Here we go, it is the end of the year and we are looking at the best of the best. In this case, the best COVER PRICED books and B variants of the year. These are books that organically grew hot and have maintained value. Please feel free to add a selection to the poll if you do not see one on here you think should be represented.
Let’s look at the contenders: (Poll is at the bottom of the post)
Supergirl #12 Artgerm variant 
– This cover priced variant was the first Supergirl book Artgerm covered. It was heavily featured in our Attack of the Killer B posts. It shot up to $12 quickly and has settled down some. It is still selling for $9.99. The following covers, retailers caught on to and ordered in enough quantity to fill fans pulls, but there is always something about the first one.
Mister Miracle #1 – This one caught a lot of people off guard. It features a quirky story where Mr. Miracle tried to commit suicide in the first issue to “see if he could escape death.” The following series has been very surrealistic and an excellent read. The story is written by DC’s up-and-coming superstar Tom King. Recent closed sales have been in the $30 range for the variant and a recent sale of $64 for the regular.
Teen Titans #12 – This one potentially, and is completely arguable, contains the first full appearance of The Batman Who Laughs. Prices shot up quickly on this low price Metal tie-in. It is still hovering around $40. this one can only go up.
Totally Awesome Hulk #22 – This is Marvel’s big book of the year. Featuring the first appearance of of Weapon H, the mash up of Hulk and Wolverine. Fans tool to it and it is still hovering in the $20-$30 range.
Batman White Knight #3 Variant – The variant cover for this one showed off the to Harley Quinns who appear in the story. This is the first appearance of the Neo Joker, one of the Harley’s new identity. Shot up to $15 quickly, still sells for $18-$20 on eBay.
Batman Elmer Fudd #1 – This one came out of nowhere. Terry Hoknes mentioned it on our New Comic Spec Review Video and people laughed. Needless to say, people enjoyed this crossover and it did well on the secondary market. The book still sells between $15-$20.
Redneck #1 – This was Donny Cates second book following God Country. It didn’t take anyone by surprise but still heated up. The book sold out and went to multiple prints.
God Country #1 – Donny Cates first big hit. God Country was a very family centered drama and sci-fi series that caught fans by surprise. The books still sells in the mid to upper $20 range.
Batman Red Death – The foil cover is the one you want for this one. It quickly sold out as fans of the Metal series wanted to see the mashup of Batman and the Flash. The book was brutal and has gone back for multiple reprints. It still sells in the $25 range on eBay.
So those are the contenders, now take the poll! Results will be given in our end of the year wrap up.
[polldaddy poll=9906855]
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Can I just vote for like. All of these? Is the catwoman proposal a thing anymore?
It was a thing most certainly and one I forgot. Add it on the blank and it will count.
Only one Marvel book? Shocking. lol
It’s the only Marvel regular priced book that really popped, had hype, or shot up in value.
Marvel’s older books are the ones to really look out for. Since they have the more popular movie studio and movies, seems older books usually become key for sure when the characters or storyline makes it into the movies or shows.
spider Gwen #24
Doesn’t even make your list but one day could potentially become the biggest book from 2017
I think you missed my sarcasm. 🙂
I don’t see the Gwenom character catching on. Gwen is a polarizing character and the symbiote has been done many times before. Spidergwen 24 is currently selling for about $10-$13, while TAH22 is selling for about $50 and TT12 is going for $30+. All have smaller print runs for the big two, but Spider Gwen 24 has a bunch of store variants and regular marvel variant, while the others have zero or 1 variant. It’s the year of DC. The book of the year will he TT12, IMO.
Usually it seems like they have more each year. DC killed it I think with their new storylines though introducing new characters and new books that people are jumping on.
Great write up Anthony – great choices for the year
Thanks Bill.
Vote for 3 right? I didn’t realize Mister Miracle was selling for those prices.
Yeah. 3 is fine. You can really vote for as many as you like.
I didn’t realize the TT 12 had gone up to that price either. Pretty cool, have a few tucked away.
My vote is for Teen Titans #12 Batman who laughs
Agreed. I think TT12 has the longest legs of the group.
Mister Miracle gets my vote. A book increasing in value and demand based purely on quality and not “the next possible big new character.”
Yeah, I almost voted for it but had to go with TT12. I think this Batman Who Laughs we’re gonna be seeing a whole lot more of in the future. Mister Miracle is cool, Tom King made him cool but I think long term, years from now more people will be seeking out TT12 rather than Mister Miracle. But that’s the fun part about all this, I’m usually wrong more than I’m right when it comes to predicting. 🙂
Tom King is coming to town soon. Going to get him to sign my copy and submit for grading. Will also have a bunch (40 potentially) of the Batman #38’s (20 of each cover) for him to sign.
very surprised with Mister Miracle. Found two copies at the LCS for cover back when it was around $15-20.
Unlike Mel V’s variant list which I have about a quarter of, I’m hitting 100 % on this list. Some I just have one copy others I have way more than one.
Anyone who visits this site regularly should have at least 1 copy of all these books. They were all talked about on CHU before they were released.
i have about 35 copies of teen titans 12. One day it will be a huge payoff. Whats funny about the book is it was still available for coverprice weeks after its release, sure did take a min to catch on. If you read CHU im sure you got a copy.
Maybe it was available for cover in Hawaii for weeks after it’s release. But I was flipping those books the Thursday or Friday after it was released for about $15-$20. And they dried up pretty quick around the Toronto area not long after release.
There’s prob still some at my LCS I didn’t buy any of theirs by the time I got there they put them all in their crummy overstuffed racks and all of them had two major indentations.
It’s a wall book at 2 of the LCS’ in my area. $50-$40 respectively. One shop owner told me he’s been selling TBWL 1shot for $25 all day. Now, he also said there seems to be interest in the whole Metal series by non comic folk, who are walking into his store seeking the metal books and are willing to pay what ever is asked.
I have two sets of the one shots, one for the PC and one to flip now I wish I would have gotten another set to flip.
For TT12, out of the two shops I frequent in my area, only 1 had 1 copy left. Consider yourselves lucky if your local shops got plenty to go around, unlike mine.
Admirable article of comics that are easy to obtain for most people. Unlike rare variants that are harder to acquire. Obvious pick is Mr. Miracle 1 with highest price increase at this moment in time. However the future might be different?
The one issue I find with Mister Miracle is, for the long haul, it might die once the series ends, since it is a mini-series and not ongoing. So once we hit issue 12 (I believe it’s a 12 issue series), we’ll likely see the heat start to wear off. The demand is there for #1 since it’s still going on so those late to the game are hunting down and trying to find the earlier issues (especially #1 since it had a print run of what, 33k I think and issue #2 bumped up to like 44k print run).
Tis is the reason I’m still banking on Batman Who Laughs as the long haul potential winner. I don’t see this guy going away and we could also likely see him with his own series and probably be one of those ongoing villains in the Batman universe years from now.
I think Mister Miracle is definite gold, and will most likely carry the same value as Kings Vision run. Mind you, Vision #1 has Vivs 1st. But MM is an obscure character. I can not see the MM mini reaching triple digits. If Batch H or BWL catch on, or eventually hit the big screen, then those books will be quite sought after.
It drives me crazy I missed the boat on all those metal batman’s. But TAH has to be the big winner of 2017. Another great poll. And thank you Anthony and others I made a killing on that book. It paid for about the next 3 months of comics
Nice. I haven’t paid “out of pocket” for comics in about 6 years. My initial $20 investment on a bunch of Thief Of Thieves #1 paid off so well and I have continued to flip and roll the money into more books.
I just voted for Mister Miracle as it really shot-up with the first appearance of Weapon H being kinda notable but it’s cooled off until his series launches and either succeeds or fails miserably. The first issue of, “Sink,” is maybe worth pointing out as it is interesting with it being a very small indie book that got quite hot.
Totally awesome hulk will continue to rise considering that the new Weapon H comic will likely be a hit.
Ditto with The Batman Who Laughs. More so, IMO.
The difference being TAH #12 is short-printed compared to the 2-3 different books which can be considered the 1st appearance of the Joker Who Laughs (I bought a bunch of the Teen Titans but am not naïve to think the other 2 books don’t stake a formidable claim to his true 1st appearance). Not to mention, Weapon H can continue on & appear in movies where I don’t know if the Joker Who Laughs has a true/lengthy future or if he will be “iced” once Metal runs it course? Love & have 4-5+ of both books but I think TAH is the true spec winner (especially since it caught many shops by surprise (being it was under-ordered & sold out immediately, took off immediately, & has held value).
Print run means nothing when it comes to value. It only assists in the value when the demand rises. If a bunch of collectors tuck their copies away (of either book), the availability also goes down which can assist in the value. But in the end, it’s all a matter of how much people are willing to spend (demand).
Demand is directly tied to supply though. . Smaller print run equals smaller supply which in turn drives the price up if there is ever a large demand.
Demand doesn’t always tie in directly to supply though as well. Demand is just driven by one thing, demand. Like you said in the second part of your statement where it’s tied to supply when demand goes up will drive the price up if the supply is low or lower.
But I stand by my statement though. Print runs do nothing when it comes to value. One has to calculate in demand + availability. A small print run can increase value when demand goes up but if all those that own a copy are willing to sell, that makes the availability also go up making it easier to obtain at a likely lower price since there’s now more competition between sellers.
So many factors come into play when it comes to value.. I love it! Love IT! 🙂
All valid points, and it is a quagmire of variables. But inevitably, a smaller print run will be scarcer if/when there is a large demand (in theory, lol).
A scarcer book will command a higher price of/when the demand arrives.
I’m typing on my phone so it’s hard to keep my posts sensible. I take back that supply is directly tied to demand. That makes no sense. I meant value is tied to supply if/when demand arrives.
Yes… 🙂
Toss up between TT#12 and MM#1 but I think in the long term that #12 will continue to rise and be relevant.
Great choices & write-ups on each candidate. Not sure if I should vote for my favorite one that I actually was able to flip, or one of the ones I missed out on ordering lol
Where does one find copies of TAH 22 for 20 to 30 dollars? It seems like the prices of tt12 and tah22 are reversed. Both great books of course.
Teen Titans! Always the one I decide to pass on lol. Next I would say red death which i do own
TAH 22! It was the only book I wasn’t able to grab in time. It is still selling at least $15-$20 more than TT 12 on the bay. Maybe down the road things will change but for the year 2017 TAH I think wins it. For the read I would pick Redneck but it had lots of extra printings and has cooled down considerably.
Most likely to increase in price ? TAH #22. Marvel has more readers than Image.
Most memorable ? God Country #1. This one will stand the test of time and my personal pick for best read of 2017.
The one I keep buying ? Redneck #1. This is one of those stories that has the potential to reach the masses outside of comicdom.
Seems like Thanos 13 wants to join the party as well!
God Country will win out if they make a movie or tv show and do it justice.
Possibly but it’s also still a mini-series. Once the movie or show happens, the value of the book dies again.
I have most of the books on the poll but just today bought a cgc 9.8 TAH 22 for 130$. I have 2 raw copies of it but didnt want to risk them coming back at less than 9.8. I just think the character is cool and has loads of potential as a hero or a villian.