The original artwork of Spider-Man wearing his black suit for the first time sold for $3.36 million at auction on Friday, setting a new record for comic book art.
Hand drawn black and white art by artist Mike Zeck for page 25 from 1984 Secret Wars Issue #8 had a pre-auction estimate of $330,000; when the Heritage Auctions sale ended, it sold for 10 times that amount, wiping out the previous record ($657,000) for comic book art; the previous record holder was the artwork for a 1974 issue of The Incredible Hulk which introduced Wolverine.
The record page – Zeck’s original drawing before it was colored and mass-produced for the comic itself – featured Spider-Man’s suit being consumed by the alien symbiote, answering the mystery behind his black suit (questions introduced earlier) and setting off a storyline that would ultimately result in the creation of the villainous Venom.
#Spider ManBlack’s Black Suit Origin Sells for $3.36 Million at Heritage Auction to Break #BD Registration.#Superman also breaks $3 million barrier with #1 selling Action Comics to launch four days #Comic books and comic event. 💥https://t.co/MPvQamZcei#MarvelComics pic.twitter.com/iB7RyRsAeF
— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) January 13, 2022
“That glob just smeared out and became a costume and dissolved the shreds of my old one in the process!” says Spider-Man on page 25 as he emerges wearing his black suit. Additionally, the artwork on page 24 of the same comic — where Spider-Man approaches the symbiote and takes his hand — also sold for $288,000 at the heritage auction.
“We couldn’t be happier, especially for our sender, who purchased the art in the late 1980s and has cherished these pages ever since,” said Joe Mannarino, Director of Comics and Comics. Heritage Auctions in New York, in a statement. “Today’s results prove what we’ve been saying for a long time: the art of comics is as beloved and valuable as anything put on the web.”
Neither the seller nor the buyer of the comic has been revealed by Heritage Auctions, which was also the auction house behind the record sale of the unopened blank copy of Super Mario 64 for $1,560,000 in July 2021. In addition to Spider-Man’s record sale, the Heritage Auctions event also earned the fourth-highest sale of a comic book issue ever when a 1938 copy action comics Issue #1, aka Superman’s Debut, sold for $3.1 million.
#HERITAGELIVE: Until today this copy of #ActionComics No. 1, with #Superman, had been owned by one owner since it was purchased in 1938. Today it has found a new home – and has become one of the most valuable comic books in the world, selling for $3,180,000https://t.co/wU4RO2H7s1 pic.twitter.com/UOGYhfqh8q
— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) January 13, 2022
