Wilbur Comics #5
While Wilbur himself is mostly a long-forgotten Archie spinoff, the series did give us one of the Archie universe's most fashionable characters -- Katy Keene! The fashion queen made her first appearance in Wilbur Comics #5 in 1945. This book is one of the rare Archie keys. It is wildly sought after by Archie collectors but is largely slept on by comic collectors as a whole.
While prices on this book haven't always been historically strong, this is an important key in the Archie universe. In April of 2021 a CGC universal blue label sold for $720 -- a $20 increase from a $700 sale in 2019. Yet, a CGC blue label 3.5 sold for $468 -- while in 2019 a similar book sold for $1125. We can see that there was interest in this book prior to the now-canceled Katy Keene television show -- so if you were looking to buy her first appearance, now is the time to do so.
Veronica #202
In September of 2010, Archie Comics introduced their first canonically gay character, Kevin Keller! Created by Dan Parent, Kevin made his debut in Veronica #202. This comic created a stir in the world and has been regarded as an important key in the Archie Universe. Kevin himself is one of the main characters in the popular CW drama Riverdale, so while this key has not hit the $1K mark yet, prices on this book are going up.
In 2020, 3 CGC universal blue label 9.8's sold for $125, $178, and $168 within a 4-month time span. This year, a similar 9.8 copy sold for $430 in April. If you're looking at an immediate return on a modern Archie key, this will be the book. If you're looking at it as a long-term investment you won't do too bad either. This is one of the most affordable, and important Archie keys.
Life With Archie #110 
If you're looking for a slept-on Archie key, look no further. Bronze age Archie books typically don't command high dollar amounts. Life With Archie #110 is no exception. -- despite being the first appearance of Chuck Clayton. Finding sales on this book is also routinely hard. Still, you can expect to pay roughly $10 for this book in VG shape.
This is absolutely the most slept-on key in Archie. Prior to the Clayton's coming to Riverdale, Archie Comics were a cornucopia of white faces, and the few times we saw diversity in the books prior to the Bronze Age was done in poor taste. Chuck (and his father, Coach Clayton) ushered in a new era for Archie Comics, and they deserve to be celebrated more.
What Archie Comics are you investing in this year? Let us know in the comments below!
