Do you have your very own Eternals #1? No? You'd better get moving because this is one very hot comic.

Not much is clear about the post-Avengers 4 Marvel Cinematic Universe. We know there will be Spider-Man, Black Panther, Ant Man and other follow-ups, but past that, it's mostly rumors and innuendos. One of those rumors has it that the Eternals will be playing a big part in the cosmic MCU.

While nothing has been made official, many fans are speculating that the next logical step in the MCU after Infinity War is to introduce Thanos' race - or at least what remains of them since we saw the relics of Titan in the aforementioned film.

With that idea running rampant, collectors are diving into the Eternals' first appearance from the bronze age. In the past 12 months, every single grade of Eternals #1 has experienced a price jump worthy of Thanos himself. The plus side is that it hasn't gotten completely out of hand...yet, which means if you have been eyeing this issue, you'd better get one now.

What we're seeing so far is that, when it comes to graded copies, collectors are almost exclusively interested in the near-mint grade, which have sold a combined 273 times this year; all other grades total just 33 sales in 2018. That being said, the focus of today's post will be on the three most popular near mints.

Near-Mint/Mint 9.8

The holy grail of Eternals #1, this one might have already priced itself too high. In 2016, you could have purchased one for an average of $224. Even last year, you could have snagged one for just below $300, but now it's climbed to more than twice that.

Over the past 12 months, the fair market value has jumped to $659, and that number will likely be eclipsed by the end of the year. You see, the 90-day average has positively exploded. On July 7, the new record for a 9.8 was set at a cool $1,000. Since then, only two copies have sold for less than $800. The real telltale sign is that the last sale was for $900, and that's going to become the norm as the rumor mill keeps churning. It wouldn't surprise me to get an Eternals reference in the Captain Marvel movie, which will only jack those prices up even higher.

Near-Mint+ 9.6

Although its price is ballooning by the week, the 9.6 is still in the affordable range, at least for now. What has my attention is the exponential growth for the sales volume. The number of sales for the 9.6-grade Eternals #1 had been gradually increasing over the years, rising from 10 in 2013 to 20 in 2014. Each year since, the volume gradually increased and peaked at 31 in 2017. Those numbers are nothing compared to the massive sales figures for 2018, and we're not even in December yet. So far this year, there have been 85 copies of 9.6s bought and sold on eBay. The good thing for buyers is that its nowhere near the $1K range, but it's nonetheless on the move; it sold for a record-high $475 on May 16. However, the 90-day fair market value is a modest (at least in comparison to the 9.8) $230.

Near-Mint 9.4

Up until this year, a 9.4 hadn't sold for more than $105 since 2015. As with all other things Eternals in 2018, that record high has been obliterated. On June 29, a 9.4 sold for nearly triple that 2015 price when it brought $309. With 81 sales so far, this grade has nearly been as popular as the 9.6. At the moment, its FMV is at a relatively reasonable $177 over the past 90 days.