Pieces Of Marvel Comics History Make Bank At Auction
It’s no secret that Marvel’s been making bank at the box office as of late, but the original comics that inspired the movies are drawing in quite a pretty penny as well. A few months ago, the first appearance of Iron Man, ‘Tales of Suspense’ #39, graded at CGC 9.6, went for $375,000.00, and before that ‘Journey Into Mystery’ #83, the first appearance of Thor went for $222,220.00. Not to let The Avengers have all the fun, it seems that The X-Men and Spider-Man are getting in on the action as well.
Yesterday, Bleeding Cool (via Comic Book Movie) is reporting that ‘The X-Men’ #1 from 1963 graded at an astounding CGC 9.8 sold for $492,937.50 at auction, making it the second highest price ever paid for a Silver Age comic book. Previously, a CGC 9.6 copy of the landmark Stan Lee/Jack Kirby book went for $200,000.00 in 2011 in a private sale. This book featuring the first appearances of Professor Xavier, Magneto, and the X-Men team consisting of Angel, Iceman, Beast, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl comes second in price to ‘Amazing Fantasy’ #15 (the first appearance of Spider-Man), which went for $1.1 million in March 2011.
Speaking of Spider-Man, at the same auction, The Hollywood Reporter tells us that the cover art to ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #328 from 1990 by Todd McFarlane sold for $675,250.00, breaking the record for original American comic art held by a page from ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ #3 from 1986 by Frank Miller, which went for $448,125.00. Earlier in the auction, another McFarlane piece, the original cover art for ‘Spider-Man’ #1 from 1990, sold for $358,500.00, making it the third highest price for a piece of American comic art.
While Marvel continues to break records in theaters, comics, and original artwork, DC holds the record for the highest price ever paid for a comic from any era with ‘Action Comics’ #1 CGC 9.00. The first appearance of Superman that once belonged to Nicolas Cage sold for $2.1 million in 2011.
