A copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.4 featuring the first appearance of Spider-Man is expected to sell for over $400,000 at Heritage. The high grade comic will anchor Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction on February 18-20, 2016 in Dallas, TX.
“We think this comic has the potential to realize the highest price ever paid at public auction for a Spider-Man comic book,” said Lon Allen, Managing Director of the Comics Department at Heritage. “It could soar well past our estimate.”
The comic’s owner, Walter Yakaboski, bought the book in 1980. A comic book collector, he was able to get Amazing Fantasy #15 along with key early Marvel comics for $10,000 – an impressive amount at that time period. He estimates that the portion of that $10,000 that went toward Spider-Man’s first appearance was about $1,200.
“Whoever buys this comic will be joining an elite club,” said Allen. “There are only a handful of these comics in this condition that exist. We expect the top collectors will be watching this auction closely.”
From the same collection, Heritage is selling a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #1 CGC 9.4 which they anticipate will reach $130,000.
On the comic art side, the top lot is John Romita Sr.’s Amazing Spider-Man #62 original cover art featuring a great image of Spider-Man fighting Inhuman Medusa. This is a great opportunity to buy this piece, given upcoming appearances in TV and film projects.
“This cover is in the larger ‘twice-up’ size that collectors covet,” said Todd Hignite, Vice President at Heritage. “It’s fresh-to-the-market too. The consignor bought a handful of pieces of comic art in the 1980s and put them away as he focused on collecting other things. He’ll have a tidy return on investment to say the least.”
Another piece of original comic art that will lead the auction is the Jack Kirby and Bill Everett original cover to Thor #176. It is one of just four Thor covers produced by Kirby and Everett.
Other highlights in the auction include The Avengers #1 CGC 9.4, Superman #1 CGC 2.0, Wally Wood Daredevil #9 cover original art, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito Amazing Spider-Man #179 Green Goblin cover original art, Michael Golden Marvel Fanfare #1 Spider-Man and the Angel cover original art, and Curt Swan and George Klein Superman #188 cover original art.
