$1 bin pick up - Rust #1 Special Edition - first Spawn

As of this writing, Todd McFarlane's Spawn is at issue number 264, an amazing run for any title, no less one from the most successful Indie comic publisher in history.  Think about it.  This title has been in print since 1992.  For 24 years, dedicated fans have been filling nearly two long boxes worth of stories about a man who, after having been betrayed and murdered by his best friend, comes back to life in the form of a demon and battles all sorts of evil.  But all stories have a beginning, and for collectors, it is the first appearance that matters most.

I had read some time ago that interest was growing for Rust #1 because it had the first published image (no pun intended) of Spawn:  it was in the form of an advertisement.  The blog spawncomics.wordpress.com makes a very clear argument for it and all readers should take some time to review it.  Some collectors scoff at the idea that an ad should count as an appearance at all.  But I say that the market guides us on what collectors really want. 

There are two versions of Rust #1, and the market seems to gravitate towards the Special Limited Edition version.  With roughly about a 10,000 print run, each issue is also individually numbered.

My copies have pretty low numbers, but I have seen one on eBay numbered "004."

Collectors of all types love low indentification numbers.  When I think about it, it is silly:  why should a book that was fresh off the printing press be more valuable than its tenth, thirtieth, or thousandth sibling?  It is for the simple fact that the number "1" has a magical quality that signifies the first is above all, for no other reason that it is, well, the first.  Not the best.  Or most unique.  Just The First.

So my copies are close to "001."  Better than "8600," a copy that is also on sale on eBay, but not as good as the "004" on sale.  Still, it is nice to have my copies which I would value, conservatively, at around $25 each.  Not a bad rate of return.