March 1, 2021
A List Of Important Comic Books From the 1990s

Key Comic Books From 1990
Key Comic Books From 1991
Key Comic Books From 1992
Key Comic Books From 1993
Key Comic Books From 1994
Key Comic Books From 1995
Key Comic Books From 1996
Key Comic Books From 1997
Key Comic Books From 1998
Key Comic Books From 1999
[ Special Note: 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. ]
The 1990’s were a roller-coaster, starting out with a major “boom” period and then experiencing a “bust” — with Marvel famously declaring bankruptcy at the end of 1996 (they survived on after a restructuring of their debts).
The year 1992 saw the emergence of Image Comics onto the scene. Some concluded Image was exclusively direct edition, but as it turns out, under the mountain of direct edition copies they sold, there was also a small sliver of copies that were distributed on newsstands — 1% by one insider’s estimate. You’ll see a lot of CGC-recognized 1990’s newsstand variants from among Image’s comics, as they quite often were manufactured differently, causing CGC to break them out as distinct from their direct edition counter-parts.
As we enter the 1990’s, direct edition comics made up the vast majority sold, with sales estimates out there for newsstand rarity percentages of 15% by 1990 and 10-14% by 1999. We see Marvel experiment with Australian cover price variant newsstand copies during the 90’s. And at the end of the decade, there is a 1999 decision by Marvel to “walk away” from the newsstand model — this would quickly put the newsstand percentages down to single digits as we enter the 2000’s, setting us up for some more highly interesting newsstand variants (including an entire CGC-recognized “window” when newsstand comics carried higher cover prices than their direct edition counter-parts).
There are many “top lists” out there covering important or “key” comic books from the 1990s, but the ones I’ve seen are all either based upon individual judgment calls or 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 10 Gem Mint Signature Series copy signed by Stan Lee, versus reflective of the underlying comic being of any great importance.
One surefire way to “tease out” a list of important comic books is to consider how many copies have been sent in to CGC to be graded — the more important the comic book, the more likely its owner will want to have it graded and slabbed, right? 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 good list of important key comic books! Of course, there are flaws to this exercise which should be kept in mind: for one thing, this submission data is from one snapshot in time (January 19, 2021) and there could be plenty of important comics that aren’t recognized as such until some future development gives them renewed attention. And another flaw is that some very-high-value comic books simply didn’t have many copies printed — such rarities would naturally sort themselves off of the bottom of a list like this as well (an example that comes to mind is Spawn/The Savage Dragon #1 from 1996, the existence of which is an incredible circumstance… as a distinct title created as a newsstand exclusive and therefore carrying that ultra-low Image newsstand distribution rarity touched upon earlier).
So please don’t anybody think of these top 100 lists as a “rank” of importance or as being an all-encompassing list… all we’re ranking here is the sheer number of copies that have passed through CGC’s doors as of January 2021 and presenting the top 100. That’s it! This data should give us a very interesting list, but this list is no replacement for judgement and no 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 caveat stated, without further ado, here is a list of 100 important comic books from the 1990s. [ I’ve also posted more lists of key comics by year including other decades; special thanks goes to Greg Holland whose research website was the tool that made these pages possible to assemble ].
Top 100 List: Important Comic Books From The 1990s:
(Top 100 list based on census data as of January 19, 2021)Rank | CGC Count | Issue | Publisher/ Date |
---|---|---|---|
1. | 20,115 | New Mutants #98 | Marvel 2/91 |
1st appearance of Deadpool (Wade Wilson) Gideon & Copycat (Vanessa Carlysle) as Domino. Rictor leaves the New Mutants.![]() | |||
2. | 18,461 | Amazing Spider-Man #361 | Marvel 4/92 |
1st full appearance of Carnage (Cletus Kasady).![]() | |||
3. | 16,490 | Spawn #1 | Image 5/92 |
1st appearance of Spawn (Al Simmons). Pitt pin-up by Dale Keown & Spawn pin-up by George Perez. Pull-out Spawn poster. Newsstand versions of early Spawn comics including #1 are confirmed to exist, but as of this date newsstand copies of #1-3 are not treated as variants by CGC (but ARE treated as variants by CBCS and PGX). As of the date of this writing, CGC begins to break out Spawn newsstand comics as variants starting at issue #4 when newsstand manufacturing differences begin. | |||
4. | 15,524 | Uncanny X-Men #266 | Marvel 8/90 |
1st full appearance of Gambit. Mystique appearance. | |||
5. | 10,197 | New Mutants #87 | Marvel 3/90 |
1st appearance of Cable, Stryfe & the Mutant Liberation Front. | |||
6. | 9,686 | Venom: Lethal Protector #1 | Marvel 2/93 |
1st Venom in his own title. Spider-Man appearance. Red holo-grafx foil cover.![]() | |||
7. | 9,291 | Spider-Man 1 Silver Edition | Marvel 8/90 |
Lizard appearance. | |||
8. | 8,075 | Infinity Gauntlet #1 | Marvel 7/91 |
Jim Starlin story. George Perez & Joe Rubinstein art. George Perez cover. | |||
9. | 6,463 | X-Men #1 | Marvel 10/91 |
1st appearance of the Acolytes. Four different covers exist that form a single image.![]() | |||
10. | 6,377 | Batman Adventures #12 | D.C. 9/93 |
1st appearance of Harley Quinn in comics (out of DC continuity). | |||
11. | 6,334 | Spider-Man #1 | Marvel 8/90 |
Lizard appearance. | |||
12. | 5,347 | Amazing Spider-Man #362 | Marvel 5/92 |
Carnage, Venom & Human Torch appearance.![]() | |||
13. | 4,737 | X-Men #4 | Marvel 1/92 |
1st appearance of Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich).![]() | |||
14. | 4,724 | Rai #0 | Valiant 11/92 |
1st full appearance of Bloodshot. Origin & 1st appearance of new Rai. Harbinger & Solar appearance. | |||
15. | 3,978 | Amazing Spider-Man #363 | Marvel 6/92 |
Carnage, Venom, Human Torch & Mister Fantastic appearance.![]() | |||
16. | 3,895 | Spider-Man 1 Gold Edition | Marvel 8/90 |
Lizard appearance. Indicia states “Second Printing”. | |||
17. | 3,714 | Uncanny X-Men #282 | Marvel 11/91 |
1st appearance of Bishop, Malcolm & Randall in cameo on last page. Direct Editions have 8 page ad insert. | |||
18. | 3,706 | X-Force #2 | Marvel 9/91 |
2nd appearance of Deadpool. 1st app. of Weapon X (Garrison Kane). Juggernaut & Black Tom Cassidy app. | |||
19. | 3,657 | Spawn #9 | Image 3/93 |
1st appearance Medieval Spawn & Angela. Angela poster by Jim Lee.![]() | |||
20. | 3,619 | X-Force #11 | Marvel 6/92 |
1st appearance of “real” Domino (Neena Thurman). Deadpool appearance.![]() | |||
21. | 3,496 | Superman: The Man of Steel #18 | D.C. 12/92 |
1st full appearance of Doomsday. | |||
22. | 3,361 | X-Men 1 Special Collectors Edition | Marvel 10/91 |
1st appearance of the Acolytes. Magneto appearance. Double gatefold cover. No ads. | |||
23. | 3,208 | Batman: Vengeance of Bane Special #1 | D.C. 1/93 |
Origin & 1st appearance of Bane. | |||
24. | 3,082 | Amazing Spider-Man #365 | Marvel 8/92 |
1st appearance of Spider-Man 2099. Gatefold Venom/Carnage poster by Mark Bagley. Hologram cover.![]() | |||
25. | 3,029 | Batman #497 | D.C. 7/93 |
Bane breaks Batman’s back. Newsstand edition exists without black outer cover. | |||
26. | 2,987 | New Mutants #100 | Marvel 4/91 |
1st appearance of X-Force. 1st full appearance of Shatterstar. Last issue.![]() | |||
27. | 2,887 | Preacher #1 | D.C./Vertigo 4/95 |
1st full appearance of Jesse Custer, Tulip, Cassidy & Saint of Killers. | |||
28. | 2,777 | Amazing Spider-Man #375 | Marvel 3/93 |
Holo-grafx cover. Story ties in with Venom: Lethal Protector #1 John Jameson & Chameleon backup stories.![]() | |||
29. | 2,621 | Superman #75 | D.C. 1/93 |
The “Death” of Superman. Gatefold back cover. | |||
30. | 2,523 | Amazing Spider-Man #344 | Marvel 2/91 |
1st app. of Cletus Kasady (Carnage). 1st full appearance of Cardiac (Elias Wirtham). Rhino & Eddie Brock app.![]() | |||
31. | 2,484 | X-Men Annual #14 | Marvel 1990 |
Fantastic Four & Ahab appearance. Gambit cameo (predates Uncanny X-Men #266). Pinups by Kevin Nowlan & Michael Golden. | |||
32. | 2,465 | Harbinger #1 | Valiant 1/92 |
1st appearance of Harbinger (Sting, Kris, Zephyr, Flamingo & Torque). Harbinger #0 mail-order coupon included. | |||
33. | 2,456 | Eternal Warrior #4 | Valiant 11/92 |
1st appearance of Bloodshot in cameo on last page. 1st appearance of the Immortal Enemy. | |||
34. | 2,370 | Spider-Man 2099 #1 | Marvel 11/92 |
Origin Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara). Red foil cover. | |||
35. | 2,344 | John Byrne’s Next Men #21 | Dark Horse 12/93 |
1st full color appearance of Hellboy. “Faith” storyline part 3 of 4 | |||
36. | 2,268 | Batman: Harley Quinn #nn | D.C. 1999 |
Origin & 1st appearance of Harley Quinn in DC Universe continuity. | |||
37. | 2,098 | Amazing Spider-Man #328 | Marvel 1/90 |
Hulk & Sebastian Shaw appearance. | |||
38. | 2,023 | Deadpool #1 | Marvel 1/97 |
1st appearance of T-Ray & Blind Al. Sasquatch, Zoe Culloden & Noah DuBois appearance. Wraparound cover. | |||
39. | 1,811 | Uncanny X-Men #268 | Marvel 9/90 |
Captain America & Black Widow appearance. | |||
40. | 1,773 | Darkhawk #1 | Marvel 3/91 |
Origin & 1st appearance of Darkhawk (Chris Powell). Hobgoblin appearance. | |||
41. | 1,750 | X-Force #1 | Marvel 8/91 |
Wraparound cover. Poly-bag removed. Direct Editions exist with “Positive” and “Negative” UPC codes.![]() | |||
42. | 1,717 | Spider-Man 1 Platinum Edition | Marvel 8/90 |
Lizard appearance. | |||
43. | 1,717 | Batman Adventures: Mad Love #nn | D.C. 2/94 |
Origin of Harley Quinn out of D.C. continuity. | |||
44. | 1,694 | Incredible Hulk #377 | Marvel 1/91 |
Doc Samson & Ringmaster appearance. Direct Sales have “Tiger Electronics” insert included.![]() | |||
45. | 1,687 | Uncanny X-Men #283 | Marvel 12/91 |
1st full appearance of Bishop, Malcolm & Randall. | |||
46. | 1,653 | Iron Man #282 | Marvel 7/92 |
1st full appearance of War Machine. Nick Fury appearance.![]() | |||
47. | 1,646 | Spider-Man #13 | Marvel 8/91 |
Spider-Man #1 (8/90) cover homage. Morbius appearance. | |||
48. | 1,637 | X-O Manowar #1 | Valiant 2/92 |
Origin & 1st app. of X-O Manowar (Aric Dacia). 1st appearance of Ken Clarkson & Lydia (Spider Alien). | |||
49. | 1,592 | Venom: Lethal Protector #4 | Marvel 5/93 |
1st appearance of Scream (Donna Diego). Spider-Man appearance. | |||
50. | 1,556 | Spawn #2 | Image 6/92 |
1st appearance of the Violator. Spawn pin-up by Rick Leonardi. | |||
51. | 1,509 | Superman 75 Poly-Bagged Edition | D.C. 1/93 |
The “Death” of Superman. Gatefold back cover. Poly-bag removed. | |||
52. | 1,456 | Incredible Hulk #449 | Marvel 1/97 |
1st appearance of the Thunderbolts (Citizen V, Meteorite, Techno, MACH-1, Songbird & Atlas). | |||
53. | 1,449 | Witchblade #1 | Image/Top Cow 11/95 |
Sara Pezzini acquires Witchblade. Wraparound cover. | |||
54. | 1,444 | Silver Surfer v3 #44 | Marvel 12/90 |
1st appearance of the Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos & Drax app. Direct Editions include “Tiger Electronics” insert. | |||
55. | 1,429 | Uncanny X-Men #281 | Marvel 10/91 |
1st appearance of Trevor Fitzroy. New X-Men team. Wraparound cover. | |||
56. | 1,350 | New Mutants 87 Second Printing | Marvel 3/90 |
1st appearance of Cable, Stryfe & the Mutant Liberation Front. | |||
57. | 1,303 | Marvel Super-Heroes v2 #8 | Marvel 1/92 |
Winter Special. 1st app of Squirrel Girl X-Men, Iron Man & Namor stories. 5 pages of pin-ups by Jim Starlin. | |||
58. | 1,289 | Bloodshot #1 | Valiant 2/93 |
Chromium cover. Bloodshot poster by Barry Windsor-Smith included. | |||
59. | 1,265 | Amazing Spider-Man #360 | Marvel 3/92 |
1st appearance of Carnage in cameo. Cardiac appearance.![]() | |||
60. | 1,257 | Infinity War #1 | Marvel 6/92 |
Gatefold wraparound cover. | |||
61. | 1,232 | Solar, Man of the Atom #10 | Valiant 6/92 |
16 page Solar insert by Jim Shooter, Barry Windsor-Smith & Bob Layton. Black embossed cover. | |||
62. | 1,222 | Infinity Gauntlet #2 | Marvel 8/91 |
Jim Starlin story. George Perez & Joe Rubinstein art. George Perez cover. | |||
63. | 1,220 | Infinity Gauntlet #4 | Marvel 10/91 |
Jim Starlin story. Ron Lim & George Perez art. George Perez cover. | |||
64. | 1,218 | Venom: Lethal Protector 1 Gold Edition | Marvel 2/93 |
Gold holo-grafx foil cover. Venom pin-up by Mark Bagley & Al Milgrom on back cover. | |||
65. | 1,189 | Ghost Rider v2 #1 | Marvel 5/90 |
1st appearance Dan Ketch as Ghost Rider. 1st appearance of Deathwatch. Kingpin appearance. | |||
66. | 1,168 | Infinity Gauntlet #3 | Marvel 9/91 |
Jim Starlin story. George Perez & Joe Rubinstein art. George Perez cover. | |||
67. | 1,131 | Amazing Spider-Man 361 Second Printing | Marvel 4/92 |
1st full appearance of Carnage (Cletus Kasady). Silver metallic ink cover. | |||
68. | 1,113 | Spider-Man 1 Poly-Bagged Silver Edition | Marvel 8/90 |
Lizard appearance. Poly-bag removed. | |||
69. | 1,074 | Marvel Comics Presents #72 | Marvel 1991 |
Wraparound cover. Origin of Wolverine. Weapon X, Shanna, Daredevil & Red Wolf stories. Jackson Guice back cover art. | |||
70. | 1,057 | Simpsons Comics #1 | Bongo Group 1993 |
Pull-out poster. Flipbook. $1.95 edition does not include poster. Forward by Matt Groening. | |||
71. | 1,022 | Thanos Quest #1 | Marvel 1990 |
In-Betweener, Champion, Gardener & Death appearance. Wraparound cover. | |||
72. | 1,010 | Magnus Robot Fighter #1 | Valiant 5/91 |
Trading cards included. | |||
73. | 997 | X-Men #5 | Marvel 2/92 |
1st appearance of Maverick (Christoph Nord). Omega Red appearance.![]() | |||
74. | 996 | Infinity Gauntlet #6 | Marvel 12/91 |
Jim Starlin story. Ron Lim & Joe Rubinstein art. Ron Lim & George Perez cover. | |||
75. | 993 | Guardians of the Galaxy #1 | Marvel 6/90 |
1st appearance of Taserface. | |||
76. | 973 | Silver Surfer v3 #50 | Marvel 6/91 |
Origin of the Silver Surfer retold. Thanos appearance. Embossed silver foil cover.![]() | |||
77. | 963 | Harbinger 0 Pink Variant | Valiant 1992 |
Mail-away. | |||
78. | 962 | Bloodshot #6 | Valiant 7/93 |
1st appearance of Colin King (Ninjak), Cinder & Glyder. | |||
79. | 959 | Infinity Gauntlet #5 | Marvel 11/91 |
Jim Starlin story. Ron Lim & Joe Rubinstein art. Ron Lim & George Perez cover. | |||
80. | 938 | Green Lantern v3 #48 | D.C. 1/94 |
1st appearance of Kyle Rayner. Emerald Twilight Part 1 | |||
81. | 934 | Solar, Man of the Atom #1 | Valiant 9/91 |
1st appearance of Solar (Doctor Phil Seleski). 8 page insert by Barry Windsor-Smith. | |||
82. | 922 | Wolverine #50 | Marvel 1/92 |
Wolverine’s partial origin retold. X-Men (Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Forge & Jubilee) app. | |||
83. | 922 | Wolverine #75 | Marvel 11/93 |
Wraparound cover w/ Wolverine hologram. Direct editions contain 8pg “Siege of Darkness” & “Kaybee Toystore” insert. | |||
84. | 911 | WildC.A.T.S. #1 | Image 8/92 |
1st appearance of the WildC.A.T.S. Trading card insert included. Forward by Jim Lee. 1st Wildstorm title.![]() | |||
85. | 911 | Shadowman #1 | Valiant 5/92 |
Origin & 1st full appearance of Shadowman (Jack Boniface). 1st appearance of Samedi. | |||
86. | 908 | Amazing Spider-Man 400 Die-Cut Cover | Marvel 4/95 |
“Death” of Aunt May. Embossed wraparound cover. | |||
87. | 903 | Spawn-Batman #nn | Image 5/94 |
Frank Miller story. Todd McFarlane cover & art.![]() | |||
88. | 902 | Amazing Spider-Man #345 | Marvel 3/91 |
Cletus Kasady, Venom, Cardiac, Boomerang & Silver Sable appearance.![]() | |||
89. | 889 | San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 | Dark Horse 8/93 |
1st appearance of Hellboy. Danger Unlimited & Monkey Man & O’Brien preview. 1993 SDCC promotional. | |||
90. | 882 | Batman Beyond #1 | D.C. 3/99 |
1st comic book appearance of Terry McGinnis. | |||
91. | 879 | Spider-Man 1 Poly-Bagged Edition | Marvel 8/90 |
Lizard appearance. Poly-bag removed. | |||
92. | 873 | Spawn 1 Black & White Edition | Image 9/97 |
Todd McFarlane story, cover & art. | |||
93. | 862 | Spawn #4 | Image 9/92 |
Image Comics #0 coupon included. Pin-up by Dave Sim.![]() | |||
94. | 858 | Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 | D.C. 10/92 |
1st appearance of Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley Jr). Wraparound gatefold cover. | |||
95. | 851 | What If… #105 | Marvel 2/98 |
Origin & 1st appearance of Spider-Girl (May “Mayday” Parker). Normie Osborn becomes the new Green Goblin. | |||
96. | 843 | Spawn #8 | Image 2/93 |
Billy Kincaid & Vindicator appearance. Spider-Man #1 (8/90) cover homage. Spawn poster by Frank Miller.![]() | |||
97. | 818 | Pitt #1 | Image 1/93 |
1st appearance of Pitt. Pitt pin-ups by Sam Kieth & Jim Somerville.![]() | |||
98. | 817 | Venom: Lethal Protector #5 | Marvel 6/93 |
Spider-Man & Scream appearance. 1st appearance of Phage, Lasher, Riot & Agony.![]() | |||
99. | 816 | Solar, Man of the Atom #3 | Valiant 11/91 |
10 page insert by Barry Windsor-Smith. 1st appearance of Toyo Harada & Thumper. 1st mention of the Harbinger Foundation. | |||
100. | 806 | X-Men #25 | Marvel 10/93 |
Magneto removes Wolverine’s adamantium. Nick Fury, Mr. Fantastic & Thing cameo. Wraparound cover with Gambit hologram. | |||
« The 1980’s | The 2000’s » |
More Important Comic Books Of The 1990s:
Separate top 100 lists for each individual year in the decade:
Key Comic Books From 1990
Key Comic Books From 1991
Key Comic Books From 1992
Key Comic Books From 1993
Key Comic Books From 1994
Key Comic Books From 1995
Key Comic Books From 1996
Key Comic Books From 1997
Key Comic Books From 1998
Key Comic Books From 1999