Bidders’ Spidey-Senses Tingling with Sale of Rare Spider-Man No. 1
Superheroes continue to have collectors trapped in their web of popularity. A beautifully clean copy of Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Marvel, 1963) – one of only five of its issue grade known to exist – set off a bidding war at Hake’s July 25-26 auction of pop culture memorabilia, climbing to a staggering final price of $520,380.
The comic, a CGC-graded 9.6 issue, had been displayed at Comic-Con in San Diego prior to the sale and attracted considerable interest from fans, a good indicator of what was to come.
“Collectors knew what made the book special. It came from the John B Goodrich collection, had desirable white pages, and was one of only three at that grade level to reach the auction marketplace in more than a decade,” said Hake’s president, Alex Winter. “Eight months prior to our sale, a CGC 9.6 Spider-Man #1, which had off-white as opposed to white pages, sold for $336,000. Everyone in the comic book world was aware that our July auction was a buying opportunity not to be missed, so the result did not surprise us. Now the winning bidder owns one of the world’s top copies of one of the most important books in the Marvel universe.”
Spidey’s origin is retold in the issue, which also features the work of two Silver Age stalwarts, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, who collaborated for the cover, with Ditko providing the story art.
The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Marvel, 1963)
Photo: Hake’s
Supervillain Sets World Record Price
Supervillain sets world record. While the Mego toy company is known for its superhero action figures, one of its villains stole the spotlight. An 8-inch action figure of Spider-Man’s antagonist Green Goblin recently sold for $76,700 at Hake’s Auctions, setting a record for any Mego toy. This figure is part of Mego’s World’s Greatest Super Heroes line, which began in 1972 with figures of four characters from DC Comics. The figures were 8 inches tall with posable bodies. The line quickly expanded to include more characters, including Marvel heroes. Marvel copyrighted the Green Goblin in 1975 and Mego issued the figure in 1977. Because it was soon discontinued, Mego Green Goblin figures are hard to find. The example Hake’s sold is still packaged in its blister card, making it even more desirable.
Comic Book Art Sells for $3M
Two original pieces of artwork from the comic book Secret Wars No. 8 with Spider-Man sold on Jan. 13, 2022, at Heritage Auctions for a combined $3.648 million. One of the original pages of artwork from the 1984 Marvel comic book, which tells the origin story of the Spider-Man’s black costume, sold for $3.36 million. Right before this record-setting price, artwork of the preceding page in the same comic book sold for $288,000.
Photo: Heritage Auctions, HA.com
1984 Spider-Man Comic Book Art Climbs to Record $3.648 Million
Spider-Man rules — both on the movie screen right now with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and in auction houses. Original artwork from two pages of the 1984 comic book Secret Wars No. 8 with Spider-Man sold on Jan. 13 at Heritage Auctions for a combined $3.648 million. For perspective of the web-slinger’s popularity, the movie “No Way Home” was made for $200 million and has brought in $1.633 billion so far in box office. The interior page artwork comes from the Marvel comic book that told the origin story of the Spider-Man’s black costume. One page with the iconic black costume sold for $3.36 million. Right before this record selling price, artwork of the preceding page in the same comic book sold for $288,000.
Photo: Heritage Auctions, HA.com
Shazaam! Comic Books, Artwork Getting Huge Prices
Rummage through your grandparent’s attic. And for the love of collecting, do not throw away any old comics and comic art you may find. National Comics Day is Sept. 25 and in recent years, vintage comic prices have been soaring at auctions. The genre is more than the traditional comic book. It has grown to include full-length books, or graphic novels. Maybe it is because since the pandemic, people have had more time to go through their old comic books and are renewing their interest in old hobbies. Or maybe they wanted to complete their collection and are buying. Movies and television shows with comic book superheroes and villains also have fed the collecting and selling frenzy.
Comic books have existed in America since the English printing of Swiss comic, The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck, in 1842, making it the first known American prototype comic book. Proto-comics began appearing in the early 20th century, with the first standard-sized comic being Funnies on Parade. The introduction of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman in 1938 turned comic books into a major industry.
American comic book history is divided into five eras: The Golden Age with superheroes and villains began in the 1930s; The Silver Age followed with the revival of the character of the Flash in 1956; in the early 1970s Marvel Comics introduced superheroes like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man; and the Bronze Age is less defined, but ran roughly from the early 1970s through the mid 1980s. This era has darker story lines and deals with social issues such as racism.
The Modern Age of Comics runs from the mid 1980s until now. This era is also referred to as the Dark Age of Comic Books due to the serious content.
In celebration of National Comics Day, here is a list of some recent sales (September 2021) at Heritage Auctions:
Jack Kirby’s Dr. Doom-struck cover art for 1969’s Fantastic Four No. 86 sold for $480,000 — the highest price ever paid at auction for an original work.
Spider-Man’s debut in Amazing Fantasy No. 15 sold for $3.6 million to become the world’s most valuable comic book. The sale broke the previous records for the first appearances of the granddaddies of all superheroes, Superman and Batman.
A Batman No. 1 brought $576,000, the highest price ever realized for that historic book in that grade.
A near mint copy of The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1 sold for $241,200.
Market Report — Comic Books
Comic books are hot collectibles, with those published between 1938 and 1979 being the most collectible. Many superheroes, including Batman and Superman, made their first appearances during that time in what are called “origin issues.” “Batman is always very collectible. He’s still the No. 1 seller even today. Early Supermans are also on the top,” […]