📢 3/2021: I’ve updated this list! click here for the latest version!
February 15, 2017
Key Modern Age Comics
[ Special Note: during the Modern Age, the distinction between direct edition comics and newsstand comics is absolutely critical for any collector of key modern age comics to understand. If you are not already in-the-know about the difference between newsstand and direct edition comics see the following: Comic Book Newsstand Editions: Understanding The Difference ]
There are many other “top lists” out there covering “key” modern age comics, but the ones I’ve seen are all either based upon (a) individual judgment calls, or (b) the high sale prices observed in the marketplace.
Judgment calls are great, but not necessarily comprehensive. Meanwhile, high sale prices could just as easily be reflective of, say, a CGC 9.9 Signature Series copy signed by Stan Lee, versus reflective of the underlying comic being of any great importance.
How about a different approach?
Here’s what you’re about to see: a different approach to “tease out” a list of key modern age comics to consider collecting, by asking the following question: for each comic book issue of the modern age (1992-onward) that have passed through CGC’s doors to date, how many copies have been graded?
The thinking here is that the more important the comic as a key modern age issue, the more likely its owner will want to have it graded and slabbed. So by ranking comics simply by the number of copies submitted to CGC — removing any judgment call or sales price information — I’d argue we can get to a pretty darn good list of important key comics of the modern age!
Of course, there are some limitations and flaws to this approach to keep in mind before reviewing the list: for one thing, I wrote this in February 2017, using year-end 2016 data, but the modern age is ongoing… So naturally, any key modern age comic book that gets published in the future cannot by definition be included here. Also, because this submission data is from one snapshot in time (year-end 2016) there could be plenty of important past comics that simply aren’t recognized as such today but might be considered keys after some future development gives them renewed attention. And a final flaw is that some very-high-value comics simply didn’t have many copies printed; comics with a very restricted print run will naturally sort themselves off of the bottom of a list like this as well [one example that comes to mind is Spawn/The Savage Dragon #1 (1996)].
So I do not want anybody to think of the list you’re about to see as a “rank” of importance, or, as being an all-encompassing list of modern age keys… all we’re ranking here is the sheer number of copies that have passed through CGC’s doors as of year-end 2016 and presenting the top 200. That’s it! This data should give us a very interesting list, but is in no way a replacement for judgement nor a replacement for pricing data — it is simply one more tool for our tool-belt as we study interesting and rare comics like the ones I enjoy writing about on this blog!
With that explanation stated, without further ado, here is the list of 200 key comics from the modern age. [ I’ve also posted more lists of key comic books by year including other key comic books by age (bronze, copper, modern); special thanks goes to Greg Holland whose research website was the tool that made these pages possible to assemble ].
Oh! One more note! In the list you are going to see some icons that look like this: 
… These icons indicate the confirmed existence on the CGC census of a more-rare CGC-recognized newsstand variant version of the key modern age comic book in question. CGC only “breaks out” newsstand comics as variants in certain special situations like cover price difference and manufacturing differences (read about the special situations I’m aware of here), so when we encounter these special situations they are exciting stand-outs for collectors of modern age keys focused on the more-rare newsstand type versus the prevalent direct edition type.
Key Modern Age Comics:
(Census data as of year-end 2016)
| Rank | CGC Count | Issue | Date | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5,855 | Amazing Spider-Man #361 Rare CGC-recognized newsstand cover price variant is confirmed to exist |
4/92 | Marvel Comics |
| 2. | 5,599 | Spawn #1 | 5/92 | Image Comics |
| 3. | 4,963 | Amazing Spider-Man v2 #36 | 12/01 | Marvel Comics |
| 4. | 4,080 | Outcast #1 | 6/14 | Image/Skybound |
| 5. | 3,022 | Amazing Spider-Man #700 | 2/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 6. | 3,010 | Batman Adventures #12 | 9/93 | D.C. Comics |
| 7. | 2,900 | Wolverine: The Origin #1 | 11/01 | Marvel Comics |
| 8. | 2,739 | NYX #3 | 2/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 9. | 2,617 | Walking Dead #1 | 10/03 | Image Comics |
| 10. | 2,555 | Saga #1 | 3/12 | Image Comics |
| 11. | 2,484 | Superman: The Man of Steel #18 | 12/92 | D.C. Comics |
| 12. | 2,249 | Edge of Spider-Verse #2 | 11/14 | Marvel Comics |
| 13. | 2,095 | X-Men 1 Sketch Cover | 9/10 | Marvel Comics |
| 14. | 2,041 | Batman #608 | 12/02 | D.C. Comics |
| 15. | 2,017 | Captain America 25 Variant Edition | 4/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 16. | 1,991 | Amazing Spider-Man #362 | 5/92 | Marvel Comics |
| 17. | 1,958 | Preacher #1 | 4/95 | D.C./Vertigo Comics |
| 18. | 1,948 | All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1 | 9/05 | D.C. Comics |
| 19. | 1,909 | The Marvels Project 1 Sketch Cover | 10/09 | Marvel Comics |
| 20. | 1,860 | Venom: Lethal Protector #1 | 2/93 | Marvel Comics |
| 21. | 1,818 | Batman #497 | 7/93 | D.C. Comics |
| 22. | 1,774 | Thief of Thieves #1 | 2/12 | Image Comics |
| 23. | 1,754 | Walking Dead #19 | 6/05 | Image Comics |
| 24. | 1,689 | Walking Dead #108 | 3/13 | Image/Skybound |
| 25. | 1,688 | Batman: Vengeance of Bane Special #1 | 1/93 | D.C. Comics |
| 26. | 1,619 | Wolverine: The Origin #2 | 12/01 | Marvel Comics |
| 27. | 1,599 | Superman #75 | 1/93 | D.C. Comics |
| 28. | 1,554 | Spawn #9 Rare CGC-recognized newsstand variant is confirmed to exist |
3/93 | Image Comics |
| 29. | 1,504 | Amazing Spider-Man #529 Rare CGC-recognized newsstand variant is confirmed to exist |
4/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 30. | 1,483 | Captain America 25 Wizard World 2007 Con Edition | 4/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 31. | 1,472 | Superman #204 | 6/04 | D.C. Comics |
| 32. | 1,470 | Amazing Spider-Man #363 | 6/92 | Marvel Comics |
| 33. | 1,464 | Amazing Spider-Man 583 Variant Edition Rare CGC-recognized newsstand variant is confirmed to exist |
3/09 | Marvel Comics |
| 34. | 1,458 | Rai #0 | 11/92 | Valiant |
| 35. | 1,449 | Walking Dead #27 | 4/06 | Image Comics |
| 36. | 1,393 | Ultimate Spider-Man 1 Variant Cover | 10/00 | Marvel Comics |
| 37. | 1,385 | John Byrne’s Next Men #21 | 12/93 | Dark Horse Comics |
| 38. | 1,367 | East of West #1 | 3/13 | Image Comics |
| 39. | 1,326 | Wolverine: The Origin #3 | 1/02 | Marvel Comics |
| 40. | 1,320 | Amazing Spider-Man 648 Sketch Edition | 1/11 | Marvel Comics |
| 41. | 1,293 | Star Wars #1 | 3/15 | Marvel Comics |
| 42. | 1,285 | Ultimate Spider-Man #1/2 | 2002 | Marvel-Wizard Pub. |
| 43. | 1,248 | Ultimate Spider-Man 79 Wizard World 2005 Con Editi | 9/05 | Marvel Comics |
| 44. | 1,236 | Walking Dead 100 Chromium Edition | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 45. | 1,235 | Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America 3 Sketch | 7/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 46. | 1,218 | Batman #612 | 4/03 | D.C. Comics |
| 47. | 1,189 | Witchblade #1 | 11/95 | Image/Top Cow |
| 48. | 1,185 | Walking Dead #2 | 11/03 | Image Comics |
| 49. | 1,184 | Civil War 3 Variant Cover | 9/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 50. | 1,175 | Batman: Harley Quinn #nn | 1999 | D.C. Comics |
| 51. | 1,174 | Wolverine: Origins 1 Wizard World 2006 Con Edition | 6/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 52. | 1,166 | Walking Dead #100 | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 53. | 1,145 | Walking Dead #127 | 5/14 | Image/Skybound |
| 54. | 1,125 | Batman 0 We Can Be Heroes Edition | 11/12 | D.C. Comics |
| 55. | 1,125 | Wolverine: Origins 6 Wizard World 2006 Con Edition | 11/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 56. | 1,113 | Superior Spider-Man #1 | 3/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 57. | 1,091 | Revival #1 | 7/12 | Image Comics |
| 58. | 1,086 | Spider-Gwen #1 | 4/15 | Marvel Comics |
| 59. | 1,053 | Ultimate Fallout #4 | 10/11 | Marvel Comics |
| 60. | 1,037 | Detective Comics #1 | 11/11 | D.C. Comics |
| 61. | 1,037 | Death of Wolverine #1 | 11/14 | Marvel Comics |
| 62. | 1,032 | Superman/Batman #1 | 10/03 | D.C. Comics |
| 63. | 1,028 | Alias #1 | 11/01 | Marvel Comics |
| 64. | 1,020 | Wolverine: The Origin #4 | 2/02 | Marvel Comics |
| 65. | 1,011 | Civil War 1 Variant Cover | 7/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 66. | 1,007 | Walking Dead #3 | 12/03 | Image Comics |
| 67. | 999 | Civil War 1 Aspen Variant Cover | 7/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 68. | 987 | Ultimate Fantastic Four #1 | 2/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 69. | 981 | Amazing Spider-Man #375 | 3/93 | Marvel Comics |
| 70. | 980 | Civil War: Front Line 1 Wizard World 2006 Con Edit | 8/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 71. | 962 | Wolverine: The Origin #5 | 5/02 | Marvel Comics |
| 72. | 958 | Amazing Spider-Man #539 | 4/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 73. | 939 | Civil War 1 Sketch Cover | 7/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 74. | 930 | New Avengers 1 Variant Cover | 1/05 | Marvel Comics |
| 75. | 923 | Wolverine: Origins 1 Variant Edition | 6/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 76. | 920 | Batman Adventures: Mad Love #nn | 2/94 | D.C. Comics |
| 77. | 919 | Superman 75 Poly-Bagged Edition | 1/93 | D.C. Comics |
| 78. | 915 | Amazing Spider-Man #365 | 8/92 | Marvel Comics |
| 79. | 914 | Fantastic Four 546 Wizard World East Con Edition | 7/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 80. | 909 | Captain America #34 | 3/08 | Marvel Comics |
| 81. | 908 | Wolverine v3 #20 Wizard World 2004 Con Edition | 12/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 82. | 899 | Batman 608 Second Printing | 12/02 | D.C. Comics |
| 83. | 892 | Superman/Batman #8 | 5/04 | D.C. Comics |
| 84. | 889 | Ultimate Spider-Man #33 | 2/03 | Marvel Comics |
| 85. | 884 | Ultimate Spider-Man 1 Dynamic Forces Edition | 10/00 | Marvel Comics |
| 86. | 874 | Hulk 1 Wizard World 2008 Con Edition | 3/08 | Marvel Comics |
| 87. | 873 | All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder 10 Recalle | 8/08 | D.C. Comics |
| 88. | 871 | New Avengers 1 Quesada Variant Cover | 1/05 | Marvel Comics |
| 89. | 860 | Infinite Crisis #1 | 12/05 | D.C. Comics |
| 90. | 858 | Secret Invasion 1 Sketch Edition | 6/08 | Marvel Comics |
| 91. | 857 | Amazing Spider-Man #500 | 12/03 | Marvel Comics |
| 92. | 857 | Transformers: Generation 1 #1 | 4/02 | Dreamwave Productions |
| 93. | 854 | Batman 612 Second Printing | 4/03 | D.C. Comics |
| 94. | 845 | Wolverine: The End 1 Wizard World 2003 Con Edition | 1/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 95. | 814 | Walking Dead #53 | 10/08 | Image Comics |
| 96. | 812 | Y: The Last Man #1 | 9/02 | D.C./Vertigo Comics |
| 97. | 806 | Iron Man #282 | 7/92 | Marvel Comics |
| 98. | 805 | Amazing Spider-Man v2 #30 | 6/01 | Marvel Comics |
| 99. | 805 | Chew #1 | 6/09 | Image Comics |
| 100. | 800 | Walking Dead #4 | 1/04 | Image Comics |
| 101. | 790 | Amazing Spider-Man 4 Ramos Variant Cover | 9/14 | Marvel Comics |
| 102. | 787 | Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows 1 JScottCampbe | 8/15 | Marvel Comics |
| 103. | 784 | Ultimate Extinction 1 Wizard World 2006 Con Editio | 3/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 104. | 784 | Walking Dead #6 | 3/04 | Image Comics |
| 105. | 782 | Wytches #1 | 10/14 | Image Comics |
| 106. | 780 | Transformers: Generation 1 1 Holofoil Edition | 4/02 | Dreamwave Productions |
| 107. | 776 | Wolverine: The Origin #6 | 7/02 | Marvel Comics |
| 108. | 773 | Wolverine: Origins 2 Canadian Variant | 7/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 109. | 772 | World War Hulk 1 Aspen Variant Cover | 8/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 110. | 768 | Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #1 | 2/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 111. | 762 | Secret War #1 | 4/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 112. | 760 | Walking Dead 100 Second Printing | 8/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 113. | 756 | Invincible Iron Man 1 Wizard World 2008 Con Editio | 7/08 | Marvel Comics |
| 114. | 753 | Walking Dead 100 McFarlane Variant Cover | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 115. | 748 | Walking Dead 109 Sketch Edition | 4/13 | Image/Skybound |
| 116. | 742 | Walking Dead #9 | 6/04 | Image Comics |
| 117. | 738 | Walking Dead #61 | 5/09 | Image Comics |
| 118. | 727 | Michael Turner’s Soulfire: Dying of the Light 3 Wi | 11/05 | Aspen |
| 119. | 724 | Walking Dead #5 | 2/04 | Image Comics |
| 120. | 716 | Ultimate Spider-Man 111 Wizard World 2007 Con Edit | 9/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 121. | 701 | Amazing Spider-Man 1 Expert Comics Edition | 6/14 | Marvel Comics |
| 122. | 700 | Donald Duck Adventures-Free Comic Book Day nn Gems | 5/03 | Gemstone |
| 123. | 695 | Walking Dead #92 | 12/11 | Image/Skybound |
| 124. | 695 | Walking Dead #10 | 7/04 | Image Comics |
| 125. | 695 | Walking Dead #7 | 4/04 | Image Comics |
| 126. | 685 | Walking Dead 100 Adlard Variant Cover | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 127. | 684 | Amazing Spider-Man 700 Campbell Variant Cover | 2/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 128. | 682 | Wolverine: Origins #1 | 6/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 129. | 677 | Superman Unchained #1 | 8/13 | D.C. Comics |
| 130. | 670 | Walking Dead 100 Convention Edition | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 131. | 667 | Astonishing X-Men 1 Cassaday Variant Cover | 7/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 132. | 665 | Civil War 2 Variant Cover | 8/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 133. | 662 | Invincible #1 | 1/03 | Image Comics |
| 134. | 658 | Amazing Spider-Man 700 Martin Variant Cover | 2/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 135. | 657 | Simpsons Comics #1 | 1993 | Bongo Comics Group |
| 136. | 656 | All-Star Superman 1 Variant Cover | 1/06 | D.C. Comics |
| 137. | 656 | Star Wars 4 Boba Fett Variant Cover | 6/15 | Marvel Comics |
| 138. | 650 | Manifest Destiny #1 | 11/13 | Image Comics |
| 139. | 646 | Amazing Spider-Man 700 Ditko Variant Cover | 2/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 140. | 642 | Astonishing X-Men #1 | 7/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 141. | 641 | Walking Dead 10th Anniversary Edition #1 | 10/13 | Image Comics |
| 142. | 630 | Wolverine v3 #1 | 7/03 | Marvel Comics |
| 143. | 629 | Peter Panzerfaust #1 | 2/12 | Image Comics |
| 144. | 625 | New X-Men #128 | 8/02 | Marvel Comics |
| 145. | 623 | Amazing Spider-Man 583 Second Printing | 3/09 | Marvel Comics |
| 146. | 622 | Spawn #2 | 6/92 | Image Comics |
| 147. | 621 | Solar, Man of the Atom #10 | 6/92 | Valiant |
| 148. | 619 | Walking Dead #8 | 5/04 | Image Comics |
| 149. | 614 | Marvel Knights Spider-Man #1 | 6/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 150. | 613 | Identity Crisis #1 | 8/04 | D.C. Comics |
| 151. | 604 | Civil War 3 Sketch Cover | 9/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 152. | 604 | X-Men 175 Wizard World 2005 Con Edition | 2005 | Marvel Comics |
| 153. | 603 | Walking Dead 100 Ottley Variant Cover | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 154. | 603 | Star Wars 1 Sketch Edition | 3/15 | Marvel Comics |
| 155. | 602 | Civil War 2 Second Printing | 8/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 156. | 601 | Harbinger 0 Pink Variant | 1992 | Valiant |
| 157. | 599 | Astonishing X-Men 1 Variant Cover | 7/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 158. | 595 | Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 | 1/16 | D.C. Comics |
| 159. | 595 | Wolverine #50 | 1/92 | Marvel Comics |
| 160. | 593 | X-23 1 Limited Edition | 4/05 | Marvel Comics |
| 161. | 591 | Walking Dead 100 Sketch Cover | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 162. | 583 | Darth Vader #3 | 5/15 | Marvel Comics |
| 163. | 580 | Daredevil v2 #1 | 11/98 | Marvel Comics |
| 164. | 577 | Wolverine: Origins 10 Retailer Incentive Edition | 3/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 165. | 577 | Batman #23.1 | 11/13 | D.C. Comics |
| 166. | 575 | Civil War #7 | 1/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 167. | 575 | Walking Dead 100 Silvestri Variant Cover | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 168. | 569 | Wolverine: Origins 1 Director’s Cut Edition | 2006 | Marvel Comics |
| 169. | 569 | Civil War 4 Variant Cover | 10/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 170. | 566 | Marvel Collectible Classics: Spider-Man #1 | 12/98 | Marvel Comics |
| 171. | 564 | Amazing Spider-Man #607 Rare CGC-recognized newsstand variant is confirmed to exist |
11/09 | Marvel Comics |
| 172. | 561 | Dark Avengers 1 Sketch Cover | 3/09 | Marvel Comics |
| 173. | 556 | Superior Spider-Man 29 La Mole Comic Con Edition | 5/14 | Marvel Comics |
| 174. | 554 | Superman: The Man of Steel #17 | 11/92 | D.C. Comics |
| 175. | 554 | Astonishing X-Men 1 Director’s Cut Edition | 7/04 | Marvel Comics |
| 176. | 553 | Civil War 2 Sketch Cover | 8/06 | Marvel Comics |
| 177. | 552 | JLA/Avengers #1 | 9/03 | D.C.-Marvel |
| 178. | 545 | Uncanny X-Men #300 | 5/93 | Marvel Comics |
| 179. | 543 | Death of Wolverine #4 | 12/14 | Marvel Comics |
| 180. | 534 | Age of Ultron #1 | 5/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 181. | 533 | Superman/Batman 1 Retailer Incentive Edition | 10/03 | D.C. Comics |
| 182. | 533 | Civil War 7 Variant Cover | 1/07 | Marvel Comics |
| 183. | 533 | Batman #13 | 12/12 | D.C. Comics |
| 184. | 533 | Paper Girls #1 | 10/15 | Image Comics |
| 185. | 532 | Wolverine v3 #26 Limited Edition | 5/05 | Marvel Comics |
| 186. | 530 | Saga #2 | 4/12 | Image Comics |
| 187. | 530 | Superior Spider-Man 1 Campbell Variant Cover | 3/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 188. | 522 | Walking Dead 100 Quitely Variant Cover | 7/12 | Image/Skybound |
| 189. | 520 | Superman 204 Retailer Incentive Edition | 6/04 | D.C. Comics |
| 190. | 520 | Spawn 1 Black & White Edition | 9/97 | Image Comics |
| 191. | 518 | Captain America v4 #1 | 6/02 | Marvel Comics |
| 192. | 517 | Harley Quinn 1 Variant Cover | 2/14 | D.C. Comics |
| 193. | 515 | Dark Knight III: The Master Race 1 Miller Variant | 1/16 | D.C. Comics |
| 194. | 514 | Venom: Lethal Protector 1 Gold Edition | 2/93 | Marvel Comics |
| 195. | 513 | Green Lantern: Rebirth #1 | 12/04 | D.C. Comics |
| 196. | 512 | Amazing Spider-Man 700 Second Printing | 4/13 | Marvel Comics |
| 197. | 512 | Avengers vs. X-Men 1 Diamond Select Toys Edition | 6/12 | Marvel Comics |
| 198. | 511 | Amazing Spider-Man 400 Die-Cut Cover | 4/95 | Marvel Comics |
| 199. | 509 | Wolverine v3 #66 | 8/08 | Marvel Comics |
| 200. | 507 | Detective Comics #23.2 | 11/13 | D.C. Comics |
| « Key Copper Age Comics | » | |||
Other Key Modern Age Comics By Year
I’ve also put up lists of key modern age comics by year which you can explore below:
Key Comics From 1992 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 1993 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 1994 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 1995 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 1996 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 1997 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 1998 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 1999 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2000 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2001 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2002 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2003 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2004 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2005 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2006 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2007 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2008 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2009 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2010 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2011 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2012 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2013 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2014 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2015 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
Key Comics From 2016 [ just Marvel; just D.C.; just other ]
See other lists of key comic books by year, including the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 2000’s.
