As many of us heard, the Black Knight (Dane Whitman) has been confirmed for a role in the upcoming Eternals movie. There is also word that Black Knight will be joining the roster of the Avengers down the line. Avengers 47 and 48 are the books that are in demand. In this article, I would like to discuss a few of the other Black Knight keys.
Black Knight Key Issues
Black Knight 1 (Atlas)
This book came out in 1955 from Marvel Comics' predecessor, Atlas Comics. It features the ancestor of Dane Whitman, Sir Percy, the original Black Knight. The script was by none other than Stan Lee himself.
There are only 69 total graded copies in the CGC census. The highest grade is a single copy in 8.5. The next recorded grade is at 7.0 with three copies. The most common grade is 5.0 with 15 copies.
One lucky bidder in 2015 won a 7.0 in an auction at Heritage for $776.75. The most recent sale in the same grade happened this past July, also at Heritage, and brought a whopping $12,000! To further drive in and twist the Ebony Blade on that 2015 7.0, a 2.5 in late August this year went for $3,000!
I honestly do not know if this book is still attainable at this point. I do have a suggestion however, the reprint.
Fantasy Masterpieces 11
Fantasy Masterpieces is a really cool Silver Age reprint title. The 11th issue features a 10 page Black Knight story "The Menace of Modred the Evil!" from Black Knight #1 (1955). This reprints that ultra-expensive origin and first appearance of the Black Knight from Atlas. Though not prominently featured, it was important enough to the editor to include a panel for the story on the lower part of the cover.
There is currently only one 9.8, fourteen 9.6's, and the most common grade, the 9.4, has 25 copies. Go Collect has not established a Fair Market Value yet for this book yet. There are three 9.4 sales in 2019, but the next year sales were recorded was 2016. The 9.6 sold once in 2019, once in 2016 and a few times in 2014. So, we do not have a good amount of recent sales data to determine what would be a good price to pay. In normal times (without hype) it looks like this book in 9.6 and 9.4 hovers around $100. I just want to point out that given the explosion of interest in the Atlas Black Knight 1, the reprint may stand a chance of being worth a lot more than it has been.
This is also the final issue before the title becomes Marvel Super Heroes.
Marvel Super Heroes 17
Speaking of which, Marvel Super Heroes 17 is another awesome Black Knight key issue to be on the hunt for. It features the first meeting of Dane Whitman with Sir Percy. It also details the origin of Sir Percy and the Ebony Blade. Not only that, but in my opinion this is just one of the best covers of the Silver Age!
This one and Fantasy Masterpieces 11 are larger format square-bound books and therefore are not easy to find in high grade. In fact there are currently no 9.8's of Marvel Super Heroes 17 and only seven in 9.6. There were two 9.6 sales on Comic Link in late August that were a mere week apart. The earlier one was a Pedigree and sold for $1,200. A week later the same grade, not a Pedigree, sold for $679.
I don't really follow Pedigree sales to know if twice as much for the same grade that is not a Pedigree is a good deal. However, I think this book is due to go up because it has only surpassed $600 since 2019 and has not had a sale in any year prior, except 2014.
Good Knight, and good luck
The Black Knight has a lot of potential for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I hope this post shines a little light on these peripheral Black Knight keys. Let me know if you have the Atlas Black Knight #1, or are planning to get it!
