😳 Why Are Collectors Buying DAMAGED KEY COMICS?!Top 10 HOTTEST Books of the Week 🔥

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Should you invest? Buy comic books that are incomplete. Missing coupons.

[00:00:03]>> Normally I say no, but sometimes you do.

[00:00:06]>> Number 10 on the list of the hottest comic books in the world. Over $360,000 in sales. Trending over the 12-month average on these books alone is wild.

[00:00:15]This is one of the best weeks we've seen thus far in 2026. Number 10 on the list is Defenders number one from 1972.

[00:00:21]First time this has ever landed on the Hot 10 ever since the creation of the list. and we've been covering it since day one over five years, >> which is crazy because this isn't even the first appearance of the Defenders.

[00:00:32]We're talking about Marvel Future 1 if you want that first appearance, which only has 25 9.8s. This has 35, which really isn't that many. And when you see a 98 sell for $3,400, that's up 14%. You kind of wonder like, is this a good value? I mean, it's a really great cover. It's a picture frame Marvel. That Marvel feature one is also good. It's a Neil Adams cover. Possibly two books you should be looking at considering Defenders are right around the corner.

[00:01:01]>> I love seeing this book on the list.

[00:01:02]Yes, it's a first solo title, but we're talking Defenders, which, you know, people are thinking right now of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist. This is Hulk, Subie, >> and Doctor Strange.

[00:01:13]>> Dude, totally different team. People don't care because they respect the collectible.

[00:01:18]>> If you want to talk about respect, here at number nine, Fantastic 4 number 52.

[00:01:21]This book periodically just hits the list for no rhyme or reason other than obviously the first appearance of Black Panther and a major key in the FF series and in comics period.

[00:01:30]>> Affordability. Very few, I would say, A-list Marvel characters. You can get mid-grade copies for around 500 bucks. I personally bought a 30 for like around 300. I just picked up an affordable key.

[00:01:42]I want to know in the comments section, what was the last affordable key you picked up? Let's jump to number eight with Conan the Barbarian issue number one. This is some historical sales that have just taken place this week. And I think some people may be surprised because there's a big misunderstanding about how well this book has performed since the comic boom. Ponan the Barbarian number one. People love this freaking book and they love the movie and a movie is around the corner with Arnold coming back. So that's extremely exciting for a massive generation of people who read this and watched him on the big screen. Now this book sold twice in a 9.8 8 for 9150.

[00:02:19]>> Two different sales, too. We checked the books >> and with an average of 7871.

[00:02:24]That's up 16%. Now, you talked about this book selling at highs. And this is an all-time high almost with the caveat of 2022 when this book sold for $14,000 plus dollars. Since then, it hasn't come anywhere near that except for these two numbers.

[00:02:42]>> That same year, the book trended below $8,000. That $14,000 was an overpayment.

[00:02:49]Something's up with that sale. I omit it entirely. These two sales taking place this month are they're record setting to me. This is the new all-time high that Conan one has reached. Number seven, Avengers number one. This book had an interesting sale at a 9.0, which appears to have gone under the radar, if you ask me, and undersold by potentially $10,000. We had a 9.0 0 in 2024 sell for $37,000.

[00:03:19]This one signed by Stanley on the interior page was a blue label. It doesn't have the certification of a yellow. So, I wonder if it got overlooked cuz it's sold for $35,380.

[00:03:31]I looked at the listing. Doesn't really market that there's a signature on the inside. Like, you have to kind of look for it. And at first glance, it does look like a standard blue label because it is. The signature is on the first page. Well, I would imagine if a Nino came to market, it would go for right around the same amount. Wouldn't be surprised if it sold a little bit higher. I think someone got a free sig.

[00:03:48]>> I think you're right. And if I had listed this book like that, I would be a little frustrated with Heritage not doing a better job on notating something so important.

[00:03:55]>> You know, by now I could be your comic dealer. I can send you your comics every single month. Cover price, pre-orders, bagged and boarded, shipped in a custom box. Dungeon Crawler Carl, we got the absolute Batman homages up for pre-sale right now. Dan Quintana, absolute 22.

[00:04:09]Don't miss it. Don't overpay. Hit comic.com. Pre-order it. Let's talk about number six on the list. Amazing Spider-Man number 14 from 1964. You love this book. I love this book. Dick Co, baby. 4.5 is up 37%. A 55 is up 35%.

[00:04:23]Let's talk about an incomplete copy.

[00:04:25]Some people would poo poo it. Missing a centerfold going for just over $700.

[00:04:31]What do you think about that?

[00:04:31]>> This is an interesting pickup by this person. I don't know if they had a centerfold and they wanted to marry it.

[00:04:36]Okay. But regardless, this presents like a four five in holder and it's got a spine roll. It needs a press. I mean, this is just one of those situations where you're like, damn, I can just get a nice looking copy, incomplete or not, for probably half if what of what I would have gotten it for if it was a graded 40 or 35. I think this is a great purchase. Not every major key needs to be complete. Especially if you don't mind that it's missing a centerfold or something. Like I would definitely stay clear of like problems on the cover, back cover, but it's just missing a coupon or something. You're saving like $1,000 and the book presents very well.

[00:05:15]I think most people as soon as we set it probably would poo poo an incomplete copy.

[00:05:20]>> 100%. I would generally do that.

[00:05:22]situations like this, especially with a color strike like that one. I mean, you're just kind of like, I probably would have paid 700 myself.

[00:05:29]>> Let us know what you think about that in the comment section below. Do you guys mind incomplete copies? Especially when the eye appeal is so good. Number five on the list is Amazing Spider-Man 129.

[00:05:38]Did you watch Punisher: Last Kill?

[00:05:39]>> I liked it, but I was shocked that I started getting messages from people who didn't like it because I just kind of thought, oh, it was good for me. I mean, I got to see this broken guy, which I understood why he was broken, and then just completely tear it up the rest of the movie. Okay, granted, he battled with demons, so I understand that he's got demons to get through. He's got to justify all the pain he's causing, all the destruction. You got to kind of build that up. It makes sense why we saw him screaming so much.

[00:06:07]>> Yeah. He went from this vengeful demon of like his past to like, oh, I have a higher purpose here, more than just revenge. Now I'm actually protecting like people I know in a territory. So I thought that was good.

[00:06:19]>> The action was dope and it definitely filled the void that I have like with the absence of Frank Castle in Born Again season 2. I will reserve my opinion to change however until after Brand New Day cuz as of right now I'm happy about it because I know we're going to see him on the big screen but depending on how that goes I may have expected more.

[00:06:41]>> Why was it called Last Kill? That's a really good question.

[00:06:44]>> Was it like is it last kill as a revenge kill and now it's different? I I just don't understand that. So like there's probably videos out there and I should probably freaking just Google it, but someone in the comments section tell me why it was called Last Kill.

[00:06:59]>> Last Kill sitting with a 75% Rotten Tomatoes, 83% audience score. What did you think about it? It was only 44 minutes long. I wish it was double the length, but maybe I just like being spoiled with superhero stuff. You have a convention you're going out to and we have a book to get to that is blowing my mind.

[00:07:16]>> Yeah. If you guys are in the Indiana area, come catch me there June 5th through the 7th. Ganadoo Comics is hosting a panel. I'll be sitting down there with Tyler Mine and some others answering some questions. Trivia this, trivia that. And there's going to be tons of prizes that he's going to be giving away. I'll also be set up at a booth. Follow me on Instagram. I'll get you some more details there. Golden Age Guru.

[00:07:35]>> Go see the guru. Number four on the list is Invincible number one. Brother, they came back. two 98s and one 96. I'm feeling pretty good right now.

[00:07:42]>> In the grand scheme, there's quite a few of that book for the print run size, but it's not the easiest paper. So, getting a 98 is a freaking win.

[00:07:50]>> Yo, congratulate me in the comment section by hitting the like button. We have some crazy sales of Invincible One this week. $7,200 sale. You sold one as well, right?

[00:07:59]>> Yeah, I got 7,300 for mine on my site.

[00:08:02]And like, let's not forget there was also a $7,900 sale and a $7,500 sale of this book. 7,900 is a record setting sale. This book is approaching 8K. I don't even know what to do with it right now. Like, I don't know if I want to sell it yet.

[00:08:16]>> If you're tracking this book, every year it's jumping. So, would I be surprised to see that book at 9K this time next year or more? Probably not.

[00:08:27]>> What do you think I should do in the comment section below? By the way, the freaking custom CGC label looks so damn good with Invincible on it.

[00:08:35]>> I was torn. It's like, do we give it our secret sound label or do I give it the custom label? So, going to have to just write some handwritten certifications of where that truly came from. Follow us on Instagram. That came from a collection purchase of over 350,000 comic books. Number three on the list is Incredible Hulk 181, first full appearance of Logan 94, crossing the $10,000 marker. Five five went up 16%. A 25 sold for 15% more this past week. No surprise, right? Like what is there more to say about this besides as Avengers Doomsday approaches, we're going to see more investments made in X-Men keys? I bet this is just the start of it. We're going to start seeing all these other undervalued X-Men books start to lift up during and post the movie.

[00:09:20]>> Clear this confidence in this book.

[00:09:22]We're consistently seeing it on the Hot 10, which means it's selling at least three times in a week above the 12-month average, >> including number two on the list with Giant Size X-Men number one. A 98 went for $27,000 this past week. And I like the comparison made over on the best comic app in existence, Key Collector Comics.

[00:09:41]Use that code tom 101. Get access to the hot 10 list. You get access to the entire catalog of comic books, every variant, every second printing, every version, every reprint. It's at your fingertips. It will better your comic hunt and collecting. There's a comparison between this book and ASM 122 that we got to get into. There are nearly 300 9.8 copies of Giantsized X-Men number one. And to give the comparison, Amazing Spider-Man 122, Death of Green Goblin has only 123 9.8s.

[00:10:13]So, you just wonder, I mean, they're both keys. I would feel that they should be a little bit closer. And I get they're like different price points. I think a 98 of a ASM122 is around a $3,800 book. Massive discrepancy in price, but it's still a key. So, you would think that this book in a 98 should at least be 220 copies.

[00:10:33]>> Yeah. What do you guys think in the comments section? Like, clearly, I think there's more people who would value a Giantsized X-Men in their collection. I mean, $20,000 difference is huge. But it also makes me feel like maybe ASM could be undervalued right now.

[00:10:45]>> I mean, let's just say it is. I mean, what do you think the price should be on a book like that then?

[00:10:49]>> I mean, only 123 copies, so at least closer to five.

[00:10:54]>> You let us know what you think. Let's talk about the number one hottest book in the world. The last book on this list, but the one to kick off Marvel, Fantastic 4 number one. A 70 broke $50,000, up 9%. And it wasn't this sale that put this book on the list. There's plenty of sales, but it was this high sale that put it at number one. That's some investment dollars. People believe in the first Marvel family.

[00:11:18]>> We get to see a 4.0 sale for $12,900 and a 1.0 sale for $5,452.

[00:11:24]That's a 24% increase from the 12-month average of that. Now, here's a little bit of a thought experiment. Would you buy an FF number one golden record reprint from 1966, that's 5 years later, it's basically the first reprint of this book for $5,000, or would you be buying a 1.0 of the original? Here's the kicker, Jeff. There are only 26 copies at a 9.8 of the Golden Record reprint.

[00:11:48]So, you can get a perfect looking book for the cost of a 1.0 first print. Which would you pick? And of course, as always, >> collect the old and gold and uh geek responsibly.

[00:11:58]>> Enough said. Take a look at the giveaway this week. EOM Virgin Variant limited to a thousand Absolute Wonder Woman issue number 15. All you have to do is join the SMS group, the text message group on comiccom.com and keep up with all of our updates, but you also get entered into every single giveaway we do, and we do a lot of them. Have a great week.