The Matrix took the world by storm in 1999 and brightened Keanu Reeves’ star that much further. Then came the 2000s. Keanu fell to B-list status, and the poorly-received Matrix sequels seemingly put a lid on what many thought was the next coming of Star Wars. Just like Keanu, The Matrix is charging back into the spotlight, and the new movie is on the horizon. With the attention on The Matrix: Resurrections, it is giving collectors a reason to hunt down these comics.
THE MATRIX #1
It’s a time-honored marketing technique: publish a comic to help promote a new movie, and give that comic away at movie theaters. When the original Matrix premiered in 1999, the franchise’s first comic appearance was in a promotional issue given to ticket buyers.
What makes this more collectible is that the comic was recalled after Warner Brothers’ concerns that the material may be too sensitive for audiences.
If you have this comic in a 9.8, you will be happy with this news. September produced a record $749, which was the highest of three $700+ sales that month. Since then, prices have drifted into the $600 range before falling below $400 in the past two sales, the latest of which was for $320 on November 8.
THE MATRIX TRADE PAPERBACK (VOLUME 1)
In 2003, the Wachowskis put together two volumes of The Matrix in trade paperback form.
Since there are few options for Matrix comics, that has put this particular TPB on the shopping list.
While there hasn’t been a graded copy sold since a 9.8 brought only $4 in 2014, raw copies have been performing well since last month. On November 7, one sold for as much as $50 on eBay. As recently as December 2, another brought a respectable $40.
If you are in the market for the TPB’s second volume, those have been selling for $20 raw.
DETECTIVE COMICS #40 VARIANT
This is not necessarily a Matrix key, but it is a nice pickup for both cover hunters and Matrix fans. Here you have artist Brian Stelfreeze’s 2015 homage to the original Matrix movie poster. The movie tributes are always popular among collectors, verified by the hugely successful variants for Image’s Stray Dogs. If The Matrix makes a pop-culture resurgence, this cover could become a hot item.
Collectors are taking notice of this variant, and records have been falling all year. In April, a 9.8 reached a new high of $80, but that only lasted until November 15 when another copy sold for $85.
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999
It is surprising that there isn’t a Matrix comic series, especially with Resurrections premiering at Christmas. We've seen a deeper exploration of the Matrix in animated shorts and in the spinoff video game, but oddly, there were never comics for a concept that seems tailormade for the medium.
If the new movie sparks a new love for the franchise like it’s 1999 all over again, then it would make sense for a publisher to expand on the Matrix mythos. A successful comic series would put a new emphasis on that ‘99 promo comic.
*Any perceived investment advice contained within this blog is that of the freelance author and does not reflect recommendations from GoCollect
