Rare Comic Books

Anti-Communist Comic Books Are A Collector's Find

Filed under: Auctions

When discussing comic books on this website I've mainly mentioned superheroes but that's not the only type of rare comic book that does well at auction. Heritage Auctions' upcoming Vintage Comics and Comic Art auctions feature another shadowy section of the comic book world. The sales include a large selection of esoteric comic books from the collection of Pennsylvania collector Todd Warren. Mr. Warren's collection delves into an intriguing subset of the comic book world, anti-communist comic books.

Blood Is The Harvest, shown at right, is from 1950, and shows a Red Army firing squad on the cover aiming their guns at blindfolded peasants. This comic is a rare book. According to Steve Borock, Consignment Director at Heritage supposedly only 13 copies exist. The auction also includes If The Devil Would Talk, another rare one with only 80 existing copies and The Red Iceberg, with a cover that shows a giant red iceberg (representing communism's spread) with an Uncle Sam figure in a rowboat. Other comics from Mr. Warren's collection include similar themes with titles such as How Stalin Hopes We Will Destroy America, Is This Tomorrow, Double Talk, and Two Faces of Communism. "These are a real time capsule of the Cold War days, from the time period when comics were considered one of the more effective ways to reach a mass audience," Borock said. A same grade copy of Blood Is The Harvest last sold at Heritage for over $3,000 back in 2003. This one should do at least as well.

Tags: Anti-communist, Comic Books, Heritage Auctions, Rare Comic Books

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Another Rare Batman Comic Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Lately it seems like rare comic books might just be the best investment of all. A Batman comic bought for $1,200 could sell for over $400,000 in an August 5-7 auction at Heritage Auction Galleries. The CGC Certified VF-7.5 Detective #27 was bought by college student in Hawaii in 1974 at a bookstore. He later tracked down the woman who had sold the comic to the bookstore and found out that she had bought it off a local newsstand in 1939, before Hawaii was even a state. The comic book is in an unrestored condition and has had just these two owners.

Earlier this year, Heritage sold another comic book documenting Batman's first appearance for $1,075,000. That blockbuster price brought forward the anonymous consignor of this most recent version. He plans to use the proceeds to help pay for his son's college education. "We think this could become just the second comic to top $400,000 at auction," said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auctions.

Tags: batman comic, comic book, comic book collecting, comic books, detective comics, rare comic, rare comic books

Rare Comic Book Sale Puts Superman Back On Top

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

A rare copy of the first comic book to feature Superman sold this week for a record breaking $1 million. Considered by many in the market to be the "Holy Grail" of comic books, the 1938 edition Action Comics #1 was in excellent condition and was originally sold for just 10 cents. It features Superman lifting a car on its front cover.

The sale went through the website ComicConnect.com and was between a private seller and private buyer. The $1 million sale price smashes the previous record of $317,000 set last year for another Action Comics #1 issue (in lesser condition) and looks like it will hold its own against the Batman auction coming up soon.

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Tags: comic book, comic book collecting, comic books, ComicBook, ComicBookCollecting, ComicBooks, rare comic books, RareComicBooks, superman

Batman Tops Superman's Rare Comic Book Record

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Batman beats Superman at least when it comes to the rare comic book market right now. A rare copy of the first Batman comic book has surpassed the previous comic book record price, $317,000, paid for a first Superman comic by John Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of a Down last year. The bidding at Heritage Auctions for a comic that marks the first appearance of Batman has already reached a total of $418,250 including buyer's premium and the auction is still two weeks way. Heritage Auctions will be selling the Detective Comics #27, cover date of May 1939 on February 25. The comic is one of the finest known surviving copies of the issue and is being sold on behalf of an anonymous consignor who purchased it for $100 more than 40 years ago.

Tags: batman, comic book, comic book auction, comic book collecting, ComicBook, ComicBookAuction, ComicBookCollecting, rare comic, rare comic books, RareComic, RareComicBooks