If you had $20,000 to spend on Star Wars memorabilia in 1990, you had a choice: a high-grade copy of Star Wars #1 (1977) or a sealed Boba Fett with rocket. Thirty-five years later, the figure has consistently outperformed the comic.
The numbers
Star Wars #1 in CGC 9.8 sells for $15,000–$25,000 depending on the print run (35¢ vs. $1 cover price variants). A sealed 1979 Boba Fett with the rocket firing mechanism — the rarest of the Kenner releases — sells for $25,000–$40,000.
The figure’s annualized return has been roughly 12% over 35 years. The comic’s has been closer to 8%.
Why figures win
Production runs were smaller. Marvel printed millions of Star Wars #1. Kenner produced maybe 100,000 of each character in the first wave. The scarcity is built into the supply chain.
Survivorship is lower. Comics can be stored flat in a long box. Figures are three-dimensional — they take damage during display, get played with as toys, and degrade faster in their packaging. A mint-on-card 1979 Boba Fett is rarer than a mint copy of Star Wars #1.
The toy aisle was the actual battlefield. Most kids bought comics, looked at them, and put them away. Kids bought action figures, took them out of the package, and played with them. The destruction rate on the figures was catastrophic. Anything that survived in the package survived against the odds.
The variant game
Both markets have variants, but figure variants are less documented and more expensive when found:
- Vin Scoggins-stamped Star Wars figures (early production)
- Double-telescoping lightsaber Luke Skywalker
- Yak Face (last figure in the original Kenner run, famously unreleased in many markets)
- Poch Boba Fett (unpainted prototype, extremely rare)
These variants are typically 2–10x the standard figure’s value.
The lesson
If you’re building a Star Wars collection on a long horizon, lean figures. The comic market has matured and the upside is mostly behind us. The figure market is still finding new grails.