The announcement back in March that Rosario Dawson would guest star as a live-action Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian season 2 has created quite the disturbance in the Force! The news has prompted collectors to seek our her appearances in comic books with her first and other early appearances realizing big money. Raw copies of her first appearance in The Clone Wars #1 has sold for $350 - 400 which is higher than the price of raw copies of the first appearance of Boba Fett in Star Wars #42 due to the much lower print run of this Dark Horse title. In September 2008, The Clone Wars #1 was the 2nd best selling Star Wars title behind Legacy #28 and sold an initial estimated 26,591 copies according to Comichron.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (September 2008) 1st appearance of Ahsoka Tano
And the Dark Horse 100 variant which is limited to just 1000 copies has seen a few prices above $1000, propelling that comic well above the price of Star Wars #1 from 1977.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars #1c - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (September 2008) Dark Horse 100 variant 1st appearance of Ahsoka Tano
A few collectors are also buying copies of Darth Vader (2017) #14 which is apparently the first modern appearance of Ahsoka Tano.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #14a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (April 2018) 1st modern appearance of Ahsoka Tano
Solo: A Star Wars Story is set to be released this week and it has already been revealed by director Ron Howard that the comedic duo, Tag and Bink, will make a cameo appearance in the movie. This has resulted in the Tag & Bing Are Dead mini-series seeing a nice rise in value and Marvel has cashed in on the speculation by releasing the Tag & Bink Were Here reprint collecting the mini-series. In addition to the mini-series, what other comics might receive a bump due to the new movie? A word of caution, while I have not seen the film nor do I have any inside information concerning it, much of this can be construed as spoiler material. If you don't want to be spoiled, please do not proceed with reading this.
Star Wars #2a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (August 1977) Newsstand 1st appearance of Han Solo
Star Wars #2 is full of first appearances; Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the Millennium Falcon all make their comic debut in this issue. What is better than owning the first appearance of the Corellian who made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs and the star of his own movie?
Star Wars (1977) #8 and 9
Star Wars #8a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (February 1978) Newsstand 1st appearance of Cloud Riders
We know from advance material that Enfys Nest leads a group of outlaws called the Cloud-Riders. Serji-X Arrogantus and his band of Cloud-Riders make their first appearance in Star War #8. Han Solo is hired by villagers on Aduba-3 to defend them from these outlaws and Han cobbles together a motley crew to do just that. How could the film's Cloud-Riders not be inspired by this group from the original Marvel run?
Star Wars #9a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (March 1978) Newsstand 1st cover appearance of Cloud Riders
The Cloud-Riders are shown on the cover of Star Wars #9.
Star Wars (1977) #43
Star Wars #43a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (January 1981) Newsstand 1st appearance of Lando Calrissian
Before the fans have even seen Solo: A Star Wars Story, many are declaring Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian the breakout character of the film. Lando is suave, a sharp dresser, and the original owner of the Millennium Falcon. He also makes his first comic book appearance in Star Wars #43, the fifth part of The Empire Strikes Back adaptation.
Star Wars Weekly #94 - 96
Star Wars Weekly #94a - Marvel Comics, England (December 12, 1979)
Star Wars Weekly published in the United Kingdom ran out of U.S. stories to publish, so several original stories were created for the title. Star Wars Weekly #94 - 96 contains Way of the Wookiee which takes place before the original Star Wars movie. In the story, Han Solo and Chewbacca cross paths with an Imperial prison ship full of slave Wookiees bound for the Spice Mines of Kessel. Also, Han Solo dumps a spice delivery for Jabba the Hutt, providing a back story for the events of the original movie.
Star Wars Weekly #95a - Marvel Comics, England (December 19, 1979)Star Wars Weekly #96a - Marvel Comics, England (December 26, 1979)
If the new movie shows the Spice Mines of Kessel and Wookiee slaves, these issues could prove to be interesting.
Classic Star Wars: Han Solo at Stars' End
Classic Star Wars: Han Solo at Stars' End #1a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (March 1997)
This adaptation of the first Han Solo book, Han Solo at Stars' End, was original published as a newspaper strip before Dark Horse formatted it for comics. Even back in the late 1970s, it was recognized that Han Solo was a character that needed more stories.
Classic Star Wars: Han Solo at Stars' End #2a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (April 1997)Classic Star Wars: Han Solo at Stars' End #3a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 1997)
The Corporate Sector Authority is introduced in this book as well as an early love interest, Jessa. In the story Han and Chewbacca are accompanied by the droids Bollux and Blue Max, Atuarre, and Pakka to the prison facility Stars' End on Mytus VII. The book is rife with ideas, species, and characters that could be used in the new movie.
Star Wars (2015) #4 and Star Wars (2015) #9
Star Wars #4a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (April 2015) 1st Sana Starros (3 pages - unnamed and masked)
An early rumor was Sana Starros was set to appear in the Han Solo movie. Marvel has yet to have a comic character appear in a movie, unlike Dark Horse who introduced Tag and Bink to Star Wars fans. Since Disney has taken over, there has been an emphasis on all Star Wars stories across all media taking place in continuity and it is only a matter of time until a character introduced by Marvel appears in a movie. Sana Starros has history with Han Solo and she is the Marvel character most likely to make the jump into a Han Solo movie.
Star Wars #9a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (September 2015) 1st Sana Starros cover
Sana Starros made several appearances before getting her first cover appearance on Star Wars #9.
Star Wars Annual #1
Star Wars Annual #1a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (December 1979) Newsstand
There is a character named Val who is shown briefly in several of the Solo television spots. She bears a striking resemblance to Katya M'Buele introduced in Star Wars Annual #1. Katya is a smuggler who is acquainted with Han Solo. In the story, Han trusts her and a past romance is hinted at, but unfortunately she is killed early in the story before her character is explored.
Could she be the inspiration for Val who is in the movie?
The Last Jedi will be released to theaters in December and it is always fun to speculate on which comics might have been used as inspiration for the movie or if characters from the comics will appear in the movie. A word of caution, while I have not seen the film nor do I have any inside information concerning it, much of this can be construed as spoiler material. If you don't want to be spoiled, please do not proceed with reading this.
Star Wars #49a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (July 1981)
This is the only comic I am aware of that has seen an upward price movement due to the newest film. Unfortunately, I believe the connection is tenuous at best; the comic is titled The Last Jedi! and so is the movie. If you read the comic, you'll know that is the only connection it will have with the new film.
Star Wars: Dark Empire
Star Wars: Dark Empire #1a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (December 1991)
I cannot be the only one who thought about Dark Empire while watching the newest trailer for The Last Jedi. In Dark Empire, Luke Skywalker becomes the apprentice of Palpatine and, by learning about the dark side, a more powerful Luke is able to kill Palpatine once again. Having Rey become the apprentice of Kylo Ren so she can defeat the dark side from within would be a nice nod to this story. Unfortunately, I do not think we will really find out if this comic was an inspiration or not until the third film in the trilogy is released, assuming Rey joins Kylo in The Last Jedi.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink - Episode I: Revenge of the Clone Menace #2
Star Wars: Tag & Bink - Episode I: Revenge of the Clone Menace #2a (April 2006) 1st comic appearance of Darth Plageuis
I know I keep referencing this comic for every new film released, but would it not be cool if Supreme Leader Snoke turned out to be Darth Plagueis? That would tie the sequel trilogy to both the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy nicely. I know the film makers are on record saying it does not matter who Supreme Leader Snoke is and they may just go with some unknown character, but this reveal would reward long time fans and give Disney a great story to tell.
As a reminder, Darth Plagueis is mentioned by Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith:
Chancellor Palpatine:Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? Anakin Skywalker:No. Chancellor Palpatine:I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise. He could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create... life. He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side that he could even keep the ones he cared about... from dying. Anakin Skywalker:He could actually... save people from death? Chancellor Palpatine:The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Anakin Skywalker:What happened to him? Chancellor Palpatine:He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was... losing his power which, eventually of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. And then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from death... but not himself.
In January 2017, the first of Marvel's 40th anniversary variant covers for their Star Wars comic line were shipped to retailer with a total of 48 of these covers planned for the year. Poe Dameron #10 released on January 11th has one of these variants.
Star Wars: Poe Dameron #10b - Marvel Comics, U.S. (January 2017) 40th Anniversary variant
Prior to release, this comic routinely sold for the $4 cover price. Almost immediately after it was shipped, the issue started selling for approximately $10 on eBay. Within a couple of weeks, it climbed to $20 which is what it was selling for on January 31st (there is one issue sold on January 31st that went for $30.) On February 1st, the Comic Book Speculation & Investing website published a Variant Heat Check for 2/1/17 posting which features the Poe Dameron #10 40th anniversary variant and the awareness immediately added another $10 or more to prices with some copies selling as high as $40. Since then, a few copies went for as low as $15 and the only CGC 9.8 copy listed so far sold for an astonishing $120. The last few sales have been in the $25 - $35 range. There are still copies listed on eBay (10+ at the last count) and it looks like the prices being asked vary widely. It has been over a week since the last copy sold which means the demand has been satisfied for now.
I am doubtful this comic has much upside and I expect it to remain in the $20 - $35 range for the foreseeable future. Very rarely are sellers willing to drop prices, even when the demand is gone; instead the comics usually maintain the higher value for a while, slowly coming down in price while the surrounding issues in a title catch up to it. With over a quarter of the 40th anniversary variants already being sold, the number of new collectors jumping in to buy them all will have diminished by now. It seems there are ample copies of the other 40th anniversary variants and none of the issues have followed this comic's trajectory. Retailers are no doubt aware of the prices for Poe Dameron #10 40th anniversary variants and have adjusted orders accordingly.
Bleeding Cool is reporting that sales for Star Wars #49, titled The Last Jedi and published back in July 1981, have taken off since the latest Star Wars movie name announcement. While the name is the only thing the movie has in common with the comic, it has not deterred some from bidding up the prices on eBay. Interestingly, there is a paperback that uses the same name which was released in February 2013 that is not receiving the same consideration as the comic.
This phenomenon is similar to the attention that several Dark Horse comics received that contained the Solo twins Jacen and Jaina and Ben Skywalker leading up to The Force Awakens.
Rogue One is set to open in theaters across the world in less than a month and like The Force Awakens last year, there are some tentative comic book connections to be found. Unlike when The Force Awakens was released, we have not seen any movement on any Star Wars comics due to rumors of links to the Rogue One movie. A word of caution, while I have not seen the movie nor do I have any inside information concerning the movie, much of this can be construed as spoiler material. If you don't want to be spoiled, please do not proceed with reading this.
Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures #1
Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures #1a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (August 1994) 1st appearance of Shadow Stormtroopers
Not so much a rumor as fact, black clad Stormtroopers first appeared in a Russ Manning Star Wars newspaper strip. The Russ Manning strips were adapted to comic books by Dark Horse in the Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures title. The first issue features the story where Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia face off against the shadowy Agent Blackhole who employs the all-black Imperials known as Black Hole Stormtroopers. Later on, these troopers became known as Shadow Stormtroopers. In Rogue One, the black clad Imperials are Death Troopers under the command of Director Orson Krennic. They differ slightly from Shadow Stormtroopers, mostly in the helmet.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink - Episode I: Revenge of the Clone Menace #2
Star Wars: Tag & Bink - Episode I: Revenge of the Clone Menace #2a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (April 2006) 1st comic appearance of Darth Plageuis
This early rumor deals with a scene from the teaser trailer. During the trailer, a robed, hooded character kneels before a brightly lit cylinder flanked by the Emperor's Royal Guards. One rumor is Supreme Leader Snoke, aka Darth Plagueis, is in the bacta tank and the robed character is Emperor Palpatine. Darth Plagueis has been rumored to be Snoke since before The Force Awakens was released. Darth Plagueis is mentioned by Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith:
Chancellor Palpatine:Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? Anakin Skywalker:No. Chancellor Palpatine:I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise. He could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create... life. He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side that he could even keep the ones he cared about... from dying. Anakin Skywalker:He could actually... save people from death? Chancellor Palpatine:The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Anakin Skywalker:What happened to him? Chancellor Palpatine:He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was... losing his power which, eventually of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. And then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from death... but not himself.
Star Wars: Princess Leia #1
Star Wars: Princess Leia #1a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (March 2015) 1st appearance of Evaan Verlaine
The Princess Leia mini-series picks up right after the destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope. In the story, Princess Leia is assisted by a female Alderaan pilot in the Rebel Alliance named Evaan Verlaine. Topps released several digital trading cards which show character from Rogue One and one is an unnamed X-Wing pilot that looks like Evaan.
Evaan Verlaine is shown on the cover to Princess Leia #2.
Star Wars: Princess Leia #2a - Marvel Comics, U.S. (March 2015)
There are additional comics with connections to Rogue One. Poe Dameron #8 shows the helmet of a Death and a Shore Trooper in the story. Gigorans, the tall, hairy creatures seen in the trailer, are set to appear in Doctor Aphra #1. Interestingly, the Gigorans are a product of the Expanded Universe.
A rumor from 2 months ago has been making the rounds again last week. Lucasfilm is looking to cast a non-white female lead for the Han Solo movie. Almost immediately, speculation began that this character is Sana Starros. Sana first appeared in Star Wars #4 as an unnamed masked character who is searching for Han Solo. She appears again, also unnamed and masked, in Star Wars #5. Toward the end of issue #6, she confronts Han and Princess Leia and claims to be Sana Solo. We learn in Star Wars #12 that Han and Sana were never really married, but the marriage was part of an elaborate ruse they concocted for a heist.
Well, I did get to see The Force Awakens on December 17th. I thought I'd revisit the 7 comics spotlighted and post what was learned. If you don't want to be spoiled, please do not proceed with reading this.
Star Wars: Jedi - Mace Windu (February 2003) 1st comic appearance of Asajj Ventress
Star Wars: Jedi - Mace Windu
Asajj Ventress did not appear in the movie and Lupita Nyong'o did indeed play Maz Kanata.
Dark Empire II #5
We did get a Solo kid in the movie. Kylo Ren is Ben Solo. There is no chance Rey is Han and Leia's child. Is Ben Solo enough for this comic's price to remain high?
Star Wars Tales #19
So, we got a Ben Solo instead of a Ben Skywalker. It is also possible that Rey will end up being Luke Skywalker's daughter, although you have to wonder if that is the case why he could not have found a more hospitable planet in the Republic for her. The story about retrieving Darth Vader's lightsaber makes this one the most interesting comic on this list.
Star Wars Tales #23c - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2005) 1st comic appearance of Darth Revan
Star Wars Tales #23
Kylo Ren is not Darth Revan. In fact, Kylo is a member of the Knights of Ren and that group is the source of the surname he adopts. So, while this comic is interesting for the close visuals of Kylo Ren and Darth Revan, there is no other link between this comic and the movie.
Chewbacca #1
Chewbacca did not die in the movie. In fact, his character received much needed attention that he was not afforded in the original trilogy. The character who does die is Han Solo, killed by his son who has renounced his birth name.
Star Wars: Dark Empire #3a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (April 1992) Luke joins the Dark Side
Dark Empire #3
The reason for Luke Skywalker's absence from the movie has more to do with Ben Solo's crossover to the Dark Side than Luke's fall.
Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
We do know that Leia and Han know about Supreme Leader Snoke. The visuals for the character in the movie are nothing like Darth Plagueis in the Expanded Universe, but that does not necessarily discount Snoke being Darth Plagueis since the Expanded Universe is no longer considered canon. Unfortunately, we will not know until a future movie if this rumor turns out to be true or not.
With The Force Awakens set to open in theaters across the world next week, I thought it would be fun to gather all the movie rumors that have impacted Star Wars comic sales over the past year. Additionally, I've throw in a few ideas of my own. A word of caution, while I have not seen the movie nor do I have any inside information concerning the movie, much of this can be construed as spoiler material. If you don't want to be spoiled, please do not proceed with reading this.
Star Wars: Jedi - Mace Windu (February 2003) 1st comic appearance of Asajj Ventress
Star Wars: Jedi - Mace Windu
There was an early rumor that Lupita Nyong'o was going to play Asajj Ventress in The Force Awakens. This rumor is looking unlikely as Lupita's character is now said to be the pirate Maz Kanata. Asajj Ventress' first comic book appearance is in Star Wars: Jedi - Mace Windu.
Dark Empire II #5
The rumor of Jacen and Jaina Solo appearing in The Force Awakens is one of the earliest rumors when the movie was announced. These twins are offspring of Princess Leia and Han Solo in the Expanded Universe and they made their comic debut, as babies, in Dark Empire II #5. There are those who believe Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, and Kylo Ren are brother and sister. Rey's line "I'm nobody" could be her trying to throw someone off on her lineage.
Star Wars Tales #19
Another rumor is the offspring of Luke Skywalker will appear in the movie. I have seen some rumors that say it is Rey and others say it is Kylo Ren. I will say this, I think it is more likely that one or both of these characters are directly related to Luke than to Leia and Han. One of the mysteries about the new movie is Luke's absence, so it makes far more sense for Luke to have abandoned his children than for Leia and Han to do so. Star War Tales #19 contains a tale titled The Lost Lightsaber, about Luke's son, Ben Skywalker, retrieving Darth Vader's lightsaber from a group of Dark Jedi. The story itself is an interesting parallel to the rumored story of The Force Awakens.
Star Wars Tales #23c - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2005) 1st comic appearance of Darth Revan
Star Wars Tales #23
Star Wars Tales #23 contains the first comic book appearance of Darth Revan, a character that looks similar to Kylo Ren. There are some who speculate that the name Kylo Ren is a ruse and the character in the movie played by Adam Driver is really Darth Revan.
Chewbacca #1
We have all seen the trailers for The Force Awakens. Some viewers studied the trailers and believe Daisy Ridley's character Rey is crying over the fallen bodies of Han Solo and Chewbacca. It would be an interesting twist for Chewbacca to be brought back from his death in the Expanded Universe book Star Wars: The New Jedi Order - Vector Prime only to be killed off in this new movie. If that is the case, Dark Horse commemorated our favorite Wookiee's life in a Chewbacca mini-series just after his death the first time around.
Star Wars: Dark Empire #3a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (April 1992) Luke joins the Dark Side
Dark Empire #3
Luke's absence from the trailers has many fans speculating where the last Jedi might be. Some are speculating Luke has crossed over to the Dark Side of the Force. In Dark Empire #3, Luke Skywalker flirts with the Dark Side when he joins the resurrected Emperor Palpantine.
Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
The bumbling duo, Tag and Bink, starred in several comics and a story in the Star Wars Tales anthology. In the final comic, Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace, Darth Plagueis makes his first comic book appearance. Darth Plagueis is mentioned by Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith:
Chancellor Palpatine:Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise? Anakin Skywalker:No. Chancellor Palpatine:I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise. He could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create... life. He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side that he could even keep the ones he cared about... from dying. Anakin Skywalker:He could actually... save people from death? Chancellor Palpatine:The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Anakin Skywalker:What happened to him? Chancellor Palpatine:He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was... losing his power which, eventually of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. And then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from death... but not himself.
The latest rumor says Andy Serkis' character Snoke is really Darth Plagueis.
Bleeding Cool has been tracking sales of the 1 in 4999 Star Wars: Vader Down #1 Chip Zdarsky Jaxxon Spotlight variant. This variant has Jaxxon in color and the rest of the cover in black and white. The regular Chip Zdarsky cover, which was ordered by retailers in unlimited numbers, is all in color. It is rumored that only 12 copies of this 1:4999 cover exists. Wonderland Comics originally priced a copy at $4999.99 and dropped that price to $3999.99 which then sold on eBay.
Two copies are currently up for sale on eBay from Larry's Comics and Mile High Comics. Dynamic Forces has 3 of their 4 copies left for sale on their site for $3800 and are making the claim this is possibly THE holy grail of Star Wars comic collectibles!!!
Mile High Comics owner Chuck Rozanski wrote in his latest newsletter:
Just yesterday morning our friend, Dennis Barger, of QuickStop and Wonderworld comic, in Michigan sold his only copy of the incredibly limited Zdarsky Black & White Variant edition of STAR WARS: VADER DOWN #1 on eBay for slightly under $4,000! Can you believe a brand new comic book sold for FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS? What is even more remarkable is that $4,000 may actually prove to be low, as the only way that any retailer could receive a copy of this ultra-rare variant was to purchase 4,999 copies! of STAR WARS: VADER DOWN #1 (at a cost of approximately $10,500) As a result, this one variant will probably turn out to be the single rarest Marvel STAR WARS comic book ever published. It is rumored by Bleedingcool to only be 12 total copies worldwide!
So, what do you think? Will a manufactured collectible like this Star Wars variant be considered THE holy grail of Star Wars comics? Is this comic going to replace a Star Wars #1 $0.35 price variant as top dog domestically? At least Chuck Rozanski qualifies his statement about this being the rarest Marvel Star Wars comic ever published. Currently, there are several foreign Star Wars comics that have less copies known worldwide.
Yesterday the latest Mile High Comics newsletter came out with this information:
As an aside, publishing our Marvel exclusives has been the single most successful endeavor for us during all of 2015. We had a very successful show in Salt Lake City last weekend, at least in part because we sold $4,000 in STAR WARS (2015) variant editions in just 3 days! Some of that revenue came from later printings variants, but the vast majority derived from fans purchasing our Mile High Comics STAR WARS and PRINCESS LEIA exclusives.
In case you are wondering, the reason we sold so many of our variant editions is that more and more fans are catching on to the fact that we are seeking to continue publishing a Mile High Comics variant edition to each new edition of the primary monthly STAR WARS (2015) title, for as long as Marvel will allow. We are currently contracted through issue STAR WARS (2015) #12, and hope to be able to sign a contract soon for issues #13-#18. As far as we know, this is the first time in history that any comics retailer has published variants an entire comics series from Marvel. Making that commitment has already cost us more than $100,000.00 in upfront investments, but that risk has been more than justified by the incredible response we have been receiving from STAR WARS fans.
Mile High Comics is planning on continuing to contract for exclusive editions for the Star Wars title for the foreseeable future. It makes sense because the exclusives are making money for them and the fans keep buying them. Mile High charges $19.95 for an exclusive issue until it is released and then increases the price to $24.95. For Star Wars comic fans who are buying these, this means they will be spending $240 a year (not counting the shipping costs) on these exclusives assuming the comic ships monthly and possibly more if Marvel decides to double ship for some of those months. Mile High is betting there are enough fans that are willing to spend that amount of money so they are willing to take the risk. When you consider most comic shop exclusives cost $10 - 15, Mile High is asking for a $5 - 10 premium over the typical asking price for an exclusive. In a past newsletter, they mentioned they were keeping the prices high to protect these exclusive comic's value for the buyer.
How is that high price protection working though? Sales on eBay shows that there are bargains to be found for those willing to wait and take a chance on an auction that sells them in lots. For example, a complete set of Star Wars #1 - 6 Mile High exclusives sold for around $68 in July. Compare that to Mile High's asking price of $120 for the set. Complete sets of Princess Leia #1 - 5 have sold for between $40 - 55 compared to $100 direct from Mile High Comics. But, those sales are not the norm. In fact, very few Mile High exclusives have sold on eBay with only 14 completed sales in the month of September. What this suggests is most people buying the Mile High Comics exclusives are collectors and I suspect very few sellers on eBay are willing to risk buying these comics for resale.
What does all this mean for the value of these Mile High Comic exclusives long term? Most variants and exclusives have a tendency to drop in price over time. Mile High Comics is trying to mitigate that by starting with an initial higher price and increasing that price over time. Unfortunately, without publishing numbers, it is hard to guess at the trajectory for these comics, but if the 3,000 copies limit used for Star Wars #1 exclusives is true for these exclusives, I suspect most of these exclusives will not maintain their initial value. In effect, what Mile High Comics is doing is cutting out the middle man (the speculator) and selling these comics for a price where they are maximizing the dollars they see from these issues without leaving any meat on the bone for anyone else.
Thursday night, John Tyler Christopher began selling a new black and white variant of Star Wars #4 with the Boba Fett action figure cover. This variant is limited to 3000 copies and sold out very quickly at $20 after been put on sale on his site. The comic has already been selling on eBay for up to $75.
If this comic did not have the first appearance of Sana Solo, I would be hesitant to recommend anyone spend more than $20 for it. If Sana Solo proves to be popular and have longevity however, I can see a premium being placed on this comic since it will be the most limited cover with the first appearance of Sana Solo. I know there are other reasons for this comic to sell well including the current popularity of the action figure cover design and the Boba Fett cover. I believe the action figure cover design will prove to be a fad as Marvel and other publishers will keep publishing them until collectors grow tired of them. As for the Boba Fett cover, I'm of the opinion this is a fairly weak cover; Dark Horse had several Boba Fett covers over the year which are far superior to this one. And those covers are also on comics that contain an actual Boba Fett story.
The Star Wars #1 6th print came out on July 8th with a double cover. The interior cover is the green 6th print cover, and the outer cover is the 1st print cover. There is no variant for this issue since every single copy has the double cover. But, that has not stopped people from paying as much as $20 for a copy on eBay.
The previous reprints of Star Wars #1 all had over 10,000 copies printed and there is no reason to believe this issue will not have roughly the same number of copies. That coupled with the fact that there is no variant here, makes this a poor book to speculate on. And if this book was legitimately "rare" (which it is not), it would be very easy for someone to marry a 1st print cover to a 6th print book. This is one "investment" I would avoid.
By now, everyone has had a chance to view the Force Awakens trailer that was released on April 16, 2015. Several sites picked up immediately on the similarities between the Kylo Ren villain in the trailer and the Darth Revan character from the Knights of the Old Republic video game. Darth Revan appears several times in the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, but his first appearance in a comic is in Star Wars Tales #23.
Star Wars Tales #23c - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2005) photo cover
Darth Revan appears in a single panel in a flashback in a story titled Shadows and Light. He is the character in shadows wearing the robe in the left most panel.
Star Wars Tales #23 - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2005) Darth Revan panel
Interestingly, copies of this comic have dried up on eBay with the remaining copies priced at $20 or more, no doubt due to the speculation surrounding this character. While there is no doubt Darth Revan's look was an influence for Kylo Ren's look, it remains to be seen if Kylo Ren is Darth Revan or Darth Revan is just used as inspiration for the look of this new villain.
Forbidden Planet.com offered 2 Star Wars #1 variants in January 2015 like many other retailers. They offered a 3000 edition color version of a Star Wars cover featuring Boba Fett by Adi Granov and a 1500 edition black and white version.
Star Wars #1x - Marvel Comics, U.S. (January 2015) Forbidden Planet color variantStar Wars #1y - Marvel Comics, U.S. (January 2015) Forbidden Planet black and white variant
Like several retailers who offered a Star Wars #1 variant, both their versions sold out quickly. They ordered another variant, called the "Hoth" variant, which features a black and white background with a color Boba Fett.
Star Wars #1z - Marvel Comics, U.S. (April 2015) Forbidden Planet "Hoth" variant
There are still copies of the "Hoth" variant for sale on the Forbidden Planet.com website, but they all are signed by the cover artist Adi Granov.
Four Color Grails is a comic variant subscription service that started in March 2015. In their first months offering of 4 variant comics was another Star Wars #1 variant that was not included on many of the Star Wars #1 variant checklists that were available on the web. This Star Wars #1 variant features the same art as the J. Scott Campbell 1:50 variant, but is in black and white.
Star Wars #1i - Marvel Comics, U.S. (January 2015) J. Scott Campbell 1:50 variantStar Wars #1aa - Marvel Comics, U.S. (March 2015) Four Color Grails exclusive
The Four Color Grails Star Wars exclusive is still available from Four Color Grails website bundled with the other 3 variants from March 2015 in their shop. Their price is $44.99 for the 4 variant comics, which should be the ceiling for the price for their Star Wars variant for the time being.
Star Wars #4 has a Boba Fett action figure variant cover that is an exclusive from John Tyler Christopher. The comic has already sold out on his website for $20 each, but there have been some held back for C2E2. Additionally, some have been held back for sale at a later date. This comic is limited to 5000 copies which is the same as a 1:25 variant for a comic that sells 125,000 copies.
This comic obviously has appeal to Star Wars fans, Boba Fett fans, and those collectors who are collecting the various action figure covers. But, will this comic have legs once the typical 3-6 months of euphoria wears off? Consider this:
Boba Fett's appearance in Star Wars #42 sells for roughly $80 in NM condition raw. In CGC 9.6 it sells for about $150.
There were several Star Wars #1 variants in January that had print runs of 3000 and 1500 copies with Boba Fett covers that do not sell for much more than they were originally offered.
Arguably, this is not the best Boba Fett cover available. When you consider Marvel's original run, Dark Horse's various titles, and the new Marvel titles, there are many choices for Boba Fett covers available to fans. These action figure variant covers are neat, but they don't depict the original packaging these figures appeared in which I feel limits their appeal.
There does seem to be a collector base for action figure covers. Whether or not this is a passing fad or a permanent fixture in the comic collecting world remains to be seen. I personally believe this variant has limited upside long term and will probably sell for $30 or less a year from now. Speculators hoping to cash in on Boba Fett appearances in comics would do better to pick up one of Boba Fett's first appearances in Marvel's original title.
You can read more about this Star Wars #4 Boba Fett action figure variant cover over at Bleeding Cool.
I'll be honest, I don't understand all the hoopla surrounding Darth Vader #3. Darth Vader #3 is introducing a new character, Aphra, and two droids. There have been so many new Star Wars characters introduced in the Marvel and Dark Horse titles over the years, it seems unwarranted that the introduction of these characters would receive so much attention. Darth Vader has had several side kicks and apprentices over the years. Marvel introduced two Vader apprentices with Shira Brie in Star Wars #56 and Flint in Star Wars Annual #3. Dark Horse introduced a sidekick for Vader with Jix in Shadows of the Empire #2. Another apprentice was Starkiller from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. As for evil droids, there was that trip to Kligson's Moon R2-D2 and C-3PO took in Star Wars #47 among others.
Regardless, you can read more about the speculation surrounding Darth Vader #3 over at Bleeding Cool.
