With the games now ended, here we look back at the key books of a few more supporting characters and their market outlooks, specifically: Odin, Nebula, Happy Hogan, and Pepper Potts. Phases shift and move on, should your investments as well?

 

 

JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #86 (1962)

Although the Odin name was first referenced/cameoed in an earlier Journey into Mystery #85, the Asgardian king made his actual first physical appearance in Journey into Mystery #86. For examination, we will save #85 for a later time since it derives much of its value from the 1st appearances of Loki, Heimdall, and Balder, rather than Odin’s name drop. Balder could be an important character to keep in mind for the future Asgardian live-action adventures, with the dwindling Thor-family and the fact that Balder is Thor’s half-brother.

Back to Journey into Mystery #86; below are sales for the book grouped into grades CGC 8.5/8.0 and 6.5/6.0/5.5. All in all, the sales prices for the book have been on a very slight positive trend. Not the best growth rates, but it also brings with it the low risk of sudden large movements downwards. Journey into Mystery #86 is both not the best and not the worst book to hold for the long-term; however, the take away is that you can hold it for the long-term.

 

 

AVENGERS #257 (1985)

Nebula, the antagonistic relative (who doesn’t have one of those?) of Gamora, made her 1st appearance in Avengers #257. In the comics, Nebula was actually the granddaughter of Thanos, not a daughter as the MCU portrays; this changes up the whole Nebula/Gamora dynamic a bit to an aunt/niece feud.

From late 2013 to mid-2018, sales prices for Avengers #257 trended flat, but with a very wide range of roughly $75-175. This combination of being range bound over four years and the difference of the highs/lows of the range itself being as much as the price of the book is quite interesting. In a single week, a seller could have sold a 9.8 of the book on the high end, and made enough money to buy back two 9.8 copies of the book. The charts below show the sales for Avengers #257 for CGC 9.8; the one on the right focuses on 2018 to present.

The most exciting market movement for Avengers #257 occurred in late 2018. After years of no movement, the book suddenly in a few short months, spiked up to as high as $275 in August 2018. With the spike, the price range was crushed into a much smaller range as it moved upwards. Unfortunately, just as quickly as the sentiment changed to the positive, it quickly flipped back to the negative. In the year since the peak, sales prices have been on a decline and returned to high volatility. It has yet to fully revert to the prior lows, but it’s likely just a matter of time.

 

 

TALES OF SUSPENSE #45 (1963)

Harold “Happy” Hogan and Virginia “Pepper” Potts make their two-for-one 1st appearance special in Tales of Suspense #45; incidentally, both are so widely known by their nicknames that general audiences would probably think that Harold Hogan is a wrestler and Virginia Potts is a Harry Potter character. The villainous Jack Frost/Gregor Shapanka also 1st appears in this issue, so definitely keep that in mind should Marvel Studios ever decide to make a winter-themed movie. Due to a low volume of sales, the charts below include a wider CGC 7.5/7.0/6.5 for the higher end and CGC 5.0/4.5/4.0 for the lower end.

Of note is that there was a handful of higher-priced sales around New Year’s 2018/19, likely due to a released photo of the Rescue armor suit for Avengers: Endgame. Comparatively, the book containing the first appearance of Pepper Potts as Rescue, which was The Invincible Iron Man #10 (2009), has a relatively lower FMV of $60 for a 9.8. One sale worth mentioning is a CGC 9.8 copy of the second printing, featuring a cover with Pepper Potts and the Rescue armor, that sold for $430 in late 2018.

Overall, Tales of Suspense #45 has been on a positive trend at a similar growth rate to the above Journey into Mystery #86. The big question is whether or not Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts will go the way of Agent Coulson, a slow dwindling of fewer and fewer minor appearances.

 

 

“I do anything and everything Mr. Stark requires. Including occasionally taking out the trash. Will that be all?” – Pepper Potts

 

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