It’s time once more for Undervalued and Overlooked Comics! This time we’ll be looking at the Bronze Age. Take a look and see what comics you just might be missing out on.

Bronze Age Schomburg Cover

What is likely the least expensive Alex Schomburg cover you will ever come across can be found on Invaders Annual #1, cover dated December 1976. It is also an undervalued and overlooked comic.

For those who may be unaware, Alex Schomburg was considered one of the greatest Golden Age cover artists. Schomburg left comics in the 1950s and was well known afterward as an exceptional cover artist for pulp science fiction magazines. In 1976, at the coaxing of Stan Lee and Roy Thomas, Schomburg returned for his first comic book cover in over two decades – Invaders Annual #1. He also contributed artwork to the interior.

There are 441 graded copies of this book in the CGC census. Nearly 20% are in the 9.4 grade, so it’s there where we’ll take a look at sales. Only four 9.4 graded copies have sold this year for an average price of $119. The peak price in this grade actually came in a Heritage auction all the way back in January 2006, when it went for $184. That’s 55% higher than the average price it’s sold for this year.

When you consider the fairly low census count, the current low price, and the significance of the issue, Invaders Annual #1 is definitely an overlooked and undervalued comic.

Return of the Quality Heroes

DC had purchased Quality Comics back in 1956 and let many of the characters languish. That all changed in Justice League of America #107, cover dated August 1973, when DC reintroduced Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, The Ray, The Black Condor, Doll Man, and The Human Bomb as The Freedom Fighters.

There are only 94 graded copies of this comic in the CGC census, marking it as an exceptionally overlooked comic. A little more than a quarter of the copies in the census are in the 9.6 grade. No 9.6 graded copies have sold in 2022. The last sale was for $349 in a fixed-price eBay sale in September 2021, at the height of the recently passed boom. A 9.0 graded copy sold in an eBay auction on July 17 for $96.

Assuming that the 9.6 follows the trajectory of other Bronze Age comics, it would likely go for around $220, a very low price to pay for the return of iconic Golden Age characters. And if you’re looking to spend less, 9.0 and lower copies can definitely be had for less than $100.

First Ongoing Perez Artwork

The late lamented George Perez had his first artwork published in Astonishing Tales #25, a two-page spoof on the star of the title, Deathlok. Perez’s first ongoing comic work can be found in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #6, cover dated November 1974. The Sons of the Tiger feature found within the pages of this magazine would go on to feature Perez artwork in 14 issues.

There are only 29 graded copies in the CGC census and only three have sold in 2022. A 9.4 graded copy sold on March 3 for a slashed $95, down nearly 50% from a high price of $169 paid in an eBay fixed price sale in December 2018. What?! This is George Perez, folks. His first ongoing series deserves to be read and collected. As it stands now, this is a criminally overlooked and undervalued comic.

Next Week: Silver Age Undervalued & Overlooked

Well, that’s all we have time for this week.  Join us next week as we take a look at some undervalued and overlooked Silver Age comics.

Want more Undervalued and Overlooked coverage?

Are there any Bronze Age comics you think are undervalued and deserve more attention?  Let us know below.

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