Batman #386 Newsstand 95¢ Variant Value
From: The 2025 Newsstand CPV Price Guide for Canadian Price Variants (Type 1A) by Tim Bildhauser, Paul Clairmont, Greg Holland, Jon McClure, Salvatore Miceli, Jayden Mitchell, Benjamin Nobel, Conan Saunders, Doug Sulipa, and Angelo Virone [ introduction, table of contents, all titles, other price guide editions]
9.2 | Near Mint - | $144 |
9.0 | Very Fine / Near Mint | $96 |
8.0 | Very Fine | $77 |
6.0 | Fine | $54 |
4.0 | Very Good | $36 |
2.0 | Good | $18 |
Batman #386 95¢ Newsstand Cover Price Variant, DC, 8/1985, Published in the USA
Batman #386 95¢ Canadian Price Variant Issue Notes:
1st Appearance of Black Mask
#22 in this year's Top 100.
Bill notes: A CGC 9.8 CPV sold for $1,352 12/2020
Conan notes: Example past variant sales at MyComicShop: a raw 1.8 on 6/4/2020 for $23, a CGC 6.5 on 1/16/2020 for $43
Doug notes: Low Print = 75,303 Copies in Pub. Circ. Stmt; FIRST appearance of ROMAN SIONIS aka the BLACK MASK cover & story = Part-1 of 3-Parts;
CGC label note: Origin & 1st appearance of Black Mask (Roman Sionis). 95 cent cover price.
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Batman #386 value (95¢ Price Variant)
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As one of the top 100 most valuable variants in our guide this year, we rate 95¢ price variant copies of Batman #386 FIVE STARS as a collectible, and the hands-down preferable type to collect for the issue as compared to regular copies. In addition to everything the issue has going for it (as detailed in the issue notes in the page above), we note the price guide value movement since 2018. Regular copies in 9.2 have increased in value by $25 since 2018, or about +38% on a percentage basis. Meanwhile, CPV newsstand copies in 9.2 have increased in value by $19 since 2018, or about +15%. With a 95¢ variant NM- value of $144, Batman #386 is part of the proverbial cream of the CPV crop, with a value greater than approximately 98% of our guide's entire coverage universe.
Batman #386 Comic Book FAQ
What is the value of Batman #386?
I have a copy of Batman #386 and I want to know what this comic book is worth in different grades as a first printing?
✔️Accepted answer:
The answer depends on the type that you own. For Batman #386, DC published a direct edition type (exceptionally well preserved by collectors as direct edition comics were the type sold in comic shops), and two newsstand types which were sold to the general public on newsstands (a regular cover price version and the 95¢ price variant). If you own a price variant, lucky you, it is worth $144 in 9.2 (Near Mint Minus).
Suggested answer:
Check whether the cover of your copy of Batman #386 has a graphical logo or a bar code box. If it has a graphical logo, sorry to break it to you but you own a commonplace direct edition copy which is worth about $90 (still, that's not too shabby).
Suggested answer:
If your copy of Batman #386 has a bar code box on the cover, then you've got a newsstand copy! Is it the more-rare price variant? Now for the moment of excitement: is the cover price of your newsstand copy 95¢? If so, congratulations, you own the cover price variant!!
How rare is the Batman #386 95¢ cover price variant?
✔️Accepted answer:
As of the October 2023 CGC census, the price variant has census rarity of 1.8%, with 33 price variant copies on record versus 1780 regular copies.
What is Batman #386 worth in VF/NM condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
The direct edition (logo on cover) is worth about $60 in VF/NM whereas the 95¢ newsstand variants are worth $96.
Why are the Batman #386 newsstand cover price variants worth so much more than the direct edition copies?
✔️Accepted answer:
As collectibles, direct edition copies are already at a disadvantage compared to newsstand copies in the highest grades, because direct editions were extraordinarily well preserved as the distinct type sold in specialty comic shops. The comic shop owners ordered direct edition copies of Batman #386 at a discount to cover price, but on a non-returnable basis (the graphical logo was to tell non-returnable copies apart from their returnable newsstand counterparts). When their orders arrived, the comic shop staff handled the books with extreme care to preserve their condition, and then the comic book collectors who shopped there typically preserved their purchases in plastic bags with backing boards. By contrast, newsstand copies were treated as reading material with no staff training to handle the books with any semblance of care, and they were then sold to the general public; unsold copies were returned for credit and typically pulped/recycled forward. Only those newsstand copies of Batman #386 that were taken home and preserved by collectors would survive today in the highest grades. Among surviving newsstand copies of Batman #386, the market area that received the 95¢ cover price newsstand copies was a restricted area representing less than 10% the population of the total North American newsstand market. That's because the destination market for 95¢ copies of Batman #386 was Canadian newsstands — hence the name Canadian Price Variant as a short-hand for 95¢ Price Variant. All of this adds up to a market value for the 95¢ variant approximately 60% higher than the direct edition in Very Fine / Near Mint (9.0) condition, as of our 2025 CPV Price Guide Edition.
In VF condition, how much is Batman #386 worth?
✔️Accepted answer:
The direct edition version of Batman #386 is worth about $48 in Very Fine (8.0) whereas the 95¢ newsstand variants are worth $77.
What is the value of Batman #386 in Fine condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
In FN (6.0) shape, the direct edition version of Batman #386 is worth about $34 whereas the 95¢ newsstand variants are worth $54.
What is the approximate Batman #386 value in very good condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
Down in VG (4.0) Very Good condition, the direct edition version of Batman #386 is worth about $23 whereas the 95¢ newsstand variants are worth $36.
What is the Batman #386 price guide value in good condition?
✔️Accepted answer:
The price guide value way down in GD (2.0) Good condition for Batman #386 is about $11 for the direct edition version whereas the 95¢ newsstand variants are worth $18.
Has the Batman #386 95¢ variant from DC been a good investment?
✔️Accepted answer:
Batman #386 95¢ variant newsstand copies in 9.2 have increased in value by $19 since 2018, or about +15% in 8 years (from our 2018 guide edition to our 2025 guide edition).
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