I can’t help but wonder what the MCU landscape would be like if the Inhumans movie had gone ahead as planned. Perhaps Thane would have been introduced and played a pivotal role in Thanos’ plans. The presence of the House of Agon could have opened up so many possibilities such as the Silent War story arc or the formation of the Illuminati.

With the MCU moving on from the Inhumans, here we examine the current market for a few of the Inhumans’ key comic books to determine if we should also move on.

 

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #45 (1965)

The "Among Us Hide... The Inhumans" story of Fantastic Four #45 marked the first appearance of the Inhumans. After Johnny Storm has a chance encounter with Crystal, Crystal is excited to meet someone like her and decides to bring Johnny to meet her people, who turn out to be the Inhumans.

Following is sales for Fantastic Four #45, graded in CGC 8.5/8.0 and 6.0, which represent a cross-section of the top 14.7/21.5% and 54.5% of the census.

Sales prices for Fantastic Four #45 peaked shortly after the announcement of the live-action movie; and has been falling ever since. The interesting thing here is that the subsequent decline was very pronounced even before the movie was officially removed from the Marvel Studios slate or relegated to TV series. This is comparatively different from other comic book movies that experience overall upward trends, even with minor declines between the events of initial announcement, casting, and trailer. There was a minor bump in prices with the TV announcement, but the decline in sales prices quickly resumed within weeks. Overall, growth rate is still negative; but on a more positive note, appears to be slowing down.

 

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #46 (1966)

Although Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon), ruler of the Inhumans, did first appear in Fantastic Four #45, his first full appearance was in Fantastic Four #46, which also has a very iconic Black Bolt cover. Following the Fantastic Four’s arrival to Johnny’s side, a fight ensues with the Inhumans.

Below is sales for Fantastic Four #46, graded in CGC 9.0/8.5 and 7.0, the top 18.1/26.5% and 54.8% of the census, respectively.

Wherever the Inhumans went, so did their leader Black Bolt. The sales price trends for Fantastic Four #46 almost perfectly mirrors that of the above Fantastic Four #45. The overall loss in value was comparatively slower, but the overall magnitude of the percentage loss in value was similar. It’s probably safe to hypothesize that the key 1st appearance comic books of other notable Inhumans members also behaved similarly in the market; to support this, next we will examine another popular Inhuman, Medusa.

 

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #36 (1965)

Medusa’s first appearance in Fantastic Four #36 actually precedes the first Inhumans team appearance in Fantastic Four #45 by the greater part of a year. In this issue, as the Fantastic Four make wedding preparations for the newly engaged Reed Richards and Sue Storm; Medusa and a few other villains form a team known as the Frightful Four, and attack the engagement party.

Below is sales for Fantastic Four #36, graded in CGC 9.0/8.5 and 7.0, representing the top 16.2/24.7% and 55.8% of the census.

As expected, Fantastic Four #36 peaked and declined similar to the above Inhumans key comic books. One main difference is that the subsequent decline on the higher grades of CGC 9.0 and 8.5 were remarkably rapid; it took only a few months compared to the slow decline over years that the other books, and even its own lower 7.0 grade, experienced. The market appears to be willing to hold onto Fantastic Four #45 and #46 with greater support than Fantastic Four #36.

On the bright side, the one thing that Fantastic Four #36 has that the two above books don’t, is that it contains another important aspect of significance outside of the Inhumans; specifically, the first appearance of the Frightful Four team. On the very off chance the Frightful Four ever get some screen time, this book would be one that stands to benefit.

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

It’s not a big surprise that all three key Inhumans books examined here are behaving similarly in the market. Although the majority of value loss as a result of cancelled movie/TV influence appears to have been realized, there is at the moment no upward catalyst on the horizon. In the next few months, market value loss should slow down, and possibly even stabilize to flat. If you invested in this book at any point during the last four years, it may be prudent to cut your losses and move onto other books with better outlook.

  • Fantastic Four #45 - REDUCE
  • Fantastic Four #46 - REDUCE
  • Fantastic Four #36 - REDUCE

 

 

“I. Am. Awake!” – Black Bolt