Leading up to The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #50 release, Gemstone Publishing will commemorate the milestone by diving into the publication’s rich history. Over the Guide’s five decades in print, thousands upon thousands of comic books have been priced, the market has been meticulously studied, and creators, characters, and publishing houses have been featured with detailed coverage. With the 50th edition comes time to revisit how comic values have steadily (sometimes astronomically) risen over the years and reflect on contributions made in crafting the Guide.

Marvel has done very well with team books, giving readers the opportunity to enjoy not just one or two heroes but a whole group of really cool characters battling some of the most powerful villains in comics. Among their greatest success stories is the Avengers.

Composed of a rotating roster of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, the first incarnation included Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Iron Man, the Hulk, and Captain America. When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the team in Avengers #1 (September 1963), it could be purchased for 12¢. By 1970, Robert M. Overstreet valued a Near Mint copy at $6 in the first edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.

It gained significant traction in the collection market and ten years later it was up to $240. By the Guide #20, it nearly tripled in value, priced at $725, which was repeated after another decade, when it nearly tripled to $2,400.

Avengers #1’s value took off in the 2010s. At the Guide #40 a Near Mint copy was situated at $12,500. Two years later when The Avengers movie debuted, it doubled in value to $25,000. A year later, the momentum carried it to $28,000. With renewed and fresh interested in the Avengers, a Near Mint copy of Avengers #1 grew to $45,000 in Guide #49.