If You Have $200 and are in the Market for an Old School Spider-Man, Consider these 7

I don’t know what you enjoy, but Twitter reminds me it’s probably problematic. In fact, I’m taking a real risk in even talking to you right now.

If you enjoyed a particular movie, chances are there are a thousand people on an Internet watering hole right now who are discussing how your tastes prove that you’re an actual piece of garbage.

If you purchased a new hair care product, it’s probably killing the habitat of some rare and adorable monkey.

Your straws are killing sea turtles. Your crypto speculation is dimming the lights worldwide. Your coffee creamer is in poor taste. Besides, it’s probably not even small batch or artisanal.

In short, everything sucks, particularly you, and all your interests are a problematic mess. I know this because Twitter told me.

You’ll never please them. So what can you do about it?

Radical, hedonistic personal pleasure. In other words, treat yourself. Specifically, treat yourself to some amazing Spider-Man comics, vintage goods that are absolutely artisanal.

So yeah. Maybe the world is burning down around you and Twitter reminds you that every silver lining includes a smear of actual donkey doo. But these 7 Spider-Man comics can brighten your day. For $200, anyway.

7$200Old School Spider-Man Comics

Spectacular Spider-Man64

Spectacular Spider-Man 64 is the first appearance of Cloak and Dagger. Any comic fan fan of the Jim Shooter vintage likely has an affinity for the characters, so there will always be a demand for the book among collectors.

Besides, the characters got their own series on Hulu, so even though the show wasn’t MCU official and wasn’t reviewed enthusiastically, the mere presence of the show keeps Cloak and Dagger in the cultural conversation.

So why in the Sam Hill tarnation can you get a high grade copy of the comic for $200?! It’s a mystery to me because I think the comic is tremendously undervalued. A key 1st appearance of characters like Cloak and Dagger should have a floor of $500.

And I put my money where my mouth is on this one: Every time I see the comic in the wild in a high grade for a sub-$200 price tag, I snatch it fast.

Amazing Spider-Man 194

Amazing Spider-Man 194 is the first appearance of Black Cat, the sometimes partner, sometimes foe, and sometimes love interest of Peter Parker.

I recently got a mid-grade CGC 6.0 slab of Amazing Spider-Man 194 for exactly $200, so I know deals are out there. But the reality is I lucked out and you can expect Amazing Spider-Man 194 will typically cost you a little most than $200.

But keep an eye out. You should pick up virtually any copy of the first appearance of Black Cat if you can get it for $200, provided it’s not totally roached out with a cover half torn off. Felicity Hardy is a key character in Peter Parker’s life and she’s a fan favorite.

This is a comic that will hold its value as an investment, in other words. Let’s see the Crypto bros compete with that.

Marvel Team-Up 1

Treat yourself and pick up a copy of Marvel Team-Up #1, getting the highest grade copy you can find for $200, because there are still some deals out there but they won’t last long.

Marvel Team-Up (1972) was the 2nd ongoing series starring Spider-Man, predating Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man by several years. And it’s a great comic series.

Marvel Team-Up was a buddy comic, as every issues would feature Spider-Man teaming up with another Marvel superhero like Vision, Thor, Iron Man and more, minus a few issues that featured the Hulk or Human Torch. And they were mostly one and done stories, making them fast and fun reads.

Marvel Team-Up #1 can be had for $200 and it’s a great title to own because almost everyone that has ever read a comic remembers the title fondly.

Amazing Spider-Man 135

Treat yourself again by buying a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #135, the 2nd appearance of the Punisher. The first appearance of the Punisher was Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1963), but you for darned sure aren’t getting a copy of that for $200.

But you can find a mid-grade copy of Amazing Spider-Man #135 for $200 and I am a huge proponent of 2nd appearances. They can often be had for approximately 10% of the value of the 1st appearance, yet they often go up in value at a similar rate of the first appearance.

So, when the first appearance adds value, the 2nd appearance almost always does as well. That makes it an affordable way to get a meaningful appearance of some of your favorite characters without blowing up your budget.

Amazing Spider-Man 39

I can’t imagine who would ever think you owning Amazing Spider-Man #39 is problematic but I admit that I’ve been off Twitter for a while.

Firstly, Amazing Spider-Man has an amazing cover, courtesy of the legendary John Romita Sr. A bound Peter Parker is being hauled around by the Green Goblin, a scene that can’t help but make you anxious about the story inside.

But the Stan Lee story is also a big deal. No spoilers on this 50+ year old comic, but let’s just say that Peter Parker learns something shocking about the Green Goblin.

You won’t be able to find a high-grade copy for $200 but you should be able to snatch one that’s a little beat up for that.

Amazing Spider-Man 252

Next up is a title where the price might fluctuate a bit more than some of the others.

Amazing Spider-Man #252 features the 1st appearance of Spider-Man in his black costume after Secret Wars, as it predates Marvel Team-Up #141 and Spectacular Spider-Man #90 by two weeks.

Venom speculators can be a prickly bunch, so they’ll often bicker about the importance of that or that appearance of the black suit and its particular place in Spider-Man’s history, but there is no questions that most collectors rank this as among the most important of early appearances of the black suit.

Regardless, you should be able to find a pretty nice looking copy for $200. And if you really want to show off, you can get it slabbed and display it alongside a Secret Wars #8, the real first appearance of the black suit.

Amazing Spider-Man 42

The Spider-Man comic that most brightens my day on this list is Amazing Spider-Man #42.

I’ll not lie, the front cover doesn’t look like much but this comic contains one of the most iconic panels in all of comic book history. I’m talking of course about the first appearance of Mary Jane when Peter first sees her and she says, “Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!”

Normally you’d want the first appearance of a character to appear on the cover and not in a single panel at the end of the comic. But Mary Jane’s entrance is so iconic that it doesn’t matter. Amazing Spider-Man #42 is worth $200 for a mid-grade copy just to own that fantastic single panel.

+ More on cleaning comic books here.

+ Here is my eBay store where I’ll occasionally sell my doubles.

By the way, I buy comic book collections. If you want to unload anything from 5 to 100+ boxes in one easy transaction, then please do reach out. clave [dot] jones [at] nerdsonearth.com  Click here for more details.