Collector Keys Corner — Collectible Comics To Look Out For This Week

Welcome back to Collector Keys Corner! There are basically two kinds of people buying comics. Those who read them, and those who collect them. There is quite a bit of overlap between the two groups, but comics consumers generally lean hard one way or the other. This column is aimed at the collectors, highlighting this week’s comics keys. 

Absolute Batman #11

Learn the origin of Bane! What drives the muscle-bound behemoth, and how did he arrive in Gotham?

Darkseid’s shenanigans in DC’s Absolute line has given the publisher a way to reintroduce well established characters with a dark twist. This issue boasts Ultimate Bane’s origin story. 

Detective Comics #1100

In March 1937, a comic book was published that changed the world as we know it. Now, 1,099 issues later, some of comics’ top talents have gathered to celebrate the comic that birthed a legend!

This is a massive milestone issue. With many comics titles running for a year or two if they’re lucky, 1,100 is a number that seems untouchable. Think about how long The Walking Dead series ran. From 2003 to 2019, TWD hit 193 issues total. As impressive as that is, that’s 907 short of the bar set by Detective Comics.

Black Cat #1

Super-thief, super… Hero?! Felicia Hardy is the Black Cat, the world’s slyest and most skilled super-thief! She loves a good score. The longer the odds — the better! But her entire world turned upside down after the Amazing Spider-Man’s battle with Hellgate, so Felicia is turning over a new leaf as New York City’s newest… super hero?!

Not exactly an introduction, but a reimagining of Black Cat as a hero in her eponymous series debut.

Justice League Red #1

The Justice League has a new spec-ops team so covert, the founders can’t know it exists. And its leader is the only hero who could keep JLR off its radar… because he is the radar. Red Tornado is the heart and mind of the Watchtower — watching, projecting into the future, and his projections point to apocalypse as a direct result of the concentrated power of the JLU. When your Justice League ID card lights up red, Reddy needs you. For the fate of humanity, and for yourself, because you don’t want to find out what Red can do with what he knows about you.

This is the first team appearance of Justice League Red, featuring Red Tornado, Power Girl, Deadman, Cyborg, Green Lantern Baz, and Red Canary. 

All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1

Gwen Stacy isn’t from this Earth but she’s here to stay, so it’s time to make herself at home! A new costume, a new home life — heck, she’s even starting a new band! Unfortunately for Gwen, new threats are also heading her way, starting with one that just might be her own fault! Follow the Ghost-Spider as she settles into Earth-616 to stay!

Two keys in this one; the debut of a new Ghost-Spider suit, and a possible first appearance of Tantrum, a symbiote villain seen on next month’s cover. 

All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1

1:100 J. Scott Campbell Just Spectacular Collection Virgin Variant

We’ve talked a lot about incentive variants. This is 1:100, which means a shop needs to order 100 open order covers to get just one. There is an open order version of this cover with the title and trade dressing, but this virgin variant is absolutely stunning. Classic dynamic Spider-Gwen swinging pose with loads of space for autos. This cover is everything you could ask for in the collector space. Series premiere, possible first appearance, 1:100 incentive, gorgeous artwork, negative space for signatures… 

Marvel All-On-One The Thing vs. The Marvel Universe#1

Ben Grimm takes on the entire planet in this special Marvel Anniversary issue — across 50 pages of incredible nonstop action so bold, so colossal, that the only pages that aren’t splash pages are double-page spreads! It’s Marvel as you’ve always wanted to see it, at our biggest — our baddest — our most clobberingest! It’s the wildest story we’ve ever published! It’s Marvel All-on-One!

Concept issues don’t always work out, but… When you think of The Thing, you want to see some clobbering. Fifty pages of double spreads give Dr. Grimm the space he needs to open up a massive can of whoop ass. It’s gimmicky, sure. Sometimes gimmicks add to collectibility. Really could go either way.

Venom: Black, White & Blood #1

Venom stalks a vicious paramilitary science outfit bent on weaponizing Brock’s symbiote! In the aftermath of Maximum Carnage, J.M. DeMatteis and Dave Wachter pit Eddie Brock against a family matter — and a dark truth — in “Fathers & Sons”! Ryan North and Creees Lee put the Lethal in lethal protector as Venom helps a kid… get revenge!

It’s Venom. It’s a number 1. People are going to buy it. 

Venom: Black, White & Blood #1

1:100 Peach Momoko Virgin Variant

Another 1:100 incentive cover, and just look at this thing. Peach Momoko has carved out a niche depicting the Marvel Universe through a dark and twisted lens. Her work has been described as ‘making the grisly gorgeous,’ and this cover embodies every word of that statement. 

Superman Unlimited #4

Mark Spears Variant

It’s a big day for Jimmy Olsen as he sets up shop in the new Gotham City branch of the Daily Planet. His first assignment: learn what has turned Superman into an uncontrollable monster — and why. Do the combined forces of the heroes of Gotham even stand a chance against this version of the Man of Steel? And what is Bruce Wayne doing a continent away in Emerald City? All this, and back in Smallville, Jon Kent begins training for the ultimate challenge — a way to combat the deadly effects of Kryptonite. Guest-starring: the Birds of Prey.

I highlight a lot of incentive covers, because publishers often leverage their most striking cover images with order minimums. This is a rare example where the best cover of the lot is open order. Mark Spears nailed this thing to the wall. This is the most “Superman” depiction of Superman I’ve seen in a minute.