Action Comics #521 (1981)

Vixen — real name Mari Jiwe McCabe — was created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Bob Oksner. Originally conceived in 1978 as the lead of her own ongoing series, which would have made her the first Black woman to headline a DC title, the book was cancelled before publication as a casualty of the DC Implosion. Her completed debut story was archived in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, a copyright-only print run of 35 copies distributed exclusively to DC staff.

Her public debut finally arrived in Action Comics #521, cover-dated July 1981. The story — “The Deadly Rampage of the Lady Fox,” written by Conway with art by Curt Swan — introduces Mari working alongside Superman to stop poachers in Africa. The Tantu Totem, her mythological heirloom rooted in Anansi the Spider folklore, grants her the ability to channel the attributes of any animal in the kingdom. She’s one of the earliest Black superheroes created in comics and is considered by DC to be among the founding figures of the character’s Bronze Age era.

After her debut, Vixen made a handful of solo appearances before Aquaman’s reorganization of the Justice League brought her onto the Detroit-era JLA roster. She’s been a DC mainstay ever since — a member of multiple Justice League incarnations and the Suicide Squad, and the subject of animated appearances across Justice League Unlimited, the Arrowverse, and her own CW Seed animated series.

Collector Value — Action Comics #521

This is an accessible Bronze Age key. Raw copies in mid-grade (FN to VF range) regularly sell on eBay in the $15–$40 range. Graded copies tell a different story:
A CGC 9.6 (NM+) sold at Heritage Auctions in October 2023 for $111.
The record price at Heritage for this issue is $252, set by a CBCS 9.8 (NM/MT) copy in October 2023.

Given that the book hasn’t had a major media catalyst recently (no announced film or prestige TV series), values are stable but not spiking. It’s still a legitimate key — first appearance of one of DC’s most recognizable Black heroines — and the kind of book worth picking up in high grade before her profile rises again.

A Note on Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 (1978)

Collectors should know that Vixen’s original debut story predates Action Comics #521 by three years. When the DC Implosion killed her planned ongoing series, the completed story was preserved in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 — a xeroxed, stapled publication produced in DC’s copy room solely to protect copyright. Of the 35 copies made, 34 went to the creators involved, with the 35th going to Overstreet Price Guide publisher Robert Overstreet “to show the world it actually happened.”

These volumes almost never come to market. The most concrete sales data available is a Heritage Auctions result from April 2022, where both Cancelled Comic Cavalcade volumes 1 and 2 sold together as a set in average FN condition for $7,800. Individual issue sales are effectively undocumented. This is less a collectible in the traditional sense and more a historical artifact — one of the rarest items DC has ever produced.

References

Conway, Gerry (w), Swan, Curt (p), Chiaramonte, Frank (i). “The Deadly Rampage of the Lady Fox.” Action Comics #521. DC Comics, July 1981.

“Vixen.” DC Comics Official Character Page. dc.com/characters/vixen.

“Vixen (character).” Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vixen_(character).

“Mari McCabe (New Earth).” DC Database. dc.fandom.com/wiki/Mari_McCabe_(New_Earth).

“Cancelled Comic Cavalcade.” DC Database. dc.fandom.com/wiki/Cancelled_Comic_Cavalcade_Vol_1.

“Cancelled Comic Cavalcade.” Comic Collector Live. comiccollectorlive.com.

“Action Comics #521.” Heritage Auctions Comics Index. comics.ha.com.

“Cancelled Comic Cavalcade Volumes 1 and 2.” Heritage Auctions. comics.ha.com. Sold April 10, 2022.

“Action Comics #521 Value.” GoCollect. gocollect.com/comic/action-comics-521.

“Vixen (Mari McCabe) Chronology.” DCU Guide. dcuguide.com/Vixen_(Mari_McCabe)_Chronology.