Often parodied but never supplanted, this tale of an ancient samurai in the future is a story that most Samurai Jack fans know and love. The shock of shockers, it was first created by Frank Miller in 1983 as a serious comic book Ronin #1. The name Ronin simply means "masterless samurai," a soldier without a commander or a knight without a cause to be more exact.

Ronin #1

Ronin #1 was all the rage when it first came out back in the day. But Frank Miller was already hot from his Daredevil run and continued to be extremely popular in the 80s and 90s.  He eventually churned out cult classics like "300", "Sin City, "and of course the "Return of Dark Knight." The last put him over the top, but unfortunately, one of his early hits was eclipsed by his later fame and growing success in comics and movies, Ronin #1 was lost in the shuffle.

Now is the time to purchase Ronin #1 while it is dirt cheap.  Any self-respecting speculators should be positioning themselves with it. Buy a few near mint copies and sit on them for the future.  The best advice is to buy well ahead of media hype and popularity, while only hardcore fans even know it exists. What kind of returns have we seen year to date with Ronin #1? Which would be best for Ronin: a movie or a TV series, as a long-term investment?

This book has tons of possibilities in animation, film, or even a TV series.  I could easily see this winding up on Hulu. Frank Miller scripted, penciled, and inked this book on the ancient samurai visiting the world in the future back in 1983. An intriguing idea that could go multiple directions as a creative engine for a franchise. Further, Miller filled this story with truly interesting characters, and villains. All of which could easily run 5 seasons worth of material.

The team behind Ronin #1

Ronin #1 came out in 1983 by DC Comics and the script had some fantastic writers Frank Miller, Will Eisner, Klaus Janson, and the unstoppable Walter Simonson.  Why is Walter "unstoppable" and a helluva a writer? What other writers could conjure up a horse-alien hero and turn it into a superhero as popular as Thor? Exactly, like I said, "unstoppable." Anyways, obviously, Frank Miller did the pencils and inks for Ronin #1. This book was very popular. Then it was quietly kind of forgotten amidst so much great writing and character creation during the Bronze and Copper Ages.

Title Grade Last Sale Return 2-year 
Ronin #1 9.8 $62 +16.6%
9.4 $22 +39.1%
8.5 $22 +69.8%

These books are so cheap now, the prices are very flimsy. They haven't really created a floor and often move on the cheap. An example of this is grade 9.6 selling two months for $26. Good Lord! That doesn't even cover the cost to ship it let alone CGC the book. Now is the perfect time to load up the truck.

Conclusion

I picked up ten copies of this puppy about three years ago at a sale in a discount box. No one was interested in it, but I knew at least one or two would be near mints. Speculate and buy while no one is interested, your upside looks one helluva lot better for discounted forgotten books.  The book has been increasing in value, albeit slowly.  It has a very small CGC Census number of 545. Finally,  it is still under the radar. You don't need to be courageous like Samurai Jack to buy in here,  you only need enough money for an Uber fare to make a purchase.