Page 21 - May 2020

Despite the Virus, Heritage Scores Impressive Total

An eclectic mix of original art by some of the most influential artists and Syndicate, The Shadow Cabinet, and others, and they did so forming a
major keys in superhero comics was offered on the first day of Heritage’s publishing alliance with DC Comics, which guaranteed them a shot at
Comics & Comic Art Auction. Their significance and prestige pushed the bigger audiences than they would have had on their own.
first day total to $5.1 million and underscored a three-day tally of Static, by the way, became Static Shock, and scored a well-received and
$9,099,710 for their April 30-May 3, 2020 event. fondly remembered animated series before Milestone came to an end with
While nothing proves that the Coronavirus and the resulting economic the near-implosion of the new comic book market in the mid-’90s.
conditions didn’t dampen that total, it certainly suggests that many collec- Like many comics from that period, the supply of back issues is
tors are still seeing compelling opportunities in these tumultuous times. plentiful, and the prices are generally low, but slowly folks are discovering
“The bidding was as deep and as active as we’ve ever seen in or rediscovering the adventures of these characters.
one of our Platinum Sessions,” said Todd Hignite, Vice Key issues and end-of-run issues are beginning to climb
President of Heritage. “Prices were strong across the in price, particularly in high grade. Studying and
board, and there were a handful of lots that nearly re-exploring their efforts has been some of my most fun
doubled our pre-auction estimates.” research in years.
Frank Frazetta’s The Serpent original painting for the This, in turn, led me to remember one of my
1967 paperback novel hammered for $300,000. The sale favorite almost-unknowns from that time, Nemesis
was doubly significant because Frazetta wouldn’t part with Comics’ Frank.
it while he was alive, according to Heritage Comics & In terms of tone and approach, this modern take on
Comic Art Director Joe Mannarino. Frankenstein actually would have fit in nicely with most
Bernie Wrightson’s front endpapers for Mary of Milestone’s output. There’s a good reason for that:
Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein realized $240,000. This Written by D.G. Chichester (Long Hot Summer)
is the highest price that Heritage has achieved for a piece of from a treatment by Craig Mitchell, penciled by Denys
Wrightson’s art. Cown (Hardware), inked by a variety of artists
On the Disney side, Carl Barks’ 1994 Surprise Party at including Mike Manley, J.J. Birch, and Jimmy
Memory Pond painting cleared $156,000. This piece was Palmiotti, and edited by Dwayne McDuffie (Static), it
specially done to celebrate Donald Duck’s 60th anniversary. was just about entirely produced by the folks who
Marvel original art and comic sales were led by John would create and define Milestone.
Romita Sr. and Mike Esposito’s Amazing Spider-Man #41 Only it wasn’t actually a Milestone project.
splash page of Spidey and the Rhino that snagged $180,000. The cover for Frank #1 from During the time family-friendly publisher Harvey
The web-spinner’s first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 Nemesis Comics (1993), a Comics (best known for Casper and Richie Rich) was
CGC 8.0 also grabbed $180,000. The cover for X-Men #55 short-lived imprint of family-friendly owned by publisher Jeffrey A. Montgomery, Harvey
by Barry Windsor-Smith, that features Havok pushed its way longtime comic book publisher Comics Entertainment published mainly reprints. In
to $132,000. Bill Everett’s complete 10-page story “Into the Harvey Comics. 1993, though, the company created two imprints,
Dimension of Death” from Strange Tales #152 conjured $78,000. Nemesis Comics and Ultracomics. In addition to Frank, they also pub-
DC sales were led by the Caped Crusader when Batman #1 CGC 1.5 lished Seaquest DSV (based on the TV series from Steven Spielberg) and
brought $78,000. Joining that Batman sale was The Dark Knight Returns Ultraman (based on the giant monster-fighting Japanese TV character).
#4 page 24 original art that closed at $66,000. Another of DC’s gritty titles Beginning with the striking cover on Frank #1, this clever moderni-
was also a top seller as Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen #10 page 10 original art zation rolls through its four issues at almost breakneck speed, but it still
of Nite Owl and Rorschach sold for $31,200. manages to weave a sophisticated, atmospheric crime comics take on Mary
Shelly’s classic novel and the many films it has inspired.
Staying at Home: A Time for Research and Re-Reading Chichester’s script and Cowan’s art are, as you’d probably expect if
The silver lining of the Corona virus-driven shutdown of the new you’re familiar with them, solid and really fitting for the material.
comics industry in the U.S. is that it’s driven a lot of us to our bookshelves, There were two formats for each issue. The standard format retailed for
back issue boxes, and storage areas. This horrible situation has actually been $1.75 each, while the more upscale format was $2.50 and included
a superb springboard for thinking about things that otherwise might cardstock covers. Both versions of each issue featured the same art, though
be forgotten. the monsters’ sunglasses were done as a reflective foil on the deluxe version
For my part, I’ve been doing a lot of reading of and research on of Frank #1, and the effect really worked.
Milestone Media’s revolutionary 1990s comics line. Formed by Dwayne An interesting note for veteran Frankenstein fans: The ads (which
McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Derick T. Dingle, and Michael Davis, appeared in Ultraman) for these series gave the copyright as Universal, but
Milestone was a concerted effort on the part of its founders to create a the comics themselves note only Nemesis Comics. The reason this is worth
superhero universe largely comprised of characters of color. noting is that the monster clearly has the Universal-
Up until that point, comics had certainly made strides over earlier inspired bolts on the sides of his neck, which originated
decades, but the effect was limited. Sure, there were characters such as Luke with the 1931 feature film.
Cage and The Falcon, but a significant number of black comic characters
had the word “black” as part of their name: Black Panther, Black
Lightning, Black Goliath, and so on. J.C. Vaughn is the Vice-President of Publishing for Gemstone
This was different. Milestone introduced Static, Hardware, Icon, Blood Publishing. Gemstone’s Amanda Sheriff also contributed to this piece.
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