Crazy Harley Quinn first appeared in Batman Adventures #12, pencils by Mike Parobeck and script by Kelley Puckett. This first Harley comic was quite hot when the Suicide Squad came out in theaters in 2016.  Now, this issue has cooled and lost value over the last year and is floating just above book (Overstreet guide). GoCollect has Batman Adventures #12 grade 7.5 selling for $310 last month. Ultimately, most grades have fallen between 10% and 40% (GoCollect) over the last year. When prices are declining that is a great time to purchase a primary character of the DC universe. Between Harley and Wonder Woman girl power is keeping DC afloat on the big screen.

There are two primary catalysts for Batman Adventures #12. The two future Harley movies that the lovely Margot Robbie dished about in July 2017: The first, is stand-alone for the character Harley Quinn. The second movie is about Gotham Sirens and Harley’s adventures with her new gal pals in Gotham. Both of these movies should be huge; Margot has nailed this character. She is almost on a level with Hugh Jackman’s version of Wolverine, and he did Wolvie for seventeen years! Bottom line, these are two big catalysts on the horizon.

Harley is a powerful femme fatale in DC. Her draw is huge, most people probably went to see Suicide Squad because of Harley. This is a trend that will likely continue. She draws an audience and can easily anchor a movie. The comic will naturally percolate in value as we learn more about the production of these two movies. Now, everyone is focused on Justice League and Star Wars. If you purchase this key there could be a 20% to 30% upside for 2018; buy before the Harley hype.

Conan the Money Maker

Robert E. Howard created the character and world of Conan. Current copies of the first appearance of Conan, in Conan the Barbarian #1 are showing a rise in the ranking of 11 places to 27th most popular Bronze Age comic (GoCollect). Conan has the art of Barry Windsor Smith and script by Roy Thomas. The low-grade copies of this issue have been pretty consistent the last two years with price increases. The top end 9.4, 9.6 and 9.8  grades of this issue have been stymied and show declines in price. However, most of the low-grades show an increase, steady and consistent somewhere between 10 and 19% two years running.

Unfortunately, no fresh catalyst has crossed my desk regarding this genre and comic story. The future is always in flux. To be sure with three movies and hundreds of books not to mention comics, Conan could throttle the superhero genre and become king of the metroplexes at some point. This comic has been cheap compared to other Bronze Age keys. I am shocked to see it indeed increasing in value. The art and story seem a little dated in this piece but they certainly stay within the parameters of Robert Howard's strong barbarian character.

Consider this a primary key for an entire genre separate from the Marvel Universe. This book will increase in value without any catalyst. It is a primary key comic of the Bronze era and will continue to rise in value over the next decade. The barbarians are at the gate; get in on this raiding party and own a piece of fantasy history and a consistent return from this money maker.