Knull has been one of the most popular new characters for a year, and his first appearance is becoming increasingly expensive. But in the last two weeks, one edition is outshining the competition.
Venom #3 has been a hot comic since last year, and it spawned four printings (not to mention the numerous variant covers). Since Knull appeared outside the Venom-verse and made a cameo in Silver Surfer Black #1, the God of the Symbiotes' first appearance has been on the rise. The standard cover first print had been about an $80 comic, but since the end of June, its range has jumped to $115-$135. The Venom #3 third print, however, has surpassed the first print's fair market value in less than a month.
For whatever reason, someone paid $150 for a 9.8 third print on June 28. Since then, it hasn't sold for under $145. There's only been four sales in that time, but that's an impressive leap in value. It's even even selling for more than both the trade and virgin Skan Srisuwan variants, the SDCC convention edition, and all three of the Tyler Kirkham variants. The only one that is more valuable is the Jorge Molina 1:25 ratio variant edition, which recently sold for $225.
Consider that throughout 2018, the 9.8 third print sold only four times, and it peaked at a respectable $89. For much of this year, it didn't approach that number. Out of 15 sales from January to April, it didn't sell for more than $65. Then came the end of June, and this comic suddenly exploded. Keep in mind, this price jump isn't across the board. A 9.6 third print hasn't sold since two traded hands in January, and they were for $35 and $25.
What about the other subsequent printings? They haven't experienced the same price hike as the third print, but they aren't doing bad, either. With the surge in popularity for Knull, these may not reach the $150 level, but they will be worth adding to your collection, and they aren't terribly expensive, either.
The second print with the imposing image of Primordial Venom and the Knull swirl on his forehead is my favorite of the four printings. It has the lowest 90-day average at $45 for the trade dress at a 9.8. However, that is up from the 12-month average, but only by $6.
None of the virgin prints have been sold this year, at least not graded, but the last one to trade hands was for $140 in December. Then again, prices have been all over the place for 9.8 virgin second prints. The other two sales were for $55 and $91, so we'll see how things play out in the second half of 2019.
Will the impromptu third print explosion take the other printings with it? So far, it hasn't. Only two graded copies of the fourth print have sold on eBay, and those were in February. Still, they brought respectable prices; one went for $60 and the other for $79. Don't have one? You can get the raw copies for about $10, but you never know the condition until you send it off, so there's that.
