Comic book collectors have bid up prices from the prized Golden Age to new highs in 2021. Some Silver Age comics are also commanding sky-high prices, and some key issue comic books are up for grabs in the summer of 2021. There is an ongoing dilemma for collectors and investors alike. This is the debate of a key comic book character’s first appearance in a comic versus owning the first edition of their dedicated series.

Collectors Dashboard is evaluating key comic issued between the first comic books featuring The Amazing Spider-Man. The comic book series Amazing Fantasy #15 introduced the world to Spider-Man in July of 1962. Less than a year later came the release of The Amazing Spider-Man #1 series in March of 1963.

It has become undeniable that the market for collectibles has matured from being dominated by hobbyists into an alternative asset class that has investors and collectors competing for the exact same assets. That puts collectibles from comic books, stamps, coins, baseball cards and other collectibles competing directly for the same money that may have otherwise been invested into stocks, bonds and real estate.

The collectability and value of either Spider-Man key issues may be considered must-own editions for serious comic book collectors and investors alike. Spider-Man has been a comic book for nearly 50 years now, and the character from the famous Stan Lee and Steve Ditko has enjoyed a television series, and Spider-Man has appeared in more than 10 theatrical movies between the namesake Spider-Man releases and other films within the Marvel Universe.

The first appearance of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 is technically a $1-million comic in pristine condition. There are some 3,169 CGC graded examples of this first appearance, which is much more available than the scarcity of comic books from the Golden Age.

The high sale for the Amazing Fantasy #15 is a CGC near-mint graded 9.6 out of 10. This specific comic book sold for $1,100,000.00 in 2011. The website QualityComix.com estimates the value of the same comic sold in 2011 at minimum $1,500,000.00 in 2021. The website bleedingcool.com tracks high sales of the Amazing Fantasy #15 and here are some:

• CGC 9.2 $598,000.00 by ComicConnect 2019
• CGC 9.2 $454,100.00 by Heritage Auctions 2017
• In March, 2020 a CGC 9.4 was sold by Heritage Auctions for $795,000.00.

The Amazing Fantasy #15 comic book will sell in any condition. That is a testament to the popularity of Spider-Man and his first appearance. The website SellMyComicBooks.com recently listed a CGC 4.5 grade as selling for $38,400.00 and what must be a record low grade of CGC 0.5 selling for $8,500.00 — both in 2020.

Heritage Auctions had three of the Amazing Fantasy #15 comic books for auction in June 2021. Some of Heritage’s previous high sales had been listed as follows:

• CGC 9.4 $454,100.00 February 2016
• CGC 9.0 $191,200.00 February 2014
• CGC 8.0 $180,000.00 April 2020
• CGC 7.5 $156,000.00 April 2020
• CGC 8.5 $155,350.00 February 2017
• CGC 7.5 $144,000.00 November 2018

The Amazing Spider-Man issue #1 was the first edition of the Spider-Man series. There are many more copies which have survived and been graded since Spider-Man #1 came out less than a year after the Amazing Fantasy character’s debut. The value according to GoCollect.com is in the millions for a 9.8 CGC grade. They have represented that 4,206 examples have been graded. Of those, there are 2,888 universal examples, another 401 with a signature, and 867 examples which are restored.

A CGC 9.6 sold for $525,000.00 in November 2016. Some of Heritage Auctions’ recent sales are listed as follows:

• CGC 9.6 $262,900.00 November 2016
• CGC 9.2 $150,000.00 in April 2021
• CGC 9.4 $131,450.00 in November 2017
• CGC 9.4 $110,537.00
• CGC 9.2 $107,550.00

According to QualityComix.com, a Spider-Man #1 could have been purchased in FN 6.0 back in 2007 for just $4,000 at that time. Zooming forward to 2021 and that same exact copy would command about $18,000.