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Dallas, Texas (Jan. 17, 2022) — The comic book and comic art auction heard ’round the world ended Sunday, and it was a tale to astonish.
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More than 4,900 bidders from around the world bought every single one of the 1,333 lots offered in the event — every book, every work of original art, every offering of whiz-bang memorabilia (including a 1946 Captain Marvel doll). As a result, Heritage Auctions’ Jan. 13-16 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction realized $23,760,335, ranking it among the most successful comic auctions ever held.
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“I never thought I’d see the day where a comic book auction would end with five different consignors receiving seven-figure checks,” says Heritage Auctions Vice President Barry Sandoval. “And not only that, 24 more will be receiving at least $100,000. Some of our consignors had acquired these as savvy investments, but most picked them up over the years simply because they loved the material. And what they brought to Heritage sparked the most competitive bidding I’ve ever seen in a comics auction.”
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The auction certainly began with a bang, as Thursday’s first session resulted in a sale that continued to make global headlines days later: Page 25 from 1984’s Secret Wars No. 8, which tells the origin story of Spider-Man’s now-iconic black costume, sold for $3,360,000. Stories about the record-setting sale of Mike Zeck’s original comic book artwork ran on CNN and the BBC and appeared in Rolling Stone and The Washington Postand countless other outlets.
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Thursday, too, saw another news-making sale when one of the few surviving copies of Action Comics No. 1 sold for $3,180,000, becoming the most expensive copy of the historic title ever sold by an auction house. The CGC Fine 6.0 copy of Superman’s debut was known as the “Rocket Copy” of Superman’s 1938 first flight, given the moniker because of the red spaceship stamped on its cover by its first — and, until Thursday, only — owner.
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In that same session, a CGC Very Good+ 4.5 copy of Detective Comics No. 27, featuring the debut of Batman, sold for $1,140,000. Joe Mannarino, Heritage Auctions’ New York Director of Comics & Comic Art, says this copy “miraculously survived,” after it was almost discarded decades after its original purchase. The copy, kept between two hard-cover books to keep its shape, tumbled out of its hiding place on its way to the trash.
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And, an unrestored copy of Marvel Comics No. 1 from 1939, graded CGC Very Good 4.5, sold for $360,000. That’s the highest price ever paid at Heritage Auctions for that historic book — the first to feature the Human Torch, the one that told the Sub-Mariner’s origin story — in that grade.
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Indeed, time and again throughout the four-day event, classic titles sold for their highest-ever prices, among them an issue of More Fun Comics No. 73. This hard-to-find 1941 DC title, featuring the debut and origin of Aquaman and the first appearances of the Green Arrow and sidekick Speedy, sold for $192,000; the copy was graded CGC Fine+ 6.5. Just last year, Heritage sold a copy with a slightly higher grade (CGC Very Fine- 7.5) for $111,000.
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That happened throughout the four-day event, on lots large and larger. An incredible cover for The Incredible Hulk No. 207, from Cockrum and John Romita Sr. and featuring among its guest stars Doctor Strange, opened live bidding at $38,000. But a bidding war pushed the final price to $108,000. And Romita and Mike Esposito’s classic throwback cover to Avengers No. 117, pitting Captain America against the Sub-Mariner, opened live bidding at $52,000, only to battle its way to a $192,000 finish.
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Not to be outdone, Jack Kirby’s original art for 1976’s Marvel Treasury Special Featuring Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles cover sold for $264,000 in this event. Because it was King Kirby and Captain America, and in the immortal words of Stan Lee: ‘Nuff said!
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Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.
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