Venom KeysWith all the hype surrounding Venom's newest villain, let's revisit the debuts of Dylan Brock and Sleeper, both of whom could become major players in the Venom-verse. Here are some Venom keys, in my opinion.

Marvel and DC churn out the new characters like factories. As with all new characters, some have staying power, some don't. Will that be the case for Venom's new foe, Virus? It may help to examine the market for two of the newer members of the Venom-verse, Dylan Brock and Sleeper, to get an idea.

THE NEW PLAYERS

Venom KeysDonny Cates is still going strong on his Venom run, and he's introduced the best Venom adversary ever: Knull.

While Knull gets all the headlines, don't forget that Cates also created Eddie Brock's son, Dylan, who later merged with another symbiotic spawn of Venom, Sleeper.

Neither Dylan nor Sleeper have made huge waves in the comic universe, especially compared to Knull. That's why these two minor characters' first appearances don't carry the same weight as the God of the Symbiotes.

From a speculation standpoint, it's still a good idea to invest in Venom keys. As Sony's Venom-verse gains more traction, it isn't out of the question for either character to make an appearance on the silver screen. If that happens, these three issues will spike.

Venom KeysVENOM #7 (Volume 4)

Dylan made his first appearance in a cameo in Venom #7. Initially, the Venom symbiote leads Eddie to believe that Dylan is his younger brother. He later rescues Dylan from Eddie's abusive father. In these pages, we see just a couple of panels of the character, which is why the values are lower for this one.

For the standard cover, the 9.8 is making gains. A year ago, it had a fair market value of $36, which was barely enough to cover the grading costs. This year, it is heating up. Over the past 90 days, it has an FMV of $64. The past two sales have both been for $75.

There are plenty of covers to be had, but the "secret" variant is the top seller. It's been averaging over $100 since last year, and its 90-day FMV stands at $116. The past four sales have all been for $120.

Venom KeysVENOM #9 (Volume 4)

Two issues after the cameo, Dylan was heavily featured in Venom #9. This goes back to the old "true first appearance" debate between cameos and first full appearances. I personally see Venom #7 as Dylan's debut, but the market has dictated this as the more valuable of the two.

While it's still holding respectable values, the standard cover has seen a slight dip lately. Last year, the 9.8 averaged over $100. In the last three months, it has seen a small downturn with an FMV of $97. Still, a $3 decrease is nothing to worry about, but it is worth monitoring.

 

 

Venom KeysVENOM #165 (Volume 1)

The Sleeper symbiote debuted a year ahead of Dylan in Venom #165. In this issue, Sleeper was just an inky blob in a lab. So far, not much has been done with this spawn of the Venom symbiote, but that could change in the future.

This issue has doubled in FMV in a years' time. Back in 2019, a 9.8 sold for just $41 on average. Since March, it has earned an FMV of $83. It should be noted that is only for two recorded sales, but they were for $80 and $85, respectively.

 

 

Venom KeysVENOM: FIRST HOST #3

Speaking of Sleeper, I can't leave out his first full appearance.

For the past year, the 9.8 graded standard cover has sold in the $60 range, give or take, but the last sale was for $80 on June 6.

The bigger values are attached to the second print, which featured Sleeper on the cover. Graded at a 9.8, that issue has averaged nearly $250 in the past three months. In June alone, it hasn't sold for less than $268, and the most recent sale netted $326 on June 14.

FINAL VENOM KEYS THOUGHTS

It all depends on the importance. If Dylan and Sleeper are used in a larger capacity, then their key issues will gain value. If they stay as minor characters with little impact, we can expect prices to fall. It's all a gamble, but isn't that the fun part of comic investing?

 

 

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