Dave Cockrum's famous cover art for X-Men #102, a classic slugfest between Colossus and Juggernaut, proved equal to its iconic status during Heritage Auction Galleries' Feb. 26-27 Signature Comics and Comic Art Auction when it brought $65,725, the most ever paid for a piece of post-1970 comic art at Heritage.
"This cover art is one of the most seminal from what is probably the most-loved X-Men story runs ever, The Phoenix Saga, from issues #101 to #107," said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auction Galleries. "The price that the winner was willing to pay to obtain a treasure like this shows how well-loved and important Cockrum’s representation of these characters is."
The late-February auction, which finished the weekend with a $3.8 million total, featured a deep selection of great X-Men comics and art, as well as classic Marvel art from Jack Kirby and a wide variety of superb early Superman comics. The lot that led the sale, however, was the Denver Pedigree issue #1 of Marvel Comics, which sold for an eye-popping $155,350, including Buyer's Premium. Minus Action Comics #1, and Detective Comics #27, this is probably the most important comic book on the planet. The whole of the history of Timely/Atlas/Marvel Comics sprang from this one issue.
Another highly anticipated lot of this auction was Wally Wood's original artwork for Superduperman, from Mad #4. Wood's classic parody was the anchor to this crucial issue, which saved Mad Magazine from the dustbin of pop culture history with its perfect mix of irreverence, satire and spoof. It was the first time that Mad had gotten its formula perfect, and a major moment in American comedy. It finished the auction at $43,318, with Buyer's Premium.
"Few comic artists are as sought-after as Wally Wood," said Jaster, "and his Superduperman represents him at the peak of his talent. Interestingly enough, it was the second-highest selling piece of Wally Wood art in the auction. His original cover art to Weird Science #21 brought more than $70,000!"
This auction is also unique in that six consignors to the event all realized more than $100,000 for their respective consignments, a fact that Jaster proudly points out.
"It shows that right now is both an excellent time to consign significant pieces to auction because the market is hungry for investments that will hold their value," he said, "and that right now is an excellent time to get into the comics market, because it's growing all the time and there are great examples to be had a good prices. It's currently the best of both worlds in a time where there are few safe investments."
To see more highlights, to view the full catalog of this auction, the prices realized, full descriptions and to download fully enlargeable color images, go online to the Feb. 26-27 Signature Comics and Comic Art Auction Catalog.
Prospective consignors and sellers of Comics or Comic Art are invited to www.ha.com/Sell, email Todd Hignite at ToddH@HA.com or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 1790. To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Client Services at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 1150, or visit www.ha.com/Catalog to order by email.
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