On Thursday, November 16, 2023, Heritage opened their four-day Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction with the platinum session, featuring many of the auction’s top original art and comic lots.

Just six lots into the auction, a bidding war began for Don Heck’s Tales of Suspense #39 page 10 original art, driving the price to $336,000. From the issue that introduced Tony Stark/Iron Man, this page sees Iron Man reveal himself to Wong-Chu in the center panel.

“We were all thrilled by the flurry of live bidding and the final record price for one of the greatest first appearance pages that has ever come to market,” Heritage Executive Vice President Todd Hignite exclusively told Scoop.

Frank Miller’s famous rendering of a hulking Batman and new Robin, Carrie Kelley, which didn’t actually appear in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, realized $210,000. The well known art appeared on the cover of David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview #31 and was accompanied by an interview with Miller.

Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes specialty illustration titled “10PM Monster Vigil,” brought in $102,000. Calvin and Hobbes appear wide awake with the young boy holding a bat ready for monster attacks. It comes from the estate of Lee Sale, who spent 40 years as the editor or president at Universal Press Syndicate.

Comic sales were led by Marvel Comics #1 CBCS 2.5 Restored, which is one of the rare copies with the October cover date rather than November. It hammered for $144,000.

Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction runs through November 19, 2023.