Heritage Auctions has announced that the original page from Hulk #180, that features the first appearance of Wolverine has sold for a record $657,250.
The buyer is sports card dealer, Thomas Fish – which may make some rethink the sports card collecting business.
“We knew when this artwork surfaced that is was, without doubt, one of the most significant pieces of original comic art ever drawn,” said Todd Hignite, Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “It has now brought a final price realized commensurate with that status.”
The Hulk #180 page wasn’t the only thing sold during the auction – Wonder Woman #1 did alright, too.
The top comic book offering in the auction came in the form of an exceedingly rare copy of Wonder Comics #1 (Fox, 1939) CGC NM 9.4, the first hero to ride Superman’s coat-tails, which realized $68,713 was Wonder Man who made his debut in this very issue, on the stands at the exact same time as Batman’s first appearance in Detective Comics #27. Publisher Victor Fox was immediately slapped with a lawsuit by DC (national Periodical) for infringement on their character Superman, causing Fox to withdraw his creation from future issues.
As collecting pop culture and comic book items continues to gain attention, I expect we’ll see a number of other comics up on the auction block this year, one of which will exceed a million dollars. If it does, that signals something good for the economy.