Studios have definitely caught on that comics are a deep vein of amazing story content.  This installment of Modern Movers has the usual burst of popularity based on small and large screen adaptations. Notes as to sales positions of these Modern Era books are accurate as of writing but often these positions can change quickly.  Emotion drives stories and the books moving around the sales charts are full of emotion, fear, and fright.  And just when you think the dystopian trend was over, Image comics gave us Geiger.

Geiger - for those who remember Mad Max and those who wish they did

Geiger #1 is a dystopian, post-apocalyptic story from Image Comics with sales strong enough to be the #6 best-selling Modern Era book at the moment.  This book is just 18 months old but it has already shot up to an FMV of $75 for a 9.8 graded book.

News of Paramount picking up the story for a new series broke in October and there has been a lot of sales activity ever since.  The story by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank follows Tariq Geiger, a survivor of a nuclear disaster, several decades into the future.  The book was a huge success for Image, leading to a second printing.

Pricing should stay stable for a while, but as news continues to come on casting and release dates, more price action should follow.  You may just have time to get a nice copy graded, if so inclined.  The story has already spun off a character into his own book, Junkyard Joe.  The lead character is a robot fighter in 1972 Vietnam.  Although the ink on Junkyard Joe #1 is barely dry, 9.8 graded books are listed for sale around $50.

Wakanda Thanksgiving

Also less than one-year old, Black Panther #3 has flown up the sales charts, currently up almost 30 places to land at the #3 sales position.  This milestone 200th issue book has come down in value over the year, with 9.8 graded books being closer to $300 out of the gates and now having leveled off closer to $200.

The movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever just became one of the highest November global box office openings, proving the Disney hero machine is still humming along.  Certainly, Disney is thankful for taking an emotional and action-packed approach to the movie.  It is interesting to see a spike in interest along with the strong showing of the movie, not just on the news that a movie is in the works.  This franchise has legs and Disney shows no signs of ending the role of Wakanda in the MCU.

Black Panther #1 also shows up on the sales list of Modern Era books at #29 and Black Panther #5 pops onto the sales list at #23.

Here Comes the Werewolf

And we don't mean just as part of a Moon Knight appearance.  Werewolf by Night #1 (2020) continues to hover around the top 20 sales position, which is interesting now that Halloween is over.  It seems that the Disney+ one-off Halloween special was popular enough to keep an interest in this book going.

The show is a fun homage to black-and-white horror films of the '30s and '40s.  A year ago, this book in a 9.8 grade had an FMV of over $200 and but now the FMV has leveled off to around $60.  It may be that it is time to sell now that the show and Halloween decorations are put away.  But it may also be this selling that is driving prices down to levels where people new to the character are interested.

The show had an amazing 91% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the potential for more appearances makes this an interesting book to own.  The show wonderfully includes Dr. Ted Sallis as the Man-Thing, which was a fun surprise for me and certainly leaves us with the feeling that there is more to come from Jack and Ted.

Signature and Grade Value

The auction action tracked at GoCollect is often an interesting look into unique sales.  Catwoman #41 (2020) is not exactly a key book but a 9.9 graded book (Horned Variant Cover A) signed by Anne Hathaway recently sold at auction for over $2,000.  Ms. Hathaway was a controversial choice to play Catwoman in the 2012 Dark Knight Rises movie.  More recognized for playing your favorite princess than the mercurial sometimes villain, sometimes lover of Gotham's caped crusader, she took a lot of heat for this role. A decade later, she is ranked among the best actresses to don the catsuit.

This variant cover is a wonderful match for a signature book.  Reggie Collects has an interesting video on whether an owner should get a book signed or not, but it is easy to see the attraction of this variant cover with a uniquely high grade and signature.  This is a truly unique and interesting piece of artwork.  Congratulation to both the old owner and the new buyer.

There has never been a better time to find high-quality art and storytelling than in Modern Era books.  Fantastic finds are just down the street at every LCS.  Happy hunting!

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