Heritage Rings up the First-ever $5 Million Comics, Art and Movie Posters Auction

Dallas, TX -- "On the plane home to Dallas, we all felt like we'd just won the Superbowl," enthused Heritage Comics Auctions (HCA) Director John Petty. "With over $5 million in sales and an 83% sell-through, I guess we're still riding quite a wave of euphoria." Out of 2530 lots offered, Heritage sold 2105 lots for a total sell-through of $5,027,553.90 (including the 15% Buyer's Premium).

"We had set the record for auctions of this type in March," Petty continued, "with our previous $2.6 million Signature sale. But that figure, impressive at the time, had already been surpassed by mail and Internet proxy bids before the first floor bid was ever placed in our July sale."

The record-shattering auction took place July 4-6 in Chicago at Wizard World's 2002 comics and popular media convention, and received international attention, due in no small part to the participation of Marvel Comic's legend, Stan Lee. Lee's consignment included his personal file copies of key Marvel comics such as FANTASTIC FOUR #1, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, DAREDEVIL #1, X-MEN #1 and others. He had kept these copies over the years for reference, and felt that the time was right to release them to his fans.

"The Stan Lee File Copies, all graded and certified by Comics Guaranty LLC, surpassed everyone's expectations, even mine," said Petty. "In fact Stan's books brought anywhere from 2 to 45 times our estimates."

Asked for specifics, Petty replied, "We all expected the big books, like the FF #1 and SPIDER-MAN #1, to do well, but what really amazed me were the secondary titles. A copy of NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, CGC graded 3.0 with cream to off-white pages, would normally be worth about $20. We sold Stan's copy for $899. A non-pedigreed copy of AVENGERS #1, CGC graded 8.0, sold for $1,840 while Stan's copy grading only 3.0 sold for $2,357.50! And a very nice copy of DAREDEVIL #1, in anticipation of the upcoming movie, sold for $1,610, CGC graded 8.0 while Stan's copy, two grades lower at CGC 6.0, realized $2,990." Stan Lee also had other material in the auction, including newspaper strip art, which performed spectacularly well. The total realization of the Stan Lee-consigned lots came in just shy of $200,000, about triple the presale estimate.

When asked to comment, Stan Lee said, "Far as I'm concerned, the real superheroes are those great guys at Heritage. I really lucked out when I met 'em 'cause they got me prices that exceeded my wildest expectations, plus it was a real kick to work with them. I don't want this to sound like a TV commercial but, so help me Spidey, there's no one I'd rather entrust with my collection."

Steve Geppi, owner and founder of Diamond Distribution and another high-profile consignor, was equally pleased. "The team at Heritage did a great job on the July Signature Auction," said Geppi. "They got the word out, increased the general public's awareness of the value of collectible comics, and raised the bar for those of us in the industry. I'm looking forward to continuing our relationship with Heritage for a very long time." John Snyder, President of Diamond International Galleries, who negotiated the Steve Geppi consignment added, "In my long experience in this business, I've never seen such an atmosphere of professionalism and teamwork as demonstrated by the Heritage group. I was present at each of the auction sessions and it was energizing to see Jim Halperin not only attending but taking an active role. It's not unusual for the top people in an auction firm to not attend the actual events, but Jim was involved, enthusiastic and effective. His team reflected his commitment. It was an exceptional bit of history."

"It's been a pleasure working with these gentlemen, and with all of our consignors," said Petty. "Before the auction, there was some concern in the hobby about whether or not the industry could absorb a sale of this magnitude. I'm happy to report that those fears were unfounded, and that the state of the comics, art and movie posters market is strong indeed."

Comic highlights included:

CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1, CGC VF 8.0 Cream to off-white pages. Final price: $41,400
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5029

MARVEL COMICS #1, CGC VG+ 4.5 Cream to off-white pages. Final price: $34,500
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5133

MOTION PICTURE FUNNIES WEEKLY, CGC FN/VF 7.0 Light tan to off-white pages. Final price: $20,700
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5194

SUB-MARINER COMICS #1 Larson pedigree, CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages. Final price: $37,087.50
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5211

YOUNG ALLIES COMICS #1 Pennsylvania pedigree, CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white pages. Final price: $20,700
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5253

BATMAN #1, CGC VF 8.0 Cream to off-white pages. Final price: $57,500
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5401

NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR COMICS (nn) Carson City pedigree (1939 edition), CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages. Final price: $25,300
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5593

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white pages. Final price: $43,700
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6297

AMAZING-MAN #5 Mile High pedigree, CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages. Final price: $63,250
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6600

WONDERWORLD COMICS #3, CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages. Final price: $25,300
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=7525

WOW COMICS #1 Mile High pedigree, CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages. Final price: $39,100
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=7528

CRYPT OF TERROR #17 Gaines File pedigree, CGC NM+ 9.6 Cream to off-white pages. Final price: $18,457.50
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=7182

Original art posted strong results as well, with some high-profile pieces realizing high-dollar bids. Especially significant were:

HAL FOSTER - ORIGINAL COMIC STRIP ART FOR PRINCE VALIANT, dated 12-17-44. Final price: $20,700
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5816

STEVE DITKO - ORIGINAL ART FOR AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10, Complete 22-page story. Final price: $161,000
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5859

JOHN ROMITA, SR. - ORIGINAL COVER ART TO AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #69. Final price: $41,400
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5882

JOHN ROMITA, SR - ORIGINAL COVER ART TO SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #2. Final price: $63,250
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=5886

JOHNNY CRAIG - ORIGINAL COVER ART FOR CRYPT OF TERROR #17. Final price: $37,950
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6182

DICK SPRANG AND CHARLES PARIS - ORIGINAL ART FOR BATMAN #56, Complete 13-page story, "The Riddle of the Seven Birds". Final price: $34,500
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6087

ROBERT CRUMB - ORIGINAL ART, Complete story, "He's a Natural Man". Final price: $45,137.50
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6114

CARL BARKS - ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING, "Flying Dutchman". Final price: $80,500
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6224

FRANK FRAZETTA - ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING, "Carson of Venus". Final price: $74,750
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6234

Movie poster collectors weren't forgotten, either, with exceptional results on many lots, including:

THE BLACK CAT (Universal, 1934) Half-sheet. Final price: $43,700
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6960

GONE WITH THE WIND (MGM, 1939) One-sheet. Final price: $18,400
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6990

MICKEY'S PAL PLUTO (United Artists, 1933) One-sheet. Final price: $43,125
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=7085

TOBOR THE GREAT (Republic, 1954) One-sheet. Final price: $4,025
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=7131

THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (Republic, 1941) One-sheet. Final price: $4,600
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6983

KING KONG (RKO, 1933) French One-panel. Final price: $14,950
http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/auctions/closedviewlot.asp?s=803&l=6958

For more information, and for complete results, please visit the Heritage website at www.HeritageComics.com.

Prospective consignors and sellers of top-end comics material and original art are invited to call Ed Jaster at 214-252-4288 or John Petty at 214-252-4392 to discuss their rare comics and original illustration and comic art. Or visit http://www.HeritageComics.com and click on the "consign" tab. Or simply email EdJ@HeritageComics.com or JPetty@HeritageComics.com

Movie poster consignors, please call Grey Smith at 214-668-6928 or email GreySm@HeritageMoviePosters.com

To order the next three sale catalogs, visit Heritage's website to pay by credit card, or send a check or money order payable to Heritage Comics in the amount of $100 (a fraction of Heritage's actual cost-to-produce the catalogs, and your $100 is fully refundable with any purchase) to: Norma Pedrero, c/o Heritage Comics, 100 Highland Park Village, 2nd Floor, Dallas, TX 75205.

HCA specializes in rare, high-grade comic books, as well as vintage comic and animation art, illustration art, movie posters and comics-related collectibles.