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Sunday Internet Comics Auction
Auction Ends:
February 3, 2019
Live Session at 6:00 PM CT
Highlights of this week's auction include:
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Family Guy First Episode Full Family
Animation Drawing Signed by Seth MacFarlane (Fox, 1999)
Family Guy fans, you gotta check this out. It's an
incredible original production drawing of the entire Griffin
family! From left to right: Brian, Stewie, Lois, Peter (great
profile), Chris, and seated with her face to the family, Meg. This
is from the very first episode, "Death Has a Shadow." It was
originally shown after Super Bowl XXXIII, on January 31, 1999. This
scene is listed as 187A. The art is in blue pencil on 12 field
animation paper, with a combined image size of 8.75" x 5.5". If
that wasn't enough, series creator Seth MacFarlane has hand-signed
the piece! Doesn't get much better than this! The drawing is matted
with an opening of 12" x 9.25" and framed with Plexiglas for an
overall size of 20.5" x 17.5" A 20th Century Fox seal is on the
art, and a COA is included on back of the frame. Drawing is in Fine
condition.
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Adventure Comics #79 (DC, 1942) Condition:
Apparent VG/FN
Classic Manhunter/Nazi War cover by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Jack
Burnley and Bernard Baily art. Restoration includes multiple tear
seals and reinforcing on the centerfold. Overstreet 2018 GD 2.0
value = $300; VG 4.0 value = $600.
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Headline Comics #9 (Prize, 1944) Condition:
FN
Hitler story. Interesting Halloween/Nazi War cover by Dan
Zolnerowich. The second copy we've encountered to date. Overstreet
2018 FN 6.0 value = $159.
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Alex Raymond Rip Kirby Daily Comic
Strip Original Art dated 3-5-54 (King Features Syndicate,
1954)
Rip Kirby, Desmond, and Crusher pay an after-hours visit to
Haskin's bar in this chilly strip created in ink over graphite on
Bristol board with an image area of 20" x 5.25". The strip is
slightly toned with a text correction in the first panel, and light
glue residue showing from behind the revision. In Very Good
condition.
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Journey Into Mystery #83 (Marvel, 1962) CGC FN-
5.5 Off-white pages
The origin and first appearance of Thor. Jack Kirby cover and art.
Steve Ditko art. Currently #6 on Overstreet's list of Top 50
Silver Age Comics. Overstreet 2018 FN 6.0 value = $5,950. CGC
census 1/19: 66 in 5.5, 286 higher.
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Iron Man #1 (Marvel, 1968) CBCS NM 9.4 White
pages
Origin of Iron Man retold. Story continued from Iron Man and
Sub-Mariner #1. Gene Colan cover. Colan and Johnny Craig art.
CBCS notes, "From the Clinton Collection." Overstreet 2018 NM- 9.2
value = $1,500.
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Gil Kane and John Romita Sr. Captain
America #145 Page 4 Original Art (Marvel, 1972)
Nick Fury, Dum-Dum Dugan and Valentina de la Fontaine are featured
on this page from "Skyjacked!". Ink over blue pencil graphite on
Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". In Excellent
condition, with tape residue at the top and bottom.
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Peanuts - Lucy and Charlie Brown
Production Cel Setup and Animation Drawings (Bill Melendez, c.
1980s)
Baseball manager Charlie Brown pays a visit to Lucy's Psychiatric
Help booth, in this original hand-painted multi-cel setup. We hope
he's getting his five cents worth! Figure sizes are 4.5" and 4".
Setup is matted with an opening of 11" x 8.5" and framed with
Plexiglas for an overall size of 21" x 18.5". Also included are
three matching 12 field animation drawings, two of which are
hand-signed by Bill Melendez (1916 - 2008). Drawings are in Very
Good condition; cel setup condition is Fine.
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (NES, LJN, 1989)
Wata 9.4 A+ (Seal Rating)
Part of the Indiana Collection, the first video game collection
with a recognized pedigree, noted on the Wata label. 2,000 game
collection from an independent video rental store in rural Indiana
that closed in 1998 leaving store stock that was never sold in
pristine condition. Music composed by David Wise. Based on the 1988
movie. For more information about certified video games, see
HA.com/wata.
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The Art of Richard W. Sprang
Hardcover Signed, Numbered, Limited First Edition #46/200 (Striking
Impressions, 1998)
A lovely 8.5" x 11.25" hardcover edition with embossed gold foil on
the cover. The book contains 272 pages and is an unauthorized
biography and career retrospective of Golden Age Batman artist Dick
Sprang (1915-2000). The book is fully illustrated in both color and
black and white. It includes rarely seen Sprang art from throughout
his entire career, illustrated with photos, illustrations, and
articles. The book's production run was strictly limited to 200
copies by DC Comics due to use of their characters and was
conceived, produced, published, and privately distributed (not
sold) to a small circle of friends and Sprang admirers. The page
opposite the table of contents has been boldly signed by Sprang in
black felt tip pen and has also been hand-numbered. This is
#46/200, and it is in Excellent condition.
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Our MyHeritage: MyBids feature makes tracking your
favorite items easier than ever. Just a reminder...our Sunday
Internet Comics, Animation, and Art Auctions end with a Live
Session at 6:00 PM CT.
Browse the entire auction here.
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The Indiana Pedigree
Collection of Video Games |
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As you read the
descriptions of the certified video games we're auctioning, you
will see some described as being from the Indiana Collection
pedigree.
A small part of the hoard known as the Indiana Collection.
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We have the full scoop on this collection, and it's written by a
fellow who knows a thing or two about pedigrees – former CGC
Primary Grader and current Wata Games Chief Advisor Mark Haspel.
You can read the story
here.
A number of Indiana Collection games are in this week's auction,
with more to follow in our Signature auction. You can browse through
all of them here.
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Overstreet Comic Book
Price Guide #2 – the First Hardbound Edition (Fourth Article in a
Series) |
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By David Stone, Heritage Auctions
Bob Overstreet began producing hardbound copies of The
Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide with his second edition in
1972. The books had simple navy blue cloth covers, with gilt
lettering on the front and spine. They included sections on
grading, where to buy and sell comics, and the history of comics
and comic fandom, as well as the general listing of comic book
prices for issues in Good, Fine, and Mint condition. As the
hardbound copies were relatively expensive ($10 cover price),
Overstreet decided to only print them in batches, as orders came
in, rather than ordering an initial print run to have a supply on
hand. Customers had to allow two months for delivery of their
orders (see advertisement in the Rocket's Blast and Comic
Collector #93 below).
Today, the hardbound #2 is the rarest and most enigmatic issue in
the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide regular series. Bob
Overstreet experimented with the format for the hardbounds
throughout the production process. We have examined three examples
of the number 2 hardcover in recent years and each book represents
a distinctly different variety. The books were bound on at least
two separate occasions, with different arrangements of the text on
the front cover and spine. All three copies we have seen have a
pictorial soft cover bound in, a feature not seen on any other
issue in the regular hardbound series.
One example surfaced on eBay in March of 2018, where it realized
$798 (see cover below). This copy has a binder's stamp on the
endpaper at the back of the book that reads "Southern Bound May
1972" and a pictorial soft cover, as used for the regular softbound
edition, bound in (see images below).
In November of 2018, longtime collector Jack Mallette made a
remarkable discovery - an example of the hardbound OPG #2 with a
binding stamp on the end paper that read "Southern Bound June 1972"
and a different arrangement of the text on the front cover. This
copy had a gilt horizontal line between the title and the author's
name and the edition number following the author's name, instead of
preceding it (compare cover below with the previous example). This
copy also had a pictorial soft cover bound in. The book was in the
collection of an old-time collector who recently passed away. Jack
remembers selling the book to him years ago and believes it might
possibly be the copy he mentioned in an article in the Comic
Book Marketplace in 1995. Jack purchased that book in a 1984
auction, along with a whitecover OPG #1 and two other books, for
the then-unheard-of price of $1,600.
Another example of the second printing was auctioned in June of
2016, realizing $1,450. That copy, illustrated below, was from Bob
Overstreet's personal collection, graded 9.4 NM, signed by him, and
had the June-dated binding stamp on the endpaper. There was also a
pictorial soft cover bound in this book. The text on the cover
matches the pattern of the other second printing copies we have
seen, but the lettering on the spine is differently spaced, with a
much narrower gap between the date and the stripes at the bottom
(compare with the spine of the example from the Heritage Archives
below). Curiously, the text is a little off-center, as well. These
differences seem to indicate the spine was stamped with a different
foil die. It may be that the specimen from Overstreet's collection
is some kind of prototype of the June printing, given to Bob to
demonstrate what the second printing would look like with the new
text arrangement on the cover. If so, Overstreet may have made
corrections to the spacing and centering on the spine before the
main second print run was bound.
In addition to the three copies we have examined, there are two
examples of the hardbound OPG #2 listed in the Heritage online
archives. One copy was sold as part of a bulk lot of price guides
in the Comics Signature Auction (Heritage, 8/2005), lot 2509, with
a grade of NM- (see cover below). Notice the well-centered text on
the spine and the wider gap between the date and stripes at the
bottom when compared with the example above. The Heritage lot
description from 14 years ago does not mention any binder's stamp
or inside soft cover. Note: Hardbound copies of OPG #2 and #3 were
printed with navy blue cloth covers that look black in certain
lighting conditions, as here. At least one copy of hardbound #3 was
erroneously described as having a "black" cover in an eBay offering
in 2016.
The only other appearance of a hardbound OPG #2 in the Heritage
Archives is a VF/NM specimen in lot 4781 of the Jerry Overstreet
Collection (Heritage, 11/2003), which realized $471.50 (see cover
below). Jerry was Bob's brother and Bob provided him with a copy of
the Guide every year. Again, the description does not
mention a binder's stamp or interior soft cover, but the pattern of
the text on the cover matches the second printing version.
In addition to the five copies mentioned above, Jack Mallette
reports another copy that was originally in the collection of Bob's
son, Jeff Overstreet, which he handled years ago. These six
examples represent the only copies of the hardbound OPG #2 we have
been able to confirm in recent times, but others may be extant.
Gary Carter did surveys and collected much information on
Overstreet Guides, which he published in The Comic
Book Marketplace in the 1990s. He was able to locate six
examples of the hardbound #2 in his surveys, but only two were in
Near Mint condition. If all six of those books were different
examples from the specimens we have recently accounted for, the
surviving population would number at least 12 books. Bob Overstreet
told Gary only 75 copies of the second edition were bound with hard
covers (other reports suggest there may have been two bindings of
75 copies each), and the number distributed was probably even
smaller. It remains the rarest issue of the hardbound series by a
wide margin, and is much more elusive than the softbound white
cover #1. With only three copies examined, and each book
representing a different variety, it is hard to say if we have
discovered all the secrets of the important first hardbound
edition. Copies have been reported without the inside soft cover,
but that remains unconfirmed. It is possible those reports are
mistakenly referencing the third hardbound edition, which had a
similar cover design, but did not include the soft cover.
Hopefully, we will be able to answer more questions about this
mysterious issue as more examples become available for study.
Sources:
- Carter, Gary, "A Price Guide for Price Guides 1992", Comic
Book Marketplace, Vol. 1, #16 (August 1992), pp. 53-55.
- Carter, Gary and Mallette, Jack, "A Price Guide for Price
Guides 1995", Comic Book Marketplace, Vol. 2, #25 (July
1995), pp. 64-67.
- Mallette, Jack, conversations in July 2017 and November
2018.
- Overstreet, Robert, advertisement in the Rocket's Blast and
Comic Collector, #93, inside front cover.
- Wilbur, Mike, Director of Operations at Gemstone Publishing,
emails on various topics over the last two years.
To be continued in a future newsletter. To read the second article in this
series click here and for the previous article just
click here.
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Help Wanted: Comics
Grader |
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Do you have
knowledge of Silver and Golden Age comic books? Then apply your
analytical and research skills in our unique and fun environment.
Heritage Auctions, a well-established auction house with over 40
years of longevity, is seeking a talented Comic
Grader to join our Comics Department in Dallas. Heritage
Auctions (HA.com) is the third largest and one of the fastest
growing auction houses in the world. Heritage Auctions sales in
addition to fine jewelry include: luxury accessories, watches,
wine, coins, books and manuscripts, modern & contemporary art,
American and European art, decorative arts, entertainment, music,
and many more.
More information about this position
can be found here.
Apply with us today online or via email at Experts@HA.com
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Heritage Auctions Launches Weekly World Currency
Auctions
Heritage Auctions, the world's largest auctioneer of currency and
coins, has introduced a World Currency Weekly
Auction that runs each Tuesday on HA.com.
The weekly auctions came about because of the continued growth in
recent years of the Heritage Auctions Currency Department, which
eclipsed $41 million in sales in 2018 (I'll release this figure
only with your approval).
"The increase in popularity and demand for World Currency offered
by Heritage Auctions in recent years has called for the birth of a
dedicated platform," Heritage Auctions Vice President Dustin
Johnston said. "We foresee a continued growth in World Currency,
and the Weekly Tuesday auctions will go a long way toward allowing
Heritage to meet the needs of collectors everywhere. They will have
a variety of graded and ungraded banknotes from across the
globe."
The next World Currency Signature
Auction will be April 24-30 in Schaumburg, Illinois.
"These weekly auctions are a byproduct of the exceptional prices
realized that we consistently command, and the knowledge and
understanding of our clients who appreciate the collecting
opportunities we offer," Johnston said. "The lots in the weekly
sales will be 100 percent unreserved, increasing the appeal to
collectors of all levels."
More information about Currency Auctions
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Cover of the Week: Next They Busted Up
The Ring-Toss Ring |
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For issue #1 of
Racket Squad in Action, Charlton needed to show us what the heroes
of the book were capable of. Taking down Al Capone perhaps?
Well, actually it was breaking up a shell game at a carnival.
Perhaps they would have been better off investigating how the kid
in the foreground stole Jughead's hat.
Anyway, Racket Squad in Action #1 is a tough book that we haven't
offered a copy of since 2006, and we've got a CGC-graded copy this
week that
you can bid on here.
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