Approximate
Condition Profile
TOPPS COMICS · 1/97 · NEWSSTAND
UNIT ECA-010408
XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS – BLOOD LINES #1
J. Scott Campbell cover art on a Topps Xena: Warrior Princess TV tie-in
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topps Comics | 1997 | Modern | Newsstand | — | AVAILABLE |
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases, tears, or color breaks in this photo. Slight edge softness is visible at the lower right corner tip, and there is minor reflective glare across the mummy figure that could be masking small surface marks. The book is in a protective sleeve, and interior pages and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $2 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $4 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $55 |
// Archive commentary
Xena: Warrior Princess – Blood Lines #1 was one of several comic series Topps Comics produced to capitalize on the popularity of the syndicated Xena: Warrior Princess television show in the late 1990s. The interior art was handled by Joyce Chin and Amanda Conner on pencils with inks by Andy Lanning and Jimmy Palmiotti, while the cover was drawn by J. Scott Campbell, then rising to prominence through his work on titles like Gen13 and later Danger Girl. The issue features the show's core cast of Xena, Gabrielle, Hercules, Iolaus, and Salmoneus, placing it firmly within the crossover-friendly mythological adventure format the TV franchise was built on.
As a licensed tie-in comic rather than a mainstream superhero title, Blood Lines #1 never generated first-appearance or origin-story significance of its own; its characters and concepts originate with the television series, not the comic. Collector interest in the issue today centers almost entirely on the Campbell cover rather than on any narrative or publishing milestone, and even that interest is modest relative to Campbell's more sought-after superhero and independent work from the same era. The book circulated in reasonable numbers during the height of Xena's popularity and has not developed a scarcity narrative in the secondary market.
This is a book most often picked up by Xena fans completing a run, Topps Comics completists, or J. Scott Campbell cover collectors rounding out his 1990s bibliography, rather than by speculative investors. Raw copies in any condition trade near cover price and are easy to source. High-grade certified copies see a modest premium driven by the cover art rather than the story content, but the title does not command the kind of sustained demand associated with genuine key issues, and pricing across grades should be expected to stay close to the assigned brackets rather than trend upward.
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-010408 | ~9.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
| ECA-010410 | ~9.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
INQUIRE_ABOUT_THIS_UNIT
Institutional buyers, auction houses, and private collectors — direct line to the archive.
