Paper Girls #1 burned a path through the secondary market, soaring over 70 positions to crack the top-10 Hottest Comics.

What are the Hottest Comics? These are the 100 best-selling, single issues across the grandfather of all auction sites, eBay. Keep in mind that the rankings are not based on fair market value. Rather, they reflect the sales volume for both raw and graded comics. On that note, let’s check out this week’s biggest movers and shakers - also known as the Hottest Comics.

7. PAPER GIRLS #1 (+71)

No doubt, the new trailer for Amazon Prime’s Paper Girls has spurred investors to take a second look at this issue. It doesn’t hurt the speculation that PG is another hit from all-star comic writer Brian K. Vaughan. Remember him? You should, since he is the creator of the mega-hit, Saga. He’s no stranger to live-action adaptations, either. Although it only survived for one season, Y: The Last Man finally made it into a terribly underrated television drama in 2021 before FX chose to axe the series due to budgetary concerns. He also created Marvel’s Runaways, which was turned into a Hulu original in 2017. 

Vaughan’s latest comic-turned-show has seized the comic community’s attention. Paper Girls follows a group of 12-year-old girls who are caught in the middle of a time-travel war. The new trailer is sending buyers to eBay for the first issue, and the prices have been inflating all year. Luckily, those values aren’t out of hand just yet. You can still get a graded 9.8 for around $100-$125 on average.

43. UNCANNY X-MEN #221 (+50)

Three different X-Men keys made today’s list. Along with Uncanny X-Men #221, we also have X-Men, vol. 2, #1, and Avengers Annual #10 making strides among the Hottest Comics. Why are so many X-keys on the move? It all comes down to that MCU speculation.

Since we first heard Patrick Stewart’s voice in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer, the game has been afoot. Sure, he bit the proverbial dust within minutes of making his grand return as Professor X of Earth-838, but it confirmed that the X-Men very much exist in the Multiverse, not that we had any doubts. 

After that, the subject of a years-long rumor spoke up. Taron Egerton confirmed that he had spoken with Marvel Studios about playing Wolverine in the MCU. Not long afterward, Kamala Khan officially became the MCU’s first mutant when the Ms. Marvel season finale revealed she had the famed mutant gene. Just in the past week, Giancarlo Esposito said that he also had spoken with Marvel, and he hopes to play Charles Xavier of Earth-616.

With all that X-Men talk, it leaves fans clamoring for more. It also breeds theories and gossip about the team’s potential villains, specifically Mister Sinister. The former geneticist Nathaniel Essex has been a popular choice among fans, and it likely stems from those teases in X-Men: Apocalypse and The New Mutants. Reportedly, actor Jon Hamm was set to play Sinister for the Fox movies before Disney bought the company. 

Odds are good that Marvel is doing a complete X-Men reboot, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see Sinister. In fact, he still has a decent chance to arrive, given that he’s a major X-villain who has yet to appear in live action (outside those shadowy cameos in New Mutants). So far this year, prices for UXM #221 have remained steady in the $450 range. He will return in the X-Men ‘97 cartoon, but that shouldn’t have a pronounced effect on the values. What you are waiting for is the big live-action announcement. If Mister Sinister is part of the plan, that will send the FMV into the stratosphere.

44. X-MEN, VOL. 2, #1 COLLECTOR’S EDITION (+32)

The second X-Men comic on today’s list is no stranger to the Hottest Comics. For that matter, it’s not a stranger to the Coldest Comics, either. Like a lingering cold, the Collector’s Edition finds its way onto one list or another practically every week. Some of this is due to the fantastic cover art from Jim Lee. With this being one of the many variants for 1991’s X-Men #1’s world record print run, it makes it easy to get your hands on any cover you may want. That availability helps explain why it is such a frequent flier, whether it’s going up or down the rankings. There are just so many copies for sale at any given moment.

Generally speaking, the huge print run also makes these cheap finds. Nothing makes a collectible more valuable than its rarity, and X-Men, vol. 2, #1, no matter the variant, is far from being rare. In fact, it’s the polar opposite of rare. It’s actually baffling that the graded 9.8 Collector’s Edition stays in the $100 range when the raw copies are usually $5-$10.

36. INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 (+27)

Infinity Gauntlet 1

Here is another comic that has regained its collecting popularity in recent months. It started with the appearance of a black Infinity Gauntlet in the modern comics, and that sent buyers on the hunt for this issue. Sadly, the next wave of interest for Infinity Gauntlet #1 was tied to George Perez’s declining health. Many fans showed their support for the legendary artist by buying copies of one of his enduring Marvel Comics legacies. Upon his passing, fans once again took to eBay to add this issue to their collections. While some were looking to make a profit, I expect that the majority did so in Perez’s memory.

What’s causing this week’s current rise in popularity? The most likely reason stems from Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con reveals. The Multiverse Saga is inspiring nostalgia for the MCU’s last epic, The Infinity Saga. While Thanos may not be in the works for a live-action return, his zombie form was teased in What If…?. At the conclusion of the Marvel Zombies episode, we see Zombie Thanos wielding the gauntlet with all six Infinity Stones. Will this lead into the Marvel Zombies cartoon series? That is a distinct possibility, and that may be the reason Infinity Gauntlet #1 saw a spike in sales.

Prices are down for the graded 9.8 at the moment, and that is good for prospective buyers. For the past year, it has averaged close to $300, but that FMV has fallen to $242 in the past month.

24. AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 (+25)

Rogue may not be the villain of The Marvels, but that has not deterred collectors from tracking down her first appearance. 

For years, the gossip sites claimed that Rogue would be among the first official mutants in the MCU. What was more intriguing was that she supposedly would follow her comic roots and steal Carol Danvers’ powers in the Captain Marvel sequel. That drove the speculation behind Avengers Annual #10, and it had both the sales and fair market values booming. From 2020 to 2021, the FMV for a graded 9.8 jumped from $717 to $1,521. This past January, it was consistently earning close to $1,700 and hit a year-high sale of $1,927, and fans were awaiting the news that Rogue would be in the upcoming movie. Then things took a turn.

In recent weeks, Marvel reportedly cast Zawe Ashton as The Marvels’ primary antagonist, the Skrull general Ael-Dan, which was a bit of a letdown for X-Men fans. Not only did that squash any Rogue rumors, but it also deflated the FMVs for Avengers Annual #10. Since the Ashton news, those values have moved from the $1,500+ range to hovering between $850 and $1,100. 

With that large of a drop, it presents a buying opportunity. Maybe Rogue won’t be in the next Captain Marvel film, but we are going to see her soon. Her next appearance will be in the X-Men ‘97 cartoon, and she was revealed in the show’s artwork presented at San Diego Comic-Con. During the series’ original run, she was a fan-favorite character, and that will likely be the case when the revamped show premieres next year. Other than Wolverine and Professor X, Marvel hasn’t tipped its hand on the live-action MCU team’s lineup. However, it is safe to assume that Rogue will be in the mix. Since her first appearance is at the lowest prices it has been in over a year, this is a good time to invest.

Keep up with Movers & Shakers of all temps!

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