This is the last weekend to bid in the comic book session of the strong ComicLink Spring Featured Auction with the first lots closing this coming Tuesday night, May 30, 2017, starting at 8 PM ET (5 PM PT). Over 1,350 comic book lots end over three evenings – Tuesday through Thursday, May 30 to June 1. The following week, close to 350 premium-quality original art lots will close on Tuesday, June 6.
The Featured Auction is packed with highlights. Below is a small sample of some of the major standouts within the auction.
Exceptional Silver Age and early Bronze keys include Incredible Hulk #1 (first Hulk) CGC 9.0 (scarce in grade), Amazing Fantasy #15 (first Spider-Man) CGC 8.0 CVA Exceptional, Fantastic Four #1 CGC 9.0 Fantucchio pedigree and #12 CGC 9.6, X-Men #1 (first X-Men and Magneto) CGC 9.0, Journey Into Mystery #83 (first Thor) CGC 9.0, Tales to Astonish #44 (first Wasp) CBCS 9.4, Action Comics #252 (first Supergirl) in CGC 8.5 CVA Exceptional, and almost the entire Silver Age Amazing Spider-Man run in high grade. There are also many high grade early issues of Avengers, X-Men, and other popular titles. There are also many extremely high grade rarities within this auction from the 1930s to the present day – especially ones published by Marvel during the heralded Silver Age of comics.
Virtually every major Bronze Age key in high grade is represented in the auction including the single highest (lone 9.8) Mark Jewelers insert example of Amazing Spider-Man #129 (first Punisher) and Incredible Hulk #181 (first full Wolverine) CGC 9.8 (Signature Series) and CGC 9.8 Universal (as well as CGC 9.6), Iron Fist #14 (first Sabretooth) CGC 9.6 (highest graded price variant, one of two), Giant-Size X-Men #1 CGC 9.8, X-Men #94 CGC 9.8, and House of Secrets #92 (first Swamp Thing) in CGC 9.6.
Premiered for the first time in this very auction are the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer issues from the John G. Fantucchio Collection, the recently coined “pedigree” collection stretching back to the early Silver Age. These are high grade books with newsstand-fresh colors and nearly all of them still have white interior page preservation.
Golden Age keys include but are not limited to All-Star Comics #8 (first Wonder Woman) CGC 2.0, Wonder Woman #1 CGC 5.5, Adventure Comics #40 (first Sandman) CGC 3.5 and #48 (first Hourman) CGC 5.5, several pre-Robin early Batman issues of Detective Comics including #35 CGC 3.5, Detective Comics #140 (first Riddler) CGC 7.5, and multiple Joker cover appearances from early issues of Batman and Detective Comics, All-American Comics #61 (first Solomon Grundy) CGC 6.5, several Timely examples including the high demand Captain America Comics #74 (classic Red Skull cover) CGC 6.0. There are also multiple Marvel Mystery Comics with Schomburg covers, early issues of Action Comics, Gaines File Copy examples including MAD #1 (CGC 9.2) through #12 and more, classic cover rarities such as Pep Comics #34 CGC 8.5 and so much more. There are so many more highlights from a wide range of genres.
Here are some Spring Featured Auction original art highlights the Jim Starlin Iron Man #55 title splash featuring the best image of Drax within his first appearance issue; the Gil Kane/John Romita cover for Amazing Spider-Man #138; Gil Kane’s covers for Thor #201 featuring Thor vs. Pluto, Marvel Team-Up #19 cover featuring Spider-Man and Ka-Zar, Giant-Size Supervillain Team-Up #2 featuring Doctor Doom and Sub-Mariner, and Marvel Spotlight #27 featuring Sub-Mariner; two John Romita/Don Heck pages from Amazing Spider-Man #62 – one with a Spidey/Medusa battle scene and the other with great large images of the Inhumans Queen by herself; and John Romita a top-level 1968 Romita Spider-Man page published in Amazing Spider-Man #116 originally created for Spectacular Spider-Man (magazine) #1.
Dave Cockrum Marvel Fanfare #3 wraparound cover featuring Wolverine and the “New” X-Men in the Savage Land; Barry Windsor-Smith title splash from Conan the Barbarian #7 plus three panel pages from the same issue (each auctioned separately) and a stunning Windsor-Smith page from Machine Man #4 featuring Machine Man battling Iron Man 2020; Neal Adams Detective Comics #400 page featuring Batman vs. Man-Bat from the historic first Man-Bat appearance; John Byrne X-Men #109 page featuring a large image of Wolverine and the first appearance ever of Alpha Flight’s Guardian; a Frank Miller page from Wolverine #1 featuring Logan and Mariko; and a rare Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo Spawn cover to issue #33 and a phenomenal Todd McFarlane double page splash from Spider-Man #14 featuring a black costumed Spider-Man vs. Morbius will be offered.
Mike Grell Warlord #13 cover; George Pérez New Teen Titans Archive #1 cover featuring a portrait of the classic early ’80s team; Mike Zeck Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars #9 cover; John Buscema Majestic cover for Defenders #66 featuring Valkyrie on Aragorn entering Asgard; Frank Springer Dazzler #10 cover featuring Galactus; Bernie Wrightson A Look Back illustration from 1970; a historic page featuring the actual first ever appearance of Harley Quinn in the genuine DC Universe from 1999’s Batman: Harley Quinn #1 by Yvel Guichet; and Jim Lee page featuring Psylocke from the first issue of his famous run, Uncanny X-Men #248 plus a Lee page from Batman #612, part of the famous “Hush” story featuring Catwoman punching out Poison Ivy plus Batman, Superman, and Krypto will be sold.
Additional art highlights are Frank Frazetta Death Dealer V preliminary painting; a page from Gambit’s first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266 featuring Gambit and Storm with art by Mike Collins; Mike Mignola B.P.R.D. (Vol. 14) King of Fear trade paperback cover and several Hellboy pages and illustrations; Olivier Coipel Thor #4 cover; Juan Ferreyra Green Arrow #1 cover the hit ongoing Rebirth series; Graham Ingels Tales From the Crypt #26 finale page featuring the Old Witch; Wally Wood Weird Science #12 page; Paul Gulacy Swamp Thing Portfolio Plate original featuring Swampy and Adrienne Barbeau based on the 1982 movie; and an early Eastman and Laird page from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3.
ComicLink is currently accepting consignments for upcoming auctions including the June Focused Auction which will begin on June 8, the July Focused Auction, and the Summer Featured Auction which will begin on August 30 (a preview will post soon). Interested sellers may contact the firm by emailing buysell@comiclink.com or by calling (617) 517-0062 (option 1) to speak with Josh Nathanson, Douglas Gillock, Jason Crosby, Jon Signorelli, or Ross Kearney. In addition to auctioning items for consignors, ComicLink is also always accepting new sellers for the ComicLink exchange marketplaces, brokering private placement deals, and buying outright.
To review ComicLink’s auction schedule and auction previews, visit their website.