A CGC 9.0 copy of “Captain America No. 1,” a high point in the Merrimack Valley collection, a recently discovered trove of Golden Age treasures, hit $716,750, leading Heritage Auctions’ Sept. 24 to 26 Comic Books Signature Auction to a total of $8,425,785. Combined with the Sept. 25 to 27 Comic Art Signature Auction’s $9,748,344, the two auctions took in a combined total of $18,174,129 over four days.
Jerry Robinson’s original art for the cover for “Detective Comics No. 68” from 1942, which featured Two-Face’s first cover appearance and second appearance overall, led the Comic Art auction, realizing $475,000.
“The Merrimack Valley Collection is a wonderful discovery,” says Heritage Auctions Vice President Aaron White. “For an original-owner collection that spent the last 75 or 80 years in a cardboard box, the condition of the books was stunning. It was gratifying to see results prove that collectors appreciate top-condition examples of foundational Captain America and Batman issues.”
Original art from Frank Miller’s legendary run on Daredevil in the late 1970s and early ’80s prompted competition. Elektra’s first story appearance on Page 4 of No. 168 from 1981 was the second-highest priced lot of the Comic Art auction, selling for $450,000; the title page of the same issue, hand-colored by Steve Oliff shortly before his groundbreaking time on Akira, sold for $106,250. Page 35 of No. 181, depicting Daredevil’s rooftop showdown with Bullseye after the latter’s killing of Elektra, went for $325,000.
Jim Lee’s cover of 1992’s “X-Men” No. 6 proved to be a modern era success, selling for $437,500. In addition to its action-packed depiction of popular characters Wolverine, Sabretooth and Lee’s signature Psylocke, it had been six years since Heritage last offered a Lee Uncanny “X-Men” cover and nearly 20 years since Heritage’s last fully rendered cover from Lee’s “X-Men” relaunch. The cover art for “Action Comics” No. 22 from March 1940 by “Superman” co-creator Joe Shuster was an early Golden Age highlight of the Platinum Session, ultimately selling for $300,000.
Carl Barks’ 1974 oil painting “Pick and Shovel Laborer,” depicting Uncle Scrooge standing atop his fortune with the well-worn tools that earned it, made a small fortune of its own, picking up $275,000. Cataloged as Painting 21-74 and Barks’ 89th painting overall, the compact portrait appears on Page 311 of ”The Fine Art of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck.” Its second life as a limited-edition lithograph and inspiration for an elaborate porcelain figurine makes it one of Barks’ most recognizable Scrooge portraits.
Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman’s wraparound cover original art for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” No. 50, “City at War,” a full-color homage to the cover of TMNT No. 1, proved Turtle Power is as strong as ever with its $118,750 result. And in a terrific result for a final-session lot, Erik Larsen’s Page 3 story art for “Spider-Man” No. 20, featuring Deathlok, swung a $60,000 sale price.
Gary Larson’s art for the March 15, 1985, “The Far Side” panel showed socially insecure clowns can get results to rival those of just about any superhero. It realized $112,500, more than doubling the previous Heritage Auctions record of $51,600 for original “The Far Side” art.
The Merrimack Valley Collection provided many of the highlights of the Comic Books auction. The second-finest known copy of “Captain America” No. 3, graded a 9.4, realized $268,400. Along with its classic Red Skull/bondage cover by Alex Schomburg, the issue includes a text story by Stan Lee, his first work for Timely Comics. An 8.5 copy of “Captain America” No. 2 and a 9.0 copy of No. 5 both sold for $43,920 each.
Other significant treasures in the collection included the first nine issues of “Batman.” Its 2.5-graded copy of issue No. 1 realized $158,600, and its 9.0 copy of No. 9, one of three copies at that grade with only three higher, went for $103,700. Two other Batman issues from the collection rated a CGC 9.0: No. 7, which picked up $56,120, and No. 5, which sold for $39,040.
Outside of the Merrimack Valley Collection, four other lots achieved $100,000 or more. A CGC 8.5 issue of “Wonder Woman” No. 1, one of four at that grade with only two higher, realized $158,600. A CGC 2.5 copy of “Fantastic Comics” No. 3 and a CGC 9.8 copy of “The Avengers” No. 4, one of seven at that grade with none higher, each picked up $134,200. Rounding out the six-figure club was a 7.0 copy of “Amazing Fantasy” No. 15, the 1962 issue that introduced “Spider-Man” to the world.
In an exciting sign for the hobby, modern titles (1980 to the present) performed well in the auction.
One of just eight copies of “The Amazing Spider-Man” No. 252 to achieve a 9.9 from CGC, and just the fourth Heritage has been able to offer, realized $73,200. This 1984 issue was the first true introduction of Spidey’s black suit, which would take on a life of its own as Venom, and sports a Ron Frenz and Klaus Janson cover that pays homage to “Amazing Fantasy” No. 15. A 9.9 copy of 2003’s “The Walking Dead” No. 1, which spawned one of the most popular entertainment franchises of all time, walked away with $56,120.
“It’s exciting to see these elite-condition examples of modern keys get such outstanding results,” reported Heritage Auctions Vice President of Comics Rick Akers. “Serious collectors are eager to add modern titles to their collections along with Golden and Silver Age copies, which is a great sign of the hobby’s market strength.”
Results and images for all lots can be found at www.HA.com/7469 for the Comic Books auction and www.HA.com/7470 for the Comic Book Art auction.