Up there with the mega comic events of alien invasions, crossovers, and heroic deaths is another big event… weddings. Here we will be looking at the market for the wedding issues of a few of our favorite comic book characters; specifically, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Wanda/Vision. On a random thought, it would be interesting to learn how many copies of the books had been purchased and given as wedding gifts.

 

 

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #21 (1987)

Perhaps the most popular wedding-themed comic book is Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. This monumental issue had two varying covers: one with Peter Parker in a tuxedo by Mary’s side, and another with Peter in full Spider-Man costume by her side. The full scope of how all the wedding events across comic, newspaper and live performance at Shea Stadium is definitely worth checking out. The graph below shows sales of the book, graded CGC 9.8 for both covers: blue for the Peter Park version, and red for the Spider-Man version.

The popularity of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 is evidenced by the sheer volume of sales for the book over the years. There was very high volatility in sales prices at the beginning of the past decade, but it has since settled closer to the lower end of the price range. Of particular note is a large spike in both sales price and volume in Oct 2017; what is the cause of this spike? Perhaps the book was used as a wedding favor? Overall, the good and bad news for Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 is that at the moment it appears to be selling in a very tight range.

 

 

FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUALS #3 (1965)

No conversation about comic book weddings is complete without including the wedding of Marvel’s “First Family,” Reed Richards and Sue Storm. While it is a happy day for the loving couple, Dr. Doom isn’t one to sit idly by. He plots against the large gathering of the greatest superheroes by using an emotion changing machine to compel an equally formidable group of supervillains to attack.

The sales data for Fantastic Four Annuals #3 was limited, so a wider range was examined; this includes CGC 9.2/9.0/8.5/7.5/7.0.

Compared with the book above, the volume of sales for Fantastic Four Annuals #3 is drastically lower. Interestingly, there has been minor movement upwards recently, which could possibly be a few speculators looking to get a jump on MCU newly acquired library of heroes from Fox. With this, it is still not enough to outweigh the years of low volume.

 

 

GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #4 (1975)

A wedding-themed issue that could become relevant in the coming months is Giant-Size Avengers #4, which features the wedding of Vision and Wanda. After Vision saves the Scarlett Witch from the clutches of Dormammu, the two profess their love for each other and agree to get married. As an added bonus, this issue is a double marriage issue; Mantis also gets married. When it came time for the actual wedding ceremony, it is unfortunately interrupted by Kang the Conqueror who tries to steal Mantis away.

Due to very low volume of sales for Giant-Size Avengers #4, the sales for CGC 9.6 and 9.4 are shown below.

Of the books mentioned so far, Giant-Size Avengers #4 has the smallest amount of market activity; an even lower volume of sales than the above Fantastic Four Annuals #3. On the Brightside, at least now we empirically know who the most popular couple is. The only foreseeable upside, if it should occur at all, for this book is a positive change in sentiment when the Disney+ WandaVision series releases. Again, the possibility of a change in sentiment is not a given. With this being said, it could potentially offer the best opportunity to sell this book; if it doesn’t go up then, it’s never going to go up.

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

  • The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 (1987) - HOLD
  • Fantastic Four Annuals #3 (1965) - REDUCE
  • Giant-Size Avengers #4 (1975) – see above

 

 

“Face it Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!” – Mary Jane Watson

GoCollect is the #1 comic book price guide for tracking sales data of all graded comic books in real-time. Fair market values are now at your fingertips. Check out all the features at www.gocollect.com