Did You Know Collecting tips: What makes a First Appearance a True First Appearance?

What is a first appearance in comic books?

First appearances, those issues that introduce new characters, events or even abilities and costumes, have always been the big deal in collecting. They fit into the category of “Key Issues”.

The title of this post is pretty self-explanatory. The first time a new character appears, that’s their first appearance! But can we define what really is a first appearance? Is it a cameo or full appearance? What about books, comic titles or preview stories? Why are some appearances worth more to collectors than others?

For instance, John Constantine’s first cameo appearance is in “Saga of the Swamp Thing” #25 (June 1984), and his first full appearance is in “Swamp Thing” #37 (June 1985), which came out a full year later. The more sought after issue seems to be #37. Neither of these portray him on the cover. In a lot of cases that rule seems to be true – the full appearance is more valuable than the cameo, unless the first is just a cover. It’s a cameo per-say, and the character may not even be in the book.

Let’s compare previews and story lines:

Jesse (“Preacher”)’s first appearance is in “Absolute Vertigo”, a preview book by Vertigo/DC. It has the first appearance of the Preacher. Jesse is even on the cover (shot that is used on the cover of “Preacher” #1), and the book is highly sought after.

There are also the firsts in annuals, like the first cameo of Gambit in “Uncanny X-Men” #14 (this actually came out after #266) with a first full appearance in “Uncanny X-Men” #266. The full appearance is more sought after than the annual in this case due to the release date, regardless of the story arc. He’s even on the cover of #266.

But here’s a strange one. The first appearance of Spider-Man’s black suit is toted as being in “Amazing-Spider-Man” #252 (May 1984) of the first series. But the suit, with a full explanation and description, appears 2 months earlier in “Marvel Age” #12 (March 1984) and is relatively cheap in comparison. “Amazing Spider-Man” #252 fetches in the same range as most firsts, including “Absolute Vertigo”. So is this the “cover” rule? Or is this a case of story and not just appearance?

In my opinion, it’s all about the storyline. Just seeing a character is not enough to create a high level of interest. The character must be part of the story, regardless of cover appearance. Of course, if the character is both on he cover and a part of the story, there will be plenty of interest!

Let us know what you think.  We’d love to hear your take!

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Line-Art Comics Staff

NOTE: There are hundreds of examples to first appearance examples, these are just what we settled on.