Underappreciated/Undervalued 1st Appearances

[greg]

Dark Horse Presents #10
Flaming Carrot #16

Both books are from 1987, both already have movies completed, VHS, DVDs, late-night reruns...
generally known and treated as "cult classics".

Both are still about $1, if you can find them.

I don't know about the Flaming Carrot book, but I would think the time has long passed on DHP. I think it would be better to find comics of longer-running series, or re-occurring characters spread across different titles.

Better than $1?

[GGSAE]

Dark Horse Presents #10
Flaming Carrot #16

Both books are from 1987, both already have movies completed, VHS, DVDs, late-night reruns...
generally known and treated as "cult classics".

Both are still about $1, if you can find them.

I don't know about the Flaming Carrot book, but I would think the time has long passed on DHP. I think it would be better to find comics of longer-running series, or re-occurring characters spread across different titles.

Better than $1?

Sure, you can sell it for probably more than that, but what will be the catalyst to drive it higher?

[greg]

Dark Horse Presents #10
Flaming Carrot #16

Both books are from 1987, both already have movies completed, VHS, DVDs, late-night reruns...
generally known and treated as "cult classics".

Both are still about $1, if you can find them.

I don't know about the Flaming Carrot book, but I would think the time has long passed on DHP. I think it would be better to find comics of longer-running series, or re-occurring characters spread across different titles.

Better than $1?

Sure, you can sell it for probably more than that, but what will be the catalyst to drive it higher?

What is this "sell" that you speak of?

[IMJ]

Bulleteer #1
No, I did not put it on the list. Watch it take off like bat *SQUEE* crazy next year as DC uses more of it's weirdo characters in multi-media.

[GGSAE]

Bulleteer #1
No, I did not put it on the list. Watch it take off like bat *SQUEE* crazy next year as DC uses more of it's weirdo characters in multi-media.

You put together a nice list on the previous page, so I'll give you a mulligan on this one.

[GGSAE]

Dark Horse Presents #10
Flaming Carrot #16

Both books are from 1987, both already have movies completed, VHS, DVDs, late-night reruns...
generally known and treated as "cult classics".

Both are still about $1, if you can find them.

I don't know about the Flaming Carrot book, but I would think the time has long passed on DHP. I think it would be better to find comics of longer-running series, or re-occurring characters spread across different titles.

Better than $1?

Sure, you can sell it for probably more than that, but what will be the catalyst to drive it higher?

What is this "sell" that you speak of?

So why do you care about value if you never want to sell it?

[greg]

Dark Horse Presents #10
Flaming Carrot #16

Both books are from 1987, both already have movies completed, VHS, DVDs, late-night reruns...
generally known and treated as "cult classics".

Both are still about $1, if you can find them.

I don't know about the Flaming Carrot book, but I would think the time has long passed on DHP. I think it would be better to find comics of longer-running series, or re-occurring characters spread across different titles.

Better than $1?

Sure, you can sell it for probably more than that, but what will be the catalyst to drive it higher?

What is this "sell" that you speak of?

So why do you care about value if you never want to sell it?

The current insanity related to comic book speculation is driven by who might be in the next movie... even in a tiny role.

A lot of these characters won't be in a movie... and the $10 and $100 speculations will turn out to be bad investments.

Meanwhile, there are a few comic books that have already been turned into movies.
Once a movie is completed, there's always a chance that it could result in a sequel, or a reboot, or an anniversary edition, etc.
It can be seen on Netflix or shown on late night TV.
It can be discussed by people who are comparing comic book movies and talking about the ones they haven't seen yet.

Most of the time, first appearance books which become movies are already in the stratosphere.

Once in a while, though, books are completely overlooked which have already made it through all the hurdles and already have their own movies.
They were too early to be part of the internet insanity... and they're earlier than the glut of common books from the early 1990s.

Dark Horse Presents #10 and Flaming Carrot #16 are two of those books... and they usually cost around $1.

If you liked the movies, chances are someone else did, too... and chances are that collectors in a market driven by movie appearances are going to realize they overlooked a few.

Just get there first. For a dollar, you can't go wrong.

[Elveen]

I think that the first Archangel, X-Factor 24 and 1st Psylocke New Mutant Annual #2 are undervalued. Try and find a NM copy of the NM #2.

I love X-Factor #24 and Archangel was awesome, but that character had it's day IMO. Unless there's a big revival, I think that one is like Uncanny X-Men #201 now - a cult favorite and not much more. I remember during the days of Wizard magazine, X-Factor #24 was hotter than the first Apocalypse is now.

What was the deal with the Marvel Age Darkhawk? Was it preview pages from the comic or just some illustrations?

It had a few pages of the first issue as a preview IIRC. I can bust mine out to check next time I'm digging through those boxes.

I disagree with you on the X factor #24. The book is only getting hotter. Lots of people ask for it.
I have to believe that Archangel will be in the apocalypse movie.
That book is on the rise.

[400yrs]

I'm going to start working on my Groo the Wanderer set now!

I'd love to see the groo 1s and destroyer duck 1 shoot up. It would validate my buying of all the decent copies I find for a buck. I'd probably still keep them all. Love me some groo.

[greatbrandino11]

I'm going to start working on my Groo the Wanderer set now!

I'd love to see the groo 1s and destroyer duck 1 shoot up. It would validate my buying of all the decent copies I find for a buck. I'd probably still keep them all. Love me some groo.

[greatbrandino11]

I think that the first Archangel, X-Factor 24 and 1st Psylocke New Mutant Annual #2 are undervalued. Try and find a NM copy of the NM #2.

I love X-Factor #24 and Archangel was awesome, but that character had it's day IMO. Unless there's a big revival, I think that one is like Uncanny X-Men #201 now - a cult favorite and not much more. I remember during the days of Wizard magazine, X-Factor #24 was hotter than the first Apocalypse is now.

What was the deal with the Marvel Age Darkhawk? Was it preview pages from the comic or just some illustrations?

It had a few pages of the first issue as a preview IIRC. I can bust mine out to check next time I'm digging through those boxes.

I disagree with you on the X factor #24. The book is only getting hotter. Lots of people ask for it.
I have to believe that Archangel will be in the apocalypse movie.
That book is on the rise.

It seems a 9.8 copy consistently sells for $150-$180, depending on the auction. I picked up a 9.8 copy a couple of months ago. He was one of my favorites from the 90's and I had been wanting to get it for a long time. Rick Remender did a good job with the character during his 3 year run with the Uncanny X-Force. Pretty good reading.

[greatbrandino11]

I also believe X-Men 120 (1st Alpha Flight cameo) and 121 (1st full Alpha Flight) are good books to get and pretty affordable. I picked up a beautiful NM copy of 120 this past week for $65. I'll be picking up 121 next. Alpha Flight 1 is still waaaaaay cheap, too. It may not be $1 bin cheap but it is still cheap considering it is a major team starting their own series.

[lorddunlow]

I also believe X-Men 120 (1st Alpha Flight cameo) and 121 (1st full Alpha Flight) are good books to get and pretty affordable. I picked up a beautiful NM copy of 120 this past week for $65. I'll be picking up 121 next. Alpha Flight 1 is still waaaaaay cheap, too. It may not be $1 bin cheap but it is still cheap considering it is a major team starting their own series.

But, but, but they're CANADIAN!

[Chiclo]

I'm going to start working on my Groo the Wanderer set now!

I'd love to see the groo 1s and destroyer duck 1 shoot up. It would validate my buying of all the decent copies I find for a buck. I'd probably still keep them all. Love me some groo.

My wife and I both got to meet Sergio Aragones at a convention and we both agreed that he would be cooler to meet than Stan Lee.

[GGSAE]

I don't know about the Flaming Carrot book, but I would think the time has long passed on DHP. I think it would be better to find comics of longer-running series, or re-occurring characters spread across different titles.

Better than $1?

Sure, you can sell it for probably more than that, but what will be the catalyst to drive it higher?

What is this "sell" that you speak of?

So why do you care about value if you never want to sell it?

The current insanity related to comic book speculation is driven by who might be in the next movie... even in a tiny role.

A lot of these characters won't be in a movie... and the $10 and $100 speculations will turn out to be bad investments.

Meanwhile, there are a few comic books that have already been turned into movies.
Once a movie is completed, there's always a chance that it could result in a sequel, or a reboot, or an anniversary edition, etc.
It can be seen on Netflix or shown on late night TV.
It can be discussed by people who are comparing comic book movies and talking about the ones they haven't seen yet.

Most of the time, first appearance books which become movies are already in the stratosphere.

Once in a while, though, books are completely overlooked which have already made it through all the hurdles and already have their own movies.
They were too early to be part of the internet insanity... and they're earlier than the glut of common books from the early 1990s.

Dark Horse Presents #10 and Flaming Carrot #16 are two of those books... and they usually cost around $1.

If you liked the movies, chances are someone else did, too... and chances are that collectors in a market driven by movie appearances are going to realize they overlooked a few.

Just get there first. For a dollar, you can't go wrong.

That's a good ramble Greg; so the answer to my question would be, it's a better dollar spent than anything else?

[GGSAE]

I also believe X-Men 120 (1st Alpha Flight cameo) and 121 (1st full Alpha Flight) are good books to get and pretty affordable. I picked up a beautiful NM copy of 120 this past week for $65. I'll be picking up 121 next. Alpha Flight 1 is still waaaaaay cheap, too. It may not be $1 bin cheap but it is still cheap considering it is a major team starting their own series.

I had dumped a bunch of Alpha Flights (including #1) for 50 cents/pop at my garage sale...they weren't in great condition, but doesn't this book have a very high print run?

[GGSAE]

I'm going to start working on my Groo the Wanderer set now!

I'd love to see the groo 1s and destroyer duck 1 shoot up. It would validate my buying of all the decent copies I find for a buck. I'd probably still keep them all. Love me some groo.

I have a mid grade run of the first 10 of Groo that was part of a collection; I was thinking of listing them on ebay...you would hold onto these?

[IMJ]

Bulleteer #1
No, I did not put it on the list. Watch it take off like bat *SQUEE* crazy next year as DC uses more of it's weirdo characters in multi-media.

You put together a nice list on the previous page, so I'll give you a mulligan on this one.

I think that the first Archangel, X-Factor 24 and 1st Psylocke New Mutant Annual #2 are undervalued. Try and find a NM copy of the NM #2.

I love X-Factor #24 and Archangel was awesome, but that character had it's day IMO. Unless there's a big revival, I think that one is like Uncanny X-Men #201 now - a cult favorite and not much more. I remember during the days of Wizard magazine, X-Factor #24 was hotter than the first Apocalypse is now.

I disagree with you on the X factor #24. The book is only getting hotter. Lots of people ask for it.
I have to believe that Archangel will be in the apocalypse movie.
That book is on the rise.

Ah, ya I forgot about the Age of Apocalypse movie - hence my comment "unless there's a big revival". I hope they add Archangel to that flick - he makes for such an awesome visual.

I'm going to start working on my Groo the Wanderer set now!

I'd love to see the groo 1s and destroyer duck 1 shoot up. It would validate my buying of all the decent copies I find for a buck. I'd probably still keep them all. Love me some groo.

Sometimes I wonder if Cerebus has anything left in it.

[greatbrandino11]

I also believe X-Men 120 (1st Alpha Flight cameo) and 121 (1st full Alpha Flight) are good books to get and pretty affordable. I picked up a beautiful NM copy of 120 this past week for $65. I'll be picking up 121 next. Alpha Flight 1 is still waaaaaay cheap, too. It may not be $1 bin cheap but it is still cheap considering it is a major team starting their own series.

But, but, but they're CANADIAN!

We'll always be able to hold that over their heads.

[greatbrandino11]

I'm going to start working on my Groo the Wanderer set now!

I'd love to see the groo 1s and destroyer duck 1 shoot up. It would validate my buying of all the decent copies I find for a buck. I'd probably still keep them all. Love me some groo.

I have a mid grade run of the first 10 of Groo that was part of a collection; I was thinking of listing them on ebay...you would hold onto these?

Truthfully, I was just making a joke, but with Marvel being owned by Disney, you never know what they may decide to use as source for a medieval cartoon. I can see it now...Stay tuned after Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble for everyone's favorite barbarian...Groo the Wanderer...only on Disney XD.

[greatbrandino11]

I also believe X-Men 120 (1st Alpha Flight cameo) and 121 (1st full Alpha Flight) are good books to get and pretty affordable. I picked up a beautiful NM copy of 120 this past week for $65. I'll be picking up 121 next. Alpha Flight 1 is still waaaaaay cheap, too. It may not be $1 bin cheap but it is still cheap considering it is a major team starting their own series.

I had dumped a bunch of Alpha Flights (including #1) for 50 cents/pop at my garage sale...they weren't in great condition, but doesn't this book have a very high print run?

I'm not sure about the print run. I'd like to know myself. I tried http://www.comicbookrealm.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but didn't have any luck. Anyone know a way to find out?

[IMJ]

I added a bunch of my favorites to all of the eras, as well as a new category for everyone to check out as well. Happy hunting!

[greatbrandino11]

I was going through my collection yesterday, and after coming across several key issues, I started to think about key first appearances and which ones are still cheap and best to keep in your collection for the future. I had several come to mind...

Uncanny X-Men 221 (1st Mr. Sinister)
Uncanny X-Men 282 & 283 (1st Bishop)
X-Men 4 (1st Omega Red)
Thor 337 (1st Beta Ray Bill)
Incredible Hulk 449 (1st Thunderbolts)
Superman/Batman Annual 4 (1st Batman Beyond)

I would've named all of these too! Nice list.... I'll add some of my fav's to the community. Happy hunting!

Silver Age ('56 - '70):
Avengers #8 | 1st Kang. If Ultron wasn't the villain of the Avengers 2, I'd have placed my bets on Kang. Even if this character never makes his way onto film, this book established a very important character to the Marvel U that manifests across 3 or more identities (Pharoah, Immortus, and Kang, not to mention Iron Lad) and recurring appearances over the years.

Journey Into Mystery #85 | 1st Loki. This is an awesome book that's incredibly relevant now more than ever basically.

Tales of Suspense #50 | 1st Mandarin. Awesome Silver Age cover, classic Silver Age "Red Rivalry". Hard to find in mid-grade without Marvel chipping, in my experience.

Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos #5 | 1st Baron Von Strucker. A wildly under-utlized character, but sure to be hotter book after Avengers 2 drops.

House of Secrets #61 | 1st Eclipso. This was is itching to be a market mover as Eclipso tends to show up for events or as a heavy hitter bad guy. Think DC's Mephisto analog to some extent.

Strange Tales #135 | 1st S.H.I.E.L.D., 1st Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 1st Heli-carrier, 1st S.H.I.E.L.D. flying car, 1st Hydra, 1st Life Model Decoys. I mentioned this book as a favorite of mine in several other threads, but given the nature of the Marvel U as well as the use of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the MCU and T.V., this book is huge the way that Iron Man #55 is huge, IMO. Even if this issue didn't have all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. establishments in it, it would still be the 1st app of Hydra.

Tales of Suspense #75 | 1st Sharon Carter. Key character for Captain America fans throughout all eras.

Tales of Suspense #79 | 1st Cosmic Cube. Obviously incredibly relevant to Modern Marvel (regardless as to whether or not they retcon it into an Infinity Gem). Also keyed through years of Marvel storytelling ranging from the Red Skull vs. Cap, to Captain Marvel vs. Thanos, to the Marvel Movies as "The Tesseract". Absolutely a defining Marvel Comics artifact.

Bronze Age ('70 - '85)
Marvel Premiere #15 | 1st Iron Fist. Great origin story (poor writing, but cool story for "YOU"). Very valid full-story first appearance.

Marvel Spotlight #5 | 1st Ghost Rider. Hard to argue that this isn't a key book.

Avengers #158 | 1st Graviton. Always a cool and super powerful villain that had difficulty escaping his campy looks. Still, a heavy-hitter and this might generate more interest depending on what the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has planned for him on T.V. Either way though, it's a cool mainstay bad guy of the Avengers.

Iron Man v1 #86 | 1st Blizzard. A mainstay Iron Man villain, also featured on the Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. t.v. show, albeit a bit redesigned. Still, a cool first app. -ahem-

Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olson #134 | 1st Darkseid. DC first apps are hard to come by because so much of the DCU that is relevant happened during the Golden Age and early Silver Age, but this is no doubt a relevant and awkward Silver Age book with an awesome first app.

Fantastic Four #205 | 1st Nova Corps. Obscure, but awesome.

DC Comics Presents #27 | 1st Mongul. Awesome Jim Starlin character that has lasted the test of time and still shows up as a heavy hitter villain today. I don't know how this one keeps sneaking under the radar, and while it shouldn't necessarily be an Iron Man #55 style book, I'd say that eventually it'll be pretty sought after the more the character makes mainstream media. Although #27 is a full-on, story driven first appearance, the follow up issue, #28 is pretty good too.

Spectacular Spider-Man #64 | 1st Cloak & Dagger. This one is fairly hot, but still somewhat undervalued I'd say. I feel like Cloak and Dagger have the visuals to be a T.V. team - especially in today's age of retconned diversity, this original team has what it takes to be appealing to audiences. This is a solid first app too - it's a full story with them as the antagonists, and they win! Like Moon Knight - characters that could really be cool if given a direction and a great creative team.

Captain America #217 | 1st Quasar (Marvel Man). Wendell Vaughn goes on to change his name to Quasar in Hulk #234 in 1979, but this Captain America book is the characters first appearance, Quantum Bands and all. What's cooler is that he is an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. long before he is head of Security at Project Pegasus, and then later officially appointed Protector of the Universe in his own series.

Thor #225 | 1st Firelord. A cosmic mainstay at Marvel. Not a character to hold his own title, but easily a favorite Herald up there with Terrax and Airwalker... two other characters with cool 1st apps as well.

Copper Age ('85 - '91)
Iron Man #219 | 1st Ghost. This is definitely one of Iron Man's cooler villains and this book is under the radar. The Ghost has been a recurring character for years, even featured in the Iron Man: Rise of Technovore video. He's also a fan-favorite character, and if an Iron Man 4 ever gets made, I can see this being one of the go-to characters for that movie. This is a super-villain and high-intrigue, espionage kind of character all in one.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #7 | 1st Utroms / Krang. Undeniably TMNT continues across generations, and this book was the first appearance of the Utroms - the characters that go on to become Krang.

Detective Comics #608 | 1st Anarchy. A cool Batman villain. Still under the radar...

Longshot #1 | 1st Longshot. Always a pretty neat character and a rarer unique concept of the era. This book might garner more interest if Fox's X-Men movie Universe manifests the way they have planned. As I understand it, the characters later continuity gets pretty marred with Shatterstar, but this is still a cool book and a rare character introduction in the first issue of his own series.

Avengers #257 | 1st Nebula. Had a very interesting role in the Infinity Gauntlet and was set up as a recurring threat in the Guardians of the Galaxy flick.

Megaton #3 | 1st Savage Dragon. Many of us here have said it in the past - Larson keeps going with the Dragon book, even with an incredibly low print run. If attention ever turns to that character because of a movie, T.V. deal or some other event, the Dragon run as a whole, and this book are going to be big market books.

Marvel Age #97 | 1st Darkhawk. Cool character made even better when Marvel removed him from the Spider-Man level playing field and made him a cosmic character down the road. I struggle with this one as a first app, because I think this book is basically an advertisement for Darkhawk #1, but the market seems to be stating that this one is it.

Modern Age
Amazing Spider-Man #365 | 1st Spider-Man 2099. Again with the preview content, but this is the one that people buy as the 1st appearance rather than Spider-Man 2099 #1.

Comics Greatest World Arcadia #3 | 1st Ghost. Another obscure character, but one that is a bit of a fan favorite on these forums. Also, the character clearly has staying power as that and "X" are basically the only ones that Dark Horse goes back to publication for. This character is basic enough that it also strikes me as something we could see on T.V. someday, no?

Dark Horse Comics #8 | 1st X. See my explanation for Dark Horse's Ghost above.

Nova v4 #8 | 1st Cosmo. Cosmic is cool and apparently so are cosmic animals. Also, with the Knowhere being featured in the Guardians' movie, Cosmo might actually have a role in the sequel. Crazier things have happened. Rocket Raccoon. Howard the Duck....

House of Mystery Annual #1 | 1st iZombie. The Zombie craze is on and some feel that this character might have legs the way the Walking Dead does. It's either this or Zombie Tramp.... soooooo.... let'sgowiththis.

Spawn #9 | 1st Angela. This might wind up being a more sought after book than many of us would've ever guessed. I remember wayyyyyyy back in the day there was a Graham Crackers Comics sale at one of their smaller stores in the Chicago suburbs. They had bins and bins and bins of 90's overprinted books for .10 each and this book was all over the place in those bins. First, Angela appears in Spawn, drawn by one of that era's top artists and written by one of that era's top writers. She recurs there for years and is eventually brought over to Marvel (a character moving to a competing publisher - something that rarely occurs in comics) where she is now used in Guardians of the Galaxy and will soon be given a higher profile in Thor as well. There might be a million copies of Spawn #9 around, but this book has, impossibly, become the real deal.

Walking Dead #63 | 1st Chew. Image's title about a law enforcement cibopath is still going strong. This issue of the Walking Dead featured a preview of Chew #1, which the market basically considers the first appearance of that title and it's premise. I don't know that it will be a market mainstay or not, but it's probably undervalued a bit.

First Artist Works
Samurai Santa #1 | 1st Jim Lee Published Work (inks only)
Alpha Flight #51 | 1st Jim Lee Pencils and work for Marvel - this one is most likely the book to have considering that Samurai Santa isn't even really indicative of Lee's style in the inks.

Gore Shriek #1 | 1st Greg Capullo Published Work - this one is the real deal as it features a Capullo-drawn story. Also a pretty weird, rare book.
What If...? #2 | 1st Greg Capullo work at Marvel. This one is really for the Capullo fans, I'd say. He worked on 6 other books before landing the Marvel gig.

Coyote #11 | 1st Todd McFarlane Published Work. This one was from Marvel subsidiary "Epic".
Infinity Inc. #14 | 1st Todd McFarlane work at DC. This book was McFarlane's first Big Two work.

Astonishing Tales #25 | 1st George Perez Published Work. Also the first appearance of Deathlok. By all rights, this book should be huge.

Power Man & Iron Fist #90 | 1st Kurt Busiek published Marvel work. Pow! Biff! Pops! was Busiek's first published work, but I think that was a fanzine and allegedly there are fewer than 200 copies of it in existence. It would be cool to own, but I guess we would say that his first Marvel work (also his first actual comic book) is the real deal, no?

The Twilight Zone (1962) #84 | 1st Frank Miller Published Work.
Weird War Tales #64 | 1st Frank Miller work at DC. This book was Miller's first Big Two work.

Doctor Weird #1 | 1st Jim Starlin published work.
Journey Into Mystery #1 | 1st Jim Starlin work at Marvel. This was Starlin's first Big Two work.

Quivers #2 | 1st Brian Michael Bendis Published work. This was a Caliber book and Bendis wrote and drew it.

I could go on and on..... I love threads like this.

Nice work

[nycjadie]

I'm really enjoying this thread. I don't have as much knowledge as you guys do, bit it's been fun to follow.

It makes me think about what underappreciated means. If you look at the price the 1st Deadpool or Harley Quinn commands, does that makes sense compared to a 1st Wolverine or Punisher?

I wonder if some of the 1st's in the Hellboy universe merit some interest? Abe Sapien? Baltimore would make a great movie.

Some of the New52 1sts are pretty good too, IMO. Court of Owls and Talon. Joker's Daughter (for better or worse).

Uncanny X-Men is full of amazing firsts, especially after #94.

It's really shocking to me how Dark Horse has so few important firsts, especially considering their anthology volumes had so many good stories in them.

[IMJ]

I'm really enjoying this thread. I don't have as much knowledge as you guys do, bit it's been fun to follow.

It makes me think about what underappreciated means. If you look at the price the 1st Deadpool or Harley Quinn commands, does that makes sense compared to a 1st Wolverine or Punisher?

Awesome. So... lots to say here regarding your first comment. The "underappreciated" part of the thread really appealed to me, because part of my love for the hobby is digging up some of these obscure books, which gives me a bit of a unique overall collection. And so, many of the picks I've thrown down on the first page are somehow rooted from stuff that I'm personally into. There's some contribution there - Elveen's iZombie suggestion for example. Also, some of the artist stuff I placed there for relevance sake. And so, the "underappreciated" aspect of the thread title is what's keeping things like Wolverine or Punisher from this list. I'd like to think that this is a real collector's list - one informed by knowledge of the hobby if you will.

As for your direct example, I would say that those particular characters and their going values do make sense amidst a Wolverine or Punisher. First, Deadpool is immensely popular and has a cult following, even amidst his design during an age of comic gluttony and contrived creations. Same thing goes for Harley Quinn, but what's more is that Batman TAS book that she appeared in was a fairly low print run book as the title was designed "for kids". It's, in some ways I'm sure, suffering from the same market supply issues that Archie's TMNT books have from around issue 40 and up. As such, those particular characters are rare examples of true market competitors for places in a collection alongside the Hulk 181's of the world.

I wonder if some of the 1st's in the Hellboy universe merit some interest? Abe Sapien? Baltimore would make a great movie.

I don't know that I agree, but that's the beauty of this thread. It's not entirely a "market relevance" thread. I try to combine the information a bit myself, underappreciated but also viable choices. But the truth is that if you find value in those appearances of a Hellboy run, then most likely someone else does too and an argument can be made.

Now, on that note I would only argue against the Hellboy book's relevance because I don't see much cross market appeal there. Sure, Hellboy landed two movies, but as I mentioned somewhere else here on the boards, true, long-term market relevance in my opinion benefits from having either a large enough cult following to sustain interest, or a wider, more populated and published Universe of material to draw support from. Hellboy has a small following of one, and not much at all of the other. But that doesn't mean that stuff wouldn't belong here - maybe Abe Sapien is underappreciated and perhaps his first appearance is in a relatively low-print run, undervalued book.

Some of the New52 1sts are pretty good too, IMO. Court of Owls and Talon. Joker's Daughter (for better or worse).

I think these are solid additions. The Court of Owls might have legs, but I think most of that is fueled by the creative team. Maybe Joker's Daughter will be the next Harley? I would guess that most fans would agree that Batman's rogues have always been the best and most captivating in the business.

Uncanny X-Men is full of amazing firsts, especially after #94.

Absolute truth, but many of those would probably appear on something like a Top 200 first appearances list or something like that. I could see maybe squeezing...... hmmmm.... Havok onto this one. Who else would you throw on? Maybe Forge?

It's really shocking to me how Dark Horse has so few important firsts, especially considering their anthology volumes had so many good stories in them.

I think Dark Horse prints a lot of licensed IP's and it's been my experience that collector's don't typically care as much about firsts from those licenses - at least not as much as the first of a new creative property. For example, I thought about maybe throwing Marvel's Transformers #8 on there, but is it undervalued? Do we, at large, really care that the Dinobots, whom we've seen before on T.V., first appeared in a comic there? I'm sure there's a niche collector somewhere though that probably has amassed an awesome collection of licensed IP firsts. Star Wars.... Indiana Jones.... etc. On that note though, the first appearance of Buffy the Vampire Slayer exchanges for a few bucks as I understand it! Hmmmm... in the spirit of the thread and your comment above... maybe Dark Horse Presents #10!

Who is your favorite comic character or property, nycjadie?