First Cover
Terminator The Burning Earth #1
This stunning cover was Alex Ross' first published comic book cover. For those who collect Ross' work, this is a major key, especially for the incredibly rare newsstand edition. Unfortunately, the generally negative trajectory of the Terminator Franchise over the last decade or more significantly blunts the book's wider appeal. That is not to say this is a bad book to pickup, but those who are interested should exercise due caution.
Graded Analysis: Of the 212 copies of this book in the CGC census, 195 are Universal and only 16 are signed. For the Universal books, prices are highly erratic in nearly every grade. Anyone looking to invest in a universal copy needs to be ready to wait a while for the right buyer.
For the Signature books, there is very little sales data, which is actually a good thing. The dearth of data, combined with the low census count, actually gives investors a lot more freedom to set their preferred price. Inherent to less data is greater risk, but also potential for greater reward.
Hot Cover
Kingdom Come #1
While The Marvels was the first project to bring mainstream attention to Alex Ross, it was Kingdom Come that cemented his status as a star. This Elseworld tale, which Ross developed and pitched to DC, is one of the most popular and beloved DC stories in recent memory. The acclaim is so universal, in fact, that James Gunn appears to be adapting the story for the new DCEU. I am a big believer that good stories make for good investments and there is no debate amongst comic fans that this is a great story.
Graded Analysis: Of the 550 graded copies of this book in the CGC census, 425 are Universal and 116 are Signature. For the Universal books, 46.6% are graded at 9.8 or higher. So investors should really only be looking at 9.8s or above. Prices are up a lot right now due to the Gunn news, so now is a great time to sell.
As for signed books, there is a no sales data within the last year. That will almost certainly change once people get their books back from Ross' CGC signing though. With little data to operate on and the DC news, FOMO could help to drive up prices significantly.
One Of My Favorite Covers
Champions #1 1:100 Ross Variant
I absolutely LOVE this cover!! Everything about it conveys swagger, attitude, and rebellion, the exact vibe you want from a teen-centered comic. Better yet, the cover depicts the most popular new comic book character of the 21st century (Miles Morales), one of Marvel's biggest rising stars (Kamala Khan) and a character perfectly poised for an MCU breakout (Sam Alexander). Throw in a low print count and the result is a high upside investment with a solid value floor.
Graded Analysis: Out of the 225 copies in the census, 200 are Universal and 23 are Signature. 71% of the former group are 9.8s, so there is no point going below that. Prices for this book have been dropping over the last several years and now much more closely reflect pre-pandemic prices. That may sound like a reason to avoid the book, but I would actually argue the opposite.
Now that the book has come back down to earth, it can resume the much more reasonable growth trajectory it was enjoying prior to the pandemic. As for the Signature books, the outlook is similar to Kingdom Come and Terminator. The dearth of recent sales data creates an easy environment for owners to set the price they want.
