Amazing Spider-Man #14
Spider-Man has one of the greatest rogues galleries in all of comics, but only two characters can reasonably claim to be his archenemy: Dr. Octopus and the Green Goblin, the latter of whom made his first appearance in this issue. The goblin is an incredible villain whose impact can be felt across every era of Spider-Man's history. The genius of the character lies in his ability to bedevil not only Spider-Man, but Peter Parker as well.
His villainy is so great, in fact, that it has spawned dozens of imitators. And while some of those imitations have gone on to tremendous success on their own, none of them can claim the kind of impact that the original did. There will never be a day when the Green Goblin is not an important part of Spider-Man's history. And thus, there will never be a day when this book stands as anything less than one of the most important volumes in the web slinger's history.
Graded Analysis: So obviously this book is out of most people's reach in higher grades. The nice thing, however, is that even lower-grade copies have generally enjoyed an upward trajectory in value. Copies graded at 1.5, for example, are up more than 300% over the lifetime of GoCollect's data. Amazing Spider-Man #14, no matter the grade, is a solid investment. If the opportunity arises for you to get your hands on a copy, even a low-grade one, do not be afraid to pull the trigger.
Amazing Spider-Man #194
Amazing Spider-Man #194 features the very first appearance of Felicia Hardy, the femme fatale better known as the Black Cat. Though she's often been a friend (and a lot more) to Spidey, her history is also filled with villainous turns.
In recent years, the Black Cat has enjoyed a much larger role in Marvel Comics. Per Complete Marvel Reading Order, over 60% of her appearances happened in the new millennium. That growth in exposure has helped to propel enormous growth in value for her first appearance. In some cases, the growth has been more than 500%!! With that uptick in exposure has come new opportunities for depth and significance that Felecia had never previously enjoyed. With abundant rumors that Felicia will appear in the next MCU Spider-Man film, who knows what new heights the book and the character could reach.
Graded Analysis: There isn't a single grade where this book is down all-time. Not a single one. To me, that speaks volumes about this book and how strong the demand for it is. Furthermore, now is a great time to buy, as the comic's post-pandemic decline seems to have finally bottomed out. Better yet, even with those declines, the book is still up well over 100% over the lifetime of GoCollect's data in most grades. And most of that growth happened while Black Cat was mostly relegated to an unrequited love interest. Imagine where prices could be in a couple years as the character continues to enjoy more exposure than she ever did previously.
Amazing Spider-Man #294
If you google "Greatest Spider-Man Stories", you will have a tough time finding many lists that do not mention Kraven's Last Hunt. One of the marquee moments of this beloved epic occurred in this issue when Kraven took his own life. When the Kraven the Hunter movie was first announced, interest in this book and others in the story skyrocketed. Even if that film ultimately adapts a different story, it is still rarely a bad idea to invest in good stories.
Graded Analysis: The book is solidly up all-time for grades 8.5 and above, so investors should stay in that range. That should not be hard, however, as that accounts for 91.1% of copies in the census. Buyers should be aware, however, that over half the census was graded at 9.6 or above, meaning there will be a lot of high-grade books available should there be another surge in interest.
