Recalled, Error and Rare Comics

This site is dedicated to the various comic books recalled, rumoured to be recalled, error editions and other noteworthy rare collectables - use the sidebar to the left for quick access to the individual comics and sections (the navigation bar above also provides quick access to each section).

Recent updates/additions:

• CGC Recalled League Tables
• The Walking Dead #1,2,3,4,5 & 6
• Cry for Dawn #3 - Horror Con Variant
• Miracleman #15 - Rarest Alan Moore issue
• Uncle Scrooge #179 - Rare Whitman
• Site Map: Section list and alphabetic comic list

Rare Comics

Many older comics are rare due to only few copies surviving through the years and also due to lack of collectors back in the earlier periods (many comics were sadly read and discarded). However, numbers of collectors seemed to have increased through the 1970's and 1980's which has decreased the number of rare issues during this time (and the Silver age before it). There are obviously still popular issues such as the first full appearance of Wolverine in The Incredible Hulk #181 but this issue is not rare as there are many copies available. Condition is also a factor: Many comic books were produced on poor quality paper with acidic inks causing them to quickly degrade over time making any high grade copies rare.

Fast forward to the Modern era and rarity is something that the comic industry seems to manufacture by issuing limited editions, particularly cover variants such as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1 DF cover edition (which has gone up in value significantly since it was produced over a decade ago). Also the introduction of CGC graded comics started a new collecting craze for sealed professionally graded comics and rarity can be seen within the grade banding with very few Mint (10.0 and 9.9) comics around.

This takes us on to one of the more interesting areas where a particular comic book has a problem and has to be recalled. Depending on the timing of the recall this can severely limit the number of comics in the public domain, for example, the recall notice on Elseworlds 80-page giant only applied to the U.K. as the recall occurred before they were due to be distributed in the U.S. (they were shipped to the U.K. in advance). If there is any sort of publicity around the recall this adds to the demand which will obviously outstrip supply for the rarer issues, leading to the prices skyrocketing (e.g. both Elseworlds and LOEG#5 can demand upwards of $1,500 for a CGC 9.8 graded issue).

Anyway enjoy the website, hopefully it has some useful information for anyone wanting to collect or invest in rare comic books of the modern age.