Moon Knight Key Issues and Specials: The Essential Collector's Guide

Moon Knight is a purely Bronze Age creation: Doug Moench and Don Perlin conceived Marc Spector in August 1975, within the pages of a horror anthology series from the post-Comics Code era. There is no Silver Age Moon Knight key to hunt — any listing claiming otherwise is mistaken. From his very first appearance, the character carried a fractured identity: Marc Spector the mercenary, Steven Grant the millionaire, Jake Lockley the cab driver — all avatars in service of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon. That psychological complexity, rare in superhero comics of the time, explains the lasting attachment collectors and writers have maintained for this character across five decades.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: records documented by Heritage Auctions, sellmycomicbooks.com, GoCollect, and QualityComix. One critical methodological note: our eBay estimator does not index the Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight, or Marvel Spotlight series — it returns invalid parameters for these titles. Every figure cited below comes exclusively from documented web sources; where no public record exists, we stay qualitative.

Moon Knight key issue ranking (documented real values)

All records below come from public sources (Heritage Auctions, GoCollect, sellmycomicbooks.com, QualityComix). Our eBay estimator does not cover these series: no eBay median can be honestly cited for these titles.

Record sources: Heritage Auctions, GoCollect, sellmycomicbooks.com, QualityComix. Our eBay estimator does not cover these series.

Werewolf by Night #32 (1975): a Bronze Age anti-hero is born

Published in August 1975, Werewolf by Night #32 introduces Moon Knight as a mercenary antagonist hired by the Committee to capture Jack Russell. The story is by Doug Moench; the art is by Don Perlin. The character's immediate appeal was clear: a follow-up appearance was commissioned at once, with Werewolf by Night #33 (September 1975) serving as Moon Knight's second outing. The issue now ranks in the top 10 of Overstreet's list of the most collected Bronze Age Marvel comics.

The sale record is solidly documented: a CGC 9.8 sold for $31,200 at Heritage Auctions in 2020; a CGC 9.6 reached $25,200 in 2022; in 2024, a CGC 9.4 sold for $10,800 and a CGC 9.2 for around $8,300 according to sellmycomicbooks.com data. The book peaked during the pandemic boom and has since corrected; the 2022 Disney+ series announcement briefly re-energized demand, particularly in mid grades. High-grade CGC 9.8 copies remain the most resilient segment of the Bronze Age Moon Knight market.

Marvel Spotlight #28 (1976): Moon Knight steps into the lead

Marvel Spotlight #28 (June 1976) is the pivotal issue: Moon Knight is reimagined here as a full-fledged protagonist, leaving behind the mercenary-villain framing of his debut. Doug Moench scripts again; Bob Brown provides the artwork. This issue also marks the first appearances of Marlene Fontaine, Bertrand Crawley, and Samuels — three supporting characters who would anchor the Moon Knight continuity for decades. Marvel Spotlight #29 (August 1976) continues this foundational arc directly.

Data from QualityComix and GoCollect documents a record of $5,520 for a CGC 9.8 sold in March 2022; the 90-day NM/MT 9.8 median sits around $1,678 according to GoCollect. These issues remain relatively accessible in ungraded or mid-grade condition, but genuine high-grade CGC copies are scarce — the Marvel Spotlight print runs of the mid-1970s were modest by any standard.

Moon Knight #1 (1980): the first solo series and the Sienkiewicz era

Published in November 1980, the first Moon Knight ongoing series is the collaboration between Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz — whose artwork on this title stands as one of the most distinctive bodies of work in American comics of the 1980s. Issue #1 deepens the character's origin: Marc Spector is resurrected by Khonshu in exchange for becoming the god's earthly avatar of vengeance. It also marks the first appearance of Bushman, the primary antagonist of the origin arc. The series ran 38 issues through 1984 and defined Moon Knight's visual identity for generations of readers.

The market for this issue is documented but modest in scale: CGC 9.8 copies have recently sold around $925, with a documented historical peak near $1,350 according to sellmycomicbooks.com. The issue is relatively abundant in mid and upper mid grades — one seller was found to hold 21 copies. Specialist consensus is that only CGC 9.8 white-pages copies make a compelling collectible investment for this title.

Moon Knight #1 (2014) and #1 (2016): the modern-era milestones

Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey's run on Moon Knight (2014, 17 issues) is widely regarded as one of the finest modern reinterpretations of the character. Ellis introduced the Mr. Knight identity — Marc Spector in a crisp white suit, acting as a police consultant — a design that became one of the most reproduced Moon Knight visuals and was carried directly into the Disney+ series. Issue #1 (March 2014) is a key book for collectors drawn to author-driven runs.

Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood followed in 2016 with a 14-issue psychological arc that traps Marc Spector in a psychiatric asylum, dissolving the boundaries between his identities and reality. This run is consistently cited among the best Moon Knight has to offer. For both modern series, no single high-grade auction record is publicly documented at this time: values remain qualitative, but collector demand among readers of literary superhero comics has been rising steadily. The Disney+ miniseries — which premiered on March 30, 2022, starred Oscar Isaac in a dual role as Marc Spector and Steven Grant, and earned an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes across six episodes — widened the collector base for all of these keys.