Four series bear the title Shadowhawk, all numbered from one, so a “#1” denotes nothing.As of August 29, 2026, their requested raw medians decrease with each reminder:$7.55for the original series,$7.47pour la deuxième,4,96 $pour la troisième,$5.12for the return of 2022. The certified medians do not follow at all — they are calculated on two to thirteen announcements, which makes them fragile.
This is the clearest case of the campaign where the numbering of a series purely and simply prohibits finding one's way around it.
This article distinguishes the four series, explains what the reading shows for each, explains the observed decline, and gives the identification method to apply before any purchase.
Four series, one name cover
You have to put the objects down first, because the ads constantly mix them up.
La série d'origineopens the cycle at the beginning of the 1990s. It establishes the character and his condition, and concludes.
La deuxième sérieresumes the following year with its own numbering, and is distinguished by covers with effects: embossing, cutting, reflective cardboard.
La troisième sériefollows immediately, always numbered from one, without any particular covering effect.
The return of 2022is an object of another nature: an isolated publication available in numerous alternative covers, thirty years after the initial cycle.
These four groups coexist in the same market.A seller who writes “Shadowhawk #1” says something strictly indeterminate, and this is the case in a significant proportion of the advertisements noted.
What each series asks
The data below comes from a statement dated August 29, 2026 relating to fixed price advertisements: prices asked, separated according to whether the copy is raw or certified. These are sellers' hopes.
The original series
Raw :140 annonces, $0.99 to $150.00, median7,55 $. Certifié :13 ads, median$89.00.
This is the series with the best number of certified copies of the four.
The second series
Raw :140 ads, $0.99 to $109.69, median$7.47. Certified:8 ads, median$64.82.
Gross median almost identical to the first, despite hedging effects.
The third series
Raw :152 ads, $0.99 to $89.99, median$4.96. Certified:2 adsonly, median $92.45.
The lowest gross median of the four, on the most abundant supply of the initial cycle.
Le retour de 2022
Raw :180 ads, $1.00 to $79.99, median$5.12. Certified:4 ads, median $119.00.
At least eight different covers identified for a single issue.
Why do medians decrease?
The progression – 7.55, then 7.47, then 4.96 – is regular and its explanation has nothing to do with the quality of the series.
Each raise was drawn more than the previous one.This is the logic of the period: a working title is given increasing print runs, and these print runs produced a stock that was never absorbed.
The novelty effect wears off faster than the impression.The second relaunch was printed on the strength of the success of the first, when interest was already waning.
The result is visible in the statement: the third series offersmore ads than the other two for the lowest median. More supply, less demand.
This mechanism is not unique to this series. It describes a considerable part of the production of this period, of which the latest titles launched are systematically the least expensive today.
The certified medians don't tell us anything usable here.They are based on 13, 8, 2 and 4 advertisements respectively — the third series showing $92.45 on two observations.
A figure calculated on two listings describes two sellers. Comparing it to the original series' $89.00, set at thirteen, is like comparing two things that don't have the same status. In this cycle, only the original series has a certified market that we can comment on.
The special case of the return of 2022
This publication follows a different logic from the other three and deserves separate treatment.
This is not a series relaunch but an isolated publication, available in a large number of alternative covers: at least eight different versions appear in the statement, including an entirely blank cover intended to be drawn.
This practice changes the nature of the object.It's no longer a number that we buy but a version of a number, and the question “do I already have it?” » becomes impossible to decide without noting which one you have.
It also explains the low median at $5.12. Multiplying the versions multiplies the supply without multiplying the demand: each individual cover is easily found, precisely because there are eight of them.
For a reader, the consequence is simple and favorable — any will do, the content being identical. For a collector who would aim for the whole, the exercise is much less accessible than it seems.
What systematic renumbering reveals
The practice is worth questioning, as it is neither an accident nor negligence.
Starting again at one rather than continuing an issue is a commercial decision documented by its effects: a first issue sells better than a thirty-seventh, attracts occasional buyers, and benefits from shelf visibility that the middle of a series never obtains.
In the short term, the mechanics work. In the long term, it produces exactly what we observe here:four objects impossible to distinguish by the only means that buyers use to find their way.
The cost is passed on to the collector, thirty years later, in the form of identification work that nothing alleviates. It does not weigh on either the publisher or the original seller, which explains why the practice has become widespread.
It is therefore worth recognizing it for what it is. A numbering that starts from one does not signal a new narrative departure or an improvement: it signals a decision to put it on sale, and nothing else is deduced from it.
A practical consequence on resale
One final effect is worth mentioning, because it manifests itself at the most inconvenient time.
A private seller who parts with his copies must describe what he is offering. If he purchased without noting the year, he can only find it by handling each copy one by one, legal notice in hand.
Most give up, and publish an ad like “Shadowhawk #1” which exactly reproduces the indetermination from which they themselves suffered.This is how ambiguity is perpetuated from one generation of buyers to the next, without any actor wanting it.
The share of advertisements noted which omit the year gives a direct idea of this. Of the four series combined, a notable proportion of the titles are limited to the title and the number.
Noting the year at the time of purchase costs three seconds and avoids this inconvenience entirely. It is also, incidentally, what allows you to sell at the right price rather than at the price of the cheapest series, due to lack of being able to prove which one you own.
Common Identification Mistakes
“#1” without qualifier
Four series bear this number. Without the year, the ad does not designate any particular object.
Roman numerals omitted
Reminders are sometimes distinguished by a Roman numeral that the announcements abbreviate or forget.
The eight covers of 2022
An omitted cover letter makes two advertisements indistinguishable for different items.
Hedging effects
Embossing, cutting and reflective cardboard store poorly and are difficult to photograph.
The three-check identification method
It applies before any purchase on this title and covers all cases.
The year first.It's the only element that unambiguously separates the four sets, and it appears in the majority of ads even when the rest is confusing.
The cover letter then, only for the 2022 publication. It is indicated in the form of a suffix attached to the number, and its absence in an announcement should lead to asking.
Finally, the nature of the cover, for the second series: cut, embossed, or ordinary. These variants are not equal in conservation, which matters more here than a price difference which does not exist.
These three checks take a few seconds.On a title where the number is structurally unusable, they replace the information that the numbering should have provided.
What should you buy, concretely?
The answer depends entirely on usage, and the two cases diverge completely.
To read, the original series alone.It is complete, it is concluded, and the reminders add nothing to justify the confusion of identification that they introduce. Its $7.55 median and $0.99 entries make it painless.
To build a set, choose a series and stick to it.Mixing the four produces an accumulation from which we can no longer say what is missing, for lack of a common axis of completeness.
What you shouldn't do is buy on occasion and rely on the numbers. At these prices, we quickly accumulate forty copies - and we then discover that we have fragments of four distinct sets, all incomplete.
What to record
On this title, the sheet must carry information that the cover never gives and that the number contradicts.
The year of publication in key position, before the number.This is the inversion to operate: on the four series, the number is a secondary attribute and the year is the identifier. A form constructed in the usual order produces four indistinguishable “#1” entries.
The cover letter for the 2022 publication, without which you will never know which of the eight versions is sleeping in your box - nor if you miss the one you see in the store.
These two fields answer the only difficult question this title poses: among four series and eight covers bearing the same numbers, what exactly do I own?
Frequently asked questions
Four: the original series from the early 1990s, two immediately consecutive relaunches, and an isolated return in 2022. All are numbered starting from one, so that a “#1” without a year does not designate any particular object.
Because each one was drawn more than the previous one, according to the logic of the period, while interest was already declining. The third series thus offers more ads than the other two for the lowest median — $4.96 compared to $7.55 and $7.47. More supply, less demand.
The statement does not recognize any premium for them: the second series, the one with embossing and cutouts, displays a median of $7.47 compared to $7.55 for the original series without effects. However, these blankets keep less well, which is more important than the non-existent price difference.
To read, the original series is enough: it is complete, it concludes, and the revivals add nothing to justify the confusion they introduce. To build a set, pick one and stick with it—mixing all four produces a build-up where you can't tell what's missing.
No, except for the original series. The others are based on 8, 2 and 4 listings — the third showing $92.45 on two observations, which describes two sellers and not a market. Only the original series, with thirteen certified announcements, allows for comment.
Four series, eight covers, the same numbers
The year is the identifier; the number is only a secondary attribute.