AMC’s The Walking Dead is known for smashing basic cable records, but the comic book that inspired the series continues to earn its own bragging rights too.
A copy of The Walking Dead No. 1 sold on eBay Wednesday for $10,100, an unusually large sum for a comic book published in the 21st century. The copy earned a 9.9 out of 10 mint rating from CGC, the benchmark comic's appraisal service.
“This is an investment as The Walking Dead is now a permanent part of our pop culture and continues to grow in popularity,” touts the comic’s eBay description from the seller, FlyersComics.
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The seller could be right about the “investment” part. A 9.9 copy of The Walking Dead No. 1 sold for $7,000 in March. A year earlier, an identically graded copy went for what now seems like bargain, just $2,500.
The zombie series from Image Comics debuted to low sales in October 2003, with reportedly just 7,300 copies printed, a small number that could help account for its high value today. But the series has since become a phenomenon. In July, its 100th issue sold 375,000 copies in its first day, making it the best-selling comic book issue of the century.
The Walking Dead was created by writer Robert Kirkman (an executive producer of the AMC series) and artist Tony Moore, who was replaced by Charlie Adlard after issue six. The series, printed in stark black and white, released its 104th issue Wednesday.
