💎Listed in this category are hidden gems with an interesting Key Issue description  ...and there are thousands of others throughout the database  📪 if you know of an interesting or fun fact about an issue that isn't in the database, email [email protected]

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Low
$20
Mid
$85
High
$275

Key Facts

Beast undergoes a mutation which grows gray hair all over his body

Error ⋅ DC ⋅ 1974
Low
$5
Mid
$18
High
$60

Key Facts

Purple background

Marvel ⋅ 1975
Low
$180
Mid
$600
High
$1.8k

Key Facts

Preview of the new X-Men team, often said to precede their first appearance in Giant Size X-Men #1 but publication dates prove otherwise

Marvel ⋅ 1975
Low
$30
Mid
$90
High
$315

Key Facts

Death of Thunderbird, John Proudstar, killed in a plane crash

3rd appearance of Nightcrawler

Earliest use of the word 'Bamf' to describe the sound of Nightcrawler teleporting via an alternate dimension

Kitchen Sink Press ⋅ 1978
Low
$8
Mid
$20
High
$75

Key Facts

Recalled Ed Gein cover

Low
$2
Mid
$5
High
$15

Key Facts

First solo story featuring Catwoman

Error ⋅ DC ⋅ 1981
Low
$1
Mid
$0
High
$0

Key Facts

Printing error with DC Comics 'New Teen Titans' #6 cover wrapped around 'Marvel Two-In-One' #74

Only two known to exist with one that was listed on eBay for $1.15 million

In 1981, both companies used Ronald's Printing at the same time

Cannot determine realistic sales values due to absence of data

Low
$1
Mid
$2
High
$8

Key Facts

Reprint of Giant Size X-Men #1

2nd team appearance of the New Mutants, in a back-up story featuring Kitty Pryde celebrating her birthday

FantaCo ⋅ 1986
Low
$2
Mid
$8
High
$25

Key Facts

First interior art by Greg Capullo

💀 MATRIX COMIX: Probably the best-known book on this list, I would be remiss not to include this essential issue for those new to the genre

Published by FantaCo in 1986, Gore Shriek ushered in a new age of horror comics with its splatterpunk aesthetic

Featuring a Bruce Spaulding Fuller cover and boasting the first published work of Greg Capullo, this anthology issue is the foundation of Copper Age horror

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With only 16 CGC 9.8s on census and a 90-day 9.8 average of just under $500, this historic horror book is drastically undervalued

Variant ⋅ Caliber ⋅ 1988
Low
$8
Mid
$30
High
$70

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Vince Locke

Promotional advertisement of The Crow on the back cover, shown, preceded the first actual appearance of The Crow in Caliber Presents #1 (1989)

Heavy Metal ⋅ 1990
Low
$1
Mid
$5
High
$18

Key Facts

Includes a twelve-page, comic story titled 'The Wall' about Donald Trump building a border between the rich and the poor in the U.S. more than a quarter century before Trump was elected

Marvel ⋅ 1990
Low
$1
Mid
$2
High
$10

Key Facts

1st appearance of Vega-Superior, the son of Krakoa

In X-Men #2, it is understood that Krakoa and Arakko share physical relations which could reintroduce the son of Krakoa

TPB ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 1992
Low
$25
Mid
$80
High
$250

Key Facts

Collects Spider-Man (1990) #1 - #5

926 copies distributed mostly to comic shops in the United Kingdom

Softcover, shrink-wrapped

Starlog ⋅ 1992
Low
$15
Mid
$50
High
$150

Key Facts

Preview appearance of Harley Quinn in a magazine article about Batman Animated Adventures, predates Batman Adventures #12

Wizard ⋅ 1993
Low
$1
Mid
$2
High
$5

Key Facts

Cover art by Mark A Nelson featuring Carnage

A compilation of villain profiles from various comic companies published by Wizard Magazine

International ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 1995
Low
$120
Mid
$400
High
$1.2k

Key Facts

Variant colorless cover

Promotional giveaway originating from Finland

Ashcan ⋅ Ultimate Creations ⋅ 1996
Low
$4
Mid
$12
High
$40

Key Facts

Written by James Hellwig aka the Ultimate Warrior

Ashcan edition with wraparound cover

Cover appearances include: Captain America, The Flash, Wolverine, Bone, Milk and others

Low
$1
Mid
$2
High
$3

Key Facts

First mention of the team name Birds of Prey, suggested by Lady Blackhawk

Confirmed to be the agreed upon team name by Oracle in Blue Beetle #4 (2006)

Low
$2
Mid
$8
High
$20

Key Facts

Origin of Marten Broadcloak

One-shot issue reveals details about the life of the the character who appears in a number of books, going by many aliases: the Man in Black, the Walkin' Dude, Randall Flagg and more

📖 Reading Order: Next, The Fall of Gilead

Cemetery Dance ⋅ 2011
Low
$3
Mid
$9
High
$35

Key Facts

Examination of Stephen King's career in comics

Titan ⋅ 2013
Low
$10
Mid
$30
High
$100

Key Facts

Cover art by Artgerm

Copies ordered by retailers: 3,981 including variant

Dynamite ⋅ 2013
Low
$1
Mid
$2
High
$10

Key Facts

Created by AMC's 'Comic Book Men' Bryan Johnson and Walt Flanagan 5 years before the show first aired

Variant ⋅ Marvel ⋅ 2014
Low
$15
Mid
$50
High
$150

Key Facts

Variant cover art by Salvador Larroca featuring Eminem

Sold only in the Detroit area

Key Facts

1st full appearance of She-Ra in a standard US comic

She-Ra previously appeared in mini-comics packaged with toys and other He-Man Universe merchandise and on a variant cover of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1 (2013)

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