The secondary comic market regularly ebbs and flows as book sales go through moderate changes, and occasionally see big jumps (or falls) in value. Overstreet Access tracks these changes through diligent research into the market and via assessment of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide marketing reports. Those changes are routinely updated on OverstreetAccess.com’s Recent Value Changes page, which can be viewed with a membership to the website.

Variant covers can produce a range of prices in the collecting community. Covers done by popular artists, covers that pay homage to iconic covers of the past, limited print runs, crossovers, and other factors can make the value of one variant skyrocket beyond a main cover or other variants. During a recent valuation update, Overstreet Pricing Editor Yolanda Ramirez recognized that a few Spawn variant covers are seeing a notable upward trajectory.

Al Simmons, aka Spawn, was created by Todd McFarlane and debuted in Spawn #1 (May 1992). Simmons started out as an assassin working for the government when he died and went to Hell. Five years later, he returned to Earth where he worked to atone for his sins as the antihero, Spawn.

The main Spawn series has been running steadily since the early ‘90s with issue 376 recently published in June 2026. The comic has expanded with many one-shots, crossovers, and limited series, making it one of the most popular, long running comics outside of DC and Marvel.

For Spawn #223 (September 2012) McFarlane paid homage to fellow Image title, The Walking Dead, with a recreation of that book’s first cover putting Spawn in place of Rick Grimes. The main cover saw a recent value update to $45 in 9.2/Near Mint-, marking a 350% increase from the previous value. The 1:25 black and white incentive cover, released for Spawn’s 20th anniversary, has been revalued at $600 at the 9.2 level.

McFarlane created an Incredible Hulk Annual #1 homage cover for Spawn #229 (March 2013) with the antihero straining to hold up the comic logo. At the 9.2 grade, the main cover value has been updated to $75, reflecting a 650% increase from the previous price. A 1:25 black and white incentive variant graded 9.2 has seen a huge increase to $450, jumping 2,900% from the last value.

The Recent Value Changes page on OverstreetAccess.com can be found by clicking on the “Search Titles” tab in the Quick Navigation bar on the home page, then click the green “Recent Value Changes” button on the “Titles” page.