Flashback to Zeck Splash
In my Spider-Man in Black article, I expressed my shock and dismay to find out an interior page of art sold for $3,000,000++. After all, it's not a cover, not old, not a first appearance, not Jack Kirby, not-not-not! I also speculated on what could happen for art from the TRUE first appearance of the black symbiote costume, Amazing Spider-Man #252. Unfortunately, we won't see the cover sell or the 1st appearance title splash pictured above. But I think this will still be fun, just hold your stomach if big art prices make you queasy.
Amazing Spider-Man #252 Art Offering
ComicConnect lists five pages from the 1st appearance issue of the black costume. All art by Ron Frenz and Brett Breeding.
- Page 2 CAT S2 - Splash with J Jonah shadow and small picture of Wanda
- Page 3 CAT R2 - Interior panel page with Bugle cast J Jonah and Robbie
- Page 17 CAT R2 - Interior panel page featuring Peter Parker, small Black Cat panel
- Page 27 CAT R3 - Nice 1/3 panel featuring Spider-Man in black costume
- Page 29 CAT R6 - Spider-Man in black costume featured throughout page
The early bidding probably reflects the eventual outcome in final price. Both pages with Spider-Man in Black show strong bidding compared to the others. The Peter Parker page enjoys more bidder love than pages 2 and 3.
Likely Big Winner from ASM #252
I'll be shocked if the highest graded page from these five (Page 29) doesn't sell for big multiples of the others. A recent sale at HA provides an excellent comparable page. Page 13 boasts five panels with the new costume, decent action, but no huge individual Spidey pictures. I rate both the current page and the HA sale as CAT R6. The HA page pictured above sold for $100,000. I repeat, $100,000 US dollars. So, there's the bar for the current art at ComicConnect.
Let me know if you think one is clearly better than the other. I would describe both pieces as incredible panel pages for fans of the black costume. Both share ASM #252 first appearance status. But neither page is the actual very 1st appearance. This partly explains the $100,000 price as opposed to a lot more ($3.2 million gap with the Secret Wars splash). As mentioned, the bar for the current offering is $100K, let's see if it gets there.
No Snobbery with Original Comic Art
Let's not fall asleep on the three pages that do NOT feature Spidey in black. It's still awesome to claim a unique piece of such a historic comic. I suspect page 3, which features only J Jonah and Robbie will be the most affordable. However, the Page 2 splash "Heroes Gone" tells a story.
Unlike the other four pages of art, the splash creates a nice self-contained recap and transition to the story of ASM #252. Of the lower-end pages, that one jumps out at me. And I think it will finish cheaper than the Peter Parker/Black Cat cameo page.
Amazing Spider-Man 252 Art Last Words
I don't expect any of these pages to sniff the Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars Page 8. And they shouldn't! In fact, the true first appearance splash isn't a million-dollar page either. Let's talk again when the cover art of Amazing Spider-Man #252 appears. Relatively speaking, it SHOULD sell higher. But there's no reasonable valuation that should make it so, either. How many classic covers by the comic book legends have fallen well short of a million dollars?
My next topic is Archie. Let's give the kids of Riverdale some love. If you'd like to pick up some modestly-priced covers or complete stories, that could be the ticket!
Keep up with Pat's Cat Eyes on Comic Art!
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ONE MAN’S TREASURES: COMIC STRIP ART
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MARVEL BRONZE ART: BLACK AND WHITE GOLD
