Investing in Harley Quinn Comics: Which Keys Hold Their Value?

Harley Quinn debuted on September 11, 1992 in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor", conceived by Paul Dini (writing) and Bruce Timm (design) as a one-off henchwoman. Her immediate popularity surprised everyone: the Joker's devoted accomplice became one of DC's most beloved characters within a few seasons. Her first appearance in a printed comic dates to The Batman Adventures #12 (September 1993), a Copper-to-Modern Age key that now concentrates virtually all serious collector and investor demand. Unlike the Joker or Batman, Harley has no Golden Age or Bronze Age pedigree — her "vintage" key is 1993.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: records documented by sellmycomicbooks.com, GoCollect, and Heritage Auctions, along with publicly available box-office data. An important caveat: our eBay estimator does not index the Batman Adventures, Harley Quinn, or Suicide Squad series — no eBay medians are cited for these issues. Every price figure below comes from externally documented sales. This article is not financial advice.

Harley Quinn key issues and documented values (2024)

Harley has no six-figure grails like Batman #1 (1940). All her keys belong to the Modern Age, which means higher market availability — and therefore decent liquidity — but also a less absolute value floor than a scarce Golden Age issue.

Sources: sellmycomicbooks.com (2024), CGC/newsstand data confirmed by GoCollect.

The Batman Adventures #12: the headline key

Published in September 1993 (newsstand date August 3, 1993), The Batman Adventures #12 is the definitive Harley Quinn grail. The story, "Larceny My Sweet", is written by Kelley Puckett and drawn by Ty Templeton — but it is Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the character's creators for the animated series, who brought Harley to life months earlier. This issue marks her first appearance in a printed comic, set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU).

At the top of the grade spectrum, CGC 9.8 newsstand copies — identifiable by the barcode strip in the upper right — have sold for $5,280, versus $3,250 for direct edition copies at the same grade, according to 2024 data from sellmycomicbooks.com. In lower grades (CGC 2.5 to 5.0), the documented range runs from approximately $325 to $420. The book is relatively common in mid-grade — around 9,000 copies certified by CGC compared to 25,000 for Spawn #1 — but CGC 9.8 copies are scarce and liquid. The newsstand premium is significant and has proved persistent.

Mad Love (1994) and Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (1999): the secondary keys

Batman Adventures: Mad Love (1994), a 64-page prestige-format one-shot written and drawn by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, tells the origin of Harley Quinn — from psychiatry student Harleen Quinzel to the character we know — within the animated universe. It is the first story to explore her psychology in depth, making her tragic rather than simply comic. The documented sales record is $550 across all grades. Multiple printings exist (1st, 2nd, and 3rd); collectors target the first print.

Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (October 1999), with its iconic gold holographic Alex Ross cover, marks Harley's first appearance in mainstream DC continuity (outside the DCAU). Written by Paul Dini, it officially transplants the character into DC's primary canon. Its documented record stands at $450. Harley Quinn vol. 1 #1 (December 2000), the first solo ongoing series written by Karl Kesel and drawn by Terry Dodson, has reached $800 as a record — the highest of any solo issue after the 1993 first appearance.

Film effect, liquidity, and investment risks

Margot Robbie's appearance in Suicide Squad (2016, $749 million worldwide gross) was the first major catalyst for Harley Quinn key prices. Birds of Prey (2020, $205 million worldwide) underperformed commercially but kept the character in the public eye. The Suicide Squad (2021, James Gunn) managed only $26.5 million at its North American opening weekend — partly due to its simultaneous HBO Max release and pandemic conditions — which illustrated how sensitive Harley-adjacent comics values can be to media momentum. The animated series Harley Quinn (2019, voiced by Kaley Cuoco), critically well-received, has helped sustain collector interest between major theatrical releases.

Two risk factors are worth understanding before buying. First, supply: unlike a Golden Age issue where surviving copies are few, Batman Adventures #12 is a Modern Age book printed in the hundreds of thousands. Value is almost entirely concentrated in CGC grade and variant type (newsstand vs. direct edition). A copy below CGC 7.0 will not share the liquidity of a 9.8. Second, media dependency: Harley is a young character whose market values remain correlated to screen presence. A prolonged gap with no major film or series could weigh on secondary keys such as Mad Love and Harley Quinn #1 (2000), even if Batman Adventures #12 has shown greater resilience as a recognized "first appearance" book. That single issue is where serious collectors focus, and for good reason — it is the only Harley key with a genuine supply constraint at the top grade.