On Saturday, November 22, 2208 Kerry Pae Auctioneers offered a unique selection of items from the estate of noted Golden Age comic book artist Fred Ray. The diverse offering of material from the Fred Ray estate included original artwork, cover art, watercolor and oil paintings, Superman and Batman sketches, 1940s comic cover proofs, pen and ink drawings from the World War II magazine Yank, Tomahawk comic book pages, and numerous other items.  

Fred Ray was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on February 4, 1920 and was a comic book artist and illustrator known best for his work on Superman. He is also known for his work on other DC Comics titles including Batman, Star Spangled Comics, Tomahawk, Detective Comics, World’s Best Comics #1, G.I. Combat, Our Fighting Forces, Our Army At War, and numerous others. He is noted for his redesign of the “S” symbol on Superman’s costume during the 1940s. 

Later in life, Ray worked on countless historical projects which included writing books on America history and he acted as a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution on Revolutionary War uniforms. He also published and illustrated books, and illustrated covers and interior art for magazines True Frontier and Historical Times. He passed away in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on January 23, 2001.

Highlights from the auction included:  

Action Comics #42 cover sketch by Fred Ray sold for $4,600