With the recent Boom in Star Wars comic prices (shout out to Matt Tuck's article here), I started to think a little bit about that other classic sci-fi space adventure series, Star Trek.   Star Wars and Star Trek both have an engaging fan base.  They have the kind of strong commitment to the franchise that most other franchises salivate over.  But, will Star Trek comics boldly go where Star Wars has gone before it?

Gold Key Series is the Franchise Cornerstone

Since this will be a multi-part series, the first post will cover just the Gold Key series and begin to inform about the HEAVILY undervalued Whitman Variants.  Later posts will expand on the Whitman variants and review other potential Star Trek series sleepers. The Gold Key series is to ST what the first Marvel series is to Star Wars.  It is the franchise cornerstone in comic collecting.  The first issue in the series is in the upper atmosphere of comic collecting with sales of highest grade CGC samples hitting the tens of thousands of dollars. However, there are some really nice key issues to this series that merit significant analysis and speculation.

Star Trek #4 features the first appearance of the Enterprise on the cover.  There is definitely profit potential if you purchased a copy of this issue in CGC 9.2 tier for under $300.  The middle issues from #20-39 do not seem to draw a lot of interest; especially since many of them are reprints, but the Gold key series finished out strong with some amazing canvas art by Alden McWilliams.  Considering how hard this series is to find in high-grade form, high-grade samples in CGC slabs merits strong consideration!  However, the real undervalued ST comics reside in the potentially ultra-rare Whitman Variants!

Scarcity + Variant Cover+Iconic Franchise=OPPORTUNITY!

With variant comics being so popular, it is a bit surprising that more attention isn't made to these Star Trek variants.  The Whitman ST editions are not reprints. The Gold Key and Whitman editions were released simultaneously but through different distribution channels.  Star Trek #20 is the first known Whitman Variant of the series. There are rumors that issues #12-61 have Gold Key and Whitman variants. Think about where in the rarity stratosphere Star Trek Witman Variants occupy.  If issues 12-19 potentially exist and a single copy has yet to be found,  then the hunt is on for these comic golden tickets! Doing quick research reveals the following mind-blowing information: The first Star Trek Whitman variant I found in the CGC census is issue #26 with exactly one copy graded.  Issues 40-61 is where the most grading action accumulates, but nothing with more than 20 slabs in the census.

Lack of interest could be partly to blame for the lack of grading action in these variants.  However, certainly, scarcity plays a part as well.  I'm speculating here (part of the fun at GoCollect is speculating!) but scarcity + variant cover+iconic franchise=OPPORTUNITY!  Part two of the Star Trek bump series will continue to focus on the Whitman variants.  I'll attempt to zero in on the scarcity of Whitman variants.   Digging deeper into opportunities of this variant series merits some dedication!  Reviewing other Star Trek series that looks promising is also key.

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