Hello Comic Community!

My name is Jean-Binh, and this is some of my collector origin story!

I was one of those collectors who always tried to buy 2 of everything.

Hot new toys

Comics

Statues

Trading Cards

With toys I had one mint in package and one to open and enjoy. Along with one that went in a storage box for safe keeping.

If it was a comic, a copy would go in my collection box which never saw the light of day again, and a copy to read until the staples fell out.

Of course, I did not always have the money to have 2 identical collections, but I was lucky enough that my personal choices pay off.

One of my favorites that comes to mind is Marvel Special Edition #15, the first appearance of Shang-Chi!

I am a HUGE Bruce Lee fan, and when it comes to comics Shang-Chi is close enough.

At one time , I possessed fourteen copies of Marvel Special Edition #15. Six of which were CGC 9.6 slabs.

I have since sold all but 2 copies.

Reason why? Well to pay for my other grail comics that I was chasing.

Which brings me to the topic of my weekly posts, I will be sharing first appearances of characters that I am chasing or have chased.

You will learn the reason why I am personally chasing these books, with the hope my personal chase for particular first appearances will help you uncover some gems.

I am planning to cover 3 categories.

Spotlight of the Week will generally have first appearances across all comics eras.

Modern Madness Chase are comics that I am buying multiple copies that you can buy too and are less than $15. Most of which have released in the past decade.

Grail category is comics that I personally considered as a comic that 100% has to be in my collection so I am actively chasing a copy.

With that said! Let’s get into

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

1. Peggy Carter

• First Appearance – Tales of Suspense 77 by Marvel on May 1966
• So who did not love Captain Carter in What if tv series? Now she is in the MCU, you know definitely Marvel has more plans
• I have loved Peggy Carter ever since first the Captain America movie.
• Market is still debating if Peggy will be a good investment. I am still undecided, but definitely needs to be in my personal collection
• Most Recent eBay sales data – $140 RAW copy, $345 CGC 5.0, $750 CGC 7.0

Peggy Carter is a Fan favorite that Marvel knows people want more to see more involved in the MCU.

With her recent series released and an appearance in Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, this is a character that has staying power.

Notable Covers

• Avengers Forever #1 2021 – First Cover Appearances Captain Carter
• Captain Carter #1 2022 – First Solo Series
• Captain Carter #1 2022 – 1:25 Incentive “What If?” Variant

2. Starfox Aka Eros

• First Appearance – Captain Marvel #27 by Marvel on July 1973
• Starfox aka Eros is known as the brother of Thanos
• I was reading the Avengers during the time Starfox joined in the 80’s. I have been a fan of Starfox ever since.
• It blew my mind when he showed up in The Eternals and that he is now part of the MCU!
• Harry Styles! Seriously I think he is the perfect person to play a perfect girl chasing, funny, and charming character
• Most recent eBay sales data – $90 RAW copy; $158 CGC 6.5; $65 CGC 4.5

Notable Covers

• Avengers #232 1983 – Eros renamed Starfox; Joins Avengers

3. Sam Alexander ( NOVA)

• First Appearance – Marvel Point One #1 by Marvel on November 2011
• I see that Marvel green light for him to be in the MCU
• I think Nova will be Sam Alexander and not Richard Rider. Marvel has been pushing Alexander on us from the Spider-Man cartoon to action figures to video games
• Personally, I am on the fence where I like Nova or not as a character, but I feel he will be part of the MCU future so definitely good spec opportunity
• Most recent eBay sales data – $34 RAW copy; $116 CGC 9.2; $300 CGC 9.8

Notable Covers

• Nova #11 2016 – First meeting of Nova, Richard Rider and Nova, Sam Alexander

4. Yelena Belova

• First Appearance – Inhumans #5 by Marvel on March 1999
• I have to admit, I was not very happy when I first heard that Florence Pugh will be replacing Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, but after the Black Widow Movie and Hawkeye Tv show, I am happy to say that Pugh totally won me over.
• Florence was totally funny and a well-rounded Yelena Belova. She was also the highlight in the Hawkeye Tv Series
• Marvel definitely pays attention to fan reception, so more screen time is to be expected for Yelena
• Most Recent eBay sales data – $70 RAW copy; $100 CGC 9.2; $500 CGC 9.8

• Thunderbolts #128 2009 – First Team appearance of new Thunderbolts, including Black Widow ( Yelena Belova)
• Marvel Knights Wave 2 Sketchbook #1 1999 – 1st partial cover appearance and sketch preview of Black Widow, Yelena Belova

5. Voltron

• First Appearance – Voltron #1 by Modern Comics on April 1985
• A live action movie has been announced and studios are fighting to get the rights
• This is one of my favorite cartoons in the 80’s and has a huge fanbase
• Something to consider about this comic has a low print run because it was published by an independent comic publisher called Modern Comics.
• As of this date there are only 787 graded copies by CGC. Go get a copy now people.
• Most Recent eBay sales data – $600 CGC 9.8; $100 CGC 8.0