Last week on Thursday, May 19, 2016, Russ Cochran Comic Art Auction made an impressive EC comics sale. Cochran sold a Tales from the Crypt #41 cover for over $100,000, including buyer’s premium.
This isn’t the first time Cochran sold the cover. He sold the piece to the original buyer 40 years ago for $800. Thursday the cover sold for $84,444 plus the buyer’s premium for a total price of $101,332, one hundred times the original price. Cochran shared that the seller has more EC covers and Cochran will be selling them in the future.
Cochran is the publisher of The Complete EC Library, which includes 66 hardcover books. William M. Gaines, owner of the original artwork, chose Cochran to sell the originals in a series of auctions that lasted for several years.
The EC art that sold for hundreds of dollars in the 1970s now sells for tens of thousands. Heritage recently sold Jack Davis’ Tales from the Crypt #40 original cover art for $71,700. One EC cover realized more than $300,000 and complete stories of six to eight pages can sell for up to $50,000, according to Cochran.
Cochran will continue selling more art like this in future auctions at russcochran.com. He is seeking art consignments now for the June and July auctions.