100 Hot Comics #3:
Amazing Spider-Man #1, 1st Solo Title, Fantastic Four Crossover

100 Hot Comics: Amazing Spider-Man 1, 1st Solo Title, Fantastic Four Crossover Story. Click to buy a copy from Goldin

Click here to buy your copy of this book today!

Why Amazing Spider-Man #1 is a Hot Comic

2024 MARKET REPORT: MORE WARM THAN HOT

Some years ago, a 4 out of 10 in the hotness scale would put a book in the 40-60 range on the 100 list. Now it's in the top 10. There are just a bunch of 1s and 0s lower down.

That said, ASM #1 is a truly popular collectible. It will never go out of style.

2023 MARKET REPORT: POOR MAN'S AF#15?

A record-smashing $336K in CGC 9.6, a $168K sale in 9.2... And lots of turnover in all grades.

This is a hot book, and probably always will be. Even in a tough market, ASM #1 is a goldmine.

2022 MARKET REPORT: THE CASE CAN BE MADE FOR THIS BOOK BEING EVEN HIGHER ON THE LIST

Some amazing new high sales and lots of upward price movement means this book is really hot.

It's below a few other books because it's not a first appearance book; and also it's starting to get priced out of the average collector's reach. This won't affect well-heeled buyers, but Amazing Spider-Man fans will struggle to afford one. (Should have done the Amazing Spider-MATH, people!)

Anyway, the news is pretty positive for people who hold this book as an investment. There's really not much more to say. Nothing can really affect the value of this book as far as MCU news goes or anything like that. It's just a key issue that most Marvel and Spidey people want to own.

Recent sales:

9.4 $241,000
9.2 $168,000
8.5 $72,000
8.0 $45,000
7.5 $51,600
7.0 $42,650
6.5 $38,400
6.0 $25,300
5.5 $27,500
5.0 $28,800 (!!)
4.5 $16,800
4.0 $15,600
3.5 $16,400
3.0 $15,000
2.5 $14,400
2.0 $9,700
1.8 $8,690
1.5 $8,050
1.0 $6,500
0.5 $3,900

2021 MARKET UPDATE: STEADY BUT NOT SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE

Once a key issue gains a certain momentum, it can be hard to see sustained increases in price. People get priced out of the book and look elsewhere for buying options.

ASM #1 has definitely appreciated in value this year, but there are other books with bigger percentage changes. It's still a must-own though. Recent sales:

8.5 $50,400
8.0 $45,000
7.0 $25,200
6.5 $23,000
6.0 $18,000
4.5 $9,000
3.5 $8,450
3.0 $5,125
2.5 $5,520
2.0 $5,600
1.8 $5,160
1.5 $4,500
1.0 $4,275
0.5 $3,450

IF YOU BOUGHT MY RECOMMENDED GRADE LAST YEAR:

Here's the bottom line.

CGC 4.0 2019 $7,620
LAST SALE $8,625
PERCENT CHANGE +13%

2020 MARKET UPDATE: SPIDER STILL CLIMBING

Hotness is more about big gains. This book sells quickly and strongly in any grade, from 1.0 to 7.0, and we seldom can keep it in stock for long!

Here are recent prices. Many new record sales in grade for the year:

9.0 $66,000
8.0 $44,400
7.0 $28,800
6.5 $22,000
6.0 $17,700
4.5 $10,666
3.5 $6,322
3.0 $5,125
2.5 $6,150(!!!)
2.0 $4,201
1.8 $4,560(!!)
1.5 $3,650
1.0 $2,900
0.5 $2,200

2019 MARKET UPDATE: PROFITS ARE NOT FAR FROM HOME

I touched on the idea last time around that ASM #1 is the poor man's Amazing Fantasy #15.

This book has performed really well in the past 12 months. Will it soon be priced out of most collectors' reach too?

In the Amazing Spider-MATH, I talked about how you should buy the biggest book in a run first -- even borrow money to do so. (Never buy what you cannot afford.)

You'd be feeling pretty good if you'd taken that advice last time around.

I see no reason for ASM #1 to not continue appreciating in double-digit percentages. Higher grades might be too expensive to be worthwhile investments: consider buying multiple lower-grade copies.

Recent sales:

CGC 8.5 $48,000
CGC 7.5 $36,000
CGC 6.0 $14,000
CGC 5.0 $13,500
CGC 4.5 $9,600
CGC 4.0 $8,100
CGC 3.0 $6,493
CGC 2.0 $4,582
CGC 1.8 $4,975 (!)

2018 MARKET UPDATE: SPIDEY'S MOVING UP IN THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE...

While Amazing Fantasy #15 is on every Marvel collector's want list, it has been priced out for many collectors in most grade levels.

Spider-Man: Homecoming made the world's hottest character even hotter, and Spidey's inclusion in the Avengers Infinity War storyline doesn't hurt either.

If you're looking for an alternative to the unaffordable AF #15, then ASM #1 is the obvious choice. And the market is moving as a result of all that money moving into this book. Especially evident since 2017, there have been strong sales in the VG to FN range.

CGC 8.0 $30,000
CGC 7.5 $21,500
CGC 6.0 $11,200
CGC 5.0 $8,900
CGC 4.5 $10,800 (!!)
CGC 4.0 $5,500
CGC 3.0 $5,450
CGC 2.0 $4,000
CGC 1.8 $3,400

2017 MARKET UPDATE:

With only 100 books, any "must-buy" list is going to be controversial. We received plenty of questions about the omission of ASM #1 last year. Most went something like, "WTF?!"

Truth was, when I first compiled the list, ASM #1 was in a little bit of a price slump. It isn't enough for a book to be in demand. To be truly hot, I want to see lots of price increases, and ideally above average for that book.

This is a true blue-chip Marvel mega-key. But this year has seen those price increases, so it's on the list. One to buy and hold, and hold, and hold. Don't expect 10 percent year-on-year.