On June 22-25, 2023, Heritage held their Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction, presenting high value items like Frank Frazetta original art and major key comics. When the four-day event closed, competitive bidders had driven the grand total to $21,056,657.

Frank Frazetta’s Dark Kingdom painting original art took a big swing, selling for $6 million. The painting was first published as the cover for Karl Edward Wagner’s 1976 Kane series novel, Dark Crusade. The Dark Kingdom sale has set a new record for a Frazetta painting, besting the Egyptian Queen original art that sold for $5.4 million at Heritage in 2019.

Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes daily comic strip original art garnered impressive sales. A four-panel strip dated March 28, 1986, with Calvin elevating the pair’s “coolness” factor and is signed by Watterson, reached $174,000. The sale made it the most valuable black and white Calvin and Hobbes daily. Another Watterson daily strip, this one dated December 30, 1987, with the duo trying to build a snow fort, went for $156,000.

Comics made for kids drew the interest of serious collectors, including Richie Rich #1 CGC 9.6 that hammered for $108,000 – setting a new record for the book. It is one of just four copies at this grade with none higher, and more than double the previous record of $48,995 that Heritage set in May 2016.

“I never cease to be amazed and surprised by our Comics & Comic Art auctions,” Heritage Vice President Barry Sandoval said. “We had a feeling the Frazetta would make history; it deserved to. And Bill Watterson's work has become increasingly valuable as fans and followers flock to the few available works that come to auction. But it’s a delight to see Richie Rich enter the six-figure pantheon in a sale rich with comics history. And we’re also thrilled for our clients, as 10 consignors saw their offerings in this sale hit a hammer price of $250,000 or more.”

On the original art side, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Captain America Comics #5 splash page 1 sold for $252,000. The opening splash for “The Terror that was Devil’s Island” story shows a captured Cap and Bucky, along with a POW.

Bane’s creator Graham Nolan offered several original pages from his archives, including five pages from his debut in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 that sold for a combined $300,240. The splash page from that issue showing Bane in full costume and mask went for $90,000.

Bill Sienkiewicz’s New Mutants #25 page that introduced Legion, the son of Professor X and Gabrielle Haller, brought $93,000.