Analyzing the Hottest Silver Age Comics of the last 30 days is normally a case study of both what lies behind us and speculation about what lies ahead. This list is typically populated with books driven by speculation from future MCU or DCEU projects, but the last 30 days brought us something different. All of the entries today are minor keys from the Silver Age Amazing Spider-Man run.

Why would this be? My best hypothesis combines a couple factors. First, Spider-Man has been, and always will be, the King of the Silver Age. His books are coveted more than any others, but historically they have been the most expensive. Second, we can combine that demand for books with the recent bear market for collectibles, and we are sure to find these Spidey books are the most affordable they have been in a few years.

Investors in Spider-Man runs or specific character completionists have been watching closely and they have surely found books that were undervalued in this title and are jumping on them.

Here are the five highest risers among Silver Age books in the past month.

Amazing Spider-Man #12 (+84)

Our first entry into the hot Silver Age list is a book that was nowhere to be found on the list 30 days ago, but jumped more than 80 spots from outside the top 100 to number 12 overall. What is the significance of the Spider-Man book and what's driving the demand? Besides it being a very early Spidey, there really isn't much.

This is the third appearance of Dr. Octopus, which is noteworthy, but #12 was plugged into a run of books that would introduce Elektro, Mysterio, Kraven, and Green Goblin. Compared to those, this book is worth pennies on the dollar. Which means it's likely the affordability that is driving much of the demand, as this book has settled into a very reasonable fair market value.

Looking at grade CGC 5.5 (53rd percentile of copies), we see some amazing differences in sales from today to one year ago. On January 11, 2022, a copy of this very book sold for $720 at Heritage Auctions. Almost exactly one year later, the same grade sold on eBay for just $490. That's a 32% drop in one year's time, which must have people who want Silver Age Spider-Man rushing to buy these books while they are cheap. It's a theme we will see throughout these books.

Amazing Spider-Man #5 (+58)

I love seeing my all-time favorite Amazing Spider-Man book on this list for the past month. Amazing Spider-Man #5 was always an undervalued key because it was the first Spider-Man book to not introduce a new character. But this, of course, the first time Spidey and Victor Von Doom meet up and it is the first time Dr. Doom appears outside of the Fantastic Four comic. But in the end, it's one of the first five Amazing Spider-Man books, so that gives it some intrinsic value on its own.

There are fewer than 2.700 CGC blue and yellow copies of this book on the GoCollect census, roughly the same as issues three and four where Sandman and Dr. Octopus are introduced. It's not like there is an abundance of these just floating around, but that lack of a new character has always caused it to fly under the radar. This book had a resurgence about 10 months ago when value peaked in March 2022. A CGC 4.5 copy sold that month for $1,900. More recently, a copy in the same grade sold at the very end of December for just $1,260. A 2.5 grade is going for under $1,000 right now.

Those buying in at these levels are getting a steal.

Amazing Spider-Man #45 (+44 - tie)

Much like Amazing Spider-Man #12, this book is known primarily for being the third appearance of the Lizard. In the previous issue, we learn for the first time that Dr. Curt Connors is the Lizard, and that one has a higher value than #46. These second and third appearances (across all comic books, and across all genres) seem to really be gaining steam as a way to get early appearances at very reasonable prices right now.

The 50th percentile for this book on the CGC census is surprisingly at about an 8.0 grade. That grade has sold twice in the past five weeks for what seems like almost nothing. In December, an 8.0 copy sold on eBay for $210 and then another sold at Heritage Auctions this month for just $214. There were two sales over $500 about 11 months ago and the book has dropped like a stone since then.

Amazing Spider-Man #47 (+44 - tie)

There's something about this mid-40's run that investors and collectors are keying in on right now. Even Amazing Spider-Man #46 was up 24 spots in the last 30 days. But the last two books on this list are known more their iconic artwork, with John Romita Sr. depicting iconic villains as gigantic, overwhelming creatures. The first one is with Kraven the Hunter in issue #47. It's a very early appearance of the classic Spider-Man villain and just his second since his appearance as a member of the Sinister Six.

Unlike the other books on this list, ASM #47 is selling at or near it's peak presently in several grades. Take a CGC 7.0 for example. That grade sold for $284 in mid-November and was just $11 less than when it sold for $295 in January of 2022. Another copy sold for $300 in August. These prices for pre-#50 ASMs are just so low in this market, people are willing to buy them to get their hands on higher graded versions of the Silver Age Spidey.

Amazing Spider-Man #66 (+39)

Amazing Spider-Man #66 is another well-known cover by the incomparable John Romita Sr. His depiction of a menacing Mysterio is only the third time we see Quentin Beck's character on the cover of ASM after his first appearance in ASM #13 and ASM Annual #1. It's not a surprise this is a hot commodity right now as this cover is a must-add for any early Spider-Man collection.

The good news for those in the market to buy this book is that it is currently trading at values that are almost half off where the peak was just this past summer. At the 50th percentile CGC 8.5, the most recent copy sold on January 10th for $273 on eBay. That is down from $500 on July 5th of last year and is just stunningly low price for such a high grade Silver Age Spider-Man.

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