TOP 10 STAR WARS ISSUES

[Marty Mann]

Just wondered which issues of STAR WARS are most in demand?

 

mm

[Chip Cataldo]

...really? Just check eBay, man.

[OV]

I like this question! I think we should have an entire Star Wars thread myself.

 

It depends on if you're asking about every Star Wars issue that Dark Horse and Marvel have created, or just the first Marvel series, or the new Marvel issues being put out. It also depends if we are looking at the top 10 in terms of investment potential, first appearances, or fun storylines, etc.

 

For fun, I'll list what I think are the top 10 combining the above criteria along with my own observations. I left out the 35 cent variations for this list too. They would of course dominate the list if included.

 

1.) Star Wars #1 (1st Marvel series). The beginning of everything! An iconic cover. Amazing to see how this issue has become an investment book in the last couple months.

2.) Star Wars #42 (1st Marvel series). The first comic appearance of Boba Fett! A great cover featuring bounty hunters and an Empire Strikes Back issue.

3.) Star Wars #107 (1st Marvel series). The last issue, low print run. A fun cover to look at. Who's that little alien guy on there?

4.) Star Wars #68 (1st Marvel series). A killer Boba Fett cover on a striking yellow background! One of the few Fett covers in the original series.

5.) Dark Empire #1 (Dark Horse) The first new Star Wars comic, a great new story, and the first foray by Dark Horse into the SW universe. Dark Horse produced some awesome SW work and this was their beginning issue. (thumbs u

 

These last five are tougher! I look forward to seeing what other folks might say.

 

6.) Star Wars #7 (1st Marvel series) The first Expanded Universe issue. An awesome cover of Han and Chewie! Alex Ross created a homage piece to this for an upcoming con. Cool!

7.) Boba Fett: Bounty on Bar-kooda. (Dark Horse) The first solo Fett story in Dark Horse. A great cover and those Fett one-shots had some good stories in them.

8.) Star Wars #81 (1st Marvel series). Another good Fett story and cover. This has a better story than issue 68 in terms of Fett's origin too.

9.) Star Wars #1 (2nd Marvel series.) The blank cover. Why? Because I bought a billion of those to get awesome original SW sketches on. So did other people. Some great SW art will be created on these and other SW blanks from now until Disney goes bankrupt. Which means forever.

10.) Star Wars #94 (1st Marvel series). One word....Ewoks. Another word.....Wicket. This issue's cover features the most fearsome and dreaded secret weapon the Rebels ever had! They waited for years to unleash them on the Empire! The Force, who needs it! Star Cruisers, forget those! It took rocks, arrows, and Ewok horns to take down those Imperials! The A-wings, B-wings, Y-wings, and X-wings couldn't hold a candle to the E-wings! Yes, I just named the Ewoks the E-wings. May the force be with you all. (thumbs u

We need a photo to go with this. Signed by Warwick Davis, Yub Nub!

 

[Mike's Rack]

Ha ha, good summary OV.

 

Personally, I think SW 1977 #2 should be up there since it is the first appearance of Han and Chewie.

[DarthBane]

#33 in CGC 9.8. Not sure where it is today but historically this was the lowest 9.8 census issue in that 1-107 entire run. There has only be one on ebay in months and it sold for a $300 BIN back in December last year. A seller could pretty much name the price on this one.

 

The other hardest 9.8 or in demand slab would be Annual #2. Might see one or two of these in an entire year. The last one sold for a little under $500.

 

 

[Marty Mann]

Thanks all for your input...how about #50...the only cover with YODA I believe.

 

mm

[DarthBane]

Thanks all for your input...how about #50...the only cover with YODA I believe.

 

mm

 

Has one of the best covers for sure in the series. 9.8's are fetching bidding style $100+range. BINs I would guess you could get as much as $150ish+. There were two 9.6 slabs in January on ebay for $37 & $40 each.

[Marty Mann]

Thanks all for your input...how about #50...the only cover with YODA I believe.

 

mm

 

Has one of the best covers for sure in the series. 9.8's are fetching bidding style $100+range. BINs I would guess you could get as much as $150ish+. There were two 9.6 slabs in January on ebay for $37 & $40 each.

 

Here's my #50.

 

 

mm

[Vikingreed]

Yoda isn't on any of the Empire adaptations?!?!!?

 

That's plain goofy!

[Broke as a Joke]

I will give it a shot...

 

Only Marvel because the Dark Horse books would be considered late copper/ modern.

 

Star Wars #1

2

7

21

35

42

68

81

107

Marvel Comics Super Special 16

 

 

[Chip Cataldo]

I'd put #41 before #21.

[Kir Kanos]

#33 in CGC 9.8. Not sure where it is today but historically this was the lowest 9.8 census issue in that 1-107 entire run. There has only be one on ebay in months and it sold for a $300 BIN back in December last year. A seller could pretty much name the price on this one.

 

The other hardest 9.8 or in demand slab would be Annual #2. Might see one or two of these in an entire year. The last one sold for a little under $500.

 

 

I so wish I had been able to buy the last #33 in CGC 9.8 last December. Every #33 I have submitted since 2008 has ended up being 9.6 or 9.4. Almost every direct market copy I find has small puncture marks near the bottom staple.

 

In terms of problem issues, I could list a handful of them. Annual #2 and #3 took me years to find in 9.8. There are a few other issues that I am almost afraid to post about though.

[rjrjr]

#33 in CGC 9.8. Not sure where it is today but historically this was the lowest 9.8 census issue in that 1-107 entire run. There has only be one on ebay in months and it sold for a $300 BIN back in December last year. A seller could pretty much name the price on this one.

 

The other hardest 9.8 or in demand slab would be Annual #2. Might see one or two of these in an entire year. The last one sold for a little under $500.

 

 

I so wish I had been able to buy the last #33 in CGC 9.8 last December. Every #33 I have submitted since 2008 has ended up being 9.6 or 9.4. Almost every direct market copy I find has small puncture marks near the bottom staple.

 

In terms of problem issues, I could list a handful of them. Annual #2 and #3 took me years to find in 9.8. There are a few other issues that I am almost afraid to post about though.

 

Those 2 Annuals are tough in super high grade, but not very hard in lower (NM or lower) grades. These are 2 books that can still be occasionally found in groups of 10 or more. I did see some price movements on these 2 Annuals the last couple of months, with some recent astonishing sales on eBay.

[Kir Kanos]

All good observations on the annuals. I actually have over 10 raw copies of annual #2 (and maybe 5 raw copies of annual #3) that I bought from eBay listings as "hi-grade". Unfortunately, I realized the best they would have been was 9.2 / 9.4 after I received them.

 

I honestly was speechless the day I found hi-grade copies of these books years later (on seperate occasions).

[rjrjr]

Just wondered which issues of STAR WARS are most in demand?

 

mm

 

The most in demand non-variant, non-foreign regular issues are:

 

Star Wars #1

Star Wars #42

Star Wars #68

Star Wars #81

Star Wars #107

Star Wars Annual #2

Star Wars Annual #3

Star Wars Tales #19 (art or photo)

Star Wars Tales #9 (art or photo)

 

For slot 10, there are several candidates:

 

Star Wars #98, 100 - 106

Star Wars: Obsession #1 - 5

Star Wars: Purge #1

Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi #0, 1

 

If I had to choose one of these, it would probably be Star Wars #106.

[Marty Mann]

All good observations on the annuals. I actually have over 10 raw copies of annual #2 (and maybe 5 raw copies of annual #3) that I bought from eBay listings as "hi-grade". Unfortunately, I realized the best they would have been was 9.2 / 9.4 after I received them.

 

I honestly was speechless the day I found hi-grade copies of these books years later (on seperate occasions).

 

Is there any interest in ANNUAL #1?

 

mm

[rjrjr]

All good observations on the annuals. I actually have over 10 raw copies of annual #2 (and maybe 5 raw copies of annual #3) that I bought from eBay listings as "hi-grade". Unfortunately, I realized the best they would have been was 9.2 / 9.4 after I received them.

 

I honestly was speechless the day I found hi-grade copies of these books years later (on seperate occasions).

 

Is there any interest in ANNUAL #1?

 

mm

 

Yes, for the story, but it is not a hard comic to find in high grade. I believe all of the interest in Annual #2 has to do with high grade. The story inside is pretty weak as far as Star Wars stories go (but not as bad as the final 5 issues or so of the original Marvel title.) Star Wars Annual #3 has a good story, but I also believe the interest is for high grade.

 

Star Wars Annual #1 is one of the best Star Wars stories Marvel published for the original run. This was when Chris Claremont was at the top of his game.

[Marty Mann]

All good observations on the annuals. I actually have over 10 raw copies of annual #2 (and maybe 5 raw copies of annual #3) that I bought from eBay listings as "hi-grade". Unfortunately, I realized the best they would have been was 9.2 / 9.4 after I received them.

 

I honestly was speechless the day I found hi-grade copies of these books years later (on seperate occasions).

 

Is there any interest in ANNUAL #1?

 

mm

 

Yes, for the story, but it is not a hard comic to find in high grade. I believe all of the interest in Annual #2 has to do with high grade. The story inside is pretty weak as far as Star Wars stories go (but not as bad as the final 5 issues or so of the original Marvel title.) Star Wars Annual #3 has a good story, but I also believe the interest is for high grade.

 

Star Wars Annual #1 is one of the best Star Wars stories Marvel published for the original run. This was when Chris Claremont was at the top of his game.

 

Hadn't looked at Annual #3 for a long time, forgot what it even looked like, so I dug it out.

 

 

mm

[Kir Kanos]

I agree with RJRJR regarding the high grade interest in the later issues of the Marvel run.

 

In terms of story content, Marvel Star Wars issues #103 to #107 were weak. I would argue that #107 suffers the most due to it being used to compress the Nagai / Tof story down so much for the purposes of forcing closure for one last issue. I recall reading along time ago that Mary Jo Duffy wanted the Nagai / Tof story to be a lot more grand than it was. I even heard that she would have re-written 107 into a several part story if given the chance to do so.

 

Although I was not a big fan of the Nagai / Tof story, the Nagai actually made appearances in Star Wars: Legacy (from Dark Horse) years later. This is kind of like how the Wheel from Marvel Star Wars #18 made an appearance in Star Wars: Republic (also from Dark Horse) years later.

 

I think both OV and RJRJR made good lists of high demand issues. I would argue that both Marvel Star Wars #92 and #98 should be part of the list. Both issues have near black covers - which lead to problems for high grade collectors. Both covers appeal to Bill Sienkiewicz fans (who also drew the cover for #101 and the Return of the Jedi issues). Both books have artwork from people who illustrated more well known Star Wars books. #92 includes the 1st Star Wars art from Jan Duursema (most well known for Republic, Legacy and Dawn of the Jedi). #98 is drawn by Al Williamson (i.e. Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi adaptations and the newspaper comic strip).

 

Other issues that I really like - but may not be in as high of demand include:

#38 - Riders in the Void - this issue was drawn by Michael Golden and written by Archie Goodwin. It included a bio-technology that some may speculate to have influenced the Yuuzhan Vong (from the New Jedi Order novels).

#51 / 52 - These issues included the super weapon known as the Tarkin which has some plot similarity with Return of the Jedi. To be honest, I think the whole Walt Simonson run is great though.

[rjrjr]

I agree with RJRJR regarding the high grade interest in the later issues of the Marvel run.

 

In terms of story content, Marvel Star Wars issues #103 to #107 were weak. I would argue that #107 suffers the most due to it being used to compress the Nagai / Tof story down so much for the purposes of forcing closure for one last issue. I recall reading along time ago that Mary Jo Duffy wanted the Nagai / Tof story to be a lot more grand than it was. I even heard that she would have re-written 107 into a several part story if given the chance to do so.

 

Although I was not a big fan of the Nagai / Tof story, the Nagai actually made appearances in Star Wars: Legacy (from Dark Horse) years later. This is kind of like how the Wheel from Marvel Star Wars #18 made an appearance in Star Wars: Republic (also from Dark Horse) years later.

 

I think both OV and RJRJR made good lists of high demand issues. I would argue that both Marvel Star Wars #92 and #98 should be part of the list. Both issues have near black covers - which lead to problems for high grade collectors. Both covers appeal to Bill Sienkiewicz fans (who also drew the cover for #101 and the Return of the Jedi issues). Both books have artwork from people who illustrated more well known Star Wars books. #92 includes the 1st Star Wars art from Jan Duursema (most well known for Republic, Legacy and Dawn of the Jedi). #98 is drawn by Al Williamson (i.e. Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi adaptations and the newspaper comic strip).

 

Other issues that I really like - but may not be in as high of demand include:

#38 - Riders in the Void - this issue was drawn by Michael Golden and written by Archie Goodwin. It included a bio-technology that some may speculate to have influenced the Yuuzhan Vong (from the New Jedi Order novels).

#51 / 52 - These issues included the super weapon known as the Tarkin which has some plot similarity with Return of the Jedi. To be honest, I think the whole Walt Simonson run is great though.

 

If we are going to talk about issues that should be in high demand and the top 10 Star Wars comics, that would be a different list entirely than what I posted:

 

Star Wars #1 (1st Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Darth Vader)

Star Wars #2 (1st Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Ben Kenobi)

Star Wars #7 (the first EU tale)

Star Wars #38 (a terrific story)

Star Wars #50 (a terrific story)

Star Wars #51, 52 (the single best Star Wars story in Marvel's original run)

Star Wars #81 (*the* Boba Fett story from the original run to own; it actually features Boba Fett too!)

Marvel Illustrated Version of The Empire Strikes Back (1st Boba Fett and Yoda)

Star Wars Annual #1

 

Those are the best 10 comics from the original Marvel output. Unfortunately, quality doesn't come into play otherwise Annual #2, Star Wars #68, and Star Wars #100-107 wouldn't be on the list.

 

Runner up is:

 

Marvel Illustrated Books Star Wars 1 (with the Way of the Wookiee and the Day After the Death Star! stories)