In This Issue:
• Sunday and Monday Comics, Animation, and Art Weekly Online Auction
• The Ten Rarest Ziff-Davis Comics (Maybe)
• Comics Grader Wanted
• Around Heritage Auctions
• Cover of the Week: Warm It Up, Kris
• Current Auctions

August 12, 2020

Sunday and Monday Comics, Animation, and Art Weekly Online Auction

Sunday and Monday Comics, Animation, and Art Weekly Online Auction
Auction Ends:
August 16-17, 2020
Live Session at 6:00 PM CT

Highlights of this week's auction include:

	Casper the Friendly Ghost #1 (St. John, 1949) CGC GD/VG 3.0 Off-white pages The entire five-issue St. John run is included in this week's auction, but here's the best of the bunch. It's Casper's first comic book appearance and the first time the character was called Casper in any medium (he was a nameless "Friendly Ghost" in his early cartoon appearances). And if even that's not enough historical significance for you, this issue has Baby Huey's first appearance and origin as well. Wait, we're not even done yet: there's also the first appearance of Herman the Mouse (later part of the Herman and Katnip duo). CGC notes, "Tape on cover, interior cover." Overstreet 2019 GD 2.0 value = $568; VG 4.0 value = $1,136. CGC census 8/20: 4 in 3.0, 30 higher. View
	New Book of Comics #1 10 Cent Variant (DC, 1937) CGC GD 2.0 Off-white pages Overstreet lists the regular edition of this issue (which has no cover price) as "rare". This is the only copy of the variant certified by CGC to date, and it's the second we've encountered. This was the second DC Comics annual ever produced, and the first regular-size comics annual. Jerry Siegel story and art. Joe Shuster, Sheldon Mayer, Vin Sullivan, and Sheldon Moldoff art. CGC notes,"Cover detached." Not listed in Overstreet. CGC census 8/20: 1 in 2.0, none higher. View
	Popular Comics #3 (Dell, 1936) CGC FN+ 6.5 Cream to off-white pages Rated an "8" ("rare") by Gerber's Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books, and one of five copies certified by CGC to date. An extremely early comic, printed with unstable pink ink. Overstreet lists no values above VF, alluding to the scarcity of the book in grade. Overstreet 2019 FN 6.0 value = $642; VF 8.0 value = $1,500. CGC census 8/20: 1 in 6.5, 1 higher. View
	Batman #9 (DC, 1942) CGC VG- 3.5 Cream to off-white pages Joker appearance. First Batman Christmas story. Classic cover pose, swiped repeatedly during the Golden Age. Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, and George Roussos art. Overstreet 2019 VG 4.0 value = $1,060. CGC census 8/20: 10 in 3.5, 91 higher. View
	Spirou #1072 (Editions Dupuis, 1958) CGC VF 8.0 Off-white to white pages This Belgian comic book is the first time the Smurfs ever appeared on a cover, though of course their original name was the Schtroumpfs! Not listed in Overstreet. CGC census 8/20: 5 in 8.0, 4 higher. View
	Daredevil #1 (Marvel, 1964) CBCS VF+ 8.5 Off-white pages A pretty copy of the origin and first appearance of Daredevil, and the first appearances of Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. Currently tied at #32 position on Overstreet's Top 50 Silver Age Comics list. Jack Kirby and Bill Everett cover. Everett art. Overstreet 2019 VF 8.0 value = $4,300; VF/NM 9.0 value = $8,150. View
	*Pat Boyette The Phantom* #40 Complete 8-Page Story "The Second Phantom" Original Art (Charlton, 1970)** The Phantom helps a woman find her missing father in this backup story featuring the costumed African crime-fighter. Rendered in ink over graphite on Bristol board with image sizes of 9" x 13.5". The slightly toned boards have name stat paste-up on Page 1, text box paste-up in Panel 4 and "continued..." stat paste-up on Page 5. Overall in Excellent condition. View
	Amazing Adventures #17 (Marvel, 1973) CGC NM/MT 9.8 White pages Last Beast story. Includes his origin. X-Men appearance. Jim Starlin cover and art. Overstreet 2019 NM- 9.2 value = $130. CGC census 8/20: 3 in 9.8, none higher. View
	Superman - Wata 7.5 CIB, 2600 Atari 1978 USA The first comic book character video game is, according to Wata, also the first game licensed from a movie. And this is the first copy of the game Heritage has offered to date! Box cover illustration by Neal Adams, Curt Swan, and Judy Richter. Game was built using the prototype code for Adventure. View
	*George Perez and Romeo Tanghal The New Teen Titans* #7 Page 29 Original Art (DC Comics, 1981)** An incredible page focusing on Cyborg and the mechanics of his make-up. Raven, Robin, Starfire, Wonder Girl and more are also seen. Created in ink over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 10" x 15". Text are hand-lettered paste-ups with slight toning. Blue pencil marks, top right corner trimmed. In Excellent condition. View
	Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice Production Cel Setup (Walt Disney, 1983) When The Disney Channel launched on cable on April 18, 1987, their chosen mascot for all early station promos was Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice (from Fantasia). Here's a VERY rare original hand-painted 12 field 2-cel setup of Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey as seen onscreen on that very first day of broadcasting. It's a great image of Mickey riding a flying carpet, with a shadow below him plus green and white flashes above and around him. A Walt Disney Productions seal is along the lower right. Mickey's figure size (with hat) is about 4.25". Top cel is noted as M-115 in the bottom right corner. The setup is taped to a backing board measuring 15" x 1 2.5". Minor handling wear. Very Good condition. View
	The Ren and Stimpy Show Production Cel Setup(Nickelodeon/Spumco, 1991) Happy happy! Joy joy! Those wacky cut-ups Ren Hoek and Stimpson J. Cat, aka Ren and Stimpy are featured in this early hand-painted 12 field 2-cel setup. Figure sizes are 5.25" and 5.5". A Nickelodeon seal is in the upper left corner. Cel setup is taped to a backing board measuring 15.25" x 13.75". The background is a print, added for presentation purposes. Minor handling wear. Very Good condition. View

Browse the entire auction here.

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The Ten Rarest Ziff-Davis Comics (Maybe)

By Barry Sandoval, Heritage Auctions

Since the last publisher we surveyed was St. John (if you missed that article, you can catch up here), it makes sense to continue with Ziff-Davis, as a few series that started with one company finished with the other.

Ziff-Davis stopped publishing comic books in 1957, but don't cry for them. The company is still in existence today, and not too many publishers of Golden Age comics can say that!

10. Little Al of the Secret Service #10 (July-August 1951)

Ziff-Davis started many of their titles with #10 as the first issue, newsdealers' aversion to first issues in those days being well-documented. This one benefited from a Norman Saunders cover!

9. Cinderella Love #10 (1950, no month given)

The first issue of a series that later continued with St. John. It's probably fair to
say this lacked the pizzazz that later covers in the series offered.

8. Santa Claus Parade #2 (1952)

Ziff-Davis and St John published three issues of this title between them,
and this is the only one with a line-drawn cover.

7. Sparkie #2 (April-May 1952)

You'll notice this list has a lot of second issues, whether they were called #2 or not.
Heritage has only auctioned this comic once ever.

6. Nursery Rhymes #10 (July-August 1951)

We've sold just one copy of this in our history.

5. Perfect Love #5 (June 1952)

We have not offered a single copy in our 20 years.

Interestingly, the contents of this issue saw print again in May 1955, when
St. John ran the same stories with a new cover as Diary Secrets #29.
That later publication came just as the Comics Code was starting, and perhaps
Ziff-Davis' contents were considered tamer and could pass muster more easily
than what St. John had been producing.

4. Alice #11 (#2) September-October 1951

As noted above, the first two issues of any Ziff-Davis series were typically dubbed #10 and #11. This one turns up far less often than the first issue, which was, you guessed it, #10.The cover art is credited to Allen Anderson.

3. Famous Stars #2 (1950, no month given)

Gerber gave this a scarcity rating of 6. We have only had three
copies ever, and none in high grade.

2. Strange Confessions #2 (July-August 1952)

Overstreet calls all four issues of this title scarce, and our data show that to be especially
true for #2. The issue has a high Guide value for a romance book at $775. Heritage has
only had two copies ever, both low grade. This image is from comics.org.

Also noteworthy: there were so many romance comics produced, but very few had
a "horizontal" front cover image. This was the 1950s you know!

1. GI Joe #51 (June 1957)

The rarest Ziff-Davis comic book was also the very last comic issue they ever put out. This series outlasted the rest of the line by quite a lot, in fact we can't find another Ziff-Davis book dated later than 1953. Heritage has never offered this issue; the image here is from comics.org.

The early run of this series was known for its painted covers showing GI Joe with a
big smile on each, often while he did some awfully violent things. Perhaps the publisher
thought painted covers were too realistic for the Code's taste (or was told that),
as the last painted cover was #39 (June 1955), which was the first Code-approved issue,
and the covers were line-drawn after that point.

Prototypes are outside of the realm of this survey, but worth mentioning as scarce Ziff-Davis items are two prototypes they mailed out to test the market, Science Comics and Amazing Adventures. We've never seen a copy of the former and only seen the latter once.

Please note that no professional statisticians were consulted in assembling this list, and this is for entertainment purposes only!

Want to add any of these to your Heritage wantlist? Just click here.

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Comics Grader Wanted

Do you have knowledge of vintage 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) world's largest collectibles auctioneer and one of the fastest growing auction houses in the world with sales in fine jewelry, luxury accessories, watches, wine, coins, books and manuscripts, fine and decorative arts, entertainment, music, and more!

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Grade comic books
Select comics for submission to certification services
Research and estimate values of comic books.
Use Word, Excel, and proprietary Heritage software to compile listings of the consigned items.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: Must have a strong knowledge of Silver Age and later comics, and a strong interest in Golden Age comics; experience grading comics is strongly preferred.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DEMANDS: Individual will need to be able to lift boxes full of comics weighing up to 30 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Individual must be able to work in a fast-paced team environment.

The following are attributes that we are seeking in all employees at Heritage:

Self-motivation, intelligence, and strong work ethic.
Willingness to learn.
Ability to follow set standards and take direction.
Ability to analyze and propose solutions to problems.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-project, and dynamic environment.
Absolute drive to complete projects on time and in a detailed manner.
Excellent organizational skills: accurate and thorough.
Excellent communication skills: listening, writing, and verbal.

Heritage Auctions welcomes and encourages applications from women, minorities, veterans, mature workers and persons with disabilities. EOE

Please submit CV to Experts@HA.com.

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Around Heritage Auctions

Heritage Real Estate

Grand Cape Neddick Cottage Steps from Beach

August 25 Grand Cape Neddick Cottage - York, ME

No Reserve. Discover your perfect getaway at the Cottage at Passaconaway in coastal Maine. Set on a high bluff with sweeping Cape Neddick views from most rooms. Walk to your private beach or enjoy breakfast in the lovely gardens. This 6 bedroom home makes the most of its large 1+ acre lot, with more than 3000 sq ft of outdoor living space.

This timeless shingle-style home seamlessly blends elements of the site's historical past with contemporary design features. Separate suites accommodate multiple groups or family members with ease and privacy. Amenities include a tennis court, indoor gymnasium, and media room. Visit historic sites like Nubble Lighthouse and John Hancock's Wharf, stroll along Long Sands Beach, or enjoy a hike to Mount Agamenticus — there's always plenty to do nearby. Name your price.

Sweeping 35.44 Acre Lot in Carmel to be Sold at Auction Without Reserve

August 29 San Clemente Trail, Carmel, CA - Build your sanctuary in a carefree luxury community

Your dream of building your own green home in Coastal California may be within reach. Heritage Auctions will be offering a lushly wooded 35+-acre lot in the exclusive Santa Lucia Preserve without reserve on August 18.

"The Preserve community is dedicated to creating a luxury experience with an ecologically-minded focus," says Nate Schar, Director of Luxury Real Estate for Heritage Auctions. "Of course, there's an incredible golf course, spa and a world-class equestrian center, but Santa Lucia also provides incredible experiences like no other. There are guided tours with ecologists, and curated private events for all ages – from camping and trail rides, to auto shows and guest chefs. It's truly a special community."

The expansive lot is suitable for both a two-story main house and guest quarters and has vast mountain views. Homeowners have the option of becoming members of the golf course, equestrian center, fitness center and social clubs.

"The auction presents a special opportunity to responsibly build a legacy home with in a natural setting with so many luxury experiences just minutes away," says Schar. "The auction will be held without reserve, so buyers can name their price."

Bidding for the house will take place online on August 18. Bidders are required to register prior to the sale. To aid buyers in evaluating this property, a comprehensive Due Diligence Package (DDP) has been created. To request a DDP, please call 855-261-0573 or visit HA.com/SanClemente.

More information about Real Estate Auctions

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Wonderful Selection of Precious Gemstones

Check out some of the items from next week's Tuesday Jewel Box Online Auction closing August 18, with a live auction beginning at 9PM CT.