June Auction Rundown
An assessment of the latest big-ticket comic art auction
There’s another “If you have to ask how much, you can’t afford it” Heritage Signature Auction coming up at the end of the month. I sifted through 930 lots so you don’t have to; let’s see what paper gold (see what I did there?!?) will be on the block this month.
The Nate Nostalgia Conference
Dave Dorman Star Wars: Crimson Empire #5 Cover (1998)
Dave Dorman Star Wars: Crimson Empire Trade Paperback Cover (1998)
Crimson Empire was my first introduction to a Star Wars world beyond the films. I still remember borrowing it from some kid at camp and feeling overcome by that abundance-of-riches feeling you get when you’re halfway through a movie for the first time and you realize you love it, or you’re sitting down, starving, to Thanksgiving dinner and simultaneously you want to inhale it all but savor each bite. Too much of a good thing? Never happen.
The story’s about how Emperor Palpatine’s red-cloaked imperial guards handle his death. I reread it recently and it’s not great, but there are some cool action scenes. These covers sell it about as well as you possibly could.
Joe Quesada and Danny Miki House of M #1 Variant Cover (2005)
House of M was one of the crossovers that characterized my early days as a comics reader. Scarlet Witch (pictured above) suffers a breakdown and, while in its throes, utters three words in an iconic panel that I can still picture today:
The Marvel Universe instantly shifts according to her will, and we get a world with…no mutants. I don’t know much more about it than that, because as a fairly novice comic reader, I didn’t understand that I needed to go the the store every week to pick up all the tie-ins AND the main storyline if I wanted to understand what was happening. That was a tall order for a 12 year old kid without a car who was at camp in the New Hampshire woods when the first issues of House of M came out. Mostly I remember being confused.
David Finch and Danny Miki Moon Knight #8 Double Splash Pages 17-18 (2007)
I picked up Moon Knight #1 at the comic store, thinking its appreciation would save me from ever having to work a day in my life (still got my fingers crossed). MK can be a little tricky because it’s basically about Batman if Batman was 1) a method actor; and 2) convinced he was an avatar of an ancient Egyptian god. Err too much on the “Marc Spector is crazy and hallucinating” and I get bored.
Finch’s artwork kept me coming back. I view him as a spiritual successor to Jim Lee, and Finch MK is some of the most instantly-recognizable art from my childhood. He’s had quite a career on bigger books than MK, but he’ll always be that dude to me.
The Historical Significance Conference
Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke Superman: Man of Steel #19 Double Page Spread 2-3 (1993)
The Death of Superman storyline was the height of the comic book craze of the nineties. Check out the Wikipedia article - it’s a really fascinating cultural history/comics biz story. It was promoted (and sold) like gangbusters. Like my Moon Knight #1, the actual death-issue, #75, has not appreciated much, and you can still find the polybagged versions (they came with a black armband that I guess you were…supposed to wear around in mourning?) at cons today.
The story is actually pretty good! I read it a few years ago, and was surprised by its emotional punch, even though you know what you’re in for when you pick up the “Death of Superman” trade paperback. Anyway, this piece here is an icon of that storyline, and a reminder of the simple poignancy of Superman: he gives his last full measure to protect Metropolis.
Kevin Eastman Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 Fourth Printing Wraparound Cover (1985)
Speaking of selling like gangbusters, TMNT #1 sold…like gangbusters. According to Heritage, this is the earliest Turtles cover they’ve sold, and it’s the first that’s standard comic-sized. Eastman and Laird printed the first issue in non-standard sizes, I think because that’s what they could afford or had access to (this is a long newsletter, you can’t expect me to run down every single factoid).
This cover is a great shot of the group, with their nemesis Shredder. It looks like the fourth printing comic came out in 1985 so I don’t know why Eastman dated it 1986, unless that’s when he signed and sold it or gave it to somebody. Weird. Still, you’d have to look pretty hard to find earlier Turtles art. Eastman’s drawing here is also smoother than I’m used to seeing it.
Todd McFarlane The Amazing Spider-Man #311 Mysterio Cover (1989)
Damn, the colorist (see below) really didn’t do Todd any favors here. McFarlane is an iconic Spidey artist, covers don’t come up that often, and this is a great example of an important artist on the book that made the artist a superstar.
Dave Gibbons Watchmen #11 Page 18 (1987)
A few of these have been in auctions over the past year or so. This one looks to be in much better shape than a few others sold earlier this year for around $40,000 per page (accompanied by the original color guides). I’m not the world’s biggest Watchmen fan, so I can’t really speak to the merits of one panel page vs. another, but I would note that the page featuring the Comedian getting thrown out a window went for $100,000+ in 2023, and it’s awesome.
“Hall-of-Fame Artists” Conference
Darwyn Cooke DC: The New Frontier #3 Pages 62-63 (2004)
Heritage calls Cooke’s style “retro-modern.” Fair enough, but the subject matter in this piece - pre-historic he-man fighting dinos and sailing the ocean - is also well-suited to that descriptor. There are probably better Cooke pieces out there from New Frontier but this one’s a nice example of what Darwyn Cooke is about.
Wally Wood Daredevil #8 page 7 (1965)
I know I’ve celebrated Wally Wood in this newsletter before, but this page offers an opportunity to do so again. I love the economy at play here - very few extraneous lines, and smart use of ink. This is also striking to me because I see a lot of Wally Wood in Mike Allred’s work (see example below).
Bill Sienkiewicz Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 Variant Cover Sketch (2016).
The brushstrokes make the horse (and Batman) look like a spectral demon from beyond; billionaire playboy this is not.
Neal Adams and Dick Giordano Detective Comics #408 Page 8 (1971)
Not the greatest Adams page you could ask for, but love the claustrophobia of the last panel. Heritage is marketing it as a “half splash” which is…charitable. My guess is ol’ Neal had a deadline.
Frank Frazetta Famous Funnies #214 Cover (1954)
All but guaranteed to be the priciest art lot in the auction, currently at $360,000. It’s a Frazetta, but probably not what I would be looking for if I were shopping for the most Frazetta-y of Frazettas, because it lacks a hulking barbarian. To be fair, to reach the going rate for a Frazetta barbarian painting, you’d have to double the current bid, then add another zero. I’m curious to see how the hammer price on this one compares to Frazetta paintings out in the market. There’s a nice little Frazetta cowboy illustration in the auction too.
“This Fits My Collecting Goals” Conference
Gene Colan and Tom Palmer Doctor Strange #13 Page 5 (1976)
Jim Starlin and Rudy Nebres Doctor Strange #26 Splash Page 1 (1977)
Bill Everett Strange Tales #149 Doctor Strange Page 2 (1966)
I collect characters more than I collect artists. The Starlin piece is the best of these three, but I love all of ’em. I was heartbroken when a similar floating Dr. Strange by Chris Bachlo went for far more than I was willing to pay earlier this year.
Marcos Martin and Álvaro López Green Arrow #36 Cover (2004)
Cool use of negative space! Love that goatee.
Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #8 Double Splash Pages 4-5 (2011)
Could do better - the heroes are facing away from us - but if you want images with a lot of Lanterns, you gotta take them where you find them.
Alex Toth and Terry Austin Superman Annual #9 Page 17 (1983)
Always great to see a hero doing their hero stuff, and this Superman page delivers.
Honorable Mention
Declan Shalvey Spider-Man Noir #4 Variant Cover (2020)
This is some newer art, but I love the premise, and the ink washes kick it up a notch - perfect for a (literally) noir character.
Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia The Amazing Spider-Man #102 Splash Page 24 (1971)
Gil Kane isn’t necessarily making tons of top-10 Spidey Artists lists, but this is exactly what I would look for in a Spider-Man page.
Mark Bright Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 Cover Original Art (Marvel, 1987)
If you could cook up a Marvel page destined to part art collectors from their money, Wolverine v. Spider-Man is a pretty good way to do it.
I’m a lawyer, but not your lawyer. The views expressed above (“Views”) are not legal advice. Views are mine alone (and I don’t even know that I’ll stick to them, if pressed). Views should not be attributed to anybody else, including (but not limited to) my employer, employer’s clients, friends, family, or pets (current, former, or future).