max223•1mo ago

PSA: Stop calling every silver age comic a key issue

I saw a guy at a shop last weekend selling a Lady Killer #1 variant as a "key issue" for $50. That book came out two years ago and nobody even remembers the plot. A key issue has to matter to the whole universe, not just look pretty on a shelf. Have you noticed shops inflating prices on random books lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin4691mo ago

Yeah I see it all the time now. The worst part is when people slap "key" on a book just because a variant cover artist is popular on Instagram. A real key moves the story forward or introduces a character that sticks around for years. My rule is simple: if you can't name three things that happen in the issue without looking it up, it's not a key. Shops do this to clear stock and it works because new collectors don't know better yet. How do you check if something is actually important before you buy?

anna4911mo ago

Can't name three things that happen in the issue" is a solid rule. My buddy Jake bought a Detective Comics #1060 variant thinking it was a key because the cover had a big Batmobile on it. We still laugh about it because he paid thirty bucks and the only thing he remembers is Batman stopping a carjacking in three pages.

rowan_wells301mo ago

My buddy Mike paid $40 for a Batman #140 variant last month thinking it was a key issue because the shop guy talked it up. He told me later he couldn't even remember a single panel from it after flipping through it once. Now he checks the comic's actual first appearance or major event online before he buys anything, saves himself a lot of money that way.