The comic book market has been pretty insane for the past few years, with prices skyrocketing to due to speculation among collectors and the overall popularity of certain books. Yet at the same time there are always issues that do slip under the radar, and today’s undervalued comics could very well be tomorrow’s hot new keys.
Below we’ve broken out a few such books that we think are under appreciated and likely to see an increase in price in the not-too-distant future. So without further ado, let’s jump into our list of the 10 most undervalued comics of 2022.
1. Future State: Wonder Woman #1
- Published: January 2021
- Estimated Price: $15 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: 1st full appearance of Yara Flor, the Brazilian Wonder Woman.
- Why We Picked It: Despite being a relatively new character, Yara Flor was popular enough that the CW briefly greenlit (and then pulled the plug on) a Wonder Girl TV series. That alone suggests that the character is only going to continue to grow in popularity. You can also still pick these books up for relatively cheap, making it one undervalued comic worth snagging in 2022.
2. Uncanny X-Men #120
- Published: April 1979
- Estimated Price: $180 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: 1st cameo appearance of Alpha Flight
- Why We Picked It: Alpha Flight seems like a superhero team begging for inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you’re sceptical, remember that at one point the Guardians of the Galaxy were forgettable B-team dollar bin fodder before they exploded into the MCU. We also recommend snagging X-Men #121 (which marks the first full appearance of Alpha Flight)
3. Batman #656
- Published: October 2006
- Estimated Price: $20 (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: 1st full appearance of Damian Wayne
- Why We Picked It: While technically Damian Wayne’s first appearance is in the Batman: Son of the Demon graphic novel (which was later retconned by Grant Morrison) it seems likely that the son of Bruce Wayne is destined for bigger and better things (including a possible appearance in film and television). We also recommend checking out Batman #654, which is the first cameo of Damian and arguably one of the greatest Batman comic covers of all time.
4. West Coast Avengers #45
- Published: June 1989
- Estimated Price: $50 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: 1st appearance of the White Vision
- Why We Picked It: While prices for this book shot up after the Disney+ WandaVision series, they’ve since cooled off. It’s unlikely, however, that we’ve seen the last of the White Vision in the MCU, which makes this one undervalued book worth scooping up on the cheap.
5. Justice League Dark #1
- Published: November 2011
- Estimated Price: $15 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: 1st team appearance of Justice League Dark: Hellblazer, Shade the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman and Zatanna.
- Why We Picked It: With J.J Abrams rumored to be developing a Justice League Dark film (and Warner Bros. possibly eyeing the horror-meets-hero vibe of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness) this books seems criminally undervalued and can still be picked up for a few bucks or even found in the occasional dollar bin.
6. Giant-Size Defenders #3
- Published: November 1987
- Estimated Price: $300 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: 1st appearance of Korvac
- Why We Picked It: With Korvac (the 31st century cybernetic villain and longtime Guardians of the Galaxy nemesis) rumored to be appearing soon in the MCU, this book is likely to explode in value, making it one spec that’s worth snagging now before it heats up.
7. Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1
- Published: November 2011
- Estimated Price: $200 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: First solo title and 2nd appearance of Miles Morales
- Why We Picked It: With prices for Ultimate Fallout #4 (which of course, marks the first appearance of Miles Morales) climbing rapidly, your next best bet might be this book. Given that Miles’ popularity is only likely to grow, there’s a good chance the ceiling has yet to be reached on this key.
8. Avengers #144
- Published: February 1976
- Estimated Price: $45 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: Patsy Walker becomes Hellcat after finding the first Cat’s superhero suit
- Why We Picked It: Marvel has recently been refocusing efforts on Hellcat (with new books like Iron Man / Hellcat Annual #1) so it seems inevitable that we’ll see more of the Pasty Walker version of the character. That makes this an incredibly affordable (and much undervalued) book given its current price tag.
9. Amazing Spider-Man #294
- Published: November 1987
- Estimated Price: $40 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: Death of Kraven the Hunter
- Why We Picked It: Let’s face it, most of us aren’t going to be able to drop $5K on the first appearance of Kraven in Amazing Spider-Man #15 (a book that’s seen a massive spike in value given the rumors of a possible Kraven film). This book, however, just might be the next best thing and remains a classic Kraven key as well as being one of the greatest Spider-Man comic covers of all time.
10. Green Lantern #87
- Published: December 1971
- Estimated Price: $1,100 USD (Raw High Grade)
- Why It’s a Key: 1st appearance of John Stewart and 2nd appearance of Guy Gardner.
- Why We Picked It: While this book isn’t exactly cheap, given it’s importance to the Green Lantern universe (and DC universe as a whole) it’s also criminally undervalued. With John Stewart set to appear in the upcoming HBO Max Green Lantern television series, we can likely expect raw and graded copies of this book to see a massive price climb.
So there you have it! Our picks for the 10 most undervalued comics of 2022. Are there any issues you think we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
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