Part 2 of looking back at the market performance of the 2016 Suicide Squad members’ key comic books; not part 2 as in the upcoming sequel movie. Due to that squad iteration having more members than a free pack of crayons that they used to give out in grade school, the recap has been broken down into smaller bite size parts. The specific characters whose key first appearance comic books we will be examining here are Captain Boomerang, Katana, El Diablo, and Nightshade.  Just kidding, Nightshade wasn't even in the film, but that's how many members were in the film that I could have snuck her in.

 

 

KATANA

Katana, aka Tatsu Yamashiro, made her first appearance as part of the Outsiders (also the team’s first appearance) in The Brave and the Bold #200 (1983). In the issue’s “special sneak preview” story, Batman forms a vigilante team of his own to fight back against a dangerous group of terrorists who are trying to break out their leader from captivity. Below is sales for The Brave and the Bold #200, graded CGC 9.8 (the top 33.9% of census).

When looking at the chart, guess when the movie was released.

Despite a lack of growth in sales prices for The Brave and the Bold #200 in the weeks leading up to the movie’s release, the book managed a tremendous spike in the days immediately around it; (tried to think of a Soultaker Sword pun here, but came up blank). This is quite the oddity as buyers were willing to spend over 50%+ in a very short time frame. It reached as high as $360 for a copy; unfortunately by the end of the year, the book was already selling for under the $150 level consistently. In the three years since, prices have been on a continuous down trend. With Katana failing to make a splash in 2016; it’s difficult to see any future upside for this book, outside of the significance of the “Outsiders” team name first appearance. The Brave and the Bold #200 recently broke below the $100 level; it would not be surprising if it becomes a consistent occurrence by early next year.

 

 

CAPTAIN BOOMERANG

In Flash #117 (1960), George “Digger” Harkness starts a job as the mascot for a boomerang company. He takes on the identity of Captain Boomerang and begins robbing jewelry stories around town, which catches the attention of the Flash. Due to the low volume of sales for The Flash #117, a wider range of grades are utilized. The higher end shows CGC 7.0/7.5/8.0 (the top 35.9/25.6/17.6%) and the lower end is CGC 5.0/5.5/6.0 (the top 71.4/60.7/53.8%).

Sales prices for The Flash #117 are off their highs from 2016, but in the recent years it appears to have flattened out. With the low volume of graded books that exist and the low volume of sales, this trend needs to be viewed with a grain of salt. At the very least, it’s not dramatically falling like the above book. Moving forward, the actor portraying Captain Boomerang stated in early 2019 that he would be reprising the role in the sequel movie, but how much weight can you really give to this statement? Deadshot was a certain thing, until it wasn’t; then the character was supposedly recast with actor Idris Elba; then the Deadshot character was dropped with Idris Elba moving on as the Bronze Tiger. Between the low volume of sales and uncertainty of the character’s future, The Flash #117 surprisingly balanced out to only a slight negative outlook.

 

 

EL DIABLO

To clear things up a bit, DC’s first “El Diablo” appeared in All-Star Western #2 (1970); which focused on the banker Lazarus Lane who was killed by a gang, but subsequently revived by a shaman and became a vigilante. The El Diablo in the first Suicide Squad movie was the Chato Santana iteration, who first appeared in El Diablo #1, Vol 3 (2008). The chart below shows sales El Diablo #1, Vol 3, graded in CGC 9.8 and 9.6.

The market for El Diablo #1, Vol 3 has all but disappeared. That is not an error; it is indeed a lot of empty space.  Sales for the book (graded) is completely attributed to the Chato Santana El Diablo appearing in the movie. As such, the book offers very little value as a financial investment.

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

  • The Brave and the Bold #200 (1983) - SELL
  • The Flash #117 (1960) - REDUCE
  • El Diablo #1, Vol 3 (2008) - SELL

 

 

“You throw Digger Harkness... and he just comes back stronger.” - Captain Boomerang