The Ghost Rider is still one of the coolest anti-heroes ever created. The “Rider” is a simple soul, he seeks and delivers justice to those who deserve it, most specifically evil supernatural creatures. But he is not afraid to engage and destroy the occasional street criminal. Think of The Punisher with flames and an unkillable body. Even though the last movie Ghost Rider 2 was a flop the first movie was superlative. Once you have Sam Elliot on the cast everything else just falls into place. Not to mention that was probably Nick Cage's ultimate fantasy to play the Ghost Rider (Nick Cage is a huge comic book collector in his own right). Despite the lack of movie on the horizon, this book has shown remarkable upside. However, can the “Rider” still conjure up enough of a profit to speculate on this comic book?
Owning the Ghost Rider's first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5 is a prize for anyone’s collection. The cover is full of action and highlights the “Rider” in all his unholy glory. It was created by Gary Friedrich and Roy Thomas on the script, and Mike Ploog on pencils. This first appearance of the Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, and Zaranthos is a big key to own in the Marvel Universe.
The long-term return trends have been positive for Marvel Spotlight #5:
- Grade 9.4 returned a positive +13.6%
- Grade 9.2 returned a positive +30.9%
- Grade 9.0 returned a positive +12.5%
- Grade 8.5 returned a positive +22.7%
Whenever you check the numbers on a book, be sure to check the short-term as well as long-term. This tells you if the book is popular now, always a good thing to know.
The short-term trends have been positive for Marvel Spotlight #5:
- Grade 9.4 returned a positive +57.5%
- Grade 9.2 returned a positive +11.7%
- Grade 9.0 returned a positive +31.6%
- Grade 8.5 returned a positive +37.8%
As you can see the short-term returns are even higher with Marvel Spotlight #5. It roared down the road with a greater return than average over the last year to the tune of +57.5% for grade 9.4 short-term. These kinds of returns mean one thing, people are buying up the first appearance of Ghost Rider, now! You may not have liked Nick Cage's interpretation of the jelly bean eating Johnny Storm, but it is hard to cast aside the exemplary returns of the demon rider Zaranthos. That would be the power behind the Ghost Rider; the demon creature Zaranthos.
Ghost Rider #1Bottom line is the “Rider” is here to stay and has the solid returns to prove it. If this is too much then try purchasing the Ghost Rider #1. This is the "Riders" first self-titled series with a cameo by Son of Satan and the third time Witch Woman has appeared. This comic book was created by Gary Friedrich (script) with Gil Kane and Tom Sutton (pencils) in 1973. The most recent sale was in March for $959 on eBay, for the grade of 9.6 and has an FMV of $1050.
With an almost fifty-year-old book, you can count on the CGC Census to represent a portion of the high-end slabs on the market. Coming in at 2041 on CGC Census is another good sign, about 2000 books for this era means room to run. The return for grade 9.6 is not quite supernaturally awe-inspiring however a solid +14.3% return is not bad for a Bronze Era self-titled key. Don't be punished by the "Rider" for passing on the outside lane of speculation, instead buy this key.
