BEVERLY HILLS, CA.- An unrestored copy of Action Comics #1 (DC, 1938) – the most desirable comic book in the hobby – graded 3.0 by CGC was snapped up for $310,700 as the undisputed top lot in Heritage Auctions' $7.17 million Nov. 20-22 Comics & Comics Art Signature® Auction. The copy of the fabled comic book came to auction via The Prospect Mountain Collection, which, in and of itself, totaled just more than $1 million.

"High-end, vintage comic books across the board continue to show incredible market durability," said Ed Jaster, Senior Vice President at Heritage Auctions. "The auction total, at $7.17 million, is the third-highest grossing comics auction in history, period."

On the comic art side of the auction, several strong prices were realized, including the $179, 250 final price seen for Frank Frazetta's original paperback book cover painting for Jongor Fights Back, an absolute classic fantasy image showcasing the things for which Frazetta is most beloved: warriors, women and monsters.

The Loveland Collection of Silver Age Comic Books, another featured grouping in Beverly Hills, performed very well, with a total just shy of $500,000, led by a CGC-graded 9.4 copy of Journey Into Mystery #83, which realized an impressive $179,250 for famous first appearance of the mighty Thor.

A CGC-Graded 7.0 copy of Pep Comics #22, the finest copy of the first appearance of Archie Andrews that Heritage has ever offered, realized $143,400, while a 6.5 CGC-graded copy of Captain America Comics #1 smashed pre-auction estimates to bring $107,550 and a 5.0 GCG-graded copy of Batman #1, one of the most sought-after comic books in collecting, showed very strongly at a final price realized of #83,650.

Bill Everett's original cover art for Strange Tales #152, one of the few covers that the artist penciled in the 1960s, brought spirited bidding and a final price of $71,700, while Ron Wilson And John Romita, Sr.'s original cover art for Avengers #118, featuring a host of famous Marvel characters, rounded out the top original comic art offerings with a final price realized of $65,725.

Rounding out the top comic book offerings was a CGC-graded 5.5 copy of All Star Comics #8, the first appearance of Wonder Woman, which realized $44,813, more than triple the guide value, and a CGC-graded 3.5 copy of More Fun Comics #73, featuring the debut of Aquaman, brought a premium at $38,838, more than 10 times the guide price for the book.

"Anticipation of Wonder Woman and Aquaman being in the new Batman-Superman movie spurred these comics to their high prices," said Jaster, "showing that the continued appearance of more and more characters in mainstream vehicles is leading to higher prices realized for their original appearances."