Heritage’s recent vintage comic book and original comic art auction soared to $12,201,974. Held on May 10-12, 2018, the sale contained 1,684 lots. It set the world record for the most valuable sale of its kind by beating the previous record of $10,389,821.

The top lot also achieved a record when Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer 6 original art sold for $1.79 million. The piece, which was first published as the cover for Death Dealer #2, more than doubled the auction record for a piece of comic art.

“As the live session opened, the Frazetta painting had a bid of $600,000, but within moments it had come down to two collectors, bidding by phone, who waged a pitched battle for this very desirable painting,” said Barry Sandoval, Director of Comics Operations at Heritage.

A copy of Action Comics #1 CGC 4.0 featuring the first appearance of Superman sold for $573,600. It was consigned by a longtime collector who paid $50,000 for it just 15 years ago.

Several other comics broke the six-figure mark, such as Batman #1 CGC 5.5 for $227,050, Justice League of America #1 CGC 9.6 for $215,100, Whiz Comics #2 CGC 6.0 with the first appearance of Captain Marvel for $173,275, Superman #1 CGC 2.0 for $167,300, and Action Comics #7 CGC 5.0 depicting the second Superman cover for $161,325.

Original comic art sales included The Amazing Spider-Man #61 original cover art by John Romita Sr. for $167,300, Robert Crumb original art for a “Head Comix” one page story from Yarrowstalks #2 for $143,400, X-Men #102 original cover art by Dave Cockrum for $131,450, and Fantastic Four #25 splash page original art by Jack Kirby and George Roussos for $113,525.

Additional highlights were X-Men #1 original art by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman for $89,625, Calvin and Hobbes daily comic strip original art by Bill Watterson for $67,725, New Mutants #98 page 15 original art for $51,385, and The Far Side original daily comic strip art by Gary Larson for $31,070.