Hake’s Auctions’ first premier auction of 2019 was another extremely successful event, culminating in a closing total of $1.25 million. Chief among those impressive sales were many pieces of original comic book art. Ranging from the Golden to Modern Age, these pieces exceeded their expectations and in some cases set new records.

The highest selling piece of original comic art was also the top price achieved in the auction. The New Mutants #98 page 27 original comic art by Rob Liefeld that was estimated to sell in the range of $20,000 to $35,000, jumped beyond to realize $40,382. This piece comes from the issue that introduced Deadpool, the antihero who is easily one of the most popular characters created in the Modern Age of comics. What makes the page even more impressive and rare is that the Merc with a Mouth only appeared in seven pages of that issue. Sectioned into three panels, the art shows Deadpool in a 2/3 page splash and also depicts Cable, Cannonball, Sunspot, Boom-Boom, and Domino.

The All-Star Superman #6 original cover art by Frank Quitely reached $15,576, well over the $5,000 to $10,000 estimate. The cover has a full body image of Superman standing in front of his adoptive father’s grave with his faithful dog, Krypto, at his side. This graphite and blue pencil art piece comes from the 12-issue limited series that Quitely also drew. This sale clinched a record price for a cover by Quitely.

The Sandman #14 page 33 original art by Mike Dringenberg went beyond the $5,000 to $10,000 estimate, ending at $14,278. Dringenberg came to prominence with his work on Sandman, drawing 11 issues for the series. The art features seven panels with the top consisting of a splash of Dream holding the unconscious form of Rose Walker and the bottom panels depicting the enormous character Fun Land. Not only was it one of the auction’s highest selling pieces of art, it achieved a record price for an interior page of Sandman art.

“The prices we continue to get for art is simply incredible. This is a market that shows no sign of slowing down and our bidders more than proved that during this auction,” Hake’s President Alex Winter said. “It helped that we had some truly special and very desirable pieces, including a few high profile pages that came to the auction block for the first time, like New Mutants #98 and Sandman #14.”

The Jack Kirby Bullseye #2 page 27 original art nearly quadrupled its high-end estimate when it cleared $3,894. The pen and ink art in seven panels was part of the “Grand Prize” story in which Bullseye participates in a shooting contest. This piece comes from Kirby’s short period of drawing the Golden Age western series.

Joe Kubert’s All-American Men of War #49 page 11 original art landed at $2,884, well beyond the estimate of $1,000 to $2,000. The pen and ink piece is divided into six panels with a top splash of World War II aerial combat, followed by panels of sailors and a damaged ship.

The Detective Comics #516 page 25 original art by Jose Delbo that features Batgirl brought $2,596, over two and half times the high-end estimate. The pen and ink splash page is the first page of Cary Burkett’s “Sleep While the Serpent Smiles!” Batgirl story.

Dick Ayers’ Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #9 page 5 original art fought to $2,271, over the $1,000 to $2,000 estimate. This art depicts six panels with Captain Sawyer, Nick Fury, and the Howling Commandoes, including Gabriel Jones, Rebel Ralston, Izzy Cohen, Dino Manelli, and Percival Pinkerton.

The Savage Sword of Conan #68 pin-up page 58 original art by Pablo Marcos more than doubled the estimate, swinging to $2,180. The pen and ink on textured art paper features Conan and a scantily clad barbarian woman battling two writhing serpents.

A Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #295 original comic page by Joe Staton went beyond the $700 to $1,000 estimate to clear $1,570. The pen and ink art is the first splash page for the Earth 2 Huntress back-up story.

The Madman #3 original comic page by Mike Allred hammered for $1,104, over the $400 to $1,000 estimate. The pen and ink page shows six panels with Madman in a series of circus-related images.

Rounding out the top art sales was The Flash #321 original page art by Chuck Patton that ran to $1,008, beyond the estimate of $400 to $700. Depicting the Creeper, this pen and ink splash is the first page of the “Playgrounds” backup story.

“We put everything we have into promoting the art we offer each auction and it is great to see that our tireless efforts pay off. Our July Premier Auction will be here before you know it, so contact us today and find out just what we can do for you and your original art,” Winter said.

All prices include an 18% buyer’s premium. More results from Auction #226 can be found on the Hake’s website by viewing the Wednesday and Thursday lists.