DALLAS, TX.- Black Cat was good luck for Spider-Man at Heritage Auctions: The debut of the “startling new villainess” on the cover of 1979’s The Amazing Spider-Man No. 194 sold Friday for $1,020,00 to become the most valuable Spidey cover ever sold at auction. And Black Cat’s introduction wasn’t the sole debut among the record-setters in Heritage’s January 9-12 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction, as Robin’s first swing through the comics in Detective Comics No. 38 realized $132,000 to set a new highwater mark for the historic issue.
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With this $10.79 million auction, Heritage began 2025 as it spent most of 2024, making history with record-setting sales of iconic pieces of American history.
Black Cat was created by comics legends Marv Wolfman, who initially intended to use her during his run on Spider-Woman, and Dave Cockrum, who designed her black, white-fur-accented outfit. But it was Al Milgrom who brought her to life on that cover.
Milgrom co-created DC Comics’ Firestorm, and as penciler and inker, he was responsible for more than 1,000 covers during his tenures at DC and Marvel Comics, where he worked on The Avengers, Defenders, Captain America and dozens more titles. But with Friday’s million-dollar sale, the result of a long and heated bidding war, Milgrom’s cover for The Amazing Spider-Man No. 194 leaps to the front of the line as the most famous one of his 50-year career.
At the consignor’s direction, a portion of the proceeds from its sale will go to the artist.
“As we’ve been seeing for some time in our auctions, it’s impossible to predict the ceiling for the best comic art,” says Todd Hignite, Executive Vice President. “The market is just incredibly deep for such singular examples, and this cover’s record-setting price led to a diverse group of amazing results.”
“Little did I know that my artistic effort on this cover would go on to become one of the most iconic covers of the 1970s,” Milgrom says. “I’ve signed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of autographs on this comic for legions of fans.”
Many of whom were likely among the more than 4,700 bidders who participated worldwide in the sold-out four-day event, which saw a thoughtfully curated 910 lots top $10.79 million. Among them was a copy of Superman’s 1938 debut graded CGC Apparent FN+ 6.5 Moderate/Extensive (A-4) that sold for $384,000, a heroic sum for a restored copy of Action Comics No. 1.
Not far behind was another original work that served as one of the auction’s centerpieces: Jack Kirby and Mike Royer’s cover of 1978’s graphic novel The Silver Surfer (or, as it’s come to be known, (The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience). The Surfer ranks among King Kirby’s most potent and popular creations, and this graphic novel wasn’t just the first of its kind but ranks among Kirby’s finest works. It soared to a $312,000 finish.
A bidding war erupted over Kirby and Joe Sinnott’s splash page that kicked off 1969’s Fantastic Four No. 83, an Inhumans tale that asked, “Shall Man Survive?” This stunning piece opened live bidding at $57,500 and sold for $117,000.
Carl Barks’ original 1971 painting Money Lake, based on Uncle Scrooge McDuck’s first solo comic from 1952, lived up to its name as bidders dove headfirst into the work that realized $264,000. It was joined by a thoroughly modern Marvel that smashed its way to the top of the auction’s results: Dale Keown and Bob McLeod’s cover of 1991’s The Incredible Hulk No. 379.
That issue featured perhaps the most famous of Keown’s renderings of the Jade Giant from his 27-issue run with writer Peter David. This was the Hulk yet again transformed, the Green Hulk and the Grey Hulk having merged two issues earlier with Bruce Banner to create Professor Hulk. For Issue No. 379, Keown used the “Hulk” logo to depict the Green Goliath’s myriad incarnations, beneath which he offered a close-up of the Hulk sporting an unnerving smile that proved a smash hit with bidders who drove its final price to $168,000.
One of this auction’s most significant offerings hailed from Daredevil No. 5, best known as the issue where Wally Wood debuted as the title’s new artist in collaboration with writer Stan Lee. From that issue hailed this original “Marvel Masterwork Pin-Up” featuring the Man Without Fear walking a highwire; just two issues later, Wood redesigned Daredevil’s costume before abruptly leaving the title he helped define for decades to come. Wood’s masterwork realized $108,000.
The Boy Wonder lived up to his nickname with his record-setting debut as Bruce Wayne’s ward and Batman’s sidekick in the CGC Very Fine 8.0 copy of 1940’s Detective Comics No. 38. That copy hailed from The Lester Schilke Collection, an assemblage of original-owner Golden Age and even pre-Golden Age books that looked like they’d just been delivered to the newsstand.
That also included the best copy of Detective Comics No. 39 Heritage had ever offered — graded CGC Very Fine+ 8.5 — which sold for $33,600, another record for the issue that teased Clayface, who made his proper debut one issue later.
There was also no shortage of suspense over the CGC Very Good 4.0 copy of 1944’s Suspense Comics No. 3 offered in this auction. Copies of the book in any condition are extraordinarily difficult to come by and extraordinarily expensive when they do pop up. It realized $156,000 Thursday to become, by far, the most valuable copy of the historic title in that grade.
“Bidders were particularly excited about fresh-to-market material, particularly new material from the Golden Age,” says Heritage Auctions Vice President Barry Sandoval. “These comics are now more than 80 years old, and collectors often wonder if there are any discoveries yet to be made. For now, at least, that answer is a resounding yes.”
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