Utilizing the eBay links for ANY purchase contributes to the development of Key Collector Comics and does not incur any additional charges 

Clicking on the eBay link and making a purchase may result in this site earning a commission from the eBay Partner Network.

Low
$10
Mid
$30
High
$100

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Black Lightning

1st appearance of Tobias Whale

First solo title featuring a black hero at DC

Charlton ⋅ 1967

Low
$75
Mid
$185
High
$750

Key Facts

1st appearance of The Question, an investigative journalist

⚠ Buyer Beware: there is reprint from 1977 from Modern Comics that can be identified by the Modern logo in the upper left corner

🔮 DC Possibilities: Warner Bros. would be wise to not put all their chips on major superheroes and utilize time-tested characters like The Question who has potential for a visually unique noir story. Recent sales indicate this is an undervalued book with a character created by Steve Ditko in 1967

Low
$1.1k
Mid
$3.2k
High
$15k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, not in traditional costume but in a suit and fedora

1st appearance of Green Mask

1st appearance of Rex Dexter of Mars and Zanzibar the Magician

Low
$2k
Mid
$8k
High
$26k

Key Facts

1st appearance of the Golden Age Sandman

Low
$940
Mid
$3.3k
High
$9.4k

Key Facts

1st appearance of the Phantom Stranger, a powerful archmage

Low
$285k
Mid
$1.1M
High
$4.6M

Key Facts

1st appearance of Superman

1st appearance of Lois Lane

1st appearance of Zatara, Zatanna's father

1st appearance of Tex Thompson, later becomes Mr. America

Low
$5
Mid
$15
High
$50

Key Facts

1st appearance of Firestorm, high school student Ronnie Raymond and physicist Martin Stein merged together after a nuclear accident

1st appearance of Danton Black, becomes Multiplex

Low
$10.5k
Mid
$43k
High
$112k

Key Facts

1st cover, 2nd appearance and origin of Wonder Woman

1st appearance and origin of Mr. Terrific, Terry Sloane

1st appearance of Wildcat, Ted Grant

Low
$20
Mid
$80
High
$200

Key Facts

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

Price Trend
Low
$5
Mid
$15
High
$50

Key Facts

1st appearance of Booster Gold

1st appearance of Skeets, the robot sidekick of Booster Gold

1st appearance of Blackguard

1st appearance of Trixie Collins, later becomes Goldstar

1st cameo appearance of Mindancer

[January 2023 - a Booster Gold TV series about a "loser from the future" who returns to the past to pretend to be a superhero is planned for HBO Max]

Low
$65k
Mid
$147k
High
$480k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of The Flash, Jay Garrick

First mention of Keystone City, protected by The Flash

1st appearance and origin of Hawkman, Carter Hall

1st appearance Shiera Sanders, later becomes Hawkgirl

1st appearance of Hath-Set, the first villain of Hawkman

1st appearance of Johnny Thunder

1st appearance of Yz, Johnny Thunder's thunderbolt

Fawcett ⋅ 1940

Low
$34k
Mid
$106k
High
$301k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Captain Marvel, later renamed Shazam

1st appearance of the Wizard Shazam

1st appearance of Dr. Sivana, a scientific genius and the archenemy of Captain Marvel

1st appearance of Ibis the Invincible and Spy Smasher

1st team appearance of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, later renamed the Seven Deadly Sins

While not a precise swipe of Action Comics #1 artwork, this cover and other aspects of Captain Marvel led to DC (formerly National) filing a lawsuit against Fawcett for Captain Marvel too closely resembling Superman

Premiere issue of the series though the copyright notes read issue #2

There exists a scarce Ashcan edition of this issue

DC Vertigo ⋅ 1989

Low
$15
Mid
$50
High
$150

Key Facts

1st appearance of Dream aka Morpheus

1st appearance of Unity Kincaid

1st appearance of Roderick Burgess

1st appearance of Ethel Cripps

Low
$1k
Mid
$3k
High
$14k

Key Facts

1st cover appearance of Superman with Batman and Robin

DC ⋅ 1964

Low
$260
Mid
$950
High
$2.7k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Zatanna

🔮DC Possibilities: On many levels Zatanna presents an incredible franchise opportunity for Warner Bros. and, if done right, could bring a fresh take to the superhero genre if focusing more on the magical power-set in a darker horror tone

Image ⋅ 1998

Low
$5
Mid
$15
High
$65

Key Facts

1st appearance of Apollo

1st appearance of Midnighter

DC ⋅ 1956

Low
$7.3k
Mid
$25k
High
$142k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of the Flash, Barry Allen

1st appearance of Iris West, the wife of Barry Allen

This issue is credited for ushering in the Silver Age of comics

Low
$575
Mid
$2.5k
High
$6.8k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Shiera Sanders as Hawkgirl

[July 2023 - Isabela Merced will portray Hawkgirl in Superman Legacy but which version of Hawkgirl is not yet known]

Low
$28.5k
Mid
$81k
High
$290k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Wonder Woman

1st appearance of Hippolyta

1st appearance of Steve Trevor

Starman and Dr. Mid-Nite join the JSA

💰 In June 2022, a 9.4 sold for $1,620,000

Low
$100
Mid
$300
High
$1k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Jonah Hex

DC ⋅ 1958

Low
$1k
Mid
$3k
High
$10k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Adam Strange

1st appearance of Alanna, daughter of Sardath

1st appearance of Sardath, a scientist from Rann who created Zeta-Beams

🔮 DC Possibilities: James Gunn reviewed the 2020 Tom King series as a 'freaking masterpiece' and DC had previously shown interest in an HBO Max show with Adam Strange therefore Adam Strange overall has high potential

Low
$1.9k
Mid
$3.8k
High
$29k

Key Facts

1st appearance of the Atom, Al Pratt, not in costume

Low
$2.2k
Mid
$7k
High
$35k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern

1st appearance Carol Ferris, later becomes the second Star Sapphire

1st appearance and death of Abin Sur, an alien who gave Hal his ring as he died

First mention of the Green Lantern Corps

[January 2023 - Hal Jordan and John Stewart will lead a new Green Lantern TV series inspired by True Detective]

Low
$2.2k
Mid
$8.2k
High
$22k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Dr. Mid-Nite, a surgeon who is blind in the light but can see perfectly in the dark

Hop Harrigan becomes Guardian Angel

Low
$25
Mid
$90
High
$250

Key Facts

1st team appearance of the new Teen Titans: Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire

1st appearance of Raven

1st appearance of Cyborg

1st appearance of Starfire

Beast Boy becomes Changeling

Low
$250k
Mid
$890k
High
$2.2M

Key Facts

1st appearance of Batman

1st appearance of Commissioner Gordon

💰 Detective Comics #27 has sold for over one million dollars 6x with a record high sale in 6.5 for $1.8 million (April 2024)

Charlton ⋅ 1960

Low
$165
Mid
$515
High
$1.7k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Captain Atom

Low
$5
Mid
$20
High
$75

Key Facts

Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing, formerly Robin

Joseph adopts the name Jericho

Origin of Deathstroke and Jericho

Low
$4.5k
Mid
$14.2k
High
$48k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Hourman, Rex Tyler

Low
$8k
Mid
$25k
High
$112k

Key Facts

1st full appearance and origin of The Spectre

1st appearance of The Presence, creator of The Spectre and the most powerful entity in the DC Multiverse

Low
$3.5k
Mid
$13.2k
High
$35k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Dr. Fate, Kent Nelson

Introduction of the Helmet of Fate, Amulet of Anubis, and the Cloak of Destiny

1st appearance of Wotan, an immortal sorcerer and enemy of Dr. Fate

Low
$40
Mid
$120
High
$400

Key Facts

1st appearance of Power Girl, a Kryptonian cousin of Earth-2 Superman

Low
$60
Mid
$180
High
$600

Key Facts

1st appearance of Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan's backup Green Lantern

[July 2023 - Guy Gardner to be portrayed by Nathan Fillion in Superman: Legacy]

Low
$10
Mid
$30
High
$100

Key Facts

1st appearance of Red Tornado, previously the Tornado Tyrant, now inhabiting an android's body and programmed with the memories of Ma Hunkel

Low
$18k
Mid
$58k
High
$185k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Aquaman

1st appearance of Green Arrow

1st appearance of Speedy

DC ⋅ 1968

Low
$10
Mid
$30
High
$125

Key Facts

1st appearance of Hawk and Dove

Low
$1.9k
Mid
$7k
High
$19k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Black Canary

Low
$50
Mid
$150
High
$650

Key Facts

1st appearance of Green Lantern, John Stewart

[October 2024 - Aaron Pierre cast as John Stewart in the Lanterns]

2nd appearance of Green Lantern, Guy Gardner

Low
$425
Mid
$1.2k
High
$4.8k

Key Facts

1st appearance of the Swamp Thing, Alex Olsen

[January 2023 - a Swamp Thing horror film is in development at DC Studios]

Low
$165
Mid
$270
High
$650

Key Facts

1st appearance of Beast Boy

Low
$800
Mid
$2k
High
$8k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Superboy

Final Golden Age appearance of The Spectre

1st appearance of Jor-El, Superman's Father

DC ⋅ 1959

Low
$300
Mid
$1k
High
$3k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Kid Flash, Wally West

1st appearance of Weather Wizard

Low
$105
Mid
$240
High
$1.1k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Buddy Baker aka Animal Man not in costume

🔮 DC Possibilities: If you know nothing about Animal Man, he might seem fairly lame going on just the name and character design but just check out the first arc of Lemire's 2011 take on Buddy Baker to understand how he can fit into the horror elements of the DCU

Low
$120
Mid
$400
High
$1.2k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Deadman, a ghost with the ability to possess the living

[August 2024 - a Deadman animated series is rumored to be in development]

Low
$1.6k
Mid
$5.8k
High
$16.5k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Martian Manhunter

🔮 DC Possibilities: There is a lot of story to tell with this character who has yet to get the screen time he deserves

Low
$1.5k
Mid
$5k
High
$15k

Key Facts

1st appearance of Supergirl

1st appearance of Metallo

1st appearance of Zor-El, the father of Supergirl

[December 2023 - Milly Alcock as Supergirl rumored to be introduced in Superman]

Low
$200
Mid
$800
High
$2k

Key Facts

1st appearance and origin of Batgirl, Barbara Gordon

1st appearance of Killer Moth in the Silver Age

Low
$1
Mid
$2
High
$3

Key Facts

1st appearance of John Henry, later becomes Steel

1st appearance of Superboy, Conner Kent

1st appearance of Cyborg Superman, formerly Hank Henshaw

1st appearance of the Eradicator

Each character was introduced briefly in this issue, then featured in their own individual issues thereafter

1st appearance of Angora Lapin, later becomes White Rabbit

Low
$4
Mid
$12
High
$45

Key Facts

1st appearance and cover of Cassandra Cain, later becomes Batgirl, Orphan II and the Black Bat

1st appearance of David Cain, Orphan not in costume

Adjust Your Filters To See More Comics!

By default Key Collector searches for Standard Cover Key Issues.

Adjust the "Variants" search filter above for additional content:

  • Variant Covers ([[totalVariants]])

At Key Collector, our primary focus is on unearthing those rare Standard Cover Key Issues for you. However, the world of comic collectibles is vast and varied. We want to make sure you have the tools to explore it all!