09 January 2018
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The amazing Spiderman makes his debut – but the price was steep!
Hake’s concluded its anniversary year with a record-setting US$1.75m pop culture auction that was led by an US$140,000 Amazing Fantasy comic book.
Hake’s concluded its anniversary year with a record-setting US$1.75m pop culture auction that was led by an US$140,000 Amazing Fantasy comic book.
Yes, a comic… “It was a sale for the history books,” commented Alex Winter, President of Hake’s Americana. “First and foremost, it was the highest-grossing individual sale of our half-century in business, and it also capped our most successful year ever, in terms of the grand total for all sales conducted within a 12 month period.”
The centrepiece of the sale, the 100% AFA-graded Russell Branton Star Wars collection, produced one of the event’s top lots: a Kenner Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi double-telescoping action figure. Presented on its original blister card, the coveted 1978 figure sold within its estimate range for US$76,700.
From the same collection, the highest-graded example of a 1978 “Yellow Hair” Star Wars Luke Skywalker figure was hotly pursued to US$50,622 against a pre-sale estimate of just US$10,000-20,000. Its astonishing price set a new record for any Luke Skywalker figure. Another highlight was the Anakin Skywalker prototype figure from the 1985 toy line for the film Star Wars: The Power of the Force. It garnered 17 bids before settling at US$34,981 against an estimate of US$10,000-20,000.
Even in light of the prices indicated so far in this report, there was yet another category whose top seller eclipsed all others: vintage comic books. A CGC-graded 7.5 VF issue of Marvel’s Amazing Fantasy (No.15) had been entered in the auction with expectations of reaching US$100,000 or more. Published in August 1962, the sought-after issue introduced The Amazing Spider-Man series and was also the first to show the skyscraper crawler on the cover. A total of 16 aggressive bids propelled the Silver Age classic to US$140,760, a world record auction price for the title.
Another ephemera lot deserving special mention was the December 1953 issue of Playboy No.1: this featured Marilyn Monroe on the cover and inside, as the publication’s first-ever centrefold. Graded highly, it sold for an eye-watering US$29,205.
But original comic art stole the day - and was in demand across several sub genres. Charles Schulz’s art for a 1957 Peanuts daily newspaper strip was bid to US$25,441 against an estimate of US$10,000-$20,000; while John Byrne’s 1986 cover art for the Fantastic Four (No. 289) comic book finished well within its estimate range at US$24,727. Also created as cover art, Daniel Clowes’ edgy work for Dark Horse Comics’ Urban Legends No.1 (June 1993) was on target at US$19,800.