Original comic book art: next-level collecting

This cover illustration for the Incredible Hulk #283 by Ed Hannigan (Marvel, May 1983) ticks all the boxes, but the fact that it was in color had no effect on its performance at auction. It attained $33,314 including the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Hake’s Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
This cover illustration for the Incredible Hulk #283 by Ed Hannigan (Marvel, May 1983) ticks all the boxes, but the fact that it was in color had no effect on its performance at auction. It attained $33,314 including the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Hake’s Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
This cover illustration for the Incredible Hulk #283 by Ed Hannigan (Marvel, May 1983) ticks all the boxes, but the fact that it was in color had no effect on its performance at auction. It attained $33,314 including the buyer’s premium in March 2022. Image courtesy of Hake’s Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — People of all ages buy comic books to read for pleasure, and a subset of them enjoy collecting investment-grade examples. Still others chase the original hand-drawn illustrations that are reproduced en masse in the actual comic books. “This is another level of fan that very much revels in owning one-of-a-kind works of art,” said Alex Winter, president of Hake’s Auctions in York, Pennsylvania. “It is this unique nature that makes comic art highly sought after by that crowd.”

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Hake’s to auction incomparable pop culture memorabilia, March 15-16

James M Cox/Franklin D Roosevelt jugate button, 1.25in size, one of only six known in 1.25-inch size and one of only three known in this design; the first of its type to reach the marketplace in 40 years. Considered the ultimate political button, on par with a Honus Wagner T206 baseball card or ‘Action Comics’ #1. Estimate $100,000-$200,000

YORK, Pa. – Pop culture fans reacted with stunned disbelief, then excitement, last November when Hake’s sold a Captain American “hero-prop” shield used by Chris Evans in the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame. The pristine star-emblazoned shield commanded $259,540, the highest price ever paid at auction for a Marvel movie prop and the top price recorded in any sale of Hake’s record-setting $10 million year. However, America’s oldest collectibles auction house is not one to rest on its laurels, as the jaw-dropping lineup just announced for their March 15-16 auction clearly shows.

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Bruneau Jan. 1 auction features 20 lots of Silver & Bronze Age comics

Tales of Suspense #39, featuring the first appearance of Iron Man, est. $50,000-$80,000
Tales of Suspense #39, featuring the first appearance of Iron Man, est. $50,000-$80,000
Tales of Suspense #39, featuring the first appearance of Iron Man, est. $50,000-$80,000

CRANSTON, R.I. – Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers will ring in 2022 with a 20-lot New Year’s Day Premier Comic Auction on Saturday, January 1. It’s a modest group of comics, but don’t let the size of the lineup fool you. These books are from a single-owner Midwest collection (Bruneau & Co. sold the bulk of them this past year); what remains are his last, final comics, to be sold without reserves. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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