Harley Quinn: most expensive comics and auction records

Harley Quinn is one of DC's most original creations. Conceived by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series, she made her screen debut on September 11, 1992, in the episode "Joker's Favor," voiced by Arleen Sorkin — who was herself the character's inspiration. Her first comic book appearance followed in September 1993, in The Batman Adventures #12, written by Kelley Puckett and drawn by Mike Parobeck. That out-of-continuity issue remains the number-one key for any serious collector. Her origin story — psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel falling under the Joker's spell — was told two years later by Dini and Timm themselves in Batman Adventures: Mad Love (1994).

This guide sticks to the verifiable: records documented by specialist sources (sellmycomicbooks.com, Heritage Auctions, GoCollect) and dated web data. One essential methodological note: our eBay estimator does not index the Batman Adventures, Harley Quinn, or Suicide Squad series — they fall outside its coverage. No eBay median is therefore cited in this article. Every figure that follows comes exclusively from documented web sources and is labelled as such.

Harley Quinn key issue ranking (documented records, June 2026)

Harley Quinn was born in 1993 — no key issues predate that year for this character. The records below are drawn from sellmycomicbooks.com, which tracks documented secondary-market sales. Since our eBay estimator does not cover these series, no eBay median is cited for any issue.

Sources: sellmycomicbooks.com, Heritage Auctions, GoCollect. Records = highest documented sale prices on the secondary market, not necessarily Heritage in-room records.

The Batman Adventures #12 (1993): the absolute key

Published in September 1993, The Batman Adventures #12 is the foundational issue for any Harley Quinn collection. Written by Kelley Puckett and drawn by Mike Parobeck, it is set in the animated series continuity and introduces Harley as the Joker's accomplice and Batgirl's antagonist — a showdown that ends with a twist courtesy of Catwoman. Although it sits outside the main DC universe, this issue is universally recognised as Harley's first printed appearance and regularly appears on Overstreet's lists of essential modern keys.

In CGC 9.8 (direct edition), recent sales have clustered around $3,000 to $3,250 according to sellmycomicbooks.com data. The newsstand variant — scarcer in high grade — has sold for $4,500 and above in CGC 9.8, with one documented sale at $5,280. Heritage Auctions offered a CGC 9.8 (white pages, Lot #11318) but the final hammer price is not publicly accessible. Even in low grade (CGC 2.5 to 5.0), the issue trades for $300 to $400, reflecting sustained demand across the entire grade spectrum.

Batman Adventures: Mad Love (1994): the origin by Dini and Timm

Published in 1994 in prestige format, Batman Adventures: Mad Love is both a literary landmark and a highly collectible key. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm — the creators of Harley Quinn — tell her complete backstory for the first time: intern Harleen Quinzel, seduced and manipulated by the Joker at Arkham Asylum, tips into madness out of obsessive love. The story earned Dini and Timm the 1994 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue. The prestige format cover, with Timm's bold flat-colour illustration, is one of the most reproduced images associated with the character.

This title remains more accessible than The Batman Adventures #12: the highest documented sale is $550 according to sellmycomicbooks.com. In CGC 9.8, copies trade well below the #12 price level — making it a more affordable entry point for collectors who want a piece signed by the original creators. Second and third printings are more accessible still, offering a budget-friendly way into the saga.

Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (1999) and the main DC continuity

Published in October 1999, Batman: Harley Quinn #1 is the first comic to integrate Harley Quinn into official DC continuity. Written by Paul Dini himself, with an iconic cover by Alex Ross — the foil variant in particular is highly sought after — this issue marks the character's transition from the animated universe into mainstream canon. It is the essential key for collectors targeting main-continuity appearances rather than the animated tie-in line.

The highest documented sale is $450 (sellmycomicbooks.com). The Alex Ross foil cover variant commands an additional premium, and CGC 9.8 copies signed by Dini circulate on the secondary market at higher levels, though no single publicly documented record is available for those variants. This issue remains significantly more accessible than The Batman Adventures #12 at the high-grade end.

Harley Quinn vol. 1 #1 (2000), New 52, and the impact of film adaptations

The first Harley Quinn solo series, launched in 2000 by Devin Grayson and Terry Dodson, produced a #1 whose highest documented sale reached $800 according to sellmycomicbooks.com — the second-highest figure on this list after The Batman Adventures #12, underscoring collectors' attachment to that editorial milestone. The 2011 New 52 relaunch (Suicide Squad vol. 4 #1, pencilled by Jim Lee) gave the character a new look and a documented record of $360. The Harley Quinn vol. 2 series (2013, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti) then brought the contemporary version of the character to a far wider audience.

Film and television adaptations have had a measurable effect on the Harley Quinn key-issue market. Suicide Squad (2016, with Margot Robbie as Harley) grossed $749.2 million worldwide and triggered a lasting spike in demand for The Batman Adventures #12. Birds of Prey (2020) added $205.5 million globally. The animated series Harley Quinn (2019, Kaley Cuoco) has since built a new generation of fans. These successive waves explain why high-grade copies remain in demand even after the pandemic-era price correction.