January 12, 2017
More Key Comic Books of 1988
To repeat the caveat I gave on main 1980’s page [which has links to see other years within the decade], the list you are about to see involves no judgment or pricing data, but rather simply ranks the universe of comics published in 1988 — by publishers other than Marvel or D.C. for this particular page — according to how many copies have passed through CGC’s doors to date, to tease out a list of more key comic books of 1988 — that’s it!
We should reveal key and otherwise interesting 1988 comics from this exercise, but we will not necessarily get an all-encompassing list. So without further ado, here below is a list of the top 50 most-submitted comics from publishers other than Marvel or D.C. from 1988 (the census numbers are as of year-end 2016). [Also see: top 50 Marvel comics of 1988; top 50 D.C. comics of 1988; all key comics from 1988 ].
| Rank | CGC Count | Issue | Date | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 702 | Miracleman #15 | 11/88 | Eclipse |
| 2. | 190 | The Tick #1 | 6/88 | New England Comics |
| 3. | 152 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #1 Rare CGC-recognized cover price variant is confirmed to exist |
8/88 | Archie Publications |
| 4. | 149 | Miracleman #14 | 4/88 | Eclipse |
| 5. | 147 | Aliens #1 | 5/88 | Dark Horse Comics |
| 6. | 134 | Dark Horse Presents #24 | 11/88 | Dark Horse Comics |
| 7. | 127 | The Tick Special Edition #1 | 3/88 | New England Comics |
| 8. | 114 | Vampirella #113 Rare CGC-recognized cover price variant is confirmed to exist |
1988 | Harris |
| 9. | 70 | The Tick Special Edition #2 | 6/88 | New England Comics |
| 10. | 59 | Planet Comics #1 | 4/88 | Blackthorne |
| 11. | 57 | Rocketeer Adventure Magazine #1 | 7/88 | Comico |
| 12. | 51 | The Tick #2 | 9/88 | New England Comics |
| 13. | 42 | Terminator #1 | 9/88 | Now Comics |
| 14. | 41 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 Fifth Printing | 8/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 15. | 37 | Aliens #2 | 9/88 | Dark Horse Comics |
| 16. | 32 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 Second Printing | 11/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 17. | 30 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #17 | 11/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 18. | 28 | Continum #1 | 10/88 | Continum Comics |
| 19. | 26 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #14 | 2/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 20. | 23 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #15 | 1988 | Mirage Studios |
| 21. | 19 | Jungle Comics #1 | 5/88 | Blackthorne |
| 22. | 17 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13 | 2/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 23. | 17 | Faust Premier Edition #1 | 1988 | Northstar Publishing |
| 24. | 15 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #16 | 9/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 25. | 15 | Real Ghostbusters #1 | 8/88 | Now Comics |
| 26. | 13 | The Tick #3 | 12/88 | New England Comics |
| 27. | 13 | The Tick 2 Error Version | 9/88 | New England Comics |
| 28. | 12 | Cherry #6 | 1988 | Last Gasp |
| 29. | 12 | Last of the Viking Heroes #5 | 6/88 | Genesis West Comics |
| 30. | 12 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #2 Rare CGC-recognized cover price variant is confirmed to exist |
10/88 | Archie Publications |
| 31. | 11 | Xenozoic Tales #7 | 10/88 | Kitchen Sink Press |
| 32. | 11 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #3 Rare CGC-recognized cover price variant is confirmed to exist |
12/88 | Archie Publications |
| 33. | 11 | Battle Beasts #1 | 2/88 | Blackthorne |
| 34. | 10 | Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 | 8/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 35. | 10 | Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 | 1/88 | Mirage Studios |
| 36. | 10 | Comico Christmas Special #1 | 12/88 | Comico |
| 37. | 10 | Eclipse Extra #44 | 8/88 | Eclipse |
| 38. | 10 | Black Kiss #1 | 6/88 | Vortex Comics |
| 39. | 9 | Usagi Yojimbo #10 | 8/88 | Fantagraphics Books |
| 40. | 9 | Cherry #7 | 1988 | Last Gasp |
| 41. | 9 | Gumby’s Winter Fun Special #1 | 12/88 | Comico |
| 42. | 9 | Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge Adventures #5 | 6/88 | Gladstone |
| 43. | 9 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures 1 Canadian | 8/88 | Archie Publications |
| 44. | 9 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 | 1988 | Mirage Studios |
| 45. | 8 | Cerebus the Aardvark #108 | 3/88 | Aardvark-Vanaheim |
| 46. | 8 | Cerebus the Aardvark #109 | 4/88 | Aardvark-Vanaheim |
| 47. | 8 | Blackthorne 3-D Series #35 | Spring 1988 | Blackthorne |
| 48. | 8 | Nexus v2 ##50 | 11/88 | First Comics |
| 49. | 8 | Omega 1 Limited Edition | 1988 | Northstar Publishing |
| 50. | 7 | Cerebus the Aardvark #106 | 1/88 | Aardvark-Vanaheim |
| « 1987 | 1989 » | |||
Even More Key Comic Books of 1988
For even more key comic books of 1988, also see: top 50 Marvel comics of 1988; top 50 D.C. comics of 1988; all key comics from 1988, or jump to this list of important comics from the 1980s. Or explore Lists of Key Comic Books by Year. Or jump to my blog’s home page.
Happy Collecting! 🙂
