The ComicLink Summer Featured Auction will begin the evening of August 30, 2017. There’s still time to consign to one of their biggest auctions of the year. The auction already features many key and high grade comic books and sought after original art pieces. If you are interested in taking part as a seller, simply email your prospective auction list as soon as possible to buysell@comiclink.com or call (617) 517-0062 (option 1, for sales). 

“The Summer Featured Auction is shaping up to include a well rounded selection of high-end, certified comic books from all eras,” ComicLink founder and President Josh Nathanson said.

A sample of the comic book highlights within the Summer Featured Auction include Silver Age Marvel keys such as Amazing Spider-Man #1 (second Spider-Man, first Jameson) CGC 8.0, #16 (first Daredevil crossover) CGC 9.8, #20 (fist Scorpion) CGC 9.8 (highest graded, one of five), and #50 (first Kingpin) CGC 9.6, Avengers #1 (first Avengers) CGC 8.5, #4 (first Silver Age Captain America) CGC 9.4, and #58 (origin of Vision) CGC 9.8, Captain America #100 (first issue) CGC 9.8, Doctor Strange #169 (first issue, 1968) CGC 9.8, Fantastic Four #1 (first Fantastic Four) CBCS 6.5, #4 (first Silver Age Sub-Mariner) CBCS 9.2, #5 (first Doctor Doom) CGC 9.0, #13 (first Watcher) CGC 9.4, #45 (first Inhumans) CGC 9.4, #46 (first full Black Bolt) CGC 9.6, #48 (first Silver Surfer and Galactus) CGC 9.8, #52 (first Black Panther) CGC 9.6, and #72 (classic solo Silver Surfer cover) CGC 9.8, Incredible Hulk #1 (first Hulk, origin) CGC 6.0, Journey Into Mystery #83 (first Thor) CGC 7.0 and CGC 6.0, Silver Surfer #1 (origin) CGC 9.6 and #3 (first Mephisto) CGC 9.8, Strange Tales #115 (origin Dr. Strange, early Spider-Man crossover) CBCS 9.4, Tales of Suspense #39 (first Iron Man) CGC 6.5, Tales to Astonish #27 (first Ant-Man) CGC 7.0, and X-Men #42 (death of Professor X) CGC 9.8 (single highest graded) and numerous other late Silver Age X-Men examples in CGC 9.8.

Marvel early Bronze Age keys include Amazing Spider-Man #101 (first Morbius) CGC 9.8, #122 (death of Green Goblin) CGC 9.8, and #129 (first Punisher) CGC 9.8, Conan the Barbarian #1 (first Conan in comics) CGC 9.8, Ghost Rider #1 (1973, first Daimon Hellstrom) CGC 9.8, Ghost Rider #1 (1973, first Daimon Hellstrom) CGC 9.8, Giant-Size X-Men #1 (first Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, second full Wolverine) CGC 9.6, Incredible Hulk #181 (first full Wolverine) CBCS 9.4, Iron Fist #14 (first Sabretooth) CGC 9.8, Iron Man #55 (first Thanos and Drax) CGC 9.8, Marvel Spotlight #5 (first Ghost Rider) CGC 9.4, Tomb of Dracula #10 (first Blade) CGC 9.8 Signature Series (highest graded, one of two), and X-Men #94 (first “New” X-Men in core title) CGC 9.6.

DC Silver Age offerings include a significant comic book that comes from the newly coined John G. Fantucchio Pedigree. It’s the first appearance of the Teen Titans in Brave and the Bold #54 CGC 9.8 which is the single highest graded. In the 17 years since CGC started grading, this is the first time this Silver Age key has ever been awarded the Near Mint/Mint 9.8 grade. The Titans has been one of DC’s top franchises for decades. It’s recently been announced that a live action Titans TV series will be added to DC’s new, subscription digital TV service that will launch in 2018 starting with 13 episodes, many written by superstar comic writer and now DC President Geoff Johns.

Other Silver Age DC keys offered are Brave and the Bold #28 (first Justice League) CGC 5.5 and #60 (second Teen Titans, first Donna Troy version of Wonder Girl) CGC 9.4 (one of the top four), Detective Comics #359 (first Batgirl/Barbara Gordon) CGC 9.2, Flash #139 (first Reverse Flash) CGC 9.0, Hawkman #4 (first Zatanna) CGC 9.4, Justice League of America #1 CGC 7.5 Fantucchio, #7 CBCS 9.6 (single highest graded), and many rare CGC 9.6 and 9.8s, and Superboy #68 (first Bizarro) CGC 8.0.

Early Bronze Age DC keys include Batman #227 (classic Adams gothic cover) CGC 9.6, #234 (first Modern Two-Face by Adams) CGC 9.8 and #251 (classic Joker cover/story by Adams) CGC 9.8, as well as House of Secrets #92 CGC (first Swamp Thing) CGC 9.6.

Some Golden Age highlights include Action Comics #23 (first Luthor) CGC 4.5, All-Star Comics #8 (first Wonder Woman) CBCS 9.6 Restored (single highest graded), Archie Comics #1 (1942) CGC 3.0, Batman #11 (classic first Joker cover in Batman title) CGC 7.5 and #49 (Joker cover, first Mad Hatter and Vicki Vale) CBCS 9.2, Blue Bolt (Weird Tales on cover, classic L.B. Cole cover art) #116 CGC 9.4 (single highest graded), Captain America Comics #46 (Holocaust cover) CGC 5.0, Detective Comics #6 (rare 1937) CGC 6.5, #29 (second Batman cover) CGC 6.5R, #36 (first Hugo Strange) CGC 6.0, #62 (classic Robinson Joker cover) CGC 7.0, #76 (classic Robin Joker cover) CGC 8.5, #140 (first Riddler) CGC 7.0, and #225 (first Martain Manhunter) CGC 8.0, Green Hornet #13 (classic “V” for Victory against Hitler cover) CGC 7.0, Headline Comics #8 (classic Hitler cover) CGC 3.5, and Gaines file copies of Incredible Science Fiction, Weird Science, and Weird Fantasy.

There are many issues of Marvel Mystery Comics including several classic Schomburg covers and examples in high grade, Mask Comics #2 (all-time classic L.B. Cole devil cover) CGC 5.0, More Fun Comics #50 CGC 9.4 Mile High Pedigree (single highest graded), #62 (Spectre cover) CGC 8.5 (one of top five graded overall), National Comics #13 (Lou Fine Uncle Sam cover) CGC 9.4 Mile High Pedigree (single highest graded), Nelvana #nn (the “Action Comics #1” of Canadian Whites) CGC 5.0, Phantom Lady #17 (All-time classic Baker cover) CGC 7.0, Phantom Stranger (rare first series) #1-5, Shocking Mystery Stories #53 (L.B. Cole cover) CGC 9.6 Bethlehem Pedigree (single highest graded), Superman #1 (first solo Superman book) CBCS 9.4 Restored (single highest graded), Superman #17 (classic Superman vs. Hitler & Hirohito cover) CGC 8.0, Wonder Comics #15 (classic Schomburg airbrush cover) CGC 9.0, and Wonderworld Comics #6 CGC 8.0 (one of top two graded).

Modern Era highlights so far include Amazing Spider-Man #265 (first Silver Sable, star of an upcoming movie with Black Cat) CGC 9.9 and #300 (first full Venom) CGC 9.8, Love and Rockets #1 CGC 9.6 (single highest graded), Miracleman #15 (epic battle and “Death” of Kid Miracleman) CGC 9.9 (highest graded, one of two), New Mutants #98 (first Deadpool) CGC 9.9, Spider-Man #1 (Gold Edition, McFarlane cover/art) CGC 9.9, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (first print, first Turtles) CGC 8.0, and The Walking Dead #1 CGC 9.8.

“The Summer Featured Auction will be one of the very best comic related original art offerings in ComicLink’s many years of auctioning artwork. There are significant number of major highlights, and there’s more still coming in,” Nathanson said.

For starters, they have original art for the Fantastic Four #77 cover by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott featuring the Silver Surfer and Galactus. “Only a handful of Kirby Fantastic Four covers have come up for public auction in the past decade and this, in our opinion, is the finest one. Not only is it the only one that has come up for auction with the Surfer and his planet-consuming master, but it also features the entire Fantastic Four, Crystal of the Inhumans and an amazing depiction of one of Kirby’s most original villains, the Psycho-Man,” Nathanson said. ‘The piece combines Kirby’s brilliant pencil designs with Sinnott’s distinctive line work and shading to create powerfully striking imagery that has captivated the imagination of generations of fans. We can think of no more desirable Fantastic Four cover ever having been offered on the open market.”

Another major art highlight is the original Frank Frazetta oil painting for the Tales From the Crypt #1 Ballantine Book (1964), which is one of the earliest ‒ if not the earliest ‒ horror-themed oil paintings by the great Frazetta. “Nine years after Bill Gaines was forced to shelve EC Comics' horror, crime, and sci-fi titles due to creative restrictions enforced by the Comics Code Authority, Ballantine reprinted a number of the original tales in five volumes published between 1964 and 1966: Tales from the Crypt (1964), The Vault of Horror (1965), Tales of the Incredible (1965), The Autumn People (1965), and Tomorrow Midnight (1966). Frazetta, who had worked briefly for EC in the 1950s, painted the covers for the entire series. Note the ‘Frank Frazetta’ on the tombstone, rather than his usual ‘Frazetta’ signature ‒ is it the only time he signed differently? The oils on this prime era piece is pure Frazetta genius, right down to the ground around the hands, which give off a phosphorescent glow,” Nathanson said.

ComicLink is also auctioning an amazing Frazetta science fiction oil painting. This is one that the master fantasy and science fiction artist created in 1970 as an advertisement for Doubleday Books. “The piece features a wonderful selection of classic Frazetta motifs including science fiction, sexy women, barbarians, alien landscapes, spaceships, dinosaurs and even an amazing frog,” Nathanson said. “The text is a celebration of the science fiction genre and explains that the first science fiction story was written 1,800 years ago and featured frogs on the moon, providing context for this illustration. The piece has a wonderful 1950s vibe to it. We've never seen anything quite like it by Frazetta previously!”

One of the original art highlights of this auction is the historic cover for Uncanny X-Men #266, featuring the first appearance of Gambit, drawn by the extraordinary Andy Kubert. “This is one of the most significant Modern Era covers ever to come onto the auction market,” Nathanson said. “Gambit was a shining star from the beginning of his career as an X-Man and he may just go supernova once the planned Gambit film franchise with Channing Tatum finally gets off the ground. Fox has just announced several dates for upcoming unnamed films, and speculation is that one of those will be Gambit. Though the Gambit movie been in the works for a while, keep in mind the Deadpool movie took years to get off the ground, and we all know how huge that was when it hit!”

Another huge original art piece in the Summer Featured Auction is the Neal Adams cover for Justice League of America #92 (1971) featuring Adams’ epic depiction of Solomon Grundy raising a defeated Superman over his head, having taken out the rest of the Justice League and the Justice Society.  “This is Adams’ only Solomon Grundy cover from his peak era and it’s an incredible piece. With Grundy looking very likely to appear on the hit show Gotham starting in a couple of months, the swamp monster is poised to skyrocket in popularity among a new generation of fans real soon,” Nathanson said.

ComicLink is offering a highly desired rarity within the hobby. “We are auctioning a rare Bernie Wrightson signed original “Frankenstein Monster” plate plate in the landmark A Marvel Illustrated Novel, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein,” Nathanson said. “Produced over a 7-year period, Wrightson created this masterful work during his peak period in the 1970s and early 1980s, for the legendary adaptation of Frankenstein that eventually saw publication in 1983. Few Wrightson Frankenstein plates were completely finished, fewer still were selected to be published in this book, and of those far fewer contain images of the Frankenstein Monster. There are only 44 illustrations in total in the book and of those, a mere 16 depict the monster. This one, published on page 88, is the first depiction of the monster after the story shifts to being told from the monster's perspective. Pages from this work rarely come to market and this is one of the very best from this classic example of graphic storytelling.”

They also have a complete Graham Ingels Tales From the Crypt story. This 7-page EC classic comes from Tales From the Crypt #46 (1955), the final issue of the historic run. The story, “Tatter Up!” is one of the more memorable stories narrated by the Old Witch in EC’s most famous horror title. As one of Ingels’ last stories before his EC career was cut short by the censorship that resulted in the Comics Code Authority, it shows the original master of the macabre at the full bloom of his talents, showcasing why he's still considered to be the greatest horror comic book artist ever by many fans.

In addition to the major original art highlights mentioned above, other original art highlights from the Summer Focused Auction include Art Adams Avengers Classic #7 cover, Neal Adams Brave and the Bold #85 unused Batman and Green Arrow cover from the landmark issue that introduced Adams’ revamped Green Arrow, Charlie Adlard The Walking Dead #150 cover featuring a bloodied Rick Grimes, John Byrne Action Comics #593 cover featuring the infamous Superman and Big Barda scene, Mike Deodato Incredible Hulk #62 and #69 covers, George Evans Haunt of Fear #15 complete 7-page story, David Finch Warlord of Mars #1 cover, and Hal Foster Prince Valiant Sunday pages.

Dale Keown the cover for the popular Spider-Gwen #1 and the cover for Future Imperfect #1 featuring the return of the future version of the Hulk known as the Maestro and a page from the landmark Incredible Hulk #377, Greg Land Marvel 75th Anniversary Magazine cover featuring loads of heroes, Todd McFarlane/Greg Capullo Spawn #33 multiple pages offered separately, Todd McFarlane Wolverine #6 back cover featuring the only maskless Logan cover art by Todd from his prime era, Frank Miller Daredevil #184 page from the historic run, and Tony Moore The Walking Dead #2 page featuring Rick Grimes from extremely early in the landmark saga are offered.

Additional highlights are George Pérez Infinity Gauntlet #1 key page where Thanos wields the Infinity Gauntlet and prepares to kill half the population of the universe and Marvel Tales #261 cover featuring Spider-Man vs. the Hobgoblin, Stephen Platt Prophet #9 cover, John Romita Amazing Spider-Man #68 page featuring Spider-Man in action plus the Kingpin and Daredevil #105 cover featuring Moondragon’s origin and first cover appearance, John Romita Jr. Daredevil The Man Without Fear #1 cover from the landmark 1993 miniseries, Al Williamson inks, Jim Starlin Iron Man #55 page from the historic first Drax issue featuring Iron Man and Drax battling the Blood Brothers and Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 page from the landmark finale of the “Thanos Saga” with the Avengers fighting Thanos.

The firm is also taking consignments for the September Focused Auction (a preview will post soon). Interested sellers can get in touch as soon as possible to reserve placement, as auction slots tend to fill up quickly for some items. Sellers may contact ComicLink 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.

ComicLink Senior Consignment Director Douglas Gillock, and Sales Consultants Jon Signorelli and Ross Kearney, will be at Wizard World Chicago on Thursday through Sunday, August 24-27 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The firm will be meeting with clients and accepting consignments for upcoming auctions. ComicLink will be set up at booth 520. “If you are attending the show, don’t sell the good stuff without stopping by our booth first, so we can assist you in maximizing your return,” Gillock said.

The following weekend, the ComicLink team will also be at San Francisco Comic Con being held Friday through Sunday, September 1-3 at the Moscone Center West. You’ll find the ComicLink team set up at booth 411/510.

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.