Although it seems that they were given a chance and failed (let’s face it, to say that the ‘Inhumans’ TV show was not exactly a big hit is an understatement - even if it had a few fans), a curious situation now surrounds the Inhumans key comics.

While comics featuring Marvel’s Inhomo supremis have slightly dipped in price over the last year or so, these strange super-beings’ key appearances are still showing relatively good numbers and respectable sales for a team that’s been written off.

If I had to hazard a guess, I think it’s because there’s currently no guarantee Marvel won’t bring the Inhumans back at some point, perhaps on the big screen.

Never underestimate the lack of cohesion between the Marvel TV and cinematic divisions, which don’t at all seem to be in synch.

In the rest of this post I want to investigate the situation surrounding the Inhumans and then look at the data on their key comics.

In order to understand why there's ongoing interest in the Inhumans key comics, we need to speculate about the team’s potential as a candidate for a future Marvel movie appearance.

To this end, we can start by noting the backstory of the Inhumans.

For those who are not fans, the Inhumans have both a cosmic and a more Earth-based relevance to the direction of the ongoing MCU.

When the original pitch to use the team in a movie was made, they were chosen because Marvel didn’t have the rights to the X-Men. The Inhumans were meant to make a Phase 3 cinematic appearance. Well, in hindsight, Phase 3 (now ending) wasn’t suited for the team, but their cosmic origin may still be suited to the upcoming ‘cosmic’ phase of the MCU.

That’s because the Inhumans complete backstory is one of a failed experiment performed on very early humans, millions of years ago, by the Kree. We know the Kree will be featured front and center in the new ‘Captain Marvel’ movie this March.

The Inhumans were the experiment the Kree left behind. As Marvel explores the cosmic side of their universe, and as we prepare for both a Kree noble warrior hero and an ‘Eternals’ feature film, would it be odd if the Inhumans make some kind of an appearance? I don’t think so.

Second, the direct connection this group has to the Fantastic Four speaks in their favor.

Fantastic Four #36 (March 1965) - First appearance of the Frightful Four; First appearance of Medusa

The connection of the Inhumans to the ‘Fantastic Four’ is something long-time readers of Marvel comics are well aware of. In the comics, remember, not only did the Inhumans interact as both friends and foes to the FF, but Johnny’s first love, Crystal, was an Inhuman who even ended up joining the group at one point. Not to mention the fact that her older sister, Medusa, was a member of both the FF and the first 'Frightful Four' team to threaten the FF. The Frightful Four are therefore the perfect place to start an overview of Inhumans key comics. A 9.4 certified copy of their first appearance (FF #36) sold for $3, 2000.00 dollars in July of 2018. This was actually down from previous highs of $4, 000.00 back in 2015. But, all in all, returns have been holding steady and trending positive in most grades. If you CGC this comic it will come back labeled ‘First Appearance of the Frightful Four’, but we all know this is a key because it is the first appearance of Medusa and therefore the first Inhumans comic.

 

Fantastic Four #45 (December 1965) – First Full Inhumans; Medusa revealed as Crystal's sister

Now we turn to the seminal key for all things Inhumans. The first full appearance of the group is in FF #45. Looking at the data for this comic you’d be tempted to think the Inhumans were still an ‘in-thing’. Currently boasting a FMV of a respectable $28, 000.00 in certified 9.8 condition, the most recent sale of a 9.2 copy sold for $3, 300.00 on December 07, 2018. Returns also look interesting. Quite strong at both the highest (9.8) and lowest (0.5-2.5) end of the census. But definitely mixed overall, and currently trending slightly down. Given the status of this as an FF key, that all seems to say that it's a good time to buy.

 

 

 

 

Inhumans #1 (October 1975) – First Comic in ongoing Series

On December 2, 2018, a 9.8 certified copy of this comic sold for $360.00 on Heritage Auction. That’s a strong price for a Bronze Age comic of a group that’s supposed to be washed up. This is actually a great book, with a script by Doug Moench and pencils by Gil Kane and George Perez, what’s not to like. Sure the returns on this one are only nominally positive and actually only on 9.8 (+3.4%), 6.5 (+380.4%), 6.0 (+27.1%) and 4.5 (+105.6%), grades. Still, the growth on both mid and high grade copies speaks to ongoing demand. The overall negative return numbers can also be explained due to the lackluster Marvel TV project. I can easily see this comic changing direction if the Inhumans make even a cameo appearance in a future Marvel movie.