100 Hot Comics #20: Amazing Spider-Man 20, 1st Scorpion

100 Hot Comics: Amazing Spider-Man 20, 1st Scorpion. Click to find yours at Goldin

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Why Amazing Spider-Man 20 is a Hot Comic

2024 MARKET UPDATE: STING IN THE TAIL

You won't find any record sales this year, but we saw steady interest in this second-string Silver Age key, and that is definitely enough for a top 20 finish in a market like this.

2023 MARKET UPDATE: WHERE IS THE SCORPION?

No sign of the Scorpion in the MCU... yet.

It's only a matter of time. HOLD!

2022 MARKET UPDATE: RECORDS SMASHED IN HIGH GRADE!

Lots of Silver Age Spider-Man comics have done well this year. The top grade for ASM #20 more than doubled its previous best, from $18K to $45K, while the Curator pedigree copy sold for $65K.

Back in the land of "we can probably afford this", there were strong sales across the board. All based on MCU rumor, I suspect.

Recent sales:

9.8 $45,000
9.2 $7,800
9.0 $4,080
8.5 $3,100
8.0 $2,640
7.5 $2,225
7.0 $2,040
6.5 $1,870
6.0 $1,545
5.5 $780
5.0 $1,080(!!!)
4.5 $800
4.0 $980(!!)
3.5 $720
3.0 $750
2.0 $315
1.8 $600 (OMG)
1.5 $230

2021 MARKET UPDATE: SCORPION CRAWLS A LITTLE HIGHER

Like most MCU-speculator books, this back issue has gone mostly sideways, with some stronger sales in late 2020 keeping it on the hot list.

Our 8.0 pick returned 21 percent this year.

Recent sales:

9.4 $5,280
9.2 $3,050
9.0 $2,350
8.5 $1,800
8.0 $1,500
7.5 $1,250
7.0 $1,000
6.5 $1,000
6.0 $650
5.5 $575
5.0 $450
4.5 $525
4.0 $610(!!)
3.5 $405
3.0 $315
2.5 $280
2.0 $200

IF YOU BOUGHT MY RECOMMENDED GRADE LAST YEAR:

Here's the bottom line.

CGC 8.0 2020 $1,233
LAST SALE $1,498
PERCENT CHANGE +21%

2020 MARKET UPDATE: SCORPION'S NON-ARRIVAL STINGS SPECULATORS

For a while, the Scorpion was nailed on as an antagonist in the upcoming Marvel movies. And then... he wasn't.

What happened? Not sure, but all I can say certainly is Amazing Spider-Man 20 is dropping in value fast.

Its place on the hot list is a little misleading: it's probably a bit better than the 90s.

2019 MARKET UPDATE: HOTTEST SILVER AGE SPIDER-MAN COMIC

I've heard plenty of rumor about the next Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and none of it seems to involve The Scorpion.

That doesn't seem to have deterred the excitement about this issue. The mid-credits scene which lit the fuse under Amazing Spider-Man 20.

Last year, I recommended CGC 8.0. If you acted on that advice, then you'd be sitting on a great profit (+50 percent!). Here are recent sales.

CGC 9.2: $2,880
CGC 9.0 $2,500
CGC 8.5 $1,440 (!)
CGC 8.0 $1,700
CGC 7.5 $913
CGC 6.0 $595
CGC 4.0 $355

Note that some grades have barely appreciated (9.2 for example).

I still like the 8.0 and continue to recommend it. Sean and I put a CGC 8.0 in our "private vault" of comic book investments this year.

2018 MARKET UPDATE: NEW ENTRY ON THIS YEAR'S LIST!

At the end of the 2017 movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Vulture (played by Michael Keaton) talks to a fellow inmate of the prison.

The inmate has a scarred face, and it turns out to be none other than MacDonald "Mac" Gargan, aka The Scorpion.

As you might expect, this predictive post-credits scene has proven effective in driving up prices in the past -- including Amazing Spider-Man #2, which featured the Vulture's first outing.

Prices of ASM #20 did exactly as predicted. It's not quite Bitcoin, but it is still a decent return on investment if you are patient.

Here are some recent sales of CGC-Graded issues of ASM #20:

CGC 9.2: $2,600
CGC 9.0 $2,700(!!)
CGC 8.5 $1,200
CGC 8.0 $940
CGC 7.5 $810
CGC 6.0 $475
CGC 4.0 $185

Those prices are comfortably 40 to 70 percent up on the average sale price from 2015, and this book will continue to set new records in each grade until just before the next Spider-Man movie comes out sometime in 2019.

When you hit your target price, cash in. Don't be selling pumpkins after Halloween. Take your profit a couple of weeks before the movie hits, and be happy.

What to Invest In

We think the sweet spot for ASM #20 is CGC 8.0, affordable but with upside. Click to find yours st Goldin

As the sales data above shows, prices are very volatile on this book (CGC 9.0 selling for the same price as a 9.2 is always an indicator of a tricky market, or of somebody with an itchy credit card finger who did not do their homework on a Buy it Now price!).

2019 is a long way off yet. Don't be the person who jumps too quickly. Take your time researching, and wait for the right copy to come your way.

The most recent sale of a CGC 8.0 is a couple of hundred bucks below the record price. There are PLENTY out there. Plenty.

Amazing Spider-Man #20 is a common book in almost any grade. You can afford to be choosy, and look for one with a clean, attractive front cover.