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.
