In honor of the Targaryen prequel that has made it out of the spinoff sweepstakes, here we look at a few key comic books that feature dragons.

 

 

FIN FANG FOOM

The dragon-like Fin Fang Foom, who is actually an alien from Maklu IV, first appeared in Strange Tales #89 (1961) when a teenager awakens the dragon and tricks him into doing his bidding with the threat of placing him back into a deep slumber. Of the dragons in this article, Fin Fang Foom has the best odds of hitting the silver screen lottery; with his alien ship being where the Mandarin’s ten power rings came from.

Due to a relatively low volume of sales for Strange Tales #89, a wider range of CGC 5.0-3.0 is shown below; this encompasses the top 43.8-84.6%, a majority of the lower CGC graded copies. For all the observed grades, sales prices have been on a fairly consistent upward trend since 2014. This is particularly positive as even in books with overall good market performance, copies at the very low end of the grading range generally tend to lag the positive trends of the top 20% census grades. On a scale of Nicol Bolas to Balerion, Strange Tales #89 is a definite long-term buy.

 

 

GOLIATH

Why stop with a batmobile, batcopter, or batpod when you can also have a dragon bat? In a preview story contained in Convergence: New Teen Titans #2 (2015), we get a glimpse of the dragon bat Goliath who would become Damian Wayne’s trusted companion and mount in the Robin: Son of Batman series. During Damian’s Year of Blood with the League of Assassins, his mission to retrieve an artifact put him at odds against the giant dragon bat and his litter that guarded it. Out of mercy or guilt, Damian spared a young red-colored dragon bat. The book on the right features Goliath on the cover; a variant of Robin Son of Batman #2. At the moment, Convergence: New Teen Titans #2 and the individual issues of the Robin Son of Batman can be found in the $1-5 level.

 

 

DRAGON MAN

Dragon Man makes his first appearance in Fantastic Four #35 (1965) as a robotic creation of a university professor Gregson Gilbert. While the Fantastic Four (and a few other popular superheroes) are visiting the university, the villainous Diablo plots revenge on the Fantastic Four by offering the professor the ability to make his inanimate robot come to life.

The graph to the right shows sales for Fantastic Four #35 in grades CGC 9.2, 9.0, and 8.5, which represent the top 20.8/32.1/45.2%, respectively. Much like the first book examined here, Fantastic Four #35 has experienced a slow and steady rise in sales prices. The main difference being Fantastic Four #35 has had a longer track record of that trend, extending all the way back to 2010. Overall, Fantastic Four #35 has an attractive long-term investment outlook.

 

 

SHOU-LAO

Although the Targaryens come in threes, here we’re going to throw in a fourth dragon: Shou-Lao the Undying who made his first appearance in Marvel Premiere #16 (1974). Fans of the Iron Fist might recognize Shou-Lao as the source of K'un-L'un power, and also the dragon whom Danny fought and got the dragon-shaped scar on his chest.

As an added bonus to Marvel Premiere #16’s Shou-Lao first appearance is in the book that also contains the second appearance of Iron Fist. On the right is sales for the book for CGC 9.8 and 9.6. Overall, the market for Marvel Premiere #16 is very sparse with low volume of sales. Sales prices for 9.6 graded copies have stayed rather flat for the last 6 years. Interestingly, 9.8 experienced a dramatic move upwards until it peaked in 2017 where it reversed and completed an arch-like pattern. Again, volume for Marvel Premiere #16 is indeed very low, but with sales prices of the book in 9.8 having dropped like a stone, the book is a sell.

 

 

“I—Have—Awakened!” – Fin Fang Foom

 

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