a boost last week from all the symbiote talk. The word on the internet was that all the symbiotes would come together to face off against Knull. That led to an increase in sales for this issue, which featured the first appearances of Riot, Scream, Agony, Lasher, and Phage. Seeing this issue take a backslide makes me wonder if symbiote fatigue is beginning to set in. Have fans gotten their fill of the living costumes? That is a question worth monitoring as we wait for next week’s coldest comics ratings.