To say HeritagesSept. 12 to 15 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auctionwas fantastic would be an understatement, as it was a near-total sell-out that realized $19,666,768 thanks to the nearly 6,000 bidders who participated worldwide. But its also the perfect word,fantastic, thanks in large part to the $2.04 million realized forone of only two copies of 1961sFantastic FourNo. 1, awarded a Near Mint+ 9.6 grade by Certified Guaranty Company, a new record for this historic first chapter in the Marvel Universe. In more than two decades, Heritage has never offered a higher graded copy of the firstFantastic Four. Collectors responded appropriately, as this issue opened live at $1.05 million on its way to becoming the second-most-valuable Silver Age comic behind only the CGC Near Mint+ 9.6 copy ofAmazing FantasyNo. 15 Heritage sold for $3.6 million in 2021. The previous auction record for Fantastic FourNo. 1 was $1.5 million for a copy graded Near Mint- 9.2 Heritage sold in 2022. The state of preservation of this copy is simply unbelievable, mentioned Barry Sandoval, Heritage Auctions vice president. Its one of the greatest single comic books we have ever handled, and the final auction price reflected that. But Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm werent the sole record-setters during the four-day events kickoff. John Buscemas original artwork adorning the first issue of 1988s Wolverine, the inaugural solo series for the X-Man called Logan, sparked the first bidding war of the Comic Art session to realize $600,000, a new auction record for the legendary artist. This landmark work, which hails from a John Buscema Family Collection, led a Marvel-ous assemblage of classic era-defining first appearances, covers and splash pages from the Silver to Modern Ages. In an event replete with centerpieces and masterpieces,Don Hecks original art for Page 8 from Tales of SuspenseNo. 39sparked a bidding war. This page chronicles Tony Starks first baby steps in that clunky Iron Man suit. It soared to $504,000, second only to the $552,000 realized at Heritage in April for the Tales of Suspensepage whose eight panels show Stark clad in the suit to face his first moment of reckoning. This auction also featuredthe earliest Frank Miller cover Heritage had ever offered, Captain AmericaNo. 241, featuring the first meeting of Cap and the Punisher. Not only is this one of Frank Castles earliest appearances outside of The Amazing Spider-Man, in which the Marine-turned-vigilante debuted in 1974, but this was Millers first shot at the Punisher, who would become a regular during Millers celebrated stint on Daredevil. It opened live bidding at $77,500 and finished at $228,000. Speaking of Spider-Man,an iconic Steve Ditko original page from 1966s The Amazing Spider-ManNo. 32sparked another bidding war, and rightly so. It opened live bidding at $97,500 and sold for $204,000. One lot later, another Ditko masterpiece was the Doctor Strange pin-up from 1967sMarvel Collectors Item ClassicsNo. 10, which brought$216,000. Thats the same price realized forHerb Trimpes cover for The Incredible HulkNo. 123, featuring The Leader wielding his Murder Module. The only Trimpe original that has sold for more is theHulkNo. 180 page that features the first appearance of Wolverine. A historic DC Comics cover, which features Lois Lanes transformation into a Black woman for 24 hours, likewise made a little more news in this auction. One of the most (in)famous covers in comic-book history was, no surprise, one of the most coveted classics among collectors, asCurt Swan and Murphy Andersons cover ofSupermans girlfriend, Lois LaneNo. 106, realized $144,000. Pre-Code horror, particularly from the collection of the late collector, historian, and author Roger Hill, continues to scare up significant prices.Lee Elias original cover art of 1954s Tomb of TerrorNo. 15is an explosive work. A woman reels in horror as a mans face explodes. Collectors kept an eye on this prize, propelling it to a $300,000 finish. Wally Woods original artwork for the cover of 1951s Tales from the CryptNo. 26, an EC Comics classic likewise exhumed from Hills vaunted collection, scared up a final price of $126,000. There were other fantastic record-setting finishes for comic books, among thema stunning copy of BatmanNo. 3, which contains the first appearance of Catwoman in costume. It opened live bidding at $18,500 and realized $66,000, a record for this issue in any grade. And in the same Bat-auction, there was another new Bat-record. This sale featuredaCGC Near-Mint 9.2 copy of Detective ComicsNo. 233, featuring the first appearance of Batwoman, which is the highest graded on CGCs census. Its also now most valuable, having realized $50,400. For additional information, visit www.HA.com.