Hakes March 25 and 26 auction of rarities from across todays most popular collecting categories rocketed to a lofty $2.2 million, with many new world records set along the way. Prior to the sale, Hakes president, Alex Winter, had predicted the Star Wars original comic art would reach a new level in the marketplace. It did exactly that. In the comic book art category was Howard Chaykins (b. 1950) original pen-and-ink page (Page 16) from Star Wars #1, the first of six issues in a series published by Marvel in July 1977 as a print adaptation of the film Star Wars: A New Hope. The pages seven panels represented two pivotal scenes from the film, with Darth Vader appearing in four of them, and an immediately-recognizable vehicle, the Jawas Sand-Crawler, in another. Significantly, the comic books text closely paralleled the movies dialogue. Undeniably one of the most important examples of Star Wars art from any era or publisher to reach the public marketplace, the Chaykin page made its auction debut with an open estimate and starting bid of $10,000. Following a bidding battle royale, it closed at $80,475, a record price for any Star Wars comic book story page original art. Intergalactic villain Darth Vader may have landed in impressive high-five-figure territory at the auction, but The Force was dominant and scuttled The Dark Sides attempt to claim top-lot honors. It was Luke Skywalker to the rescue in the form of a Star Wars (1978) 12 Back-A AFA 85 NM+ Double-Telescoping (DT) Lightsaber action figure that triumphed over Vader, as well as all other items in the 1,449-lot sale. The 3.75-inch figure was encapsulated in an AFA archival case on a blister card that, importantly, lacked a SKU number on its footer. At the time of cataloging, AFAs Population Report indicated there were only three known examples of this iconic figure on a 12 Back-A card without the SKU on the footer in an AFA 85 NM+ grade. It was only the second carded Luke DT figure in its grade ever to be auctioned by Hakes and the first 12 Back-A example without a SKU on the footer to be offered by them in any grade. It was cataloged with a $35,000-$50,000 estimate and went for $84,370, a world auction record for a figure of its particular type in its high grade. The enduring appeal of The Incredible Hulk delivered bidders galore to the auction, in particular for Neal Adams (1941-2022) original mixed-media artwork for the box lid of Auroras 1966 Hulk model kit. An early example of Adams work for Marvel, the color artwork depicts the musclebound superhero standing amid twisted wreckage and two smoking craters. It sold for $32,305 against an estimate of $20,000-$35,000. A unique Amazing Spider-Man #667 retailer incentive variant comic book, published by Marvel in October 2011, featured Gabriele DellOtto cover art and was documented as 1/1 in the CGC Population Census. The variant was offered only as an optional purchase to retailers who ordered 100 or more copies of the standard comic. The auction examples cover was signed in bold in 2012 at two separate comic industry events, by story author Dan Slott and interior-page artist Humberto Ramos. Of the approximately 200 copies of this variant cover believed to be in circulation, it was the only one of nine signed examples in the CGC Census to be autographed by both Slott and Ramos. Graded CGC JSA Authentic Autograph 9.8 NM/Mint, it sold at the upper end of its estimate range for $16,875. Hakes was founded in 1967 as a trusted authority on American political memorabilia and has retained that reputation ever since. Some of the most important campaign souvenirs in our nations history have passed through Hakes doors, and that includes an outstanding molded antique stoneware bank. Made around 1840, it was designed as a log cabin with a large hard-cider barrel at its top to promote the candidacy of Hard Cider Boys William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. Possibly the earliest of all known political banks, it was formerly in the collection of Rex and Patti Stark, who acquired it from Edmund B Sullivan, professor and curator at the Hartford University Museum. Making its first-ever auction appearance, it conveyed to its new owner for $53,970 against an estimate of $10,000-$20,000. With a coolness factor that was off the charts, a circa-1966 pressed-steel comic book vending machine was finished in pop colors with glass panels for viewing and choosing from a selection of 10 different comic books. Its levers were designed to accept a dime and two pennies, the cost of each 12 cent comic. Made by Comic Vend Inc., this colorful survivor of the Silver Age of comic book production was bid to $10,620 against an estimate of $2,000-$5,000. For further information, call 866-404-9800 (toll-free) or 717-434-1600 or email hakes@hakes.com. All images courtesy of Hakes Auctions.