This folder has a structure that we have not encountered anywhere else:two keys separated by forty-six years, and almost nothing in between. On one side More Fun Comics #73(on sale September 19, 1941, 10¢); on the other the three-volume series from 1987, arriving on April 14, 1987 at the unusual price of $2.95. Between the two, the character was published without interruption — as a supplementary section, in other people's magazines.
Most files read like a curve: a founding key, then regular levels.
This one looks like two isolated peaks separated by a plain. Understanding why this plain exists is understanding the essence of what this character is worth — and where the only opportunities in the file are found.
Survive without ever being measured
Here is the central fact, and it is verifiable number by number.
After his debut, the character almost never had a magazine in his name until the 1980s. He was published otherwise: as additional section, a six to eight page short story tucked behind the headliner of another title.
The catalog keeps track of it in a spectacular way. In the magazine that hosted it from 1946, we find its episodes in the summary of dozens of issues, over more than fifteen years - stories with recognizable titles, where it is about invisible arrows, underwater archers or a missed shot. A booklet from the end of 1959 even explicitly names it in its summary.
This position produces a remarkable economic effect, and rarely formulated.
A supplementary section does not have its own sales figures. What we measure is the performance of the magazine, carried by its star. The complement costs little to produce and is not subject to any arbitration: no one wonders whether to cancel it, because there is nothing to cancel.
This is how the character survived the great collapse of costumed vigilantes in the late 1940s — a period when almost all of his contemporaries disappeared, including figures significantly more popular than him at the time. He did not survive because he sold:he survived because he was not counted.
A forty-year-old plain, and why it is expensive
The counterpart of this discreet longevity is brutal for the collector.
For four decades, the character produced no no key number. No significant first appearance, no death, no change of costume that would have left a mark on the market. Six pages per month, indefinitely, without events.
One might believe that this opens up an avenue: hundreds of booklets where it appears, with no rarity premium, and therefore cheap. This is the most common error on this file.
Because the price of these numbers is not set by him. It is set by the star of the magazine and by the events that occur there — the beginnings of other characters, the origins of other figures, the episodes that other audiences are looking for. The buyer who wants his stories must pay the price of a magazine for which he is not the reason for existence.
The general lesson is worth remembering:a supplementary section costs nothing to produce, but it is never purchased separately. During this period, you do not buy episodes of the character, you buy the booklets which contain them, at the price that someone else gives them.
1987: the first object designed for collectors
The second peak of the file arrives on April 14, 1987, forty-six years after the first.
The price displayed is enough to understand what is at stake:$2.95, when an ordinary fascicle exchanged for around seventy-five cents. Long format, better quality paper, story in three volumes designed as a whole, written and drawn by the same person —Mike Grell.
This is the first object in the entire file that is not a newsstand magazine. It is not aimed at a child who buys at random, but at an adult reader, ready to pay four times the current price for an ambitious story sold in specialized stores.
This shift explains the current value of these three volumes. They were printed in reasonable quantities, bought by people who kept them, and they are the entry point for all readers who came to the character after 1987.
A monthly series followed a few months later, arriving on October 20, 1987 priced at $1.00, always signed Grell. It lasted for years. Its first issue is easily found and remains very affordable — it is, in our opinion, one of the best reports in the file.
What eight seasons of television produced
This character offers a case study that exists almost nowhere else: a television adaptation started in 2012, completed in 2020, of which we can therefore observe the complete cycle, including the aftermath.
Three observations that contradict common intuition.
A long adaptation ceases to be an event. The first seasons produced the expected effect: curiosity, arrival of new readers, increased demand for identifiable stories. Then the series becomes a permanent setting. She continues to recruit, but she is no longer in the news, and the market stops reacting to her announcements. Eight years transform an event into a fact.
Recruitment matters more than speculation. Over such a period, the measurable effect is not the surge in a few issues, it is the lasting expansion of the readership. Many current buyers came to the character through the screen and stayed. This demand is slow, regular, and it does not ebb.
The end of a series does not cause the rating to drop, it dries up the supply. Since the broadcast stopped, nothing has collapsed. Simply, the flow of newcomers has reduced. It is an erosion from above, very slow, invisible over a few months and perfectly readable over a decade.
Practical translation: on this file, there is no purchase window to watch for. We detail the discrepancies between the series and the original stories in ourcomparison devoted to adaptation.
Edition distinctions to know
Four points, in chronological order.
1941. The original booklet only exists in one version. No price variations, no foreign editions, no period reprints. This is an appreciable simplification on such an old object.
1983. The first limited series in his name displays $0.60 on the main print run, but the catalog also notes a Canadian version at $0.75 and a British price of £0.25, as well as a distinction between newsstand copies and store copies. On an inexpensive part, these variations do not cause a considerable difference, but they exist.
2001. The relaunch written by Kevin Smith , arrived on February 28, 2001 , experienced three successive reprints. It's a great indicator of the era's success — and a classic trap. A reprint never has the value of a first printing, and the mention appears on the interior pages, not on the cover. Ask for a photo of the legal notices.
After 2010. The diet changes completely. The first issue of the series launched in April 2023 exists in six different covers: hardcovers, metallic versions, blank cover, several artists. These variations are designed, not suffered; their bonus is concentrated in the first weeks and then evaporates.
The state, according to the era
Three very different regimes coexist in this file.
About 1941-1960, the dominant question is the conservation of the block: fragile paper, mobile central notebooks, tired staples. On thick anthologies, examining the spine takes precedence over everything else.
About 1987-2001, the paper holds up better, and the defects come from handling in the store: open corners, reading creases, discoloration of the spine by exposure to light. The 1987 elongated format is particularly vulnerable at the corners.
After 2010, production is abundant and perfect condition is the standard. The rating only makes a difference in price at the very last rungs, making certification rarely profitable.
Three costly mistakes
Search for keys between 1942 and 1986. There isn't one. Sellers sometimes present a booklet from this period as an important milestone; it's almost always wrong, and the asking price reflects the host magazine, not the character.
Confusing series launched after 2010. Several identical titles followed one another a few years apart, each starting at number 1. The only reliable benchmark is the cover date, never the number alone.
Pay for a reprint at the price of the first print. The problem mainly concerns the 2001 relaunch, the three reprints of which are circulating in abundance. The notice is discreet and located inside.
A fourth, more insidious mistake deserves to be pointed out:buy an old booklet based on a story title. The companion episodes have evocative titles—there is constant mention of arrows and archers—and a seller may mistake them for notable milestones. These are ordinary episode titles, published at the rate of one per month for years, and they do not designate anything in particular.
Where to enter
The best report: the first issue of the monthly series from October 1987. Inexpensive, easy to find, and it opens several years of coherent stories.
The exhibition piece: the three volumes from April 1987, to buy together. They form a complete object and are the entry point for most modern readers.
Heritage acquisition: the 1941 fascicle, to be reserved for collections already established. See our article onfirst appearancefor the authentication precautions, essential for this object.
To choose your readings, consult ourbest runs.
Your questions about this rating
Two, separated by forty-six years. More Fun Comics #73, went on sale September 19, 1941 for 10 cents, and the three-volume series arrived April 14, 1987 for $2.95. Between the two, the folder contains no real keys, making it a very unusual structure.
Because the character was published as a supplementary section - six to eight pages behind the headline of another magazine - from 1946 to the 1960s. This format produces no significant first appearance, no death, no upheaval: six pages per month, indefinitely, without an event likely to leave a mark on the market.
No, and this is the most common mistake. Their price is not set by him but by the star of the magazine and by the events that occur there — debuts of other characters, origins sought by other audiences. You don't buy its episodes, you buy the booklets that contain them, at the price someone else gives them.
Precisely because it was a complementary section. A supplement does not have its own sales figures: what we measure is the performance of the magazine, carried by its star. It cost little to produce and was not subject to arbitrage. He didn't survive because he was selling, he survived because he wasn't counted.
Because it is the first item in the file designed for collectors rather than for a newsstand: $2.95 when an ordinary booklet was worth seventy-five cents, elongated format, better paper, complete story written and drawn by Mike Grell. It was aimed at an adult readership in specialized stores, and it is the entry point for almost all readers who came after.
Yes, but in a different way than a film. Broadcast from 2012 to 2020, it mainly expanded the readership sustainably rather than causing outbreaks: over eight years, an adaptation ceases to be an event and becomes a permanent setting. Since its shutdown, nothing has collapsed — only the flow of newcomers is reducing, very slowly.
The reprints of the 2001 relaunch, arriving on February 28: three successive reprints are circulating, and the mention appears on the interior pages, never on the cover. Ask for a photo of the legal notices. Second trap: several series launched after 2010 bear the same title starting at number 1 — only the cover date distinguishes them.
On parts after 2010, no: production is abundant, perfect condition is the norm, and the grade only makes a difference at the last rungs. On 1987, this can be discussed for an impeccable copy. In 1941, the certification answers a different question than the score, and it becomes difficult to get around.
Follow the odds of your Green Arrow number by number with My Comics Collection.
Discover the application