Ever since the Marvel cinematic universe introduced Rhomann Dey, played by John C. Reilly in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014), many dedicated Marvel readers have been waiting for Nova to appear onscreen.
Gradually, throughout 2018, sales on the first issue of the stand-alone Nova comic book began to spike as, by the end of the year, the book repeatedly broke the $1000.00 dollar mark. Recently, there was a slight dip and a softening in prices only to see a strong jump back and stronger than ever sales prices over the last month.
If you haven’t got a copy already there may still be time to pick up Nova #1, and if Nova really takes off, there’s a little known fanzine that should also be on your radar.
In this post I want to take a look at the Nova comic since it seems that, finally and after years of speculation, the time for the human rocket to really make a splash may be quickly approaching.
The last 'Avengers' film made it clear that the Nova Corp are no more (destroyed by Thanos in his move to acquire the power stone). This sets up the stage for Rhomann Dey to transfer his Nova powers to Richard Rider.
If (or perhaps when) Nova appears in the MCU, there are actually two books that may also take off. We all know Nova #1, but did you know that Nova #1 is not the first appearance of Nova?
Super Adventure #6 (1967) – First appearance of Black Nova; Nova proto-type
In 1966 a still young Marvin Wolfman and his good friend Len Wein came up with the story of a costumed hero called Black Nova for a fanzine publication called Super Adventures. Black Nova was based on an earlier super-hero called ‘the Star’ who obtained different powers depending on the pills he swallowed. As Wolfman put it years later: "In a special issue of the fanzine Super Adventures, lively Len Wein (and don't ask who he is) and I decided to change The Star. Len had come up with a name Black Nova and a costume and I had the story and new origin”.
This fanzine therefore has a legitimate claim to featuring the first appearance of the character that would become Nova. Black Nova actually looks almost identical to Nova but with five instead of three stars on his chest and a helmet similar to Nova’s with the addition of antenna. Super Adventures #6 is not easy to find, and I could discover no recorded sales on either GoCollect.com or eBay, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look for it.
Nova #1 (August 1976) - First appearance of Nova; Origin of Nova; First appearance of Rhomann Dey
The numbers on this book in certified 9.8 grades have really seen an upward spike in 2019. At the end of 2018, a copy of Nova #1 in 9.8 sold for $1099.00 (on December 26, 2018). Before that, sales were hovering between the $700 - 1000.00 range for 9.8 copies for a while. So far, in 2019, after a January 4, 2019 sale for $714.99, subsequent sales for 9.8s look as follows:
January 19, 2019 = $1, 249.95 (eBay)
January 22, 2019 = $1, 250.00 (eBay)
January 23, 2019 = $1, 250.00 (eBay)
This gives 9.8 certified copies a strong +38.8% roi over the last month alone. These good numbers are followed closely by strong positive +30.8% roi on 9.6 and also +21.6% on 9.4 after many sales throughout January. Currently this puts the FMV of Nova #1 at $975.00 for 9.8, $300.00 for 9.6 and $170.00 for 9.4 grades. If the news is confirmed that Nova will finally appear onscreen, then step back and wait for the sparks to really fly.
