"You stole my car, and you killed my dog!" – John Wick/Keanu Reeves

 

For many, a beloved pet can be as important, if not more than, a key family member. Like us, superheroes also have pets; granted a bit more colorful. While the usual topic of conversation is the key issues of the superheroes, the super pets themselves also have key issues. Here we examine the financial viability of investing in the key books of various super pets.

 

Adventure Comics #210 (March 1955)

Perhaps the most famous of super pets is Krypto, who made his debut in Adventure Comics #210. Like his counterpart Superman, Krypto exhibits similar Kryptonian superpowers and abilities; granted, at a level commiserate to his smaller size.

Below is the sales data for the book. Due to the low volume of CGC graded books that exist and the low volume of sales, a few of the grades have been grouped together. The primary focus is on the value trend over time.

Across the different grades of the book, the sales data indicates a slow, but consistent increase. The fastest rate of growth occurs at the higher grade of 7.5/7.0; it’s just over twice as fast as the mid-grades 5.5/5.0/4.5. At the lower grades of 3.0/2.5, while the growth rate isn’t as fast, it’s still positive and consistent; furthermore, it has the added benefit of a larger volume of sales, which helps provide a more reliable pricing confidence. Super dog, super book.

 

Batman #92 (June 1955)

Like the boy in blue, the dark knight also has a canine companion. Ace the Bat-Hound made his debut in Batman #93 just one month after Krypto. An Earth dog in origin, his abilities are more grounded like his counterpart Batman.

The majority of the sales that have occurred in the last few years have been in the mid to low range. Below is the sales grouped as: 3.5/3 with 2.5/2.0, and 6.5/6.0 with 5.5/5.0:

Sales across the various grades for Batman #92 are trending upwards, but are substantially slower than Adventure Comics #210.

 

Superboy #76 (October 1959)

No list of super pets is complete without Beppo, the monkey from Krypton. His first appearance was in Superboy #76. Like Krypto, he also possesses the powers typically packaged with a Kryptonian. Unlike Krypto however, Beppo has a higher penchant for monkey business.

With the low volume of sales, we can only observe the market behavior for the book in the mid grades. Below is the sales data for CGC grade 5.0/5.5 and 4.0/4.5:

Overall, the sales have been flat for the last ten years. The book has returned just under 9% per year. While this is consistent, the low value of the book and low volume of sales make it less attractive than the two books mentioned above.

 

Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942)

Let’s not forget Wonder Woman’s kangaroo-like sidekick Jumpa. Jumpa’s first appearance was in Sensation Comics #6, which precedes the previously mentioned super pets. Unfortunately, even less sales data exists for this book. Below is the sales for the book in CGC grades 5.0, 3.5, 0.5:

No trends can be established from the extremely low volume of sales.

 

MORE

Worth mentioning, but not enough sales data exists to establish a trend:

  • Cosmo the Spacedog - 1st appeared in Nova Vol4 #8
  • Streaky the Supercat - 1st appeared in Action Comics #261

Several super pets have first appearances that coincide with the first appearances of notable characters. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to analyze the individual contribution of the pets to the overall value of the key books.

  • Redwing – 1st appeared with Falcon in Captain America #117
  • Lockjaw – 1st appeared with the Inhumans in Fantastic Four #45
  • Zabu – 1st appeared with Ka-Zar in X-Men #10

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

From a long-term financial investment standpoint, it would appear Kryto has emerged from all the super pets as the victor. The growth in market value trends consistently upwards and it has a healthy volume of sales.

  • Adventure Comics #210:  Buy
  • Batman #92:  Hold
  • Superboy #76:  Sell
  • Sensation Comics #6:  Hold

 

 

“Wait, this thing looks delicious.” – Venom, noticing Stan Lee’s dog