1st appearance of Scooby-Doo in comics

There is some debate that Scooby-Doo appeared 6 months earlier in Golden Comics Digest #7 but it is a one-page puzzle activity game, not a story

1st appearance of Appa Ali Apsa, a Guardian of the Universe

Retitled Green Arrow/Green Lantern

Issue considered by many to mark the end of the comic book Silver Age

Introduction of controversial social themes in comics - Green Lantern is reprimanded by a black man which was an expression of frustration by the creators for the lack of accurately presented black people in comics

1st appearance and origin of Man-Bat, a scientist whose experiment went awry after combining human and bat DNA to cure his own deafness

First team-up of Batgirl and Robin in a backup story

1st appearance of Conan the Barbarian

1st cameo appearance of King Kull

1st cameo appearance of Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips

Iconic cover art by Neal Adams inspired by Detective Comics #31 (1939)

1st appearance of Orion, son of Darkseid

1st appearance of Highfather, Leader of New Genesis

1st appearance of Metron, Boom Tube inventor

1st appearance of Orion's half-brother, Kalibak

1st appearance of Lightray

1st team appearance of the Parademons

Introduction of New Genesis and Apokolips

Debut of the Mobius Chair

1st full appearance of Darkseid

1st team appearance of The Forever People: Beautiful Dreamer, Mark Moonrider, Serifan, Big Bear, Vykin the Black

First mention of Mother Boxes, sentient supercomputers of vast power and the Anti-Life Equation

1st appearance of Infinity-Man, a protector of The Forever People

1st appearance of Mister Miracle, Scott Free, the son of Highfather

1st appearance of Oberon, Mister Miracle's stage manager

1st appearance and death of Thaddeus Brown, the Miracle Man who preceded Scott Free

🔮 DC Possibilities: Mister Miracle is a second chance for DC to develop the New Gods which was supposed to happen in 2018 but stalled like many of their other projects

1st appearance of Man-Thing, Ted Sallis, a scientist who developed a serum to protect soldiers from chemical warfare

The Super Soldier program known as Project Sulphur aka Weapon IV, had the unintended effect of transforming Ted Sallis into Man-Thing

1st appearance of Ellen Brandt

1st team appearance of the Femizons

1st appearance and cover of Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra's al Ghul

1st appearance of Ra's al Ghul

2nd appearance of Talia al Ghul

1st appearance of the Swamp Thing, Alex Olsen

Classic battle of the Hulk vs the Thing

Iconic cover art by John Buscema

Anniversary of The Amazing Spider-Man's 100th issue

Classic cover art by John Romita Sr.

Premiere issue of DC's war-horror series

Pioneering story arc that confronted the topic of drug addiction which led to more realistic and relatable stories in comics

Adams and Mr. O'Neil won a Shazam Award in 1971 for 'Best Individual Story' and recognized by NYC mayor, John Lindsay in a letter which was printed in issue #86

1st appearance of Big Barda, highly skilled warrior and love interest of Mister Miracle

1st appearance of Morbius the Living Vampire

1st appearance and origin of Werewolf by Night

Beast undergoes a mutation which grows gray hair all over his body

1st appearance of Jonah Hex

Rebirth of HIM, renamed Warlock by the High Evolutionary

Debut of Warlock's costume including an unnamed emerald, later revealed to be the Soul Infinity Stone

1st appearance of Dracula, created by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan, inspired by Bram Stoker’s classic character

1st appearance of Van Helsing

1st appearance of Frank Drake, a descendant of Dracula

1st appearance and origin of Luke Cage, the first black superhero to headline a title in mainstream comics

Luke Cage became invincible to harm through a Super Soldier program called Project Power aka Weapon VI

1st appearance of Diamondback, Comanche and Shades

1st appearance and origin of Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze

1st appearance and origin of Etrigan the Demon

1st appearance of Morgaine Le Fay, the sister of Madame Xanadu

1st appearance of Randu Singh

1st appearance and origin of the second Swamp Thing, Alec Holland

1st cameo appearance of Anton Arcane

1st appearance of Matt Cable, later becomes the Sandman's raven

1st cameo appearance of the Un-Men

1st appearance of Nathan Ellery, the man who caused the explosion that created Swamp Thing

First ongoing Swamp Thing solo title

1st appearance and origin of The Cat, Greer Grant

1st appearance of Madame MacEvil, daughter of Drax, later referred to by the name Moondragon

Madame MacEvil becomes Moondragon in Daredevil #105

[June 2021 - rumored to appear in GotG Vol. 3]

DC begins publishing Shazam after licensing the Captain Marvel character from Fawcett who they had successfully sued 20 years earlier for copyright infringement due to the character's similarities to Superman

1st appearance of Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel since the Golden Age

1st appearance of Doctor Sivana and family since the Golden Age

Origin of Captain Marvel retold

1st appearance of Thanos, an Eternal from Titan born with the Deviants gene

1st cameo appearance of Eros aka Starfox, brother of Thanos

1st appearance of Kronos, Grandfather of Thanos

1st appearance of Mentor, father of Thanos

1st appearance of Drax the Destroyer, created by Kronus to kill Thanos

1st appearance of the Blood Brothers

1st appearance of Red Sonja

⚠ Misconception: cited by many resources as a cameo appearance of Red Sonja but she appears in over 20 panels, fights and is introduced by name

[August 2022 - filming is scheduled to begin with Matilda Lutz cast in the main role]

Death of Gwen Stacy, neck unintentionally snapped as Spider-Man attempted to rescue her

1st appearance of Blade

[November 2021 - the director of The Eternals reveals that the voice speaking to Dane Whitman is Blade who has previously been confirmed for a MCU film]

Death of Green Goblin

First solo titled series featuring Ghost Rider

1st cameo appearance of Daimon Hellstrom, Son of Satan, multiple panels in shadows

🏅#6 on the Hot 10

Transactions from this week that sold for higher than the previous twelve-month average:

9.2 sold for $1,800 vs the average $1,647 (+9%)

9.0 sold for $1,500 vs the average $1,324 (+13%)

7.5 sold for $750 vs the average $743 (+1%)

Iconic cover art by Neal Adams

Issue credited for revitalizing the Joker as a homicidal villain instead of a comical villain

1st appearance of Brother Voodoo, Jericho Drumm, later renamed Doctor Voodoo

1st full appearance and origin of Son of Satan

Thought many sources cite Ghost Rider#2 as the first full appearance of Damion Hellstrom he is obscured by shadows throughout the issue

1st appearance of Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung-Fu

1st appearance of Sir Dennis Nayland-Smith

1st appearance of Fu Manchu, father of Shang-Chi, later renamed Han, then Zheng Zu

1st team appearance of Si-Fan, a secret society with allegiances to Fu Manchu

1st appearance of Shang-Chi's unnamed mother, an American - later retconned in Shang-Chi #4 (2021)

1st appearance of Howard the Duck

1st appearance of the Punisher

1st appearance of the Jackal

🏅#7 on the Hot 10

THIS WEEK’S RECORD-BREAKING SALES

[Previous High In Brackets]

MARK JEWELERS 5.5 sold for $2,200 [$725 in 2019] +203%

MARK JEWELERS 3.0 sold for $1,000 [$420 in 2020] +138%

Mark Jewelers inserts were advertisements printed on cardstock paper, inserted into the centerfold of comic books beginning in 1972. There is no indication on the cover that an issue is a MJ variant. Comic books containing these ads were sold on and close-to military bases, targeting soldiers who wished to buy their loved one a gift or propose marriage

The sales that occurred this week for Mark Jewelers editions are not excessively higher than their standard counterpart. More notable is the 5.5 which would collectively be the third highest sale if grouped with the standard edition

The demand of Mark Jewelers is debatable and susceptible to there being a perceived higher value rather than there being actual demand

There seems to only be real consistency in Mark Jeweler demand for very high grade, very high demand Key Issues. Punisher’s first appearance would qualify in that category but even during the peak of market activity in 2021, standard editions outsold Mark Jeweler copies in the same grade despite the scarcity of these ads. As such, the ads have nothing to do with the character introduced in the story which is the reason for the book being sought-after by collectors

The same argument could be made about Newsstands, many of which do not command a higher value except for few anomalies in high grade but the difference between a Newsstand and Direct Edition is visible on the cover, even if the issue is graded

This week, there was also an incomplete copy of the STANDARD edition in 1.0 that sold for $660, a +220% over the 2014 high of $420 in this grade as INCOMPLETE. The reason for this copy being labeled as such is due to a coupon having been removed from an interior page

1st appearance and origin of Iron Fist, Daniel Rand

1st appearance of Yu-Ti, a Dragon Lord

1st team appearance of the Dragon Kings

Introduction of K'un-Lun, one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven

1st appearance of Wendell Rand, father of Daniel Rand

1st appearance of Deathlok, Luther Manning

1st appearance of Major Ryker

First published artwork for Marvel by George Perez, interior two-page backup story

Prior to the publication of this issue, George Perez was published in the science-fiction magazine Hot Stuf'

1st cameo appearance of Wolverine

2nd appearance of Wendigo

Marvel Value Stamp Series A #67 - Cyclops

⚠️ Debatable Firsts: this issue, by far, is the most debated "cameo versus full" book and likely the main reason "cameo" became such a significant yet loosely defined term in comic book collecting

Theoretically, The Incredible Hulk #180 being labeled "cameo" of Wolverine was due to an oversight by Overstreet (see additional images)

In the 1980/1981 edition of Overstreet, Hulk#181 is labeled - 1st app of Wolverine and Hulk#180 is without a descriptor, commanding the same value as issues #151 - #176

In the 1981/1982 Overstreet, the description had been amended to read #180 - 1st app. Wolverine but mislabeled #181 and #182 - Wolverine cameo

Finally, in 1982/1983, Overstreet labeled Hulk #180 - 1st app. Wolverine (cameo) and #181 - Wolverine app. #182 - Wolverine cameo

In recent years, Marvel has taken a stance on Hulk #180 as the first appearance of Wolverine, wanting to eliminate the term "cameo" altogether, presumably to avoid this exact debate

But in years past, official Marvel guidebooks and trading cards would often trade-off which issue was given the coveted 1st (full) appearance designation (see additional images)

1st full appearance of Wolverine, final page cameo in issue #180

Marvel Value Stamp Series A #54 - Shanna the She-Devil

[September 2022 - Hugh Jackman will reprise the role of Wolverine in Deadpool 3]

1st appearance of Korvac

Marvel Value Stamp

[April 2020 - two inside sources have confirmed that Korvac will be in multiple upcoming Marvel projects. Although the sources are independent from one another and close to Marvel Studios this is still unconfirmed until official word is released]

Ongoing stories featuring Adam Warlock begin

1st appearance of Magus, an evil version of Adam Warlock from the future

1st team appearance of The Universal Church of Truth

1st appearance of The Matriarch, a leader of The Universal Church of Truth

1st appearance of the new X-Men: Storm (1st), Nightcrawler (1st), Colossus (1st), Thunderbird (1st), Wolverine (3rd)

Many resources label this the 2nd full appearance of Wolverine and The Incredible Hulk #182 a second cameo

1st appearance of Illyana Rasputin as a child, later becomes Magik

Introduction of Krakoa, the Living Island

First use of the sound effect 'snikt' associated with Wolverine's claws