Hulk #1 expected to top $100,000 in Heritage Auctions comics event

Dallas auction features Amazing Fantasy #15, early Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck comics, original Peanuts art, Jack Kirby, Alex Schomburg art and more, Nov. 19-21

DALLAS, TX -- Two key, high-grade Silver Age comic books - Amazing Fantasy #15, CGC VF+ 8.5, and The Incredible Hulk #1, CGC NM- 9.2 - will anchor the Nov. 19-21 Signature Comics & Comic Art Auction at Heritage Auctions. Both comics are estimated at $100,000+.

"As difficult as Amazing Fantasy #15 is to find in high grade, Hulk #1, which was published earlier, is actually even tougher," said Barry Sandoval, Director of Comics Operations at Heritage Auctions. “It’s no surprise, then, that Internet bidding has already passed the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide value of $32,000.”

Another highlight of the vintage comic section is the first part of the multimillion-dollar comic collection of Chicago-area businessman Gary Keller.

“Gary has spent the last 10 years putting together some incredible runs,” Sandoval said, “but his toy collection and his muscle-car collection are also world-class, and he told us he’d like to concentrate on those for now ‘before I let Heritage sell them.’ We’re certainly glad to have the comics, which include the best 1950s-1960s Flash run you’ll ever see and some really choice early Batman comics. Thanks in part to Gary’s collection, our auction has the highest-graded copy of eight of the 100 most valuable Golden Age comics.”

A special treat also awaits the Disney collector with the first appearances in standard-size comics of both Donald Duck (Four Color #14) and Mickey Mouse (Four Color #16). Both copies are the finest that CGC has certified to date.

"Heritage Auctions' comic sales are also known for their original art," said Sandoval, "and this auction is one of the best yet, especially with an amazing trove of artwork from the personal vault of Joe Kubert himself, who has literally been drawing comics for more than 70 years. This is the first time Kubert has released such an important group of art from his personal collection."

Collectors will have the chance to bid on one of Kubert's sought-after Tarzan covers, a great view of his signature character Sgt. Rock, an amazing color piece with all of his best-known DC characters in one group shot and even DC art from the Golden Age of comics.

Continuing in the Golden Age vein, Heritage Auctions will also be featuring Will Eisner's original cover art for The Spirit #16 (Quality, 1949), one of few such pieces to have survived, as well as Alex Schomburg's 1982 Cover Recreation of Marvel Mystery Comics #66 , a painstaking reimagining of his famous September 1944 work, the last World War II-themed cover he did for Timely Comics.

"Collectors will most certainly be impressed by the quantity we’re offering of some of the most popular comic artists," said Sandoval. "Most everyone knows Jack Kirby, the 'King of the Comics,' and our auction has no less than 43 pieces of art by this all-time great. Among the most prominent is an original Kirby splash page from Journey Into Mystery #84 featuring the second appearance of the mighty Thor."

Bernie Wrightson is also a popular staple in Heritage auctions, and the Nov. 19-21 event has 19 pieces by the “Master of the Macabre.” For fans of the artist, picking a favorite from this grouping will indeed be a difficult decision, but perhaps the one that most epitomizes his style is a full-page illustration of “Cousin Eerie.”

"We’ve also got 11 pieces of original Peanuts art by Charles Schulz," said Sandoval. "Here again it’s tough to pick a favorite, but the earliest of the bunch is a 1953 daily, which is truly vintage Charlie Brown."

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $700 million, and 475,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

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