Leading up to The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #50 release on July 22, 2020, 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.

The Guide’s thorough reporting of innumerable comic book values has been complimented by charts that compare top comic books by value. For the Guide’s 25th anniversary in 1995, charts ranked titles by genre and time period, including the top Golden Age books. While many of those books are still among the most valuable, it’s interesting to note how often titles are repeated on the list and the rate at which they have increased in value since then. Below is the list of the top 25 Golden Age books based on their value in the Guide #25.

#1 – Action Comics #1 – $125,000
#2 – Detective Comics #27 – $115,000
#3 – Marvel Comics #1 – $85,000
#4 – Superman #1 – $80,000
#5 – Detective Comics #1 – $54,000
#6 – All-American Comics #16 – $52,000
#7 – Whiz Comics #2 (#1) – $46,000
#8 – Captain America Comics #1 – $45,000
#9 – Batman #1 – $42,000
#10 – New Fun Comics #1 – $40,500
#11 – Flash Comics #1 – $32,000
#12 – More Fun Comics #52 – $32,000
#13 – All Star Comics #3 – $25,000
#14 – Adventure Comics #40 – $22,000
#15 – Detective Comics #33 – $22,000
#16 – Detective Comics #38 – $21,000
#17 – More Fun Comics #53 – $20,500
#18 – Captain Marvel Adventures #1 – $19,000
#19 – Green Lantern #1 – $17,500
#20 – Jumbo Comics #1 – $17,000
#21 – Detective Comics #29 – $16,500
#22 – Detective Comics #31 – $16,000
#23 – Famous Funnies-Series 1 #1 – $16,000
#24 – New York World’s Fair 1939 – $16,000
#25 – Human Torch #2 (#1) – $15,000