Heritage Auctions Weekly Comics Auction Breaks Record At $621,231
Highlights Include Amazing Fantasy #15, Frank Frazetta Tribute Painting
February 19, 2021
Heritage Auctions set a new world record for the largest weekly comics auction ever held when its Sunday and Monday Comics, Animation, Video Games and Art Weekly Online Auction, which closed Feb. 1 on HA.com, amassed $621,231 in sales. The two-day event drew 3,123 bidders, 537 of whom won one or more of the 1,166 lots. The total smashed the previous record for a weekly auction, when Heritages weekly total reached $573,095 in its March 3, 2019, Sunday Internet Comics, Animation and Art Auction. Our weekly sales have grown incredibly over the last 20 years, according to Heritage Auctions senior vice president Ed Jaster. The market for vintage comics and comic art is on a run of nearly 10 years of escalating values, animation art is at a new level, and new categories like video games and Pokmon cards are on a trajectory to become stand-alone categories for us. Not so long ago, we were very pleased with a $100,000 sale, and now weve crossed $600,000 in sales for a single week. Considering how popular comic book characters have become throughout the world in recent years, most mid-priced comics and comic art pieces still seem quite reasonably priced to me, with plenty of room for further growth. A staple in most serious collections, Amazing Fantasy #15 (Marvel, 1962), CGC GD 1.8 cream to off white pages, was the auctions top lot after it climbed to $16,800. The top-ranked issue on Overstreets list of Top 50 Silver Age Comics, the issue features the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man, as well as the first appearances of key supporting characters like Uncle Ben and Aunt May. The sale also drew collectors of in-demand original art. Sanjulian (Manuel Perez Clemente) Death Dealer painting Frank Frazetta tribute original art (2020) generated nearly two dozen bids before selling for $9,000. This vibrant oil-on-canvas by Sanjulian, a noted Spanish painter and cover artist, is a tribute to Frazettas iconic Death Dealer character, ready to strike. Another issue in high demand was Journey Into Mystery #83 (Marvel, 1962), CGC VG 4.0 white pages, which prompted nearly 40 bids before finding a new home at $8,100. The No. 6 issue on Overstreets Top 50 Silver Age Comics list, with a cover by Jack Kirby and art by Kirby and Steve Ditko, includes the origin and first appearance of Thor. Other top lots in the sale included X-Men #12 (Marvel 1965), CGC NM 9.2 white pages, selling for $6,900, and The Incredible Hulk #181 (Marvel, 1974), CGC VF+ 8.5 off-white to white pages, $5,760. Tales of Suspense #39 (Marvel, 1963), CGC GD+ 2.5 Cream to off-white pages, went for $5,520, and The Avengers #55 (Marvel, 1968), CGC NM/MT 9.8 white pages, realized $5,040. For additional information on these weekly sales, visit www.HA.com.
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