The 1990s were a wild time in the comic book industry. The hobby was on fire in the early part of the decade with X-Men and Spider-Man books selling millions of copies. There was also a rush of speculators driving prices up. Kids growing and collecting in that decade may not have been able to secure these books then, but they can probably afford them now.

Amazing Spider-Man #300 

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This comic combined all the things that made comics hot in the 1990s. It was the first appearance of a very cool villain who was a bit more of an anti-hero. That character was created by the most popular of the era's superstar creators in Todd McFarlane. And the issue, number 300, was a landmark issue in a landmark series.

The popularity of this issue has continued far past the 90s. The character was featured in a well-regarded film in 2018 and will likely be folded into the larger Marvel universe soon. A copy isn't cheap. Collectors looking to get their hands on a CGC 9.6 copy can expect to spend about $1,300.

Vengeance of Bane #1 

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Batman has one of the oldest and most legendary rogue's gallery in comics. So any addition to the group would have to be a really strong character with an interesting backstory. In 1993, Chuck Dixon, Graham Nolan, and Eduardo Barreto introduced the character of Bane, who would soon break Batman's back.

Since that moment in the mid 90s, Bane has remained an important character in the world of the bat and was the protagonist in The Dark Knight Rises. Copies of his first appearance in Vengeance of Bane are relatively affordable. A 9.8 copy could be had for a little more than $400 and a 9.6 copy runs about $160.

Harbinger #1 

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In 1989, long-time comics writer Jim Shooter created Valiant Comics and brought some serious talent along. It was not long before the company started producing some of the hottest books in the industry. And the most popular book for the new company was Harbinger #1, Valiant's team book.

Valiant was brought by video game company Acclaim and is still going strong today. Copies of Harbinger #1 sell briskly online, with a 9.8 going for around $1000 and a 9.6 going for around $150. Collectors should look out to make sure their issue has an intact coupon.

New Mutants #87 

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Rob Liefeld, another superstar artist during the early 1990s, began penciling the New Mutants. He quickly created many characters that are now Marvel Universe staples. This includes Deadpool, Domino, Copycat and Stryfe. The most popular character created by Liefeld, though, was Cable.

Cable was the epitome of what worked during this time period, a brooding anti-hero with a gigantic gun and a fuzzy backstory. While Deadpool is the most prominent of the artist's creations now, it was all Cable in the 90s. His first appearance in New Mutants #87 goes for $200 in a PSA 9.6 and $500 in a PSA 9.8.

Spawn #1

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It is hard to explain just how big a deal Todd McFarlane was in the early 1990s. The artist and a group of other young superstar creators left Marvel to form their own company, Image. Each creator started with their own book and McFarlane introduced Spawn.

The character was like nothing that McFarlane had worked on before and the book quickly became a hit. Nostalgic collectors are still keen to grab issues of the introductory book. CGC 9.0s sell for $50 and a 9.8 could be had for close to $200.

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.