The highest documented sale for a Venom comic is an Amazing Spider-Man #300 newsstand edition in CGC 9.8, sold for $18,600 at Heritage Auctions on July 28, 2022. In high-grade "standard" (direct edition), the foundational issue's commonly cited record is around $13,500, while its all-grades eBay median sits at €528.99 (101 listings, June 2026). Here are the genuinely sourced records, and the gap with the live market.
Venom is a Copper Age character (first full appearance in 1988): there is no "Silver Age Venom." His auction records therefore concentrate on a small set of key issues, and only a few have produced documented headline sales.
This guide sticks to verifiable records (Heritage Auctions, QualityComix, GoCollect) and real-time eBay medians via our estimator. No invented figures: when a specific sale isn't documented, we leave it out.
The record: ASM #300 in CGC 9.8 newsstand
The highest documented sale for a Venom comic is Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988, first full appearance of Venom, Todd McFarlane cover). A newsstand edition graded CGC 9.8 sold for $18,600 at Heritage Auctions on July 28, 2022 (source: Heritage Auctions).
The key detail: it's the newsstand edition (UPC barcode, lower print run and rarer high-grade survival) that achieved this record. A direct edition in CGC 9.8 sold for ~$5,040 at Heritage in June 2022, and the commonly cited "standard" record for the issue is around $13,500 (sources: QualityComix, GoCollect). In other words: at the same grade, the variant alone drives a 3-to-4x swing in the final price.
The precursor: Secret Wars #8 (1984)
Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 (December 1984) is the origin of the black symbiote suit — Venom's direct precursor, with no eBay tool (our estimator covers Amazing Spider-Man only). On documented records: a CGC 9.9 copy sold for $10,800 on April 7, 2024, while CGC 9.8 copies traded in a range of roughly $2,100 to $3,850 depending on the sale (source: GoCollect). The 9.9 is the statistical exception; the 9.8 remains the accessible high-grade benchmark.
Records vs current eBay medians (June 2026)
The contrast between a certified high-grade record and eBay's all-grades median is the main lesson of this guide:
| Issue | Significance | Documented record | eBay median |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASM #300 (1988) | 1st full Venom | $18,600 (CGC 9.8 newsstand) | €528.99 · 101 listings |
| Secret Wars #8 (1984) | Black suit origin | $10,800 (CGC 9.9) | not indexed |
| ASM #252 (1984) | 1st black suit (616) | — | €243.80 · 99 listings |
| ASM #316 (1989) | 1st full Venom cover | — | €207.78 · 100 listings |
| ASM #361 (1992) | 1st Carnage | — | €115 · 101 listings |
The "all grades combined" eBay median is pulled down by raw copies, lots and low grades: for ASM #300, active listings range from ~€3.67 (lot/damaged) to over €3,600 (certified high grade), with a €528.99 median (our estimator, June 2026). The records above therefore apply to only a tiny slice of the market: certified high grade in the rarest variant.
What these records tell a collector
- CGC certification changes everything. The gap between a €528.99 median and an $18,600 record is explained almost entirely by grade and variant. Without a high-grade CGC slab, a copy will never approach those peaks.
- The newsstand variant is the real multiplier. For ASM #300, newsstand beat direct by a factor of ~3.7 at the same grade. Always check the barcode before buying.
- Records are not the going rate. A record is an extreme data point, not a reference value. To value a typical copy, the median is what matters — not the record bid.
Own a Venom comic? Get a free valuation with our tool based on real eBay sales to find its low, median and high value.