Marvel's movies have the Midas touch when it comes to key issues, right? If that's true, what happened with the first appearance of Hela, and why are so many grades been losing money?

Thor: Ragnarok did well at the box office. It was well received by fans and critics, and audiences seemed pleased with Cate Blanchett's performance as Hela. That should equal dollar signs in the market.

Ever since the movie debuted last year, Hela has had a larger role in the Marvel Universe. In the pages of the newest volume of Thor, Hela has even married Thanos. You'd think that her first appearance in Journey into Mystery #102 would have skyrocketed. While the premiere of Ragnarok did set the comic on fire initially, that infatuation has grown cold.

That's not to say that all grades are on the decline. The 5.0, 6.0, and the 6.5 have all seen an increase in value. However, all the other grades are in the midst of a drop in the 90-day average.

Last December, only weeks following Ragnarok's debut, the 8.5 grade was doing quite well. After staying close to the $600 mark throughout most of the year, it set a new high when it sold for a whopping $875. Surprisingly it only brought $475 in March. Lately it's been on the rise as another 8.5 brought $670 in October. Still, that's a long shot from that $875 price tag.

The 8.0 is in the same boat as its big brother. Last year, it was consistently bringing $500 and up. In fact, out of six sales, only two were below that $500 mark, and those were still both over $400, which was very respectable. This year, things have changed. It's sold just once, and it was for $372.

No doubt banking on the impending popularity of Hela, a graded 7.5 shot up to $730 on November 26, 2017. Since then, it's brought respectable figures (in January, one sold for $537, while another went for $600 in July), but it's not even in the ballpark of that November sale, and it would be quite surprising if it ever did.

Back in 2010, you could have purchased a JIM #102 at a 7.0 for no more than $97. Then the anticipation of Hela being featured in a movie sent the price to $388 in 2016. By last year, it soared to $756 on November 2, 2017. Like the other grades, the 7.0 has bottomed out this year. Out of eight sales, it hasn't surpassed $450, which isn't necessarily terrible news. However, the last sale was on October 26 for $228.

The lower grades haven't been immune from this slump, either. After bringing a record-high $240 in September 2017, the graded 4.0 has only sold for more than $119 once this year, and that was in February.

The 3.0 has technically lost value, but it's only down $15 from the $125 high it saw last year.

It's hard to say exactly why Journey into Mystery #102 has been on the backslide, but there's no denying it. It could be that Hela was killed off in the final act of Ragnarok and has little chance (let's face it, there is no dead when it comes to superheroes, in comics or on film) that she will return in another film. Unless something brings her back into the fold, this one won't be on the way back up anytime soon.