DALLAS, TX.- Gene Colan and Johnny Craig’s original opening splash page of Iron Man No. 1 from May 1968 marks a historic moment for Marvel Comics, the beginning of the title series of what is now one of the most popular heroes in all of pop culture and arguably the heart, wounded though it may be, of the Avengers franchise.
The original art for the page is a featured lot in Heritage’s Sept. 25–27 Comic Art Signature Auction, part of a four-day event along with the overlapping Sept. 24–26 Comic Books Signature Auction — and its consignor has been behind a few historic moments for Marvel himself.
David Maisel is the Founding Chairman of Marvel Studios and was crucial in the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its launch in 2008 with Iron Man. The decision to kick off the MCU with a hero of middling popularity was partly driven by his own lifelong fandom and partly by his confidence that a fascinating character like Tony Stark would resonate with a wider audience. Colan’s incredible work on the page captures the power and charm of the character and the energy Maisel had in mind for the enormous project of transferring the magic of the comic book to the big screen. That gave the page enormous appeal to Maisel.
“Gene created two things,” Maisel says. “He made the suit expressive and almost limber, and he was very cinematic in his art, and almost foreseeing the MCU at some point in time, almost 40 years later. The combination of it being the historic first page of the first issue, the big art of a Page 1 splash, the fun ‘What a way to start out in your own mag’ and Gene’s art was something I couldn’t say no to.”
Maisel describes Colan’s Iron Man No. 1 opening page as one of the character’s four historically most important comic pages (of which only three are known to have survived), along with the cover and first page of Tales of Suspense No. 39, the March 1963 issue that introduced the character, and the cover to Iron Man No. 1. The Iron Man No. 1 cover has been held by the same owner for decades; the whereabouts of the original art for the cover of Tales of Suspense No. 39 are unknown, if it still exists; and Page 1 of Tales of Suspense No. 39 sold July 10 for $3.875 million at Heritage Auctions’ Comic Art Signature Auction, setting a new auction record price for original Comic Book Art.
The creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Maisel says, could be seen as a relay, from Stan Lee creating the characters to his own leg of the race, the creation of Marvel Studios. Viewed that way, Page 1 of Iron Man 1 could be considered a symbolic baton. He can’t wait to find out who will pick it up next.
Batman, that other iconic comics hero who makes up for his lack of superpowers with wits and wealth, is the star of another featured lot, along with one of his greatest villains, Two-Face, making his first cover appearance on Jerry Robinson’s cover for Detective Comics No. 68 from 1942.
“It’s notable that this artwork even survived at all,” says Heritage Auctions Vice President Barry Sandoval. “For anything from the early ’40s to still exist is amazing, and that it’s a notable issue is all the more impressive. Jerry Robinson was one of the key early Batman creators. Early on with Batman, the only credit was to Bob Kane, but over the years, there were other creators involved. It’s no coincidence that ‘Robin’ sounds like ‘Robinson.’ Suffice to say he was heavily involved in Batman’s formative years.”
Another Golden Age gem is the cover art for Action Comics No. 22 from March 1940 by Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, in which Supes lifts a steam shovel just in time to avert tragedy, is another early Golden Age highlight of the Platinum Session. Silver Age featured lots include Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four No. 56 cover, exactly the type of dynamic image from the greatest Silver Age artist of them all that is highly coveted by collectors, with Klaw trapping the Invisible Girl, the Thing and Mr. Fantastic in the Baxter Building.
Nothing is more sought out in the current market than great examples from Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil from the late 1970s through the early 1980s, and that now-classic art is represented in the auction with an amazing seven pages, including four in the Platinum Session. Especially notable examples include Elektra’s very first story appearance on Page 4 of No. 168 from 1981 and Page 35 of No. 181, the rooftop showdown with Bullseye after his killing of Elektra.
Jim Lee’s cover of 1992’s X-Men No. 6 is an especially desirable piece from the modern era, as it has been six years since Heritage last offered a Lee Uncanny X-Men cover and nearly 20 years since Heritage’s last fully rendered cover from Lee’s adjective-free X-Men relaunch. Better yet, this one features Sabretooth, Wolverine and Lee’s signature character, Psylocke. Like Miller before him, Lee defined an entire era of superhero comics, and this cover image is as definitive as it gets.
The Sept. 24–26 Comic Books Signature Auction’s most notable highlights include the second-finest known copy of Captain America No. 3, graded a 9.4. That example is just one of the treasures from the Merrimack Valley Collection, an incredible recently discovered trove of Golden Age comics. The issue is a monumental piece of comics history, as it includes a text story by Stan Lee, his first work for Timely Comics. A 9.0 copy of Captain America No. 1 — one of just two 9.0 copies, with only six graded higher — is another peak in the Merrimack Valley Collection.
“This is a really, really exciting collection,” says Heritage Auctions Vice President Aaron White. “It’s an original-owner collection, recently discovered, that was stored for the last 75 or 80 years in a brown cardboard box. Every book is terrific — the colors are stunning.”
Other eye-popping finds from the collection include the first nine issues of Batman, eight of which graded at 6.5 or higher, including 9.0 copies of No. 5, No. 7 and No. 9.
