If you were to roll up all of the features of a superhero into one character; then that character would be the Silver Surfer. Bravery, honor, self-sacrifice, and pure willpower supported by the power cosmic is the Surfer’s calling card. He is neck and neck with Captain America on nobility and genuine hero chutzpah. This nobility lives, not only in the heart of Cap but also in the breast of the beast, the Black Panther. The Black Panther is King of Wakanda and has the mystical power of the Black Panther at his disposal. He has the advanced tech and combat skills combined with African mysticism and is one of the most beloved heroes of Marvel. On the other side of the scale is the jaded, sarcastic, industrialist inventor Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man. Never without a sardonic comment or jocular joke he brings humor, AC/DC music and his powerful repulsor rays to the world’s villains. These three heroes have one thing in common they are all hot; they are the top three Silver Age comics sold in April.

Iron Man #1

This book is currently in third place for most actively sold comic during April 2018. This tech titan’s comic book Iron Man #1 (1968) created by Archie Goodwin (script) and Gene Colan (pencils) is the first issue of an Iron Man original series. Recently this book sold for $1751 for (9.2) near mint, $710 in very fine condition for (8.0) with white pages, and even the lower grade of (2.0) had an average cost of $160. The spread on this comic is excellent. You can spend a couple of thousand on near mint or $200 for a good copy (2.0). This is reachable by most of the population. Iron Man #1 has a broad market with lots of interested buyers.

Who doesn’t love Tony Stark? There are at least three or four more movies with Iron Man appearing still to come. This is practically a movie meteor shower for this comic book. The actor Robert Downey Jr. plays Iron Man and is one of the best actors in the MCU, and this book is still affordable. Pick up a copy before Iron Man #1 leaves the planet.

Fantastic Four #48

Galactus and his herald Silver Surfer are cosmic level beings on a par with Thanos. They both first appear in Fantastic Four #48 (1966) created by Stan Lee (writer) and Jack “The King” Kirby (art). This book has gone straight up, and the fair market value currently for a (9.8) is $27,000! On top of that, FF #48 is in second place for the top Silver Age book of April.

When this book first published it was $.12. Back then the Dow-Jones Index had hit a record 995 points, Tom Seaver signed to pitch for the Mets for $50K, and the U.S. performed a nuclear test at their Nevada Test Site (Wiki). The Atomic Age was humming along, and into this void leaps a world destroyer Galactus. This book is expensive but bound to go up with a (2.0) currently costing an average FM (fair market) value of  $375. Considering this book is a primary Marvel key, and its mint (9.8) copy has increased in value 225,000 times to the tune of $27,000 FM (GoCollect), this is a safe bet as a key. Speculate for a possible future movie or directly buy and hold. Like the Dow Jones industrial average, this book will go up over time.

Fantastic Four #52

So much has been written about this character T’Challa it is getting exhausting to spin it in a new way. Black Panther’s first appearance was in Fantastic Four #52 created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. FF #52 is worth the investment as it has strong fundamentals: it is an important key,   is the source material for one of the top movies of all time, has a great lead Chadwick Boseman playing the Panther, and catalyst inducing other appearances in films like the recent mega-blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War. Currently, this comic is the top Silver Age book of April 2018.

This issue has always been a fan favorite. Eight years ago this book was still cheap to buy my kid purchased FF #52 at our local comic shop in 2009 for $35 in grade (6.5). I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Now fast forward almost a decade, and that same book has a FM (fair market) value of $725 (GoCollect)! That is a 20 times multiple for virtually no risk. Why not invest in a key with growth like this? They aren’t making any more, and FF #52 goes for $300 in grade good to very good (2.0). Claw your way to a copy of Black Panther’s first appearance in Fantastic Four #52.