We’ve all heard it said: “don’t judge a book by its cover”, but in the comic collecting world some books have an exaggerated value precisely because of the standout covers they were published with. In an age of professional grading this trend is somewhat understandable. Once a book is graded and slabbed, what you’re left with (in a sense) is a plastic and mylar encased over sized post-card or plastic wrapped wall poster. Moreover, even before professional grading and slabbing became a thing, even old style Overstreet grading protocol was very cover-centric.
Thus, for the speculator, the question of which books should be considered valuable has to take into consideration non-keys that nonetheless have iconic or stand-out covers.
In this post, I’ll take a look at some collectible covers and note why I think they are either over or under-valued. Partly, this assessment will be based on the collectability of the cover artist’s other work or legacy, and partly on the uniqueness and perceived value of the cover image for a particular book. Because there are so many limited print run variant covers out there, for the sake of keeping things manageable, I’ll ignore key issues sought after for the rarity of their variant covers. That would probably make for an interesting separate post. This time, I’m also going to focus on modern books, Bronze Age and up, and only on first edition - widely distributed - covers that push the price of an otherwise ordinary book up in value and far beyond what it would normally command on the market. Let’s get started:
Incredible Hulk #340 (February 1988)
Peter David’s run on the Hulk brought new life to that comic. Hulk #340 is notable not so much for anything that happens in the book itself (although Wolverine fights the Hulk, but, as we all know, he’s done that before!)…instead this one is all about the cover. The Todd McFarlane cover makes 9.8 grades of this book sell for as much as $325.00, while issues #339 and #341 in the same grade command a paltry $85.00 and $55.00 respectively. Ultimately, it will be interesting to see the long term fate of this comic. I’m somewhat pessimistic about it and think it’s over-valued. This is so for two reasons. First, McFarlane is, like a lot of the 1990s superstar artists (i.e. Rob Liefeld), something of an acquired taste. Second, as far as Wolverine covers go, it has competition. I can think of two other Wolverine covers that are just as, if not more, iconic. Captain America Annual #8, with its Mike Zeck cover and full berserker mode Wolvie slashing at Caps shield always struck a chord with me. And Frank Miller’s cover for Wolverine #1 (Sept. 1982) is far more iconic, and also happens to be the very first Wolverine solo comic. Given a choice, take Wolverine #1 over Hulk #340 as an investment.
Ah…Neil Adams. What is it about those Neil Adams covers that make me want to own them all? With Batman #251, Adams produces one of his most iconic Batman covers, right up there in terms of its popularity and its ability to distill, in a single image, the essence of the relationship between two characters, as Green Lantern #76. However while GL #76 is a key, because it’s the beginning of the Green Lantern-Green Arrow team ups (as well as the start of Denny O’Neil’s classic run on the title), Batman #251 by contrast is valuable simply for its cover. Whereas with GL #76, Adams manages to capture the ‘odd-couple’ style tensions that would characterize the interactions between Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen, developed throughout the subsequent O’Neil run. With Batman #251, it is the maniacal centrality of the Joker to Batman’s rogue gallery, that is communicated by Adams’ cover. There’s a reason this comic is worth $6000.00 in 9.8 grade. Verdict: Not overvalued.
Wonder Woman v2 #72 (March, 1993)
With this cover, Brian Bolland became the Adam Hughes of the 1990s. This comic is nothing special outside of its majestic posing Wonder Woman, one leg up, on the cover. Worth $475.00 in 9.8. grade, I think this one is being pushed up by the movie hype. Verdict: Overvalued.
Another Neil Adams cover. Once again, nothing special about this issue of Superman, except the Neil Adams’ cover. With its “Kryptonite Never More!”, slogan and featuring Superman triumphantly shattering green (apparently Kryptonite) chains. This is as iconic as it gets. No 9.8 copies have been reported, but fair market value if you have one is $6,750.00. Verdict: Keeper.
