It’s the law of gravity: what goes up must come down, and these five comics proved it applies to the secondary market. This week, the X-Men #1 collector’s edition felt the gravitational pull as it lost its footing in the Hottest Comics.

Comic collecting has become more mainstream than ever before. Thanks to the rise of superhero movies, there are more speculators and investors, and it has been fueling price inflation for years now. With those larger price tags comes a scramble for the latest and greatest before the values go through the roof. That keeps the marketplace buzzing for what’s next. 

The flip side of this is that it can send a once-hot key to the bottom of the charts in a hurry. The result is what you see below: the Coldest Comics. Based on eBay sales volume, these are the five comics that saw the biggest drop in the past week. 

69. X-MEN, VOL. 2, #1 COLLECTOR’S EDITION (-43)

One way or another, those 1991 X-Men comics make headlines. Whether it’s from one of the many cover variants moving up the rankings, as the Magneto edition did last week, or Omega Red’s first appearance in X-Men #4 maintaining its spot in the top 15, the second volume of X-Men will never die.

This week, X-Men #1 made news for a dubious reason: it was the biggest loser in all of the Hottest Comics. In recent days, it fell more than 40 positions to earn the distinction of this week’s single Coldest Comic. 

How can other editions of X-Men #1 move up while the collector’s edition slides so far down? My best guess is that it comes down to availability and price. There are so many X-Men #1s to choose from, and they all have outstanding Jim Lee artwork. The Magneto cover tends to be the most popular, and it also happens to be cheaper than the collector’s edition. That could help explain why X-Men #1 Cover A is ranked 22nd while the collector’s edition is 69th.

While other collectors have taken their eyes off the prize, it may be an opportune moment to buy a copy. The graded 9.8 tends to stay in the $130 range, though you can get a raw copy for as little as $5 in some cases.

91. SPAWN #9 (-31)

Until we get some official word or at least a really good rumor about Angela joining the MCU, Spawn #9 will remain in limbo. One week, it bounds up the Hottest Comics ladder only to lose its grip and plummet days later. This is the live-action effect in all its glory wrapped up in one comic.

No question, the MCU rules the roost of the secondary market. Investments live and die by the latest Marvel news and rumors, and it has collectors always guessing about the next big announcement. With so much happening on the Thor: Love and Thunder set, it’s a wonder that Angela’s name has been mentioned more often. That lack of rumors is the likely culprit in her first appearance in Spawn #9’s slide this week.

Wait. Why is Angela’s first appearance in an Image title? Originally, Neil Gaiman created the character in a guest writing spot on Spawn. Years later, Gaiman and Todd McFarlane butted heads over who owned the character rights; they took their issue to court. The case would eventually be settled, and the rights were handed to Gaiman, who promptly sold them to Marvel. Once Angela arrived in the Marvel-616 Universe, she was rebranded as Odin’s daughter and Thor’s sister, which kind of makes her a Disney princess, if you think about it. 

Will she ever reach the fabled MCU? That is almost a certainty, and that should have you taking a second look at her early issues beginning with Spawn #9. At the moment, these are relatively cheap finds. Just this week, a raw direct edition sold for $32 and a newsstand copy brought under $50. If graded is your favorite flavor, the 9.8 last sold for $170 on Tuesday.

52. SPIDER-MAN 2099 #1 (-28)

With so much news coming out of the Marvel camp, any news that’s older than a month seems like the distant past. It can turn a popular key into yesterday’s news overnight, and that is exactly what is happening with Spider-Man 2099 #1. 

A few months ago, he was the hottest character in all of comics thanks to his arrival in the Across the Spider-Verse trailer. It sent collectors on a spending spree for his key issues, and his first solo adventure in Spider-Man 2099 #1 was at the top of that list. The face of the 2099 Universe, this has been a moment four years in the making since Oscar Isaac voiced the future Web Slinger in the Into the Spider-Verse post-credits scene. 

Suddenly, those Spider-Man 2099 keys took a downward turn. What gives? In the fast-paced world of superhero movie news, that Spider-Verse trailer became dated in a flash. When the excitement turned toward No Way Home, Moon Knight, and Multiverse of Madness, buyers seemingly forgot about Miguel O’Hara.

If you have been collecting his key issues, don’t worry; the tide will turn, and he will be back in the hot seat. At the moment, the graded 9.8 averages $180, and raw copies tend to sell for about $15-$25.

62. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #316 (-27)

The Venom keys have been hit or miss with buyers in recent weeks. Just last week, ASM #375 featuring the first appearance of Anne Weying, who would later become She-Venom, lit up the Hottest Comics and found itself among the movers and shakers. Here we are a week later, and Venom’s first full cover appearance (his disembodied head was seen floating on the cover of ASM #315, but this one is way cooler) has taken a dive. 

There are so many questions lingering over Venom’s big-screen future. The leaked concept art from No Way Home that showcases the symbiote spreading across Tom Holland has caused quite the stir. The first inclination is that Marvel Studios is preparing to adapt the entire black suit saga. Will that result in another Eddie Brock and Venom being unleashed on the MCU? Could it lead to a new incarnation of Venom never seen in a comic? The intrigue is driving the market for those symbiotic keys.

At this stage in the game, if you don’t already have your Venom firsts, they are probably too inflated to be profitable. In the case of ASM #316, this issue has been heating up for the past year or two, and prices are fetching a premium at the moment. The current fair market value for a graded 9.8 sits at $825; the 12-month average clocks in at a whopping $1,213. The 9.6 is much more appealing at $465 for the past year.

26. MARVEL SUPER-HEROES SECRET WARS #1 (-26)

All has grown quiet on the Beyonder and Secret Wars movie front, but that doesn’t mean the gossip has been forgotten. When famed actor Laurence Fishburne was cast as the voice to the Beyonder for the animated Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, this issue got an immediate boost. Once the rumors of a Secret Wars movie gained traction last summer, it gave Secret Wars #1 the most attention it's had in many years.

With that added focus came higher prices, and that could be the reason Secret Wars #1 has taken a backseat to other key issues this week. For the last year, the graded 9.8 has an FMV of $626 after it averaged about $200 in 2020. The most recent sale resulted in a $499 price tag on March 29.

As I mentioned earlier, news travels at lightspeed these days, and it doesn’t take long for the market to shift its attention to another comic. Couple the lack of news with inflated prices, and the picture becomes clear. However, it is inevitable that this comic will return to glory, especially when the Beyonder makes his animated MCU debut. 

Is this the right time to buy these cold comics? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

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