Venom's foundational issue, Amazing Spider-Man #300, trades around a €529 median on eBay (101 listings, June 2026) — enough to attract reprints, facsimiles and confusion. The only true first print is the May 1988 edition, $1.50 cover price, in either direct (Spider-Man head logo in the box) or newsstand (UPC barcode) format. Marvel's facsimile edition dates to 2023 and carries a modern cover price. Here are the verifiable tells so you don't get burned.
On expensive issues, the risk is almost never a "fake" in the sense of a fully counterfeit print run: it's the official reprints, second prints, facsimile editions and badly described listings that get confused with the first print. ASM #300 collects all three.
This guide sticks to verifiable markers: cover price, indicia, edition type (direct vs newsstand) and official Marvel listings. No invented values — when a figure can't be verified, we keep it qualitative.
The real first print of ASM #300 (May 1988)
The first print of Venom's first full appearance, cover and inks by Todd McFarlane, has consistent markers (sources: Marvel Database, QualityComix, comicspriceguide):
- Date: May 1988 in the indicia (published around May 10, 1988).
- Cover price: $1.50 printed top-left.
- 52 pages (Spider-Man's 25th-anniversary issue).
- No "reprint," "2nd printing," "facsimile" or "not for resale" anywhere.
If any of these differ — a modern cover price, a recent indicia date, an explicit reprint note — you are not holding the 1988 first print.
Direct vs newsstand: neither is a fake
Many buyers confuse the two legitimate versions of the first print. Neither is a reprint (source: slabdata.com):
- Direct edition (sold through comic shops): a Spider-Man head logo in the white box at the lower left, in place of the barcode.
- Newsstand edition: a UPC barcode in that same spot. Fewer survive in high grade, so it's often considered the rarer of the two.
Both are genuine 1988 first prints: the barcode, not a defect, is what separates them.
Reprints and facsimiles not to confuse
| Edition | The tell | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Marvel facsimile (2023) | Modern cover price, 2023 indicia, recent Marvel UPC; a foil variant also exists | Recent official reprint |
| Promotional "Not for resale" reprints | Printed "Not for resale" note (e.g. DVD-set tie-ins) | No first-print value |
| "Niagara Falls" reprint | Reprint variant listed separately in price guides | Regional reprint, not the 1st print |
| Chromium / modern variant covers | Metallic finish absent from the 1988 edition | Reprint variant |
The 2023 facsimile edition is the most common trap: Marvel reproduces the original "original ads and all," so the interior looks like 1988 (sources: Marvel.com, ComicBook.com). But the cover carries a modern price and the indicia reads 2023 — two five-second checks.
How to verify before buying
- Read the indicia (the small legal text block on the first or last page): the date and copyright should read 1988.
- Check the cover price: $1.50 for the first print. A higher price means a recent edition.
- Scan for any note reading "reprint," "facsimile," "2nd printing" or "not for resale."
- For investment, prefer a CGC-graded copy: the label states whether it's the first print, a facsimile or a reprint, removing the ambiguity.
- Compare the listing to the current value: an "ASM #300" priced far below the eBay median (€529, June 2026) is often a mislabeled reprint.
The same reflex applies to other Venom keys: #316 (first full cover, €208 median · 100 listings) and #252 (first black suit, €244 · 99 listings) as of June 2026. Always check indicia date, cover price and edition type before you pay.
Unsure about your Amazing Spider-Man #300? Get a free valuation with our tool based on real eBay sales to place your copy against the current market.