We're currently sitting in the Modern age of comic books.  Just as a prelude, there are five universally accepted comic book ages:

• Platinum (1897-1937)
• Golden (1938-1955)
• Silver (1956-1969)
• Bronze (1970-1979)
• Modern (1980-Now)

Discussion of these ages is outside the scope of this guide, but it important to note that generally speaking the older the age a comic is from the more it is worth.  Any Platinum age comic is considered very valuable, for example.  This guide will give examples of what makes a comic book valuable, particularly for new or Modern age comic books so that as a collector you can make informed investment decisions about recently released and upcoming issues.  We'll use some of the other ages for reference, but primarily you should gain an understanding of what makes a given comic book valuable so that you can get great deals on Modern comics from ebay while they are most affordable.

PRINT RUN

Print run will go a long way toward determining the overall value of a comic book.  Why is any Platinum Age comic book considered so valuable, even in Fine condition?  Because there are so few thought to still be in existance.  It is difficult to find Golden Age books of any kind, particularly in an attractive condition.  The current print runs are not as large as they grew to be in the 1990's, when several comics printed over one million copies, but they are higher than they had been in any previous age.  The size of the print run matters.  A comic book may sell out but still have a large print run, meaning that there will be a large secondary market supply.  This is the case with some of the Civil War comics that are around.  However, other Civil War comics, such as She-Hulk #8, are valuable primarily because of a shorter print run than normal.  Not only did the comic sell out in the first week but there is a relatively small secondary market supply.  Unlike some of the other Civil War issues, comic book retailers weren't stocking up on issues of She-Hulk.  Another great example is the first appearance of Wolverine's daughter/clone known as X-23 in the comic book NYX #3.  While NYX #1 had a large print run of over 70,000 comics and issue #2 fell off slightly to just over 60,000 copies, NYX #3 had a much bigger drop off to 40,000 copies.  The hype of a new series had faded and comic book retailers did not anticipate the new character appearance and the rest is history.  Those two examples, She-Hulk #8 and NYX #3, were instant secondary market sensations.  The lesson of those two books may actually be in the opposite case.  Would NYX #3 be as valuable if the print run were over 125,000 like other X-Men titles?  So the print run is important but it is equally important as a way to avoid comics of which there is an abundance.

PUBLISHER

Small time or independent publishers make great comic books that are highly entertaining.  Still, very few comics from independent publishers are valuable.  There are exceptions, but if you take a look at the dozens of independent publishers out there you probably couldn't name more than a hand full.  In recent years there has been a backlash against independent publisher back issues on the secondary market.  It seems that DC and Marvel, with their rich history and sound financial backing make for a much better investment because characters have a better chance to become built upon and increase their visibility in their respective comic universe.  Valiant comics that were published in the 1990's were as well written and drawn as anything coming out of Marvel and DC.  The same could be said for CrossGen comics in the early 2000's.  There are still Valiant comics that are valuable but the long term investment of those issues is not as stable as a Marvel or DC issue.  CrossGen may be the exception, but the value of CrossGen comics are not very high currently.  CrossGen assets and characters were purchased by Disney a few years back after CrossGen went bankrupt but to date Disney has not decided to publish a single comic book from those assets.  CrossGen back issues may be a diamond in the rough if Disney ever decides to continue with the charaters through comic form or other media but there is no assurance.  It's very difficult to look at some of the other companies as an investment due to the volatile nature of the comic book world.  Even Image, which has been around for over ten years, has had issues with consistency in titles.  Each month there appear to be new #1 issues of a series that doesn't last very long and is never to be heard from again.  In the end, it's far better to avoid the uncertaintly of the independent publishers from an investment standpoint.  They do make great reading, and shouldn't be abandoned, but invest elsewhere; particularly with Marvel and DC if all things are being equal.  But keep an eye out for CrossGen, should something develop with Disney.  Disney basically has the rights to an entire comic book universe should they decide to use it and with CrossGen back issues being next to worthless aside from #1 issues it doesn't cost much to take that chance.

CHARACTER

First appearances and return appearances of characters are a large part of what can make an issue valuable.  The more important the character is perceived to be the more potential the value.  For example, Moon Knight, arguably Marvel's version of Batman, has returned with a new series.  Not only is Werewolf by Night #32 at a very high, yet relatively affordable price but so are the first and key issues of his other series.  This includes the current series.  Another example is DC Comics character Supergirl.  Kara Zor-El returned to DC continuity with Superman/Batman #8 and has since been launched in her own hot title.  DC has made it a point to push Supergirl, or literally all of its Supergirls.  These Supergirls consist this returned Supergirl as well as Power Girl (a.k.a., Kara Zor-L) and the "Supergirls" Cir-El (Superman & Lois Lane's daughter), Girl 13, and Steel IV.  The first appearance of Cir-El is in Superman 10cent Adventure and is very affordable and the first Girl 13 is in Superman #189, which is not really on anyone's radar yet.  The Supergirls have been playing a large part in the character development of DC Comics' icon character Superman and were involved in a large way in the Infinite Crisis events.  As you can see, looking for a new character in an upcoming series isn't the only speculation you can make.  There are several recently introduced characters with much potential that has yet to be realized.  You can find many modern age first appearances on ebay in great shape for very little investment that can only return a profit.  Some can be had for less than cover price.  Only recently did Wonder Woman #105 begin to really heat up.  It marks the first appearance of Cassandra Sandsmark, the current Wonder Girl.  It is still very affordable on ebay but is going to go much higher if DC drives her further along her current path.

KEYS

Key issues are always valuable or they wouldn't be key issues, would they?  But when does a comic become a key issue?  First appearances are a good start, but so are others such as revealing a new power, an origin, or an old team rebuilt.  None comic is a key issue the day it comes out so there is room to look through the current Modern Age library for some origin issues and massive events for what may be determined to be a key issue.  Justice League of America #1 is a good place to find an example.  This just released comic (09/2006) has monumental change in the life of Red Tornado as well as the Justice League of America.  You can head out and pick up this issue at cover price currently.

TALENT

The type of talent that is important to watch are when writers change on a comic series.  Collectors have been burned too many times to follow hot young artists and writers.  What I'm referring to is the change of a writer sending a comic in a fresh new direction.  Bruce Jones' work on Incredible Hulk begging with the current volume's #34 is a good example.  Another would be when Greg Pak began writing Incredible Hulk with issue #92, starting one of the most exciting comic story lines in recent memory with the Planet Hulk arcs that are taking place in the midst of Marvel's Civil War.  The change in direction is what is important but the change in writing talent is what will be reported in the comic news.

VARIANTS

There are several different types of variants in comics.  This refers to an alternate cover most of the time.  Back in the 1970's Marvel inadvertantly gave birth to some of the most sought after cover varients when almost every title over a six month period was printed with a thirty cent cover and also with a much more rare thirty-five cent cover.  This makes the thirty five cent variant one of the more rare Bronze Age comics to find.  Some of these that you may have heard of are the Star Wars #1 issues or Iron Fist #14 issues.  Beginning in the early 1990's a good idea ran afoul when Spiderman #1 made its debut with variant covers with differing print runs.  The intent and reception was good but even the smaller print runs were far from small.  Others followed suit and the pinnacle was reached when Image came on the variant cover scene in full force.  With so many of each book the collectability of most of these issues lagged far behind the desire of collectors.  A decade later (i.e., Now) a new, more healthy trend has emerged.  The first of this new trend stem from the mid 1990's and some even from Image, with memorable Premium Editions of "Pirate Spawn", "Pirate Angela" and "Spawn #1 Black & White Edition".  The differences of RRP and retailer incentive issues are beyond the scope of this discussion, but the important thing to take away is that now there are many comics that ship which have a Premium Edition (could be an RRP or could be a retailer incentive edition, or even multiple tiers of each).  The Premium Edition will usually be pre-determined to be, for example 1 for every 100 that a retail comic dealer orders of an issue.  So the scarcity is at best, 1 for every 100.  However, that is only for retailers that order in those quantities and doesn't include mass market or retailers or magazine/book stores so the scarcity is normally much better.  For example, even if Civil War #3 has a print run of 120,000 comics then at most there are going to be 1,200 Premium Edition versions, with probably much less.  For a collector, if there is a comic you find worth investing in and there is a premium edition that is the issue to have.  If the normal comic ends up being worth hundreds of dollars then the Premium Edition will be worth exponentially more.  Second and additional printings are also now getting their due in the comic world.  This is because if an issue sells out after a medium print run of 75,000 issues, for example, and a second printing is performed then this second printing will normally have far fewer issues printed than the first printing of 75,000.  This wasn't always the case, but around the time the Ultimate line of comics was introduced by Marvel Comics they decided to stop overprinting.  So initial orders are all that are printed.  If a second printing is needed they change the cover but also they only print what is ordered of the second printing.  If more are needed they will go to a third.  So finally, instead of having an issue with just multiple covers we truly have issues that have covers with varying degrees of scarcity, either from the extra print run scheme or from Premium Edition comics.

SUMMARY

This guide was intended to give some important aspects of what makes an issue a "hot" or "valuable" issue, particularly when trying to determine what to buy on ebay now that will make a good investment to sell on ebay down the road.  This information is a tool and you'll still need to invest the time and effort on your own to weigh all of these factors and determine what is a wise investment.