DALLAS – The original art for The Amazing Spider-Man #100 sold for $478,000 at Heritage Auctions on Friday, setting a world record for the most expensive Marvel Comics Silver or Bronze Age cover ever sold at public auction.

It also is the most expensive piece of Spider-Man art drawn by legendary artist John Romita Sr.

The winning bidder chose to remain anonymous.

The previous public auction record for a piece of Spider-Man art drawn by Romita Sr. was set by Heritage Auctions in 2013 when his cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (Marvel, 1973) sold for $286,800.

Considered one of the most iconic covers of the 1970s, the cover masterfully portrays Spidey and dozens of famous canon characters. Collaborating with the legendary Stan Lee and artist Frank Giacoia, the trio understood the anniversary issue’s cover needed to be a masterpiece. Historians and fans alike rank the cover among the most influential of all time.

The original cover was offered during Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Auction held in Dallas.

“A true work of art, the winning bidder got a lot of bang for the buck in that the cover depicts so many iconic characters,” Heritage Auctions’ Senior Vice President Ed Jaster said. “This cover was done during the peak period of John Romita Sr.’s artwork, at a time when Spider-Man’s popularity was extremely high.”

Presented in Marvel Comics’ popular “floating heads” style, more than two dozen famous faces surround a full-body image of Spider-Man. Vicious villains such as Kingpin, Doctor Octopus, Scorpion and the Beetle appear; and Peter Parker’s girlfriends Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, his beloved Aunt May and Parker’s boss at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson, are also depicted.

Top sellers on the auction’s first day included a copy of Batman #1 (DC, 1940), which sold for $334,600 and the first appearance of Green Lantern from All American Comics #16 (DC, 1940), which brought $215,100.