DALLAS, TX.- An incredible selection of original comic art including some of the most important covers of the Golden Age as well as modern classics such as Todd McFarlane’s landmark cover of Batman No. 423 (1988) is up for bidding Oct. 17 in Heritage’s Keif Fromm Collection Comic Art Signature® Auction.

Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena describes the late Keif Fromm as a singularly discerning and shrewd collector.

“I knew Keif for 30 years,” Maddalena says. “At a time when collectors were focusing on Silver Age and Bronze Age titles, Keif built probably the finest collection of Golden Age comic art in the hobby. His knowledge was incredible, and there’s no question his eye for quality was second to none. We are thrilled to be able to bring this collection to auction.”

Surviving original artwork from the era of comics’ greatest cultural impact is extremely rare, and in many cases the art in the Fromm Collection is the best known — or only known — example from the biggest names in the industry. Additional highlights span through the modern era of comic art, led by one of the greatest Batman covers of modern times, drawn by Spawn creator McFarlane, perhaps the defining artist of the era.

This image, McFarlane’s only cover for the Caped Crusader’s namesake title, shows Batman shielding a frightened young woman within his flowing cape, bats swirling overhead in the moonlight. It portrays the hero as both a powerful, ominous presence and a tender, protective and human one, perfectly capturing the dynamic at the heart of Bruce Wayne’s crime-fighting alter ego.

McFarlane’s interior Dark Knight work is also represented in the auction. Page 20 of Detective Comics No. 578 from the previous year captures a poignant moment in which Batman disposes of Joe Chill’s gun — the very weapon that ended the lives of his parents and set a young Bruce Wayne on the path to becoming the Caped Crusader.

One especially exciting Golden Age highlight of the Fromm Collection is the original Captain Marvel Jr. “V for Victory” Master Comics No. 27 cover art by Mac Raboy. This 1942 cover ranks among the best the stylish artist ever created, and it perfectly epitomizes the World War II era of comics. Targeting older readers, Raboy brought a more realistic, often somber tone to Captain Marvel Jr. that contrasted the cartoonish look of C.C. Beck’s Captain Marvel work. If Junior’s style looks familiar, it’s because one such fan was a teenage Elvis Presley, who took fashion and hairstyle inspiration from his beloved comic book heroes, particularly Captain Marvel Jr.

Raboy was the cover artist for Master Comics No. 38 as well, another piece of Golden Age comic history. Captain Marvel Jr. flies toward the reader, a proud grin on the young superhero’s face after tearing the flight deck from an enemy aircraft carrier. Surviving Raboy WWII Captain Marvel Jr. original covers are exceedingly rare, so it is remarkable for a single collector to have more than one in his collection.

A marvelous example of Beck’s Captain Marvel work, the cover of Whiz Comics No. 19 from July 1941, is part of the Fromm Collection and is only the second Whiz Comics cover Heritage has ever offered. Beck was co-creator of Captain Marvel, one of the era’s best-known superheroes, who often outsold even Batman and Superman at the height of his popularity. In this playful yet precisely composed image, as the text on the cover explains, “Captain Marvel Crushes the Tiger-Shark!” Indeed, judging by the bewildered expression on the gasping shark’s face, Captain Marvel is getting the better of his foe with a powerful headlock.

A similar underwater hero-versus-fish scene plays out on the Hit Comics No. 5 Red Bee original cover art from 1940, an iconic example of Lou Fine’s graceful linework that can make even the Red Bee look majestic and heroic. This highly sought after piece of Golden Age comics history includes an acetate overlay with modern-day re-creations of all cover text (“The Red Bee plunges his big knife into the killer fish!”).

Fantasy artist extraordinaire Frank Frazetta is represented with an outstanding specimen of original cover art for The Ghost Rider No. 5 from 1951. Featuring one of the classic Frazetta femmes that would become one of his hallmarks, this kinetic cover presents Ghost Rider as almost a Wild West Batman, a masked vigilante swinging to the rescue against a backdrop of gun smoke.

Other highlights include but are not limited to the assortment of Golden Age heroes collected in the Marvels No. 1 double splash pages painted by Alex Ross for the blockbuster 1994 four-issue origin retelling; a sweet if cheesy page from Batman No. 13 (1942) by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson and George Roussos in which Batman reassures Robin how much he cares for the Boy Wonder; and an original 1960 Charles Schulz Peanuts topical daily strip featuring Lucy and Linus discussing a Charlie Brown presidential candidacy.