Feel that chill? That’s not Old Man Winter; it’s the collective cold shoulder being thrown on the Coldest Comics with Wolverine #88 leading the charge.

It’s the law of gravity; what goes up must come down. The same can be said for the secondary comic book market. This week, we have five once-hot issues that have been deflated in recent weeks, landing them on the one list you don’t want to be part of. Still, those dwindling sales can create a window of investment opportunity if you time it just right.

Don’t forget that this list is not based on fair market values. Instead, it’s all about the sales data taken straight from eBay.

50. WOLVERINE #88 DELUXE EDITION (-48)

How the mighty hath fallen. A month ago, this was consistently one of the hottest comics in all the land. Wolverine #88, specifically the deluxe edition, had ascended the ranks and was selling in droves for weeks on end. Like all movie-inflated keys, buyers eventually lost interest, and now it’s saddled with the dubious distinction of being the single coldest comic on eBay. 

What made this issue popular in the first place was the Deadpool 3 announcement. The news that shook the comic book world was Hugh Jackman’s involvement. Having him return to the role that made him a superstar A-lister in the first place was enough to pique the interest of X-Men and Jackman fans worldwide. Where did comic collectors and speculators turn upon hearing the news? They went straight to the auction sites for the first meeting between Deadpool and Logan. That sent Wolverine #88 to the top of the sales charts. 

Then the inevitable happened. As exciting as the Jackman/Wolverine news has been, there’s so much happening in the comic book realm. Just like that, it became old news, and buyers turned their attention elsewhere, and Wolverine #88 hit the backburner. That has also brought down the price for those elusive 9.8s. Where they were once steadily in the $600-$700 range, with one cracking $800 in September, the most recent sale was for $310 on November 21.

88. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #299 (-44)

Speaking of inevitable, ASM #299 has photobombed this week’s snapshot. It never fails that we have at least one of the “Usual Suspects” make an appearance on one blog or another. Lo and behold, here we have ASM #299 taking the second-biggest tumble in all of the secondary market. 

Certainly, a drop of 44 positions is nothing to ignore, but there’s a reason that this comic never drops out of the top 100. ASM #299 marked the first appearance of Venom in full costume and xenomorph mouth. It also happens to be the second ASM comic in Todd McFarlane’s legendary Spider-Man run. Once upon a time, this was the Venom issue to own, but ASM #300 has occupied that spot for decades now. On the plus side, it has made the first cameo appearance a more affordable option for all the symbiote collectors on a budget.

On the topic of budgets, what can you expect to pay for an ASM #299? If your heart desires nothing less than a 9.8, the prices are actually up. After staying in the $400-$500 range in mid-October, the more recent sales moved closer to the $700 mark. If that sounds like too much, set your sights on the 9.6. For a copy that is virtually identical to the 9.8, at least to the naked eye, you can spend $184 for a 9.6 based on the 30-day average.

81. SPAWN #9 (-42)

Talk about a comic that has been given the cold shoulder. For the last few rounds, Spawn #9 has become a frequent flier on the Coldest Comics list. At one point, things were looking up, what with all the Angela speculation. Those days have passed for the time being, and once again, Spawn #9 has taken a tumble through eBay's top sellers. 

The reason this issue gained popularity in the first place was the debut of Heaven’s favorite assassin. Initially, she was part of the Spawn universe, and Angela gained a decent following in her Image Comics days. Then came the storied McFarlane-Neil Gaiman legal dispute over character rights, which McFarlane eventually conceded to Gaiman, who then sold those rights to Marvel. She was promptly included in the Marvel-616 as a daughter of Odin.

Because of that connection to Odin and Thor, there was heavy speculation that Angela would appear in Thor: Love and Thunder. When she didn’t make her live-action debut, nor were there any Easter eggs, collectors and investors dropped Spawn #9 like the proverbial bad habit. Considering the lackluster reception for Love and Thunder’s goofiness, her fans may be pleased that she wasn’t included in that particular movie. 

Where does that leave the fair market values? As recently as September, it was regularly bordering on $150 for the 9.8s. Lately, that’s dipped to less than $100. On the bright side, it makes this an opportune time to buy. Sooner or later, Angela will make it into the MCU, and those values will peak.

91. THE MANDALORIAN #1 (-42)

What’s the deal with this? It wasn’t long ago that the Mandalorian’s first official comic had been a rocket screaming through the Hottest Comics rankings. While it didn’t crack the top-10 eBay best sellers, buyers were all over The Mandalorian #1, and the interest only increased with the release of The Mandalorian’s season three teaser trailer. Yet here we are, discussing it on the Coldest Comics blog. What happened?

Similar to so many hot-and-then-not comics, this issue was likely the victim of buyers’ short attention spans. Who can blame them? There’s so many comics on the radar that it’s almost impossible to keep pace with all of them. With a comic that was a high priority from the day it was released, you pretty much need to grab a copy close to cover price to expect any future profits. That could be why buyers took a break from The Mandalorian #1, at least for the time being. 

Over the past 12 months, the graded 9.8 has sold for as much as $98, earning an overall $95 FMV in the process. Lately, those values have been sinking. While there have been occasional $60 and $70 sales in the past month, most copies are falling below $40. With the show’s immense popularity, there’s reason to believe that values will rise when the new season reaches Disney+, but I wouldn’t expect it to push into the $100 territory unless LucasFilm has something major up its sleeve, which they just might.

54. UNCANNY X-MEN #282 (-33)

I predict this issue will go the way of Omega Men #3. Lobo’s first appearance was one of the frequent yo-yo comics that moved up and down the eBay ladder on a whim. One week it was up, the next it was back down. Then came the day James Gunn teased the Main Man on his Mastodon Social page, and now Omega Men #3 is the best-selling comic on eBay. I foresee a similar situation happening with Uncanny X-Men #282. 

This is Bishop’s first appearance as well as his first cover. Put those two factors together, and you have the recipe for a must-have issue. While speculators have cooled on UXM #282 for now, once the MCU Bishop rumors heat up (and they will), those same investors will be scrambling for those 9.8s. Make no mistake, he is one of the odds-on favorites for the X-Men when they arrive in the MCU. I imagine he will make a sizeable impact on the silver screen when that day finally comes, which will send this issue to the top of the sales charts.

Since this time last year, the aforementioned 9.8 has sold for a high of $784, which is a bit suspicious considering the 12-month FMV stands at $224. More recently, it’s been selling for around $150-$175.

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