While everyone is looking in the direction of Silver Surfer’s keys, we’re going to look in a different direction, his enemies. The purpose isn’t to guess who might win the silver screen lottery, but rather, to examine the long-term market outlook of their key first appearance books. Furthermore, we will be focusing on the less covered ones, instead of the usual popular Galactus, Thanos, or Dr. Doom. With a long list of enemies, the examination has been split into two parts. Here we will be looking at Mephisto, Tyrant, and Terrax.

 

 

THE SILVER SURFER #3 (1968)

One of Silver Surfer’s greatest antagonists is Mephisto, who made his 1st appearance in The Silver Surfer #3. In the issue, Silver Surfer draws the attention of Mephisto, who comes up with a plan to capture his soul by luring him to hell with Shalla-Bal.

The graphs below show sales data for The Silver Surfer #3, graded CGC 9.0 and 7.0 (the top 25.8% and 67.7% of the census).

Throughout 2012 to mid-2018, sales prices for Silver Surfer #3 grew at a steady pace. From there, the sales prices suddenly went parabolic; doubling in value on the lower 7.0 grade and almost tripling at the higher 9.0 grade. The tremendous upward pressure can be attributed to speculation of Silver Surfer or even Ghost Rider possibly showing up in the MCU. With this being the primary cause, the level of risk at the current sky-high values needs to be weighed against the prior price levels; is a 70% loss worth a few more percentages? Overall, it’s not a bad place to take some money off the table. Definitely look out for any weakening in sales prices; as it could rapidly move downward with the same speed it spiked up.

 

 

SILVER SURFER #81 (1993)

Tyrant, one of Galactus’ early creations, made his 1st appearance in Silver Surfer #81. He was used to conquering the universe, but his desires soon outgrew his creator’s. Silver Surfer would later help Ganymede hunt down Tyrant, but they are no match. Tyrant captures the Silver Surfer and drains his power.

Compared with the above book, the market for Silver Surfer #81 is very sparse. Only four CGC 9.8 sales have been recorded, with all four occurring in the past year. The last 9.8 copy sold in late Sept 2019 went for $189.99. It would appear that Silver Surfer #81 is benefitting from the overall upward sentiment from Silver Surfer speculation, but it's market starting point is much lower than the other books examined here in part 1 and later in part 2. Overall, the potential reward of Silver Surfer #81 is less attractive than books like the above Silver Surfer #3 that has slow and steady growth regardless of speculation.

 

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #211 (1979)

Tyros the Terrible, also known as Terrax the Tamer, made his 1st appearance in Fantastic Four #211. In this issue, the Fantastic Four make a deal with Galactus; in exchange for help against the Sphinx, the Fantastic Four must capture Tyros, who Galactus wants to make his new herald.

Below are sales for Fantastic Four #211, graded CGC 9.8 and 9.6.

The market movement for Fantastic Four #211 is similar to Silver Surfer #3, but with lower volume. Fantastic Four #211 experienced its first jump in sales prices in mid-2016, and then another jump in early 2019. Despite these sudden upward jumps, the major downside to the book is its lack of slow and steady growth in-between.

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

  • Silver Surfer #3 (1968) – Sales prices have gone parabolic in the last year. It could be a good idea to take some money off the table at the current high price levels. Caution is advised here.
  • Silver Surfer #81 (1993) - REDUCE
  • Fantastic Four #211 (1979) - HOLD

 

 

“Your mistake, of course, was not offering me pretzels. The Devil likes his pretzels.” - Mephisto

GoCollect is the #1 comic book price guide for tracking sales data of all graded comic books in real-time. Fair market values are now at your fingertips. Check out all the features at www.gocollect.com