Every time a Spider-Man film comes out, and with Spider-Man: Brand New Day arriving at the end of July 2026 that is happening again, a lot of people go and look in the loft. Most of what comes down is worth very little. A small amount of it is worth a great deal. This page is about telling those two apart.
What this covers
The two that are genuinely major money
Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962). His first appearance, and one of the most valuable comics in existence full stop. Even a battered copy with a missing back cover is a serious sum, and a high grade certified copy is a house deposit. If you think you have one, stop handling it and get advice before you do anything else.
Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963). The first issue of his own title. A tier below Amazing Fantasy #15 but still a genuinely major book in any condition. Beware of the 1966 Golden Record reprint and the many later reprints, which look similar to an untrained eye and are worth a tiny fraction.
The keys people actually find
These are the ones that turn up in real collections, and the ones worth going through a long box for.
- ASM #14 (1964), first Green Goblin.
- ASM #50 (1967), first Kingpin, and one of the most copied covers in comics.
- ASM #101 (1971), first Morbius.
- ASM #121 and #122 (1973), the death of Gwen Stacy and the death of the Green Goblin. A genuinely important pair of issues.
- ASM #129 (1974), first Punisher. Consistently one of the most in demand Bronze Age books there is.
- ASM #194 (1979), first Black Cat.
- ASM #238 (1983), first Hobgoblin. Worth considerably more with the Tattooz insert still inside, and most copies are missing it.
- ASM #252 (1984), first black costume in this title. Marvel Team-Up #141 carries the same month cover date and is part of the same story.
Modern issues worth checking
ASM #300 (1988) is the big one, first full Venom with a McFarlane cover almost everyone recognises. It is also a cautionary tale about condition: the black cover shows every crease, and two copies that look similar across a room can be several times apart in value.
ASM #361 (1992), first full Carnage. Web of Spider-Man #18 (1986), the first cameo appearance of the Venom symbiote on a person. Ultimate Fallout #4 (2011), the first Miles Morales, which has become one of the most reliable modern keys there is.
The Brand New Day angle
The film shares its name with a 2008 comic storyline that began in Amazing Spider-Man #546 and rebooted his status quo after One More Day. That run introduced Mister Negative and Menace, and those issues are currently cheap and easy to find.
Being straight with you: sharing a title does not mean the film adapts that story, and at the time of writing that connection is not confirmed. If it does turn out to draw on it, first appearances from that run are the ones that would move. If it does not, they stay cheap. I would not spend money you would miss on that guess, but if you already own them, do not sell them for pennies without checking first.
What actually decides the value
Condition, more than anything. The gap between a well read copy and a sharp one is not ten percent, it is often several multiples. Spine stress, corner blunting, colour breaking on the fold, and whether the staples are still tight all matter.
Which printing it is. A first printing and a later printing of the same issue can differ by ten times or more. Check the indicia, the small print at the bottom of the first page, rather than the cover.
Newsstand or direct edition. For issues from the 1980s onwards, the newsstand version with a barcode is usually scarcer than the direct edition sold in comic shops, sometimes considerably. It is one of the most commonly missed things in a collection, and I wrote about it properly in newsstand versus direct edition.
Whether it is certified. A graded slab removes the argument about condition, but grading only pays on books already worth real money. That threshold and the maths behind it is in our CGC grading guide.
The ones that are not worth what you hope
This is the part most guides skip, so here it is plainly. Comics printed between roughly 1988 and 1996 were bought in enormous numbers specifically as investments. Millions of pristine copies still sit in lofts, which is precisely why they are not scarce.
That includes most polybagged issues, most foil and hologram covers, most first issues of 1990s relaunches, and the 1990 Spider-Man #1 by McFarlane, which sold well over two million copies. They are lovely comics. They are not rare, and no film changes that.
The honest rule: a comic is valuable because it is scarce and wanted, not because it is old or because it says number one on the cover.
How to find out what yours is worth
Search the exact issue on eBay and filter to sold listings, not asking prices. An unsold listing at £200 tells you nothing except what somebody hoped for. Match the printing and be honest with yourself about condition.
If you would rather someone just tell you, send photos and I will go through them and give you an itemised valuation for free, including the ones that are not worth much, because knowing which is which is the whole point.
Not sure what you have?
Photos of the covers and the spines is plenty to start. I will tell you which ones matter, what they are realistically worth, and you are under no obligation to sell me anything.
Get a free valuation