Top 10 Best Comics of the Modern Age Era (1992-Present Day)
Whether you love them, or hate them, modern age comics have gained a lot of popularity over the last ten years. Their prices tend to be volatile and can spike in line with movie and TV show releases. The modern age era is renowned for being rife with speculation and fluctuating valuations but controversy aside, some of these books have conjured some serious value and have left their mark as key issues within the modern age era.
Will they stand the test of time, who knows.....
But without further ado, let's get into it.
In my opinion, here are the Top 10 comics of the Modern Age Era (1992-Present).
These have been ranked based on a combination of overall cultural impact, as well as value.
1. The Walking Dead #1 (2003)
One of the major independent series that really kicked off the rise of indie books that we have seen over the past couples of decades. The AMC TV series debuted Halloween 2010 with the opening scenes appearing reminiscent of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. The series was great in parts, however most of the people I know (myself included) who were keen viewers at the start seem to have died off, much like many of the original cast. At the time of this post, it is now into its 11th and final season and is due to finish in 2022, spanning 12 years of television.
The massively popular Robert Kirkman and Image Comics adaptation has developed into a true franchise, spawning a number of spin-off series. Not to mention, there is talk of an upcoming movie (possible trilogy) where Andrew Lincoln will re-vitalise his role as the protagonist, Rick Grimes.
Looking back on release in 2003, the comic series was unproven at the time and had a relatively low print-run (est. 6000-7300 for issue #1), ~3500 of which are now CGC graded. The scarcity of issue number 1 makes it a highly sought after book and has contributed to its value rising over the years. It has sold for as high as $3800 in 2022, with the latest sale at $3540 (GPA).
The TV show may have stagnated in parts, however, it has undoubtedly contributed towards development of a cult-following that will last for years to come and that is why it gets our top spot as the most prolific book of the Modern Age Era.
2. Batman Adventures #12 (1993) - First Harley Quinn Appearance
With the rise in popularity of Harley Quinn, most prominently portrayed by Margot Robbie in multiple movies (Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad) this book has gone from strength to strength over the past ten years. Although DC books don't seem to have quite the momentum as most Marvel keys in the current market, this book still sells for around $2953 (GPA 90 Day Avg.).
3. Spawn #1 (1992) - First Spawn Appearance
Although not the most valuable book on the list by any means, 3rd Place goes to the best-selling independent comic book to date. With an estimated 1.7 million copies of issue 1 having been sold when released back in 1992, Todd McFarlane's milestone comic has now become one of the most recognisable comic covers of the modern age. This classic has spawned (no pun intended) countless homage covers throughout the years that have paid their respects to the original. Roughly only 10% of the original print run were sent to the spinner racks, making a high grade Newsstand copy of issue number 1 a valuable book that has hit the heights of ~$1200 in a CGC 9.8.
4. Amazing Spider-man #361 (1992) - First Carnage Appearance
Although not a scarce book (~22,500 on the CGC census), this issue introduces the spawn of Venom. Carnage is unleashed when serial killer Cletus Kasady merges with the offspring of the alien symbiote during a prison breakout. Venom has become a highly important Spider-man villain in recent years and Carnage is another popular foe to add to Spider-man's list of enemies. Due to high numbers available and the aftermath of a bad movie, this book currently sells for around $518 in a CGC 9.8 (GPA 90 Day Avg.). It could be a good time to pick up a high grade copy if you want to add one to your collection.
5. Ultimate Fallout #4 (2011) - First Miles Morales Appearance
This book has reached monumental heights over the past few years. Accelerated by the pandemic, it has gone from being a standard back issue to one of the most in-demand issues of the modern age within the space of a few years.
It sees a new Spider-Man appear in New York....none other than Miles Morales! Miles has become a key marvel character partly thanks to the box office hit 'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' as well as his own video game 'Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales'. Irrespective of the book having a high print run, with ~14,000 copies of the first print currently appearing on the CGC census, the values have sporadically soared to as high as ~$4000 for a CGC 9.8. It appears many collectors are betting on him being around for the long-run.
6. Invincible #1 (2003)
Another Robert Kirkman classic series that was actually released earlier in the same year as The Walking Dead. This popular series has recently been adapted into an animation on Amazon Prime and I could not recommend it highly enough. I predict that this series will become more popular amongst the mainstream population as the Amazon Prime series progresses. Give it a few more years and this could easily move up the list. A CGC 9.8 currently sells for around $3634 (GPA 90 Day Avg.) and there are less than 400 in this grade on the census, making it an extremely hard book to find.
You can read a digital copy of the first issue here.
7. NYX #3 (2004) - First X-23 Appearance
The First appearance of Wolverine's daughter, X-23. Wolverine is one of the biggest Marvel characters around today so it is only fitting that the introduction of his daughter into the universe would become a major key issue. Top sales for this issue in a CGC 9.8 range from $2000-2200.
"Laura Kinney is a mutant artificially engineered using Wolverine's DNA. In order to replicate the original Weapon X experiment, the program known as the Facility wished to clone Wolverine to serve as their private assassin. Geneticist Sarah Kinney was tasked to lead the project, proposing to create a female subject after twenty-two failed attempts due to a damaged Y chromosome in the genetic material. Contradicting her superiors, Kinney mixed her own genetic material with Wolverine's and became the surrogate mother to the experiment, giving birth to X-23."
8. Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (2014) - First Spider-Gwen Appearance
In 8th place we have another spider-verse linked issue. Similarly to UF4, this book has risen dramatically in popularity over the last few years. In this comic, the multi-verse sees a role reversal, where Gwen Stacy is bitten by a radioactive spider on Earth-65 to become Spider-Gwen. In a CGC 9.8 this book has sold for as high as $2400, which is crazy considering the book is still less than 10 years old.
9. Something is Killing the Children #1 (2019)
"When the children of Archer's Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. The few children that return alive have terrible stories—impossible details of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows."
It is hard to believe that a book released as recently as in 2019 can make this list, but I think that is testament to the writing skills of James Tynion IV. This series has rapidly grown in popularity since its release and I imagine it is only a matter of time before we see an on-screen adaptation. This book has sold for as high as $1500, which is astonishing considering its age.
10. Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (1992) - First Bane Appearance
I couldn't finish this top 10 list without including this key Batman rogue book. At its peak in a CGC 9.8, this book has sold for around $750, with the odd anomalous sale above this, making it one of the least valuable books on the list. However, the introduction of Bane, a man raised in a prison on the island of Santa Prisca for the crimes of his father, is a book that will remain important in the Batman storyline for years to come. Bane is often credited as the only villain who has truly "broken the Bat", as shown in Tom Hardy's menacing portrayal in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
That sums up our Top 10 comics of the Modern Age Era. It has been a hard task consolidating so many books into such a concise list. Here are a few other honourable mentions that didn't quite make the cut:
Alias #1 (2001), Amazing Spider-man #4 (2014), Batman #635 (2005), Batman Beyond #1 (1999), Black Panther #2 (2005), Incredible Hulk #449 (1996), Saga #1 (2012), Static #1 (1993), What If? #105 (1998), Young Avengers #1 (2005).
Feel free to leave a comment with your top 10 or any thoughts and thank you for reading!