ARE CHRISTIAN COMICS worth considering FOR YOUR COLLECTION?

• apkos
• 0
• on Jun 03, 2023

just in time for Easter, let’s take a deep dive into the world of Christian comics to find out which books, if any, are worth paying attention to as an investor or collector.

Golden Age – picture Stories

For nearly the entire time that comic books have existed, there have been Christian comics in one form or another.  possibly the most well-known series from the golden Age was picture stories from the Bible.

Originally published by DC Comics as a four-issue Old Testament series beginning in 1942 and then a three-issue new Testament series beginning in 1944, EC would become the publisher for subsequent reprintings of individual issues and complete editions.  This coincided with the publishing of EC’s other picture stories from… series.

Of all the issues published and printed, it’s the DC originals that are many sought after by collectors.  Taking picture stories from the Bible (Old Testament) #1 as an example, we can see that there are extremely few graded copies in the CGC census – 10 to be precise.  Of these, one is graded at 9.6, a very high grade for a book of that age.  It’s really challenging to discern today’s value for that copy, as it last changed hands in March 2002 for $1,495.

In today’s dollars, twenty years later, that would be roughly $2,350.  even taking a look at lower grades won’t tell us much; it’s been five years because a single graded copy has sold.  Suffice it to say that graded copies of any issues of this series are rare birds; they’re worth considering for your collection if you can find one.

Silver Age – true Stories

The many prolific Christian comic of the Silver Age was Oral Roberts’ true Stories, published by TelePix Publishing, an arm of Roberts’ ministry.  This series was in publication between 1956 and 1959.

Surprisingly, of the twenty issues, only one was approved by the Comics Code Authority.  For collectors, it’s a real guessing game.  Not a single book in the series has been sent to CGC for grading.  high-grade raw copies of Oral Roberts’ true stories #1 have sold for as much as $250 but they’re infrequently sold at best on eBay, and it’s an extremely rare sighting in a local comic shop or at a show.

If you can find a high-condition copy at a low price, it might very well be a worthwhile investment.

Bronze Age – Spire Christian Comics and Pope John Paul II

And now we come to the Bronze Age, which, for Christian comics, was something of a golden Age, thanks to Spire Christian Comics.  Spire produced various one-shot comics that were mostly either Biblical in nature or biographical material.  Al Hartley was the primary writer and artist on practically all of Spire’s books.  He was also drawing for Archie at the time and received consent to use Archie characters in nearly twenty other one-shots.

Beginning in 1972, Spire Christian Comics could be found in every mother & pop store, newsstand, and benefit store in the country.  thanks to multiple reprintings, they were always there.  I distinctly remember seeing one between Avengers annual #7 and fantastic four #186 in a store in the summer of 1977.  Wisely, I chose to spend my dollar on those two books rather than the one that was in between.  but I digress…

Hansi, The girl who loved The Swastika

Of all the Spire Christian Comics that were published, only three have found their way into the CGC census.  Of these three, two are of little to no account.  The third, however, is the holy grail of Christian comic collectors.  If you remember no other book from this blog, you should drill this title into your brain:  Hansi, The girl who loved The Swastika.

Now, call it a hunch, but I think this book is prized by collectors less for its Christian content and much more for the swastikas in the title and on the cover.  There are 408 graded copies of the 39-cent first printing in the CGC census. Of those, 272 are graded 9.0 or higher.  So, they’re not rare.  You will, however, pay top dollar for a 9.8.  The last two sales were in February 2021 only three days apart, with the first sale being for $1,500 and the second for $1,100.  No idea why the disparity in purchase prices, although it looks like the first buyer may have overpaid.  If you’re able to get your hands on a high-grade copy for a low price, do it.

The Life of Pope John Paul II #1

The Bronze Age ended with what is arguably the most well-known Christian comic:  The Life of Pope John Paul II #1.  This book was huge when it was released in 1982.  marvel is estimated to have sold a million copies of this comic at the time and garnered a ton of press.  This is not a rare book by any means.  They’re easily found in comic shops around the country.

The CGC census counts 233 graded copies.  While it’s no Hansi, the “Pope book,” as it’s affectionately called, will set you back roughly $125 for a 9.8 copy.  never one to neglect an opportunity, marvel followed suit a year later with mother Teresa of Calcunull