The odds are played on a short sequence rather than on an isolated number:Avengers #54 (May 9, 1968, 12¢) and #55(June 11, 1968) for the character,#57(August 8, 1968) for the creation he made. Five months on the newsstand contains two major debut appearances. No variation to worry about: the catalog only lists one edition per issue.
This file is distinguished by a particularity of form: its value is not concentrated on a single piece but distributed over consecutive numbers. This changes the way we buy, the way we compare prices, and the way the market behaves.
Collectors accustomed to isolated keys apply reflexes here that cost them dearly, in one direction or the other.
What a sequence is worth, what a piece is worth
An isolated key market and a sequence market do not work in the same way, and the difference needs to be clearly stated.
On a isolated key, all attention is focused on one object. Comparisons abound, the price is well established, and neighboring numbers have no particular value. It’s easy to evaluate and difficult to optimize.
On a sequence, the value is distributed. Two or three issues carry the essentials, but those around them benefit from residual interest: they belong to the same time of publication, we look for them to complete, and their price nevertheless remains modest.
This has a very concrete consequence.Lots sold whole are frequently dismembered: the seller extracts the known numbers, offers them separately, and sells off the rest. This remainder, precisely, constitutes the most interesting opportunity of this file for those who know what it contains.
Symmetrically, be wary of lots presented as “the complete sequence”: check each number one by one. It is precisely on this type of announcement that important numbers have sometimes already been withdrawn.
The split between the first two numbers
The character has two founding numbers, for the reason explained in our dedicated article: he acts masked in the first, openly in the second.
The market values the revelation number more. It makes sense: it shows what buyers want to see, it has the name, and it corresponds to the image that the adaptations broadcast.
The previous issue nevertheless maintains a solid demand, driven by collectors attached to the strict chronology. Its price, generally lower, often makes it the best report in the file.
Beware of a perverse effect of this configuration. As the two issues follow one another, certain announcements maintain the vagueness: a description which boasts “the first appearance” with a difficult to read photo may concern one or the other. Since the price gap is real, so is verification.
The density of the summer of 1968
Here is the most underestimated element of this file, and the one which justifies reasoning in sequence.
Between the May 9 and the August 8, 1968, the same series publishes the character's masked appearance, his reveal, and then the creation he makes — another enduring member of the team. Three important numbers, all 12 cents, within a three-month window.
This concentration has two effects on prices. First, it mobilizes two distinct audiences on adjoining issues, which covers the entire publication window. Then, it makes the sequence identifiable as a block, including by sellers, who sometimes offer it grouped.
For the buyer, the lesson is simple: the numbers in this window which do not contain any first appearance are structurally undervalued. They are of the same print run, the same average state of preservation, the same narrative interest — and they cost a fraction.
An adversary lodged among others
No lasting monthly has ever borne this character's name. All his important appearances are therefore in the titles of other heroes.
This situation has a specific economic consequence:you are always competing with another community of buyers. The numbers you covet are also of interest to the team's collectors, those of the creator, those of the creation. Demand is therefore wider than it appears, and the troughs are rarer.
It also has an effect on ranking in store and online. These numbers are listed under the name of the series, never under that of the character. A search based on its name alone misses the essence of the offer, and mainly returns recent publications without collection interest.
The corollary is encouraging:knowing how to search is better than spending on this file. Querying the series and number, rather than the character, opens up an offer that most buyers don't see.
The state of the comics of 1968
Some good news first: identification is simpler here than in most files from the same decade.Only one draw per number is listed — no proof rate, no foreign edition, no reprints likely to create confusion. The printed price of 12 cents is enough to rule out reprints.
The assessment therefore focuses entirely on condition, and four points dominate these numbers.
Staples. After nearly sixty years, rust is common and migrates to the paper, leaving a brown halo around the attachment point. This defect is irreversible and weighs heavily.
The browning of the block. Request a view of the edge, in profile. This is the quickest and most revealing check over this period.
The upper angles. These comics were presented in stacks, leafed upright, so that their upper part was frequently damaged before going to the checkout.
Integrity. The advertising pages included coupons to cut out. A lack, even on a page without narrative interest, pushes the copy into another price category - and no cover image will betray it.
Out of sequence: what really matters
Beyond the summer of 1968, the corpus is immense and its value very uneven. A simple criterion allows you to sort.
THE ordinary appearances carry no premium. The character spans more than half a century of publications, in series with large circulations; its presence, even on the cover, is not enough to distinguish a number.
THE major events where it occupies the central role are the main exception. Their price follows the trajectory of the event, more often than that of the character — a point to keep in mind, because this means that their value depends on a dynamic that does not belong to them.
A third category deserves attention: the numbers where it creates something or someone. This is the recurring motif of the character, and these episodes regularly generate first appearances. The market indexes the novelty created, rarely the creator — which leaves opportunities for those who know how to read a bibliography.
The estimation method
Four steps, adapted to sequence logic.
Fix the number with certainty. On consecutive issues with close coverage, this is the first source of error.
Check the cover price. Twelve hundred. This mention eliminates the repeats and confirms the period.
Compare to identical number. Never mix the sales of the hidden number and those of the reveal number in the same comparison: the difference is real and the average would correspond to nothing.
Look at the price of neighboring numbers. This is the verification specific to this file. If a number without a first appearance is negotiated at a key, the ad surfs the sequence without saying so.
Gradation: the calculation is different on a sequence
The question does not arise as with an isolated key, and many collectors reason poorly here.
The usual reflex is to have the most valuable possessions certified. In a sequence, this reflex produces a strange result: one or two issues in a shell, the rest in sleeves, a set that no longer presents itself as a set. The shells do not stack up or leaf through, and a sequence whose middle can no longer be read loses some of its interest.
Two coherent approaches exist. The first consists of keep everything raw, taking care of the storage, and considering everything as an object of reading and collection rather than as an asset. The second consists of certify only the strongest number, assuming that it comes out of the whole and becomes an independent piece.
What must be avoided is the intermediate route by accumulation: certifying piecemeal, without an overall decision, results in a heterogeneous collection, more costly to constitute and more difficult to resell than if a decision had been made at the start.
A final element of calculation: the cost of certification being more or less fixed, it weighs proportionally much more on the intermediate numbers, the value of which remains modest. Getting them certified almost always means spending more than what the operation brings in.
Three ways to approach the file
The choice is made before watching the ads, not after.
The iconic piece: the number of the revelation, in the best accessible state. Simple, readable objective, easy to evaluate.
The founding couple: the first two issues together. This is the solution that honestly answers the question of anteriority, and it costs less than we imagine since the hidden number remains in the background.
The entire sequence: from the hidden appearance to the creation that follows. This is the approach I recommend. It gives a complete narrative whole, exploits the undervaluation of intermediate numbers, and remains accessible in average states.
One last pointer, valid whatever the option chosen: set your budget before consulting the ads, and stick to it. On a file where the issues follow one another, the temptation to add “just the next number” is constant, and this is how a reasonable acquisition turns into an expense that we had not anticipated.
To learn more, see ouranalysis of the founding numbersand thecharacter story.
The questions that come up
Avengers #55, on sale June 11, 1968, where the character appears with his face uncovered. The previous issue, #54 from May 9, contains his first physical appearance but under a hood and under an assumed identity; it typically trades below, often making it the best report on the record.
Because between May 9 and August 8, 1968, the same series published the masked appearance, the revelation, then the creation that the character made — two first major appearances in three months. The issues in this window which do not contain any first appearance are structurally undervalued: same print run, same average condition, fraction of the price.
Always check each number of a lot presented as complete: it is precisely on this type of announcement that the important booklets have sometimes already been withdrawn. Conversely, the remains of dismembered lots – those from which the seller has extracted the known numbers – constitute the most interesting opportunity in the file.
No, and that simplifies a lot. Only one print is listed per number: no test price, no foreign edition, no reprint. The printed price of 12 cents is enough to rule out reprints, and the rating focuses entirely on condition.
Because these issues are classified under the name of the series, never under that of the character - he has not had a monthly magazine in his name over time. A search by name mainly returns recent publications without collection interest. Ask about the series and number: this is how you get to an offer that most buyers don't see.
Two coherent approaches exist: keep everything raw while taking care of the storage, or only certify the strongest number while assuming that it becomes an independent piece. What we must avoid is certifying piecemeal: we obtain a heterogeneous collection, more expensive and more difficult to resell. The cost being more or less fixed, it weighs too heavily on the intermediate numbers in any case.
Ordinary appearances, no, even on the cover: the character spans more than half a century of series with high circulations. Two exceptions are worth monitoring — major events where he plays the central role, whose rating follows that of the event, and issues where he creates someone, because these regularly generate first appearances that the market indexes under a name other than his own.
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