Heritage Auctions Search

Skip to main content

Go to accessibility options

Zap Comix #1 First Print - Plymell Edition (Apex Novelties, 1967) CGC VF+ 8.5 Off-white pages. The king of them all, here is a first printing of Zap Comix #1! This book is also referred to as a "Plymell" edition due to the printers name being printed on the back page. There were approximately 500 copies printed and folded by hand. Then they were sold out of a baby carriage on the streets of Berkeley and San Francisco, so finding copies this nice can be quite a challenge! This book is the centerpiece of any major underground collection, so let's get bidding!
Auction 807 | Lot: 5509 | Jul 20, 2003

Sold For: $4,602.30
Zap Comix #1 First Printing - Plymell Edition (Apex Novelties, 1967) CGC VF+ 8.5 Off-white pages. This book is to Undergrounds what Action Comics #1 is to superhero comics! This book is referred to as a "Plymell" edition due to the printer's name being printed on the back page. Printing numbers vary depending on who is telling the story, but suffice to say no more than 5,000 copies were completed. The true number is likely closer to 1,500. The issues were printed and folded by hand, and then sold out of a baby carriage on the streets of Berkeley and San Francisco, so finding copies this nice can be quite a challenge! With sales records being broken on a regular basis for this book, it's a safe bet to say this one has real potential. Jerry Weist listed the first printing of Zap #1 in his 2000 Comic Art Price Guide as having a value between $750 (FN) and $1,500 (NM).
Auction 751 | Lot: 3565 | Jul 29, 2004

Sold For: $4,025.00
Zap Comix #1 Plymell Edition (Apex Novelties, 1967) CGC VF- 7.5 Cream to off-white pages. "Hey man, wanna buy this groovy new comic book?" If you had been wandering down Haight Street in San Francisco during the early months of 1968, you might have heard those words coming from Dana Crumb, as she hawked fresh copies of Zap Comix #1 out of an old baby buggy. Her then-husband Robert Crumb was there as well, probably not saying much. Neither of them could have had a clue as to the importance of that 25¢ "baby" they were pushing. This book is the Underground equivalent of Action Comics #1, and the effects of this cultural time-bomb are still being felt today. This first printing is dubbed the Plymell Edition, because the printer, Charles Plymell, managed to sneak his name onto the back cover. Printing numbers vary depending on who is telling the story, but suffice to say no more than 5,000 copies (probably much less) make up the Plymell run. Only a handful have surfaced to date. This copy, while not the best of the current 14 books graded by CGC, is a solid, attractive comic with no visible problems. With sales records being broken on a regular basis for this book, it's a safe bet to say this one has real potential. Jerry Weist listed the first printing of Zap #1 in his 2000 Comic Art Price Guide as having a value between $750 (FN) and $1,500 (NM).
Auction 811 | Lot: 8549 | Jun 13, 2004

Sold For: $3,450.00
Superboy #142 Twin Cities pedigree (DC, 1967) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages.
Auction 121139 | Lot: 14400 | Sep 25, 2011

Sold For: $1,314.50

Make Offer to Owner
$2,629 or more
Superboy #142 Savannah pedigree (DC, 1967) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages.
Auction 121128 | Lot: 13515 | Jul 10, 2011

Sold For: $485.17

Make Offer to Owner
$970 or more
Zap Comix #1 - Second Printing - Donahue Edition (Apex Novelties, 1967) CGC NM- 9.2 Cream to off-white pages. This is a second printing of the historic Zap #1, also called "the Donahue edition." Featuring the solo work of Robert Crumb; S. Clay Wilson, Spain Rodriguez, Robert Williams, and others would come aboard by the second issue. Only four copies of this rare book have been graded higher by CGC, and when you consider these books were printed, folded, and stapled by hand, it's amazing this any of these survived in high enough grade to be slabbed. Truly the most significant Underground comic ever published, this title is not listed in the Overstreet price guide.
Auction 808 | Lot: 4923 | Nov 23, 2003

Sold For: $373.75
Zap Comix #1 Second Print - Donahue Edition (Apex Novelties, 1967) CGC VG/FN 5.0 Cream to off-white pages. Here is a nice, affordable copy of the the squinkiest comic of them all. For adult intellectuals only! Printed by Don Donahue.
Auction 807 | Lot: 5510 | Jul 20, 2003

Sold For: $132.25
Superboy #142 (DC, 1967) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.
Auction 18062 | Lot: 12475 | Jun 8, 2008

Sold For: $131.45
The Ghost Rider #5 (Marvel, 1974) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white pages.
Auction 17045 | Lot: 16251 | Apr 29, 2007

Sold For: $113.53
Superboy #142 (DC, 1967) CGC NM 9.4 Cream to off-white pages.
Auction 19082 | Lot: 12517 | Aug 9, 2009

Sold For: $95.60
Doctor Solar #20 (Gold Key, 1967) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages....
Auction 18091 | Lot: 11116 | Sep 7, 2008

Sold For: $95.60
Doctor Solar #20 File Copy (Gold Key, 1967) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white to white pages. Painted cover. Al McWilliams and Win Mortimer. Tied for the highest CGC grade to date. Overstreet 2006 NM- 9.2 value = $45. CGC census 6/06: 4 in 9.6, none higher. From the Random House Archives.
Auction 16075 | Lot: 17150 | Jul 30, 2006

Sold For: $95.60
Superboy #142 (DC, 1967) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages.
Auction 122404 | Lot: 18209 | Jan 23, 2024

Sold For: $95.00
Zap Comix #1 Third Printing (Apex Novelties) CGC VF/NM 9.0 White pages. Robert Crumb cover and art. Legendary Underground co...
Auction 13042 | Lot: 15901 | Apr 20, 2003

Sold For: $87.40

Make Offer to Owner
$300 or more
Superboy #142 (DC, 1967) CGC NM 9.4 Cream to off-white pages.
Auction 121527 | Lot: 11646 | Jul 5, 2015

Sold For: $74.00
Doctor Solar #20 (Gold Key, 1967) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages....
Auction 19013 | Lot: 13122 | Jan 18, 2009

Sold For: $71.70
Doctor Solar #20 File Copy (Gold Key, 1967) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages. Painted cover. Al McWilliams and Win Mortimer art. Overstreet 2006 NM- 9.2 value = $45. CGC census 9/06: 7 in 9.4, 4 higher. From the Random House Archives.
Auction 16101 | Lot: 16089 | Oct 1, 2006

Sold For: $60.95
Doctor Solar #20 File Copy (Gold Key, 1967) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages. Painted cover. Al McWilliams and Win Mortim...
Auction 16092 | Lot: 17051 | Sep 10, 2006

Sold For: $54.00
Doctor Solar #20 File Copy (Gold Key, 1967) CGC NM 9.4 Off-white to white pages. Painted cover. Al McWilliams and Win Mortim...
Auction 16084 | Lot: 17125 | Aug 27, 2006

Sold For: $54.00
Zap Comix #1 Third Print (Apex Novelties, 1967) CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages. The legendary Robert Crumb vehicle is credited with launching the entire Underground comic genre. The title was also Crumb's first published work. But, Dude, issue #1, while the first published, was not the first drawn issue. If you can't dig it, then you're a big zero, the same number given to that first-drawn issue when it was published shortly after issue #1. Anyway, getting back to this offering, this is the third printing of the milestone book. With relatively low print runs, compared to conventional comic titles, and lots of heads desiring copies, even the third printing is in high demand. And this copy just misses tying for the highest grade (9.4) that CGC has awarded yet to an issue #1 of the title. Cool, indeed. There is no Overstreet value for this book, but trust our estimate...we know strange stuff. From the collection of Bobby Harmon.
Auction 807 | Lot: 5508 | Jul 20, 2003

Sold For: $51.75
Superboy #142 (DC, 1967) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white pages....
Auction 18102 | Lot: 12478 | Oct 12, 2008

Sold For: $42.00
Doctor Solar #20 (Gold Key, 1967).CGC NM- 9.2 Off-white to white pages Solar mashes mind-monsters that come to life in this high grade beauty. Overstreet 2002 NM 9.4 value = $35.
Auction 13031 | Lot: 15560 | Mar 2, 2003

Sold For: $31.00

1

Results per page: 24 48 72