Is anyone surprised that the Venom and Carnage keys are on top? The excitement for Venom 2 is firing on all cylinders so much so that it even gave a Spawn back issue a dose of gasoline. Then, Jonny Quest joined the party! Here are this week's Trending and Oddball comics!

The Hottest Comics tracks the biggest sellers in all of comics. There are 1,001 different issues listed in the index, and it pays to examine the trends. This week, it’s no surprise that all roads lead to Venom and Carnage. Once we dig a little deeper, buyers were also picking up an early Star Trek and even Johnny Quest.

Here’s more.

1. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #300 (+6)

Honestly, I was expecting the first appearance of Carnage to top Amazing Spider-Man #300 at least initially. Ever since Woody Harrelson was cast as Cletus Kasady before the 2018 Venom movie, sales for ASM #361 went through the roof. Now that we finally see the live-action Carnage, it was expected that there would be a huge spike in all things symbiotes. However, it turned out that fans wanted more of the original alien symbiote, Venom. Along with ASM #300 setting new records left and right this week, sales have picked up for Secret Wars #8 and ASM #252. There are no signs of slowing down, either. 

4. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 (+1)

It’s not that Amazing Spider-Man #361 has not been a major seller since the Venom 2 trailer, but I would have expected Carnage’s first appearance to have been the top seller at least for this week. After all, even with ever-rising prices, it is still the cheaper option between ASM #361 and ASM #300. In fact, the 9.8 is not setting a blistering pace as I would have thought.

After reaching $1,400 on May 10-11, it has steadily dropped, and now it is consistently selling in the $1,100-$1,200 range. And here I was thinking this one would crack $2k this year.

709. SPAWN #222 (+220)

While I can’t give all the credit to Spawn #222’s sudden jolt in the Hottest Comics to the Venom 2 hysteria, I am certain it was a contributing factor. What’s not to love? You have Todd McFarlane paying homage to his own work on Venom’s first full cover appearance from ASM #316.

Of course, Spawn has been getting more attention from buyers thanks to the news that McFarlane is bringing to life a full-fledged Spawn Universe, and that has put emphasis on all his old issues. Between the Venom tribute and Spawn’s worldbuilding, this is a recipe for success.

211. STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE #1 (+337)

What has Star Trek: The Motion Picture #1 from 1980 suddenly getting a boost? Keep in mind, this is not the first Star Trek comic. No, that was Star Trek #1 from 1967. Why would this particular issue be outselling the original Trek comic?

My guess is that it is related to William Shatner and George Takei’s round of comic con appearances. Comic collectors may be stockpiling cheaper Star Trek key issues and waiting for a late-started con season to get them signed.

ODDBALL OF THE WEEK AWARD

551. JONNY QUEST #5 (+448)

Week after week, the cartoon comics are popping up on the index. While collecting cartoon-based key issues is nothing new, that particular market has picked up in recent months. It seems that each week, there are more seemingly random kids comics that are getting attention from serious collectors.

Here we have the fifth issue of Jonny Quest with a solo story featuring Jezebel Jade. Among JQ collectors, the cover art for this issue is worth the asking price.

What do YOU think about this week's Trending Comics? Did you pick up any of them? Tell us in the comments!