Avengers #1 is CGC’s Featured Comic of the Month for April

Posted on 3/31/2018

As the Avengers assemble once again for what will undoubtedly be a summer blockbuster, refresh your memory about their origins.

A copy of Avengers #1 with its UK variant.
Click images to enlarge. (Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions)

Name of comic: Avengers #1

Comic publisher: Marvel Comics

Date: September 1963

Variants: United Kingdom

What makes it special? Featuring a Stan Lee story and Jack Kirby art, this marked the first appearance of the Avengers. The team included a host of relatively new characters at the time: Ant-Man (first appeared in January 1962 in Tales to Astonish #27), the Incredible Hulk (first appeared in May 1962 in The Incredible Hulk #1), Thor (first appeared in August 1962 in Journey into Mystery #83), Iron Man (first appeared in March 1963 in Tales of Suspense #39), and the Wasp (first appeared in June 1963 in Tales to Astonish #44). The Captain America character, originated in 1941, marks his revival several issues later in Avengers #4.

Why is it interesting now? The movie “Avengers: Infinity War” is being released in late April, featuring Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor – and many more characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Did you know? Though the Wasp was the one to name the team, she is the last to make a splash on the silver screen. She had a cameo role in the 2015 film "Ant-Man," and she’ll get a more prominent role this year when she appears in "Ant-Man and the Wasp."

Total graded by CGC: CGC has graded 5,512 copies of this book (including 51 of its UK variant), as of March 13, 2018. Fourteen percent of them have Signature Series labels.

CGC median grade: The median grade for these books is Very Good 4.0

CGC highest graded: CGC has graded 6 copies (including one Restored) as Near Mint + 9.6.

Sales highlights: A CGC 9.6 was sold by Heritage Auctions in July 2012 for $275,850. A CGC 1.5 sold in October 2017 for $717, while a CGC 3.5 sold in February 2018 for $1,673.

CGC Comics Registry Champion: A set named “Assembled Avengers” by “Ghost Town” is the mightiest collection of Avengers #1-#100, including a CGC 9.4 Avengers #1 (and the other 99 issues at least CGC 9.4). This particular set has won Best in Set Type in 2008, 2013, 2017 and 2018. See this and other collections in the CGC Comics Registry.

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