January 12, 2017
More Key Comic Books of 1996
To repeat the caveat I gave on main 1990’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 1996 — 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 1996 — that’s it!
We should reveal key and otherwise interesting 1996 comics from this exercise, but we will not necessarily get an all-encompassing list. For example, very-low-print-run rarities like Spawn / The Savage Dragon #1 will sort off the bottom because there are simply so few of them in existence. So with that caveat stated, without further ado, here below is a list of the top 50 most-submitted comics from publishers other than Marvel or D.C. from 1996 (the census numbers are as of year-end 2016). [Also see: top 50 Marvel comics of 1996; top 50 D.C. comics of 1996; all key comics from 1996 ].
| Rank | CGC Count | Issue | Date | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 255 | Witchblade #2 | 1/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 2. | 166 | Darkness #1 | 12/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 3. | 164 | Witchblade 10 Darkness #0 Variant Cover | 11/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 4. | 164 | Witchblade #3 | 3/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 5. | 158 | Darkness 1 Variant Cover | 12/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 6. | 117 | Witchblade #10 | 11/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 7. | 99 | Witchblade #1/2 | 2/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 8. | 90 | Witchblade #4 | 4/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 9. | 84 | Witchblade #5 | 5/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 10. | 79 | Lady Death: The Crucible 1/2 Wizard Special Editio | 7/96 | Chaos-Wizard |
| 11. | 77 | Witchblade #6 | 6/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 12. | 75 | Witchblade 10 Darkness #0 Gold Foil Variant | 11/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 13. | 70 | Lady Death: The Crucible 1 Leather Edition | 11/96 | Chaos! Comics |
| 14. | 67 | Witchblade #7 | 7/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 15. | 65 | Purgatori: The Vampires Myth #1 | 8/96 | Chaos! Comics |
| 16. | 64 | Lady Death: The Crucible #1 | 11/96 | Chaos! Comics |
| 17. | 62 | Witchblade #9 | 9/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 18. | 60 | Bettie Page Comics #1 | 3/96 | Dark Horse Comics |
| 19. | 59 | X-Files #1/2 | 1996 | Topps-Wizard |
| 20. | 59 | Witchblade #8 | 8/96 | Image/Top Cow |
| 21. | 56 | Dawn #1/2 | 1996 | Sirius-Wizard |
| 22. | 56 | X-O Manowar #68 | 9/96 | Valiant |
| 23. | 55 | Magnus Robot Fighter #64 | 2/96 | Valiant |
| 24. | 52 | Darkness 1 Platinum Edition | 12/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 25. | 52 | Darkness 1 Top Cow Fan Club Edition | 12/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 26. | 51 | Tales of the Witchblade #1 | 11/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 27. | 50 | Darkness #1/2 | 1996 | Top Cow-Wizard Pub. |
| 28. | 50 | Lady Death: The Odyssey #1 | 4/96 | Chaos! Comics |
| 29. | 49 | Bloodshot #51 | 8/96 | Valiant |
| 30. | 49 | Curse of the Spawn 1 Black & White Edition | 9/96 | Image Comics |
| 31. | 46 | Medieval Spawn/Witchblade #1 | 5/96 | Image Comics |
| 32. | 46 | Witchblade 10 Dynamic Forces Edition | 11/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 33. | 43 | Witchblade 9 Variant Cover | 9/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 34. | 42 | Dawn 1/2 Wizard Special Edition | 1996 | Sirius-Wizard |
| 35. | 40 | Johnny the Homicidal Maniac 1 Special Edition | 8/96 | Slave Labor |
| 36. | 40 | Spawn #50 | 6/96 | Image Comics |
| 37. | 39 | Purgatori: The Vampires Myth 1 Chromium Edition | 8/96 | Chaos! Comics |
| 38. | 38 | Curse of the Spawn #1 | 9/96 | Image Comics |
| 39. | 37 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 | 6/96 | Image Comics |
| 40. | 36 | Sin City: Lost, Lonely & Lethal #1 | 12/96 | Dark Horse Comics |
| 41. | 32 | Dawn 5 Limited Edition | 9/96 | Sirius Entertainment |
| 42. | 32 | Legends of the Dark Claw #1 | 4/96 | Amalgam |
| 43. | 31 | Dawn 4 Limited Edition | 1996 | Sirius Entertainment |
| 44. | 29 | Strangers in Paradise #1 | 10/96 | Image/Homage Comics |
| 45. | 28 | Solar, Man of the Atom #60 | 4/96 | Valiant |
| 46. | 27 | Dawn 6 Limited Edition | 10/96 | Sirius Entertainment |
| 47. | 27 | Dawn 3 Limited Edition | 1996 | Sirius Entertainment |
| 48. | 26 | Crypt of Dawn #1 | 10/96 | Sirius Entertainment |
| 49. | 26 | Darkness: Special Preview Edition #nn | 7/96 | Top Cow Publications |
| 50. | 25 | Wizard Ace Edition: Bone #12 | 1996 | Cartoon Books-Wizard |
| « 1995 | 1997 » | |||
Even More Key Comic Books of 1996
For even more key comic books of 1996, also see: top 50 Marvel comics of 1996; top 50 D.C. comics of 1996; all key comics from 1996, or jump to this list of important comics from the 1990s. Or explore Lists of Key Comic Books by Year. Or jump to my blog’s home page.
Happy Collecting! 🙂
Rare Comics 