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Where there’s controversy, there’s money to be made. If you’re looking for proof of that somewhat cynical truism, look no further than eBay, where it turns out that DC Comics’ cancellation of Red Hood on the day of its first issue release has created quite a lucrative aftermarket for the recalled issue.

As part of DC’s cancellation of the series, the publisher requested that store owners returned copies of the issue in exchange for credit towards their original purchase — while additionally crediting retailers for any issues ordered that had already been sold to readers. In effect, this system allowed retailers to be paid twice for their original Red Hood #1 orders… and, for that matter, to hold onto their original Red Hood #1 orders to sell them after the fact and still receive the publisher credit. ‘But surely,’ you’re thinking to yourself, ‘no retailer would do that kind of thing!’

Meanwhile, you can buy a bundle of 25 copies of Red Hood #1 on eBay at time of writing for the bargain price of… $2,000?!? Well, to be fair, $80 per copy actually is a bargain when compared with the multiple individual copies selling for around $250 from multiple retailers — some with free shipping, which might help with the fact that the original issue cost was just meant to be anywhere between $4.99 through $7.99, depending on the variant cover in question. The issue was released with seven variants, and some dealers are offering collections of all seven… for ‘just’ $615. (Another dealer is offering the same for $925, so it could be worse.)

Perhaps the most ambitious of the online sales of an issue that has, in theory, been recalled from legal sale, is a dealer offering the Jim Lee variant cover for the issue, signed by DC publisher Jim Lee at New York Comic Con 2025 with an observer present to validate the signature. The very notion that DC’s publisher would sign copies of a comic that DC has withdrawn from sale seems… well, let’s go with ‘optimistic,’ to say the least.

Anecdotally, it looks as if the cheapest an aftermarket copy of Red Hood #1 is going for online is around $9.99 plus shipping. But perhaps a better longterm deal might be tracking down copies of the Gotham Sampler created for Batman Day 2025 — which featured an extended excerpt from Red Hood #1, but was never officially released. Batman Day took place on September 20, ten days after DC pulled Red Hood #1 from sale. A digital version of the release replaced the Red Hood excerpt with one from Immortal Legend Batman #1, but the print edition was simply cancelled outright — even though copies had already been sent to retailers.

Of course, those are available on eBay right now, as well…

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.