Joan of Arc gets the Oddball Award while there was a mad dash for the next 1980s cartoon franchise to get the movie treatment. Welcome to the Trends and the most coveted award in all of comics, the Oddball of the Week.

There is no denying the impact of the Thundercats movie. While cartoon movie news usually doesn’t affect the market as much as live-action adaptations, the Thundercats fans thought differently. Not only are their key issues breaking the bank this week, but the booming popularity had collectors scrambling for adjacent 1980s cartoon franchises as well.

Let’s take a look at five surprise entries into the Hottest Comics this week.

721. SMURFS #1 (+279)

This one almost won the Oddball of the Week Award, but it at least deserves an honorable mention. The Thundercats mania that is sweeping the collecting world most assuredly is the catapult that launched the Smurfs’ debut comic into the rankings this week. If you happen to find a 9.8, this classic is worth a respectable amount. The last time one sold, it brought $200 in the past week, and I fully attribute that to the ‘80s cartoon boom we are in the midst of. 

783. SILVER HAWKS #1 (+217)

Speaking of 1980s cartoon franchises, a number of collectors jumped on the Silver Hawks bandwagon this week. With Thundercats hysteria putting a chokehold on the comic market, it leaves other ‘80s relics as candidates for the next reboot. Silver Hawks was another sci-fi fantasy series from the same studios behind Thundercats. If the new movie is a success, who knows what we could see next? That left collectors grabbing copies of the Silver Hawks’ first comic just in case they get the movie treatment next.

724. THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES #1 (+275)

Did the Thundercats news send such shockwaves that even Indiana Jones got some heat from the announcement? Possibly, but not likely. The only thing the two have in common is being from the ‘80s. Although the Indiana Jones comics rank in the bottom portion of the rankings, it is normal to see a few scattered among the top 1,001. What will be interesting is whether Indiana Jones #1 climbs any higher next week.

322. GROO THE WANDERER #2 (+677)

Groo the Wanderer was very nearly the Oddball of the Week. He first appeared as part of a former Oddball Award winner, Destroyer Duck #1. From there, the Conan satire would appear as a backup story in Starslayer #5 before getting his own series that was popular enough to stay in print for a full decade. Why the second issue ranked higher than #1 or the rare final issue #120, I cannot say, but apparently several people wanted this one.

ODDBALL OF THE WEEK AWARD

469. CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #78 (+530)

There were several strong contenders for this week’s Oddball Award. Between the Smurfs, Silver Hawks, and Groo, the competition was stiff. Then I saw that the Joan of Arc comic adaptation had outsold over half the entire list of Hottest Comics. There is a market for everything, and there are always some random comics that collectors want in their long boxes. But it was out of left field to think that a large number of buyers went to eBay and searched for an early appearance of Joan of Arc. 

Do you have any of these books? Tell us about them in the comments!

GoCollect makes collecting BETTER. Let us help you reach your collecting goals!