Collecting vintage comics is no easy task. Buying them from auction sites is easy, but that will end up costing you a lot of money if a bidding war ensues. And there’s also buyer’s premium to consider. On the other hand, you could go through resellers or comic book stores, but that takes a lot of time and effort to research and network, especially if you’re looking for a particular issue. However, it seems Heritage Auctions has currently listed a number of coveted vintage comics at surprisingly low prices. Make no mistake, some of them still cost thousands of dollars, but that’s still way cheaper than what these vintage issues usually go for. There’s just one little caveat, though; many of the issues in this lot have received mid to low grades.
Of course, higher grades are preferred when it comes to collecting vintage items, but they also come with high prices. If you’re not a stickler for the quality of these comics, this lot includes some milestone issues for great prices. Let’s go from the lowest price to the highest. First up is The Amazing Spider-Man #2, featuring the third ever appearance of Spidey and the debut of the Vulture. While you’d normally pay upwards of $30,000 for a good version of this issue, you can get this one for just $410, thanks to its CGC GD+ 2.5. It’s not in bad condition, it’s rustic! With Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon, you’d think Doctor Doom’s debut comic would go for tens of thousands of dollars, but you can nab this CGC VG+ 4.5 copy of Fantastic Four #5 for just $2,100.
Considering how popular the MCU made Iron Man, it’s no surprise that artwork from his first appearance comic recently went for almost $4,000,000. However, you can get the entire issue for just $2,800, thanks to its CGC VG/FN 5.0 grade. Keeping up with first appearances, this next one is quite a surprise: a CGC NM- 9.2 The Incredible Hulk #181, featuring the first appearance of Wolverine, for just $4,300. Sure, that’s not cheap, but the issue is usually worth ten times its weight in adamantium. Let’s now roll back 180 issues and get to Hulk’s debut in The Incredible Hulk #1. Despite a similarly graded issue going for $12,200 a few months ago, this CGC GD/VG 3.0 issue is currently going for just $4,800.
Finally, moving on to the big one. Since Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes of all time, it only makes sense that his first appearance copy costs millions of dollars. This Grail is usually out of reach for most comic book fans and collectors, with probably only the top 0.5% being able to afford it. However, this CGC FN+ 6.5 copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 is currently going for a ridiculously low price of $31,000. Now I know that most of us still can’t afford to pay that much for a comic book, but the price of this iconic issue almost never falls so low, even when it has a low grade. Heritage has clearly assembled this lot for a specific reason, giving collectors a chance to nab these big titles for relatively affordable prices.
Which of these do you think is the best deal? Let us know in the comments.
