Valiant Market - Harbinger (2012) #25 1 in 50 variant by Barry Kitson

It's been a while since I've had the time to write a Valiant Market article but with recent sales activity being so strong I had to return. 2017 has been a big year so far for Valiant with X-O Manowar and Secret Weapons topping the sales and ratings charts. With that momentum and what is now six years of making incredible comics and building a larger and larger fan base the back issue market for Valiant is at an all time high. Many of their high end variants (especially those featuring first appearances) from the last several years are very in demand and therefore...very expensive.

Today, let's talk about Harbinger #25 (2012) 1 in 50 variant by Barry Kitson. This book recently finished a week long auction on eBay for $320 shipped! A very surprising number, more so when you consider that the copy being auctioned looked like a VF+ copy and had a couple of color breaking creases.

Let's chat about why this book has become so valuable. The book isn't the first appearance of anyone or anything major. The book doesn't feature a cover by a particularly sought after artist nor is the cover art itself particularly desirable. The book is the highest end variant on this issue though and the issue is an anniversary issue from late in the series run. Adding to the books desirability is that it's very hard to find! No one knows for sure but estimates of the print run for this book are as low as 1,000 copies. The copies that were available when the book was first released went into the collections of the Valiant faithful and have stayed there. Only a handful of copies have returned to the marketplace since.

UPDATE: Just over a month after this auction ended another copy ended at auction for $322 shipped!