While the Great Comic Crash of 2022 demonstrated the dangers of investing in Modern Age books, I have kept my eye on a few Modern keys that I believe may have some upside. Two of these issues are War of the Realms Agents of Atlas #1 and War of the Realms Agents of Atlas #2, which contain the first cover appearance and first full appearance of Lin Lie as Sword Master.

Lin Lie, of course, becomes the next Iron Fist in Iron Fist #1. Considering how much fans didn't like Finn Jones in the Iron Fist TV show on Netflix, it's more likely that Marvel will choose Lin Lei as the next Iron Fist for the MCU.

Agents of Atlas #1 is now selling for less than it die pre-comic boom.

War of the Realms Agents of Atlas #1 has been on a variety of "Top 10" lists multiple times over the past two years. Youtuber Very Gary Comics has said on his show that he owns multiple 9.8 copies of this book and is holding them long-term.

People had been investing in it because it contains multiple first appearances: (1) Luna Snow; (2) Crescent & Io; (3) Aero; (4) Wave; and (5) the 1st cover appearance of Sword Master, but doesn't appear in the actual story.

At this time, the only character that matters is Sword Master, but the others could be good spec picks.

Now may be the time to buy. In mid- to late 2020, just before comic boom, a CGC 9.8 copy of this book sold for around $100. At the height of the comic boom, a 9.8 reached an all-time high of $283 in April of 2021. Ever since then, this book has steadily dropped in value. Just a few weeks ago, on January 7th, two 9.8s sold for a mere $60 during auctions hosted by eBay.

To me, $60 is a steal and would buy in at that price point. It would cost $30+ just to ship the comic to CGC and have them grade it. And you're not guaranteed to receive a 9.8. In addition, BGR dropped a leak that Marvel is working on an Agents of Atlas series for Phase 7. At this price point, you have little to lose and potentially a lot to gain if any of these characters become stars.

Agents of Atlas #2 may continue to drop in value as more copies are submitted to CGC.

Historically, War of the Realms Agents of Atlas #2 has sold for a bit more than #1. For example, before the comic boom, a 9.8 copy of this book sold for around $105 to $125. It then reached an all-time high of $331 in February of 2022, after the comic market had already begun to decline. Today, a 9.8 is selling for around $125.

But unlike Agents of Atlas #1, I think this book still has some room to drop in value. CGC lists 582 9.8 copies of Agents of Atlas #2 on its Census. In comparison, CGC lists a whopping 4,069 9.8s of Agents of Atlas #1.

I think it's only a matter of time before CGC has graded several thousand 9.8 copies of Agents of Atlas #2. Once that happens, I think you're going to see the value of this book drop another 25% to 35%. So I'd be patient with this one.

Would you consider investing in either of these issues? Please let us know in the comments section below!

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