The reading corner for collectors and enthusiasts, brought to you by GPAnalysis
Behind the Panels — The Unsung Heroes of Comic Book Creation
Comic books are often celebrated for their colorful splash pages, iconic heroes, and captivating story arcs. The spotlight usually falls on the marquee names: the writer whose story weaves through the panels, or the artist whose style defines a generation.
Have Comics Been a Good Long-Term Investment?
Over 55 years, a 1970 “blue-chip” basket of top Golden Age comics bought for $3,620 and held would now be worth about $7.9 million—crushing inflation, stocks, and gold with a 15% annualized return—though that performance is driven by key first appearances and classic covers and doesn’t guarantee future results.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (November 18 – December 1, 2025)
Platinum/Golden Age material absolutely dwarfs every other era this fortnight, with over $11.4M in top-5 title sales, far outpacing Silver, Bronze, and Modern eras combined.
Superman #1 Sells for $9.12 Million, Becomes Most Expensive Comic Book Ever Sold
A CGC 9.0 copy of Superman #1 (1939) just sold for $9.12 million, shattering the record for the most expensive comic ever sold. Discovered in a cardboard box in a family attic, this copy became the headline item at Heritage Auctions’ Comic Books Signature® Auction on Nov. 20.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (November 4 – November 17, 2025)
Silver Age titles led by Amazing Spider-Man faced fierce competition this fortnight, as Platinum/Golden Age sales surged past $700K, overtaking Bronze and Modern eras to claim the top spot.
GPA Surpasses 7 Million Sales — Over $2.25 Billion in Logged Transactions
Since 2001, GPA has tracked every sale that shapes the CGC-graded comic market. Now, with 7 million logged, it’s more than data — it’s history in motion.
Behind the Panels: The Best Collaborations Between Comic Book Creators and Movie Directors
Let’s get one thing straight — translating a comic book to film is no mere act of adaptation. It's alchemy. You're taking the shorthand visual poetry of 22-page panels, dreamed up by overcaffeinated visionaries, and converting them into multimillion-dollar spectacles. Sometimes, that transformation gets messy. Other times? Magic.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (October 21 to November 3, 2025)
$4.9M in sales across 19,341 graded books, with a $99 median price. Amazing Spider-Man (1963) dominated volume again, while a CGC 6.0 Hulk #1 topped the charts at $42.5K.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (October 6 to October 19, 2025)
A steady fortnight of sales saw Silver Age staples hold strong while modern indies and overlooked decades gained quiet momentum across the CGC market.
Comeback Issues: The forgotten comics now surging
The next sleeper hit might already be in your longbox — you just haven’t looked at it in a while.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (September 23 – October 6, 2025)
The graded market moved $4.5M across 19,875 slabs with a $92 median. Amazing Spider-Man (1963) led volume at 1,326 sales, while Amazing Fantasy #15 topped the charts at $30K. Silver and Bronze Age keys drove most value, with Absolute Batman (2024) emerging as the standout modern mover.
Did You Make a Good Purchase?
Pure collectors are driven entirely by passion — the love of comic books and the joy of owning the issues they care about. Whether a book’s value soars or tanks is irrelevant to these paragons of funny page virtue. Collectors might rank their interest in a comic on a scale from 1 to 10 and generally spend their time curating comics that rate between a 7 and a 10.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (September 9 – September 22, 2025)
The fortnight’s $12.2M in graded comic sales highlights Golden Age strength with a record Flash Comics #1 sale, Silver Age stability driven by Spider-Man and Marvel’s core, and steady demand across Bronze and Modern keys. From Superman’s roots to today’s indie breakouts, every era found its moment.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (August 27 – September 9, 2025)
The most recent fortnight of trading underscores both stability and surprise in the graded comic market. With $5.2M in sales across 21,249 slabs and a median price of $91, the market remains robust. From Spider-Man’s ongoing reign to a record-setting Casper sale, the numbers show a market spread evenly across eras yet punctuated by standout moments.
Source: GPAnalysis.com, sales recorded from August 27th to September 9th, 2025.
When the Story Just… Stops: Comic Book Runs That Deserved More
Some comics hit you so hard, not because they blew your mind—but because they were this close to greatness before the plug got pulled. A canceled series, an unfinished arc, a disappearing creative team—sometimes it’s not poor sales or fan reception that buries a comic, but the very real logistics of publishing.
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (August 13 – August 26, 2025)
Between August 13–26, 2025, the market saw $5M in CGC sales across 22,000 books, with a $92 median price. Amazing Spider-Man (1963) led volume, and Amazing Fantasy #15 topped sales at $34,800. Silver Age Marvel keys held dominance, while Bronze Age icons and modern indies like Invincible and BRZRKR kept demand balanced across eras.
Overrated Comics: When Hype Hijacks the Hobby
Let’s be honest: every collector has had that moment—eyes wide at a listing on GPA, heart racing at an auction, palms a little sweaty thinking, “Should I grab this now before it skyrockets?”
But what if the comic you’re eyeing isn’t actually rare, or even meaningful? What if it’s…overrated?
Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (July 30 – August 12, 2025)
In the most recent fortnight (July 30th to August 12th, 2025), GPAnalysis reports $6.2 million in sales from 21,325 CGC-graded comics, magazines, and pulps.
🕰️ Silver Age – Led by Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Amazing Fantasy.
🦸♂️ Golden Age – Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman maintained strong sales.
💥 Bronze Age – Incredible Hulk and Giant-Size X-Men dominated the era.
📼 1990s – Steady gains from New Mutants and Spider-Man (1990).✍️ Modern Eras – Creator-driven hits like Invincible, Ultimate Fallout, and ASM (2022) led their decades.