February 2019 was a good month for Original Comic Art on Ebay, many great pieces for all kinds of collectors were auctioned (go to the weekly newsletter archives to see all of them).
This is a list of the top comic art lots sold on Ebay USA based on higher end price, my archives may be incomplete, as “Buy It Now” auctions are difficult to track, a really good piece may last a few minutes online before selling. That said I think we have 10 very nice pieces to see!
Jack Kirby, Journey Into Mystery #124, page 16 original art, $5,1k. Pretty obvious that the King would win this chart. Nice pieces like this one usually go to other auction houses or, when on Ebay, they’re usually for sale with unrealistic Buy it Now prices.
Herb Trimpe and Barry Windsor-Smith, Machine Man (mini-series) #3 original art, page 12, $5,1k. Another piece usually found on specialized auction houses. This one takes the second place for a few dollars, Barry Smith art always sells for very high prices, even as an inker for a secondary character.
Steven Butler, Silver Sable #19 Original Cover Art, $4,5k. It’s no secret that original comic art from the 90’s is growing fast in price, Spider-Man was very popular in the early nineties, following the Todd McFarlane run, and many artists worked on several series and mini-series.
After the big growth in recent years for Erik Larsen, Sal Buscema and Mark Bagley Spider-Man comic art, now it’s the turn for Butler, Saviuk, Lim and others. This is a great cover with a big Venom figure, probably a Silver Sable cover without Venom would go for half this price.
Don Newton, Batman #368, page 1 original art, $4,3k. After the flood of Newton/Alcala Batman original comic art on Ebay (3 pages put for sale every week since 2017), prices for regular interior art are going down to around $300/500. A good action page or a splash can still attract high bids though.
Gil Kane, Creatures on the Loose #16 original cover art, $4,3k. No superheroes in sight mean a low price, even for a vintage Marvel cover drawn by a master. A light restoration work, a good scan and a specialized auction could take the price up a bit.
Ross Andru, the Brave and the Bold #199 DPS original art, $3k. I imagined a lower price for a Spectre piece, even if it is a DPS (and even if Andru‘s original art prices are growing).
Al Williamson, Weird Science #15 original comic art, $2,9k. A classic piece from EC comics, not the best page in the issue, that explains the “low” price.
Jack Kirby, Astonishing Tales #1, page 10 original comic art, $3,4k. Very nice piece for Kirby fans with Ka-Zar fighting in every panel.
Herb Trimpe, Godzilla #21, page 22 original art, $2,8k. Godzilla Vs. Devil Dinosaur in a Kirbyesque page by Trimpe. ‘Nuff said.
Sal Buscema, Incredible Hulk #202, page 17 original art, $2k. The prices for Buscema‘s Hulk pieces are growing, $2k is the right price for a page with an angry Hulk and a nice girl.
As you probably noticed this best-of contained 7 pages from Marvel Comics, 2 from DC Comics and 1 from EC Comics, in a weird symmetry Jack Kirby holds the #1 and #8 spots while Herb Trimpe holds the #2 and #9.
The “younger” piece comes from 1995 (the Silver Sable Cover at #3), so classic comic art beats contemporary comic art 10-0 (#11 in this list would be a Hellboy illustration by Mike Mignola from 1999, for the first post-2000 piece we’d have to go to #14, with a Wolverine/Hulk page by Sam Kieth from 2002).
This is obviously only a price based top-ten, there were many more interesting pieces sold on Ebay last month. I highlighted all of them in the weekly Original Comic Art Tips newsletter, along with the best lots for sale in the other auction houses.
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Comments
Great write up! I missed seeing a few of these. It’s just unfathamable that a Silver Sable cover is worth so much. Even with Venom’s appearance. Are there actual Silver Sable fans? She’s no Black Cat in my book 😉
Thanks Anthony! I don’t think it was sold to a Silver Sable fan, it’s a great image, with Venom, from the 90’s… I’d like to own it myself!
That Don Newton splash was from Batman #368, which features Dick Grayson officially handing off the Robin name and role to Jason Todd. Being from a key book gave it some extra juice.
Thanks, Bob, I’m sure you’re right. It’s a splash with two big figures but it’s a static image, so the price has more to do with the importance of that issue.