Top of the Stack: Best-Selling Comic Titles by Decade (November 18 – December 1, 2025)
In the most recent fortnight (November 18–December 1, 2025), GPAnalysis logged $18.8M in CGC-graded sales across 20,993 individual books, spanning comics, pulps, and magazines. The median price paid was $92, showing a market that’s still broad at the mid-tier even as the very top explodes.
At the centre of that explosion: the record-breaking sale of Superman #1 (1939) CGC 9.0, which hammered at $9,120,000 via HA.com — and now stands as the most expensive comic book ever sold. On the volume side, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) once again proved its dominance, with 1,436 slabs traded for roughly $0.7M in sales over just two weeks.
Source: GPAnalysis.com, sales recorded from November 18 to December 1, 2025.
Market Observations
🦸🏻♂️ One sale, half the cash. Superman #1 CGC 9.0’s $9.12M result doesn’t just lead the 1930s – it reshapes the entire fortnight, accounting for almost half of all dollars spent.
🏆 Golden Age icons still command respect. Batman, Captain America Comics, Superman and Detective Comics continue to headline the 1940s, with early keys drawing deep, reliable bids.
💪🏽 Keys from FF to Hulk 181 won’t quit. From Fantastic Four #48 and early Marvel firsts to Bronze Age staples like Incredible Hulk #181 and Star Wars #1, classic keys are still the hobby’s backbone.
🐢 Black suits, mutants, and Turtles stay hot. 1980s favourites – Secret Wars #8, ASM #252 & #300, early Wolverine and TMNT – keep cycling through the market in substantial, steady volume.
🧟♀️ Modern and ultra-modern are here to stay. Invincible, The Walking Dead, Ultimate Fallout #4, Something is Killing the Children #1 and new heat like Absolute Batman and Mark Spears Monsters show collectors are happy to chase newer blue chips.
💥 Breadth beneath the big sales. A $92 median across nearly 21,000 slabs proves the market isn’t just about record breakers – there’s healthy action from entry level to elite.
Decade Leaders
Top 5 Titles by Sales Volume Across the Eras.
Let’s step through the ages/eras by decade
Platinum/Golden Age
🕯️🦸♂️ 1930s – Pulp Horrors & the First Capes
Terror pulps and weird fiction still set the volume pace, but Superman’s debut has now completely rewritten the decade’s sales record.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Terror Tales (1934-1941)
2. Weird Tales (1923-1954)
3. Action Comics (1938)
4. Horror Stories (1935-1941)
5. Spicy Adventure Stories (1934-1942)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Superman (1939-1986): $9,146,819
2. Action Comics (1938): $572,460
3. Weird Tales (1923-1954): $95,584
4. Detective Comics (1937): $84,000
5. Doc Savage (1933-1949): $25,782
Most traded issues:
1. Spicy Adventure Stories (1934-1942) #33 (1937)
2. Terror Tales (1934-1941) #1 (1934)
3. Famous Funnies: Carnival of Comics (1933) #nn (1933)
4. Planet Stories (1939-1955) #1 (1939)
5. Marvel Science Stories (1938-1939) #1 (1938)
🇺🇸🦇 1940s – Wartime Icons & Golden Age Giants
Cap, Bats, Supes and their anthology homes continue to anchor the era, with key early appearances attracting serious dollars and volume.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Batman (1940)
2. Captain America Comics (1941-1954)
3. Superman (1939-1986)
4. Action Comics (1938)
5. Detective Comics (1937)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Captain America Comics (1941-1954): $511,117
2. Batman (1940): $242,894
3. Flash Comics (1940-1949): $232,259
4. Phantom Lady (1947-1949): $143,900
5. Action Comics (1938): $113,108
Most traded issues:
1. Flash Comics (1940-1949) #1 (1940)
2. Superman (1939-1986) #4 (1940)
3. Superman (1939-1986) #24 (1943)
4. Detective Comics (1937) #102 (1945)
5. Batman (1940) #5 (1941)
😱📡 1950s – EC Chills & Silver Age Signals
Crime and horror hold volume, while key sci-fi and superhero issues quietly ignite the coming Silver Age.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Batman (1940)
2. Mad (1952)
3. Action Comics (1938)
4. Haunt of Fear (1950-1954)
5. Crime SuspenStories (1950-1955)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Action Comics (1938): $71,895
2. Crime SuspenStories (1950-1955): $62,306
3. Mad (1952): $47,612
4. Batman (1940): $46,150
5. Wonder Woman (1942-1986): $34,836
Most traded issues:
1. Action Comics (1938) #252 (1959)
2. Action Comics (1938) #242 (1958)
3. Showcase (1956-1978) #22 (1959)
4. Sports Illustrated (1954) #1 (1954)
5. Crime SuspenStories (1950-1955) #22 (1954)
Silver Age
🕷️🌌 1960s – Marvel Age Mega-Keys & Cosmic Firsts
The Marvel Age is in full swing: core team books, solo launches and cosmic debuts drive both volume and high-end spending.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
2. Fantastic Four (1961)
3. Avengers, The (1963)
4. X-Men, The (1963-1981)
5. Daredevil (1964-1998)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. X-Men, The (1963-1981): $363,400
2. Fantastic Four (1961): $361,163
3. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $329,656
4. Amazing Fantasy (1962-1996): $295,155
5. Tales of Suspense (1959-1968): $209,705
Most traded issues:
1. Fantastic Four (1961) #48 (1966)
2. Daredevil (1964-1998) #1 (1964)
3. Silver Surfer, The (1968-1982) #1 (1968)
4. Iron Man (1968-1996) #1 (1968)
5. Sub-Mariner, The (1968-1974) #1 (1968)
Bronze Age
🛸🔥 1970s – Bronze Age Keys & Galaxy Far, Far Away
Bronze Age keys, movie tie-ins and dark debuts define the decade, led by Hulk, Star Wars and killer Spider-Man issues.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
2. X-Men, The (1963-1981)
3. Star Wars (1977-1986)
4. Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999)
5. Batman (1940)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999): $223,538
2. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $161,342
3. X-Men, The (1963-1981): $70,095
4. Batman (1940): $62,222
5. House of Secrets (1956-1978): $54,080
Most traded issues:
1. Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999) #181 (1974)
2. Star Wars (1977-1986) #1 (1977)
3. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #129 (1974)
4. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #194 (1979)
5. Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999) #180 (1974)
🕶️🐢 1980s – Black Suits, Mutants & Indie Turtles
Symbiotes, mutant events and black-and-white indie explosions keep the 1980s at the centre of modern collector demand.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
2. Uncanny X-Men, The (1981)
3. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984-1985)
4. Batman (1940)
5. Daredevil (1964-1998)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $154,270
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1984-1993): $92,911
3. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984-1985): $41,924
4. Wolverine Limited Series (1982): $33,121
5. Uncanny X-Men, The (1981): $28,143
Most traded issues:
1. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984-1985) #8 (1984)
2. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #300 (1988)
3. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #252 (1984)
4. Wolverine Limited Series (1982) #1 (1982)
5. Wolverine (1988) #1 (1988)
Modern Age
💿🔥 1990s – Chromium Boom, Mutants & Spawn
Mass-printed but still beloved, the 1990s are defined by blockbuster #1s, symbiotes and the early Image era.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
2. Spider-Man (1990-1998)
3. X-Men/New X-Men (1991)
4. Spawn (1992)
5. Uncanny X-Men, The (1981)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $34,624
2. New Mutants, The (1983-1991): $27,614
3. Spider-Man (1990-1998): $26,300
4. Spawn (1992): $17,575
5. X-Men/New X-Men (1991): $15,896
Most traded issues:
1. Spider-Man (1990-1998) #1 (1990)
2. X-Men/New X-Men (1991) #1 (1991)
3. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #361 (1992)
4. Venom: Lethal Protector (1993) #1 (1993)
5. Spawn (1992) #1 (1992)
🧬🧟 2000s – Indie Breakouts & Modern Marvel Seeds
Low-print indie darlings and early-2000s keys continue to build long-term momentum, especially as media adaptations roll on.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Invincible (2003)
2. Ultimate Fantastic Four (2004)
3. Batman (1940)
4. Spawn (1992)
5. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Invincible (2003): $40,156
2. Walking Dead (2003): $12,218
3. Spawn (1992): $6,995
4. NYX (2003): $6,863
5. Batman (1940): $5,049
Most traded issues:
1. Young Avengers (2005) #1 (2005)
2. Invincible (2003) #1 (2003)
3. Hulk (2008) #1 (2008)
4. NYX (2003) #3 (2004)
5. Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #601 (2009)
🕸️🩸 2010s – Spider-Legacies & Modern Horror Icons
Miles, Venom and creator-owned horror define the decade’s heat, with print-run scarcity and character importance combining for big demand.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Invincible (2003)
2. Spawn (1992)
3. Amazing Spider-Man (2015)
4. Something is Killing the Children (2019)
5. Amazing Spider-Man (2014)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Ultimate Fallout (2011): $26,498
2. Invincible (2003): $14,792
3. Something is Killing the Children (2019): $12,099
4. Amazing Spider-Man (2014): $9,030
5. Edge of Spider-Verse (2014): $8,964
Most traded issues:
1. Ultimate Fallout (2011) #4 (2011)
2. Something is Killing the Children (2019) #1 (2019)
3. Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #800 (2018)
4. Secret Wars (2015) #1 (2015)
5. Venom (2018) #3 (2018)
📈💀 2020s – Ultra-Modern Heat & Creator Experiments
High-concept Batman projects, boutique horror, pin-up anthologies and stylised indies dominate a decade that’s still being written in real time.
Top 5 titles by volume:
1. Absolute Batman (2024)
2. Amazing Spider-Man (2022)
3. Batman (2016)
4. Power Hour (2022)
5. Mark Spears Monsters (2024)
Top 5 titles by sales:
1. Absolute Batman (2024): $38,451
2. Mark Spears Monsters (2024): $16,045
3. Amazing Spider-Man (2022): $11,747
4. Batman (2016): $11,169
5. BRZRKR (2021): $11,040
Most traded issues:
1. Absolute Batman (2024) #1 (2024)
2. Grim (2022) #1 (2022)
3. Batman (2025) #1 (2025)
4. Waifu Chronicles (2025) #1 (2025)
5. Bangers Cover Gallery (2025) #1 (2025)
Final Panel: What the Fortnight Reveals
With nearly 21,000 slabs traded and a single Golden Age grail accounting for almost half the dollars spent, this fortnight shows just how wide the market has become — and how concentrated it can be at the very top. From pulp terror and early capes to ultra-modern art books and experimental indies, collectors are still voting with their wallets across every era.
Want to dig into every sale behind these highlights?
👉 Explore the full dataset and build your own lists inside GPAnalysis at comics.gpanalysis.com — and catch each new Top of the Stack in The Collector Hub newsletter.
See you in two weeks. Keep stacking.
