There were plenty of familiar faces in the Hottest Comics this week, but The Nice House on the Lake #1 once again took home the gold, and this time there was no close second.

One of GoCollect’s most useful features is the Market Overview. If you haven’t explored this area of the site, you’re missing out. Here you will find the latest data to help you in your collecting and investing endeavors. While the Chart Busters are the headline grabbers, veteran collectors know the real money is in the Hottest Comics. These are the 100 best-selling single issues across eBay. This index leaves out the fair market data and focuses purely on sales volume, though the two are often intertwined.

What issues had buyers reaching into their wallets the most often? Time to dive into the Hottest Comics data.

10. THE NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE #1 (+83)

The Nice House on the Lake #1 has been picking up interest in the market as of late. The series premiered last year to plenty of fanfare. Of course, whenever James Tynion IV’s name is attached to a horror series, it is bound to pull in the sales figures. Nice House didn’t disappoint, and it sent the first issue and all its variants to the top of the sales charts. As the series rolled forward, it abruptly stopped on a major cliffhanger with The Nice House on the Lake #5. Fans have been waiting for the series’ second half of its 12-issue run since November, and Nice House #6 finally reached comic shops on March 15. That is the likely culprit for Nice House’s boost across the secondary market.

You may notice that Nice House #1 was on the Hottest Comics rankings a couple weeks ago. On that particular day, it gained 57 spots and ranked twentieth overall on the list. How, then, does it suddenly jump 83 places for this week’s index? For this list, we use the 30-day sales figures, and the data moves daily. That indicates that Nice House #1 has been a bit of a yo-yo in the past month. 

The sales volume is well and good, but what about those FMVs? With so many copies of Nice House #1 available, it is no wonder this issue remains affordable. Overall, the graded 9.8 for the standard cover has averaged $120. For the past month, it has had an FMV of $67, though the one-year mark remains at $84. 

21. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #375 (+61)

What makes this issue so special? Maybe it’s the Mark Bagley cover art. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the seriously 1990s gold foil cardstock. Odds are, it’s the first appearance of Anne Weying, Eddie Brock’s ex-wife and the future She-Venom. To a lesser extent, you also have Eddie’s abusive father, Carl, making his debut here as well, but Anne is the bigger selling point. 

Ever since Tom Hardy’s mid-credits scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home, all things Venom have been red hot. The big question mark is whether we will see the cast of the Venom movies crossover with Spider-Man and the MCU. At least we know that something is happening with the symbiote left behind when Eddie shimmered in (and quickly out of) the MCU. Don’t forget the concept art of Tom Holland wearing the black symbiote costume. Put it all together, and you can see the big picture of Venom somehow making his MCU debut. 

While the major keys are all Eddie Brock Venom issues, the trickle-down effect is in full gear. That is not more apparent than it is in ASM #375. In the first Venom movie, fans saw Anne bond with the alien symbiote to bring She-Venom to live-action. Although we saw Anne, She-Venom was nowhere to be found in Let There Be Carnage, there is always the chance that she will return in a future installment. Who knows? Since Eddie Brock is firmly back in the Sony-verse, we could see a She-Venom wage war on Spider-Man in the MCU.

For the past year, graded 9.8s for ASM #375 were consistently earning over $160. In recent weeks, that price has dropped into the $100 range. With the possibility of an MCU She-Venom, if you can get a copy for under $100, that could prove to be a wise investment.

33. NEW MUTANTS #87 (+49)

The man, the myth, the time-hopping mutant himself, Cable, is back in the spotlight this week. While there is no word on whether or not Josh Brolin will return to the role when Deadpool arrives in the MCU, it is not deterring buyers from getting their hands on Cable’s first appearance in New Mutants #87. 

In the comics, the Old Man Cable has reclaimed his spot as the X-Men’s number one Nathaniel Summers. This being comics, there are clones and interdimensional variants galore, and Kid Cable will return in some fashion down the line. For the time being, Old Man Cable is reigning supreme in Krakoa. It has made for a hot market for NM #87, which has proven to be a perennial favorite among collectors. This is another issue with the yo-yo effect, so don’t be surprised if it takes a hike from the top 100 altogether in the coming weeks only to climb back into the limelight soon thereafter.

Over the last two years, this issue has made huge gains in FMV. In 2020, the graded 9.8 averaged close to $400. A year ago, the FMV rose to over $650. The past month has seen that figure dip slightly below $500, though the most recent sale was for $650 on March 17.

43. NOVA #1 (+29)

Despite a lack of news on the Nova MCU front, that has not slowed the rumor mill. For years, the speculation has been that the Man Called Nova would make his way onto the silver screen. It began with Infinity War and led into Endgame. When he was nowhere to be found in either of those films, the speculation has since shifted to Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3. It only fueled the fires when director James Gunn commented that Nova was one of several characters he would like to someday bring to life.

Last year, the theories reached a fever pitch when an unconfirmed report began circulating. The word was that Nova was one of a handful of characters slated for a movie in the near future. Since then, talk has cooled about the Nova feature film, but it doesn’t perturb buyers from collecting his first appearance for the day he finally shines on the silver screen.

Need a copy to call your own? If you are set on a near-mint grade, the 9.8s have averaged over $2k for the past year. The better buy may be the 7.0, which has an FMV of around $150.

5. X-MEN, VOL. 2. #1 (+28)

Following in the footsteps of Nice House on the Lake #1, X-Men #1 made a return to the Hottest Comics this week. Impressively, it has climbed into the top five this week after gaining nearly 30 spots in recent days. Of course, this is not the holy grail X-Men #1 from 1963, but that could be to this particular issue’s advantage, at least from a buying perspective. Unless you have four figures to hand out for even the lowest of grades for the original X-Men #1. For those of us on smaller budgets, 1991’s X-Men #1 is a suitable compromise. It won’t ever reach those holy grail levels, but the values have been climbing over the past couple of years. For the past month, the graded 9.8 has averaged $145. However, the most recent sale was for $79 for Cover A, but that’s not bad news for buyers on a budget.

What has this issue moving up the ladder? The prime factor is the X-Men’s introduction into the MCU.  Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see the debut of Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier. While many see that as heralding the Illuminati, there’s only one team Professor X is eternally bound to, the X-Men. It has put many collectors on the trail of any firsts they can find, inevitably leading them to the many covers of Jim Lee’s beautiful artwork for X-Men #1. 

Did any of this week's Hottest Comics surprise you? Let us know in the comments!

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not reflect investment advice on behalf of GoCollect.