5 Things We Don't Miss About '90s Comics (And 5 We Do)

The '90s boom had several factors contributing to it. Massive hits like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns cultivated cultural impact and critical acclaim. Batman was released in 1989, drawing a huge box office. Action Comics #1 had recently been sold for over $25,000. Suddenly, interest was piqued in the value of comic books as a form of long-term investment.

To meet this speculation, comics began publishing every gimmick under the sun. X-Men was relaunched with Jim Lee's artwork and sold over seven million copies. #1 issues were, consequently, being printed with a massive amount of variant covers, holographic covers, chromium and foil prints, and rare collector cards meant to push more and more issues. Inevitably, that bubble would had to burst.

The reason comics from the '30s and '40s were so rare and sold so coveted was because many were destroyed. A series of televised Congressional hearings in 1954 suggested a corollary between comic books and the corruption of the youth of America. As such, Action Comics sells for millions today because there are less than a hundred copies in circulation. X-Men #1, by contrast, sells for a little less than $3 today.

All of these superficial investments ultimately resulted in thousands of fans abandoning comics when gambles didn't pay off, and the integrity of the stories were sacrificed in the name of cold hard cash.