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Lot
91175

Gobbledygook #1 (Mirage Studios, 1984) Condition: VF+....

2011 February Dallas Signature Vintage Comics & Comic Art Auction #7030

 
Sold for: Sign-in or Join (free & quick)
Auction Ended On: Feb 24, 2011
Item Activity: 6 Internet/mail/phone bidders Number of Bidders
5,187 page views
Location: Heritage Auctions
3500 Maple Avenue
Dallas, TX 75219

Description:
Gobbledygook #1 (Mirage Studios, 1984) Condition: VF+. The first time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ever appeared in print was on the back cover of this rare issue!
Overstreet ranks it as the second most-valuable Copper Age comic, behind only the Miracleman #1 Gold variant. Yet given the dearth of recorded sales, this issue may well be deserving of the #1 spot, and indeed while the Miracleman variant is said to have only 400 copies in print, this tops it scarcity-wise as reportedly just 50 copies of Gobbledygook #1 were made. This is certainly the first copy Heritage has ever offered.
As challenging as it is to find a copy offered for sale, it's also a challenge to authenticate given that all issues were produced on a photocopier. That's why the provenance of this copy is so important -- it was acquired directly from the creators in 1985 by fanzine publisher Paul Wagner, as detailed in our description of the original cover art elsewhere in this catalog.
While CGC does not certify Gobbledygook, our three in-house graders who examined the issue graded it VF, VF+ and VF/NM respectively. The spine stresses visible on the scan are the only notable defect.
This is the first comic published by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Mirage Studios. Later that spring, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 was released, in a meager first printing of 3,000 copies that still dwarfs that of Gobbledygook.
Since even most advanced collectors have probably never seen a copy of this comic, a brief description of the contents is in order: Fugitoid (a man's mind trapped in a robot's body) is the cover character and the star of two stories inside. A Champ story and pinups by Laird round out the content. On the inside front cover Eastman and Laird briefly introduce themselves and note, "Together we have put together some of our newest projects for you to check out."
The Turtles characters born in this independent comic became a major moneymaker, representing by far the biggest success to come out of independent comics and serving as an inspiration to creators and small publishers to this day. As a licensing/ merchandising success the characters had no parallel.
Given all of the above, we have every expectation that the final price will far exceed the stated Overstreet value. Overstreet 2010 VF 8.0 value = $413; VF/NM 9.0 value = $807.

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