Page 48 - joa 2-2020

2019 in Hindsight: A Year of Pop Culture

ooking back, 2019 may go down as a truly epic year for comic books, ComicConnect sold two copies of Action Comics #1, featuring
original comic art, and pop culture collecting in general. Not only Superman’s introduction. A CGC 9.4 R (Restored) went for $252,000 and
Ldid we see, as mentioned last month in this space, a CGC-certified a CGC 8.5 R reached $314,002.
9.4 copy of Marvel Comics #1 (the highest-graded known copy,
Windy City pedigree) sell for $1.26 million at Heritage Auctions, we also Star Wars & Genre-Related
witnessed Profiles in History close Bernie Wrightson’s original wrap- Star Wars toys continued to bring in some astonishing prices at Hake’s,
around cover art for Marvel Comics Frankenstein illustrated edition go for who sold a Boba Fett J-slot rocket-firing prototype for $185,850, setting a
$1.2 million. new world record. Hake’s also sold a Ben Kenobi double-telescoping
While by no means a comprehensive list, take a read of some of the 12-back figure AFA 70 for $64,900, a Darth Vader double-telescoping
standouts in original art and comic books for starters: 12-back figure AFA 75+ for $62,823, and a Meccano Star Wars Jawa
Spider-Man achieved some impressive sales when Todd McFarlane’s (vinyl cape) 12-back AFA 80+ for $32,450.
Spider-Man #4 cover snagged $136,050 at ComicLink and Steve A Star Wars #3 original comic page by Howard Chaykin went for
Ditko’s The Amazing Spider-Man #37 page 8 grabbed $90,000 at Profiles $33,748 at Hake’s, which was likely a record for a Star Wars page.
in History. Profiles in History hosted Hollywood memorabilia auctions and sold
The character’s success carried over into comic books themselves as Darth Vader’s helmet, face mask, and chest armor from The Empire Strikes
Spider-Man’s introduction in Amazing Fantasy #15 had a CGC 3.0 go for Back for $300,000. The Jupiter 2
$16,954 at Hake’s and a CGC 9.2 hammered for miniature spaceship from Lost in Space
$598,000, a record for the grade, sold for $216,000 and the Zuni
at ComicConnect. Hunter puppet from Trilogy of Terror
Batman likewise tallied signifi- grabbed $204,000. The Shakespeare
cant numbers, including when bust from the 1966 Batman show hit
ComicLink sold 2019’s Detective $192,000 and Lynda Carter’s signa-
Comics #1000 variant original ture costume from Wonder Woman
cover by Frank Miller for $29,750. lassoed $132,000.
Heritage sold Neal Adams’ Batman Prop Store had an impressive
#251 original cover art for “The sale of movie props and costumes,
Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!” story led by Ralph McQuarrie hand-
for $600,000. painted Darth Vader and Death Star
As with Spider-Man, Batman’s illustration art for $213,675, a
popularity was by no means limited Stormtrooper helmet from A New
to original art. Comics were led by Hope rose to $198,412, and the ax
ComicConnect’s sale of Batman #1 Jack Nicholson used in The Shining
CGC 8.0 for $498,000, Heritage’s #1 sold for $213,675.
CGC 5.5 sale for $210,000, and Movie Posters & Video Games
Hake’s sale of Batman #1 and #2 eMoviePoster sold a Master
bound comic volume for $22,420. Bernie Wrightson’s cover for his illustrated version of Mystery chapter 3 one-sheet for
Across a wider spectrum, the cover Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, published by Marvel Comics $23,956 and a chapter 9 one-sheet
of Thor #157 hammered for $71,000 in 1983, sold for $1.2 million in 2019 at Profiles in History. for $28,500, King Kong French
at ComicConnect and Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta’s The Mighty Thor one-panel for $24,500, La Dolce Vita Italian two-panel for $19,388, War
#139 complete 16-page story “To Die Like a God” smashed its way to of the Worlds half-sheet for $17,100, Monkey Business window card for
$90,000 at Profiles in History. $16,075, and a Star Wars trilogy one-sheet for $9,588. Heritage sold a
Hake’s had two major Marvel team book sales, including Dave
Cockrum’s title splash page original art for X-Men Vol. 1 #95 that reached Wolf Man insert for $96,000, The Wizard of Oz style “A” half-sheet for
$108,000, and Dracula jumbo lobby card for $192,000. Profiles in History
$75,673 and New Mutants #98 original art page by Rob Liefeld that went sold Robert McCall’s original poster concept art from 2001: A Space
for $40,382. Odyssey for $132,000.
ComicConnect had four major anthology sales, beginning with House
The video game collecting market saw significant growth in 2019 with
of Secrets #92 page 9 for $66,500 and page 10 for $72,222. They also sold sales led by Heritage. They sold a Mega Man (“Dr. Wright” first release)
the cover of Marvel Premiere #17 for $24,833. ComicLink also saw success WATA 9.4 A+ sealed game from the Carolina collection for $75,000,
with anthologies when Michael Kaluta’s cover for Epic Illustrated #4 Donkey Kong 3 (variant sealed hang tab) WATA 9.2 “A” for $28,800, and
clinched $64,000. Nintendo World Championships WATA 5.5 for $26,400.
In comics themselves, a CGC-certified 9.4 copy of Captain America
Comics #1 (San Francisco pedigree) flirted with the million-dollar mark
and closed $915,000 at Heritage. A CGC 7.0 achieved $243,000 at J.C. Vaughn is Vice-President of Gemstone Publishing.
ComicConnect and a CGC 6.0 snagged $175,000 at ComicLink. Gemstone’s Amanda Sheriff contributed to this column..

46 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles