Welcome, fellow comic nerds. It's been way too long.  Today I will be debating about the upside to picking up Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #90 over Secret Wars #8. My parents would be enthused to see I've taken my legal education to argue about comic books on the internet. I am admittedly fighting off the back foot here, but let's see if I can make some points for buying SS #90. This isn't going to be pretty. Never bring jazz hands to a gun fight.  Now, let's get it cracking.

Round #1- First Blood- Collect Them All!

Here's the thing; if you grew up in the 1980s, you're probably a black suit fanatic just like me. I still have little pencil doodles of black suit Spider-Man from when I was a kid that I copied from the first Marvel Universe card set. I am a hardcore symbiote-head and Secret Wars #8 admittedly might be my favorite comic cover of all time. If it isn't Secret Wars #8, it might be Amazing Spider-Man #252 or Amazing Spider-Man #300. Amazing Spider-Man #258 and Spectacular Spider-Man #101 are up there for me as well.

I still have an extremely tattered copy of #258 from when I was 6. But that's my point; if you're a real black suit completest, you can't have SW #8 without all of the others. There isn't really picking between the two books being discussed or the many other covers, because, let's be real, as collectors we need them all.

Who is suiting up?

It is very likely that we will be getting some version of the Venom symbiote in the MCU after seeing the post-credit scenes of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Who knows who will be donning the suit: it could be Flash Thompson, a multiverse version of Eddie Brock, Scorpion, or a number of other hosts. One thing is for certain; it would be a crime if Peter Parker himself didn't wear the beloved black costume. For that reason, we have already seen the biggest of the symbiote keys take off as they rightfully should: Secret Wars #8 and Amazing Spider-Man #252.

What I think we will see as we get closer to the next Spider-Man installment is an all-ships rising scenario. See the above photo of all the black suit firsts, including Marvel Team-Up #141, Marvel Age #12, and Spectacular Spider-Man #90 along with SW #8 and ASM #252? This is a pretty common display setup and goal for symbiote snobs. There are countless photos on the internet and Instagram where collectors like to floss this exact collection of books.

When the black suit is confirmed, I expect SS #90 to pick up in FMV due to newfound symbiote completists, especially since it has so much room to grow while the other bigger keys will become unattainable with breaking records. Others might have you chasing down a book that's extremely over-printed and has already quadrupled in value. I'm over here handing you these sweet, sweet overlooked sleeper picks that everyone will be drooling over by the next movie. Sidenote, Secret Wars #8 is actually the FIFTH appearance of the venom symbiote. Sweet cover though.

Round #2- Second Swing- Crash and Burn

Mike Tyson once famously said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to include a Mike Tyson quote here, but hear me out. Before the pandemic and overly caffeinated YouTubers turned the comic market into an unregulated casino fun house, 9.6s of Secret Wars were going for around $130 dollars. 9.8s were going for about $250. Keep in mind, Secret Wars was a giant, watershed moment in comics as it was the first crossover series in Marvel history. Print runs were extremely high, which is why prices for this series were historically, comparatively low until very recently.

Prices for Secret Wars #8 have quadrupled in price in the past two years. That's it, folks, the movie speculation is already priced into the FMV and the ship has sailed.  How much higher do we really think this book can go? $1,000? Maybe $1,200 tops? $1,500 maybeee? Are you going to chase it down at these prices? I definitely am not. If you don't think this book is eventually going to crash, you're bugging. I have written multiple times in the past few years about avoiding highly printed Copper Age books during this new comic rush. As expected, many of them have crashed.

Why would Secret Wars #8 be exempt?

There are currently 21,175 graded copies of Secret Wars #8 on the census.  Read that again. 21,175 copies. There are very few books with tens of thousands of graded copies in existence.  Alternatively, there are only 1,246 copies of Spectacular Spider-Man #90 on the CGC census. That is a SHOCKING difference.

Admittedly, SS #90 is a copper book too, but its print run was significantly lower as a second-string Spider-Man title and it is still very much under the radar which has led to fewer copies being graded. Considering the population and the fact that this didn't pop 400%, unlike SW8, I like this book as the only likely place it has to go is up with an FMV of about $400.

As for Secret Wars #8, when you buy a $1200 dollar copy, what is your plan when the comic book market punches you in the face and it loses half its value after the movie flops or we don't see Venom at all? I hate to see people lose half their investments. Don't let yourself get punched in your proverbial comic-collecting face.

Round #3- Third Strike- Cover Appeal

In an age when everyone is going crazy over encapsulated covers, this comic has a lot to offer. FINE, admittedly, Secret Wars #8 is one of the most iconic comic book covers of all time. Yes, the original art is selling for zillions of dollars. We all know this. But that's the whole point, SW #8 is already a recognized classic. Plenty of other covers are also classic but have gotten no recognition until recently, such as Hulk Annual #1 or Batman #423. Why can't SS #90 be next, especially with a Black Cat movie on the horizon?

How many classic Black Cat covers can you think of?  There is obviously her first appearance by Al Milgrom in Amazing Spider-Man #194. Her Campbell covers such as Amazing Spider-Man #607 also come to mind, and then for me, it's Spectacular Spider-Man #90. That's pretty much it. I argue to you that this is a top-three Black Cat cover, also by Al Milgrom, making it very, very overlooked regardless of it being a symbiote key. This Milgrom cover captures this era perfectly with her leaping across a cityscape at night. Also, if you're one of those weirdos that actually opens their comics and reads them, this is a great early solo Black Cat story.

Being a child of the 80s, I should mention that I grew up with Black Cat as Spider-Man's girlfriend, not Mary Jane. Honestly, as a kid, I also favored Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man over Amazing Spider-Man. I think both series are extremely undervalued. So does my fellow blogger, Doug, who actually wrote about this subject recently. I think both of these titles and keys such as SS #90 will eventually catch up to Amazing Spider-Man a bit. But I digress, back to this cover. I'm always putting my money on the underdog and this Black Cat gem fits the bill.

Round #4 - Best Seller

My final reason for picking up Spectacular Spider-Man #90 over Secret Wars #8 has nothing to do with which is the better symbiote key whatsoever. Spider-Man and the Venom symbiote are obviously some of the most popular properties Marvel has to offer. But believe it or not, Black Cat is on her way to newfound stardom after being kept on the back burner for way too long.

Here is a fun fact for you: in 2019, Black Cat #1 was the best-selling comic book for Marvel. You are reading that correctly: Black Cat #1 beat out Venom, Hulk, Miles, Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men, and all that other good stuff. Surprising? Not really.

Over the years, Black Cat has transformed from a lowly burglar to Spider-Man's love interest, to a crime boss, and then to an anti-hero queen of loony capers. She is a multifaceted character who now has a large following and best-selling comics. Between her best-selling comic and a possible Oceans 11-type movie on the horizon, I expect Black Cat is a character to blow up if handled properly. When that happens, expect her first appearance along with all-over keys and popular covers to explode, Spectacular Spider-Man #90 included.

Wrapping Up

1980s Spider-Man, his black suit, and Black Cat are what made me fall in love with comics as a kid. I can't get enough of them. I will leave you with this though, as great as all of these books are, my advice is to be wary of any book with a high print run that quickly increases exponentially in value. Patience is a virtue, and what goes up must come down. If there is a book that you love that's a little out of your price range right now, don't fret, there's always a deal waiting if you can ignore that FOMO.

Want more?

What takeaways did you guys have? Drop a comment below and let me know what you think about the symbiote key wars. Thanks for reading!

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