The Shadow #1 sets a six-figure pulp record while an assortment of Americana amusement pieces sold for $5.4 million. Speaking of six figures, if you have it to spare, there’s a 7.5 Amazing Fantasy #15 and a 5.5 Action Comics #1 ready to shatter records this week. Time for Collecting News Roundup!

The Shadow #1 Sets New Record!

-RECORDER BREAKER: THE SHADOW #1 - A scarce first edition of The Shadow #1, published in April 1931, recently sold for $156,000 at Heritage Auctions, setting a world record as the most expensive pulp magazine ever sold. The book is rare and graded in “Fine-minus” condition.  It claimed top-lot honors in a special sale of rare pulp magazines and related collectibles.

“The price realized for The Shadow #1 is the highest recorded for a pulp of any kind,” said Rick Akers, consignment director of comics at Heritage Auctions. “I expected it might pass $50,000, but things got pretty exciting when it surpassed $100,000.” Read more!

Auctions, Auctions, Auctions

- COMICCONNECT'S EVENT AUCTION 46 - Event Auction #46 has a deep selection of vintage to modern comics for you to choose from including a copy of X-Men #1 CGC 9.6 and a restored Action Comics #1 CGC 9.0. Multiple copies of Silver Age Marvel keys like Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1, Daredevil #1, Journey into Mystery #83, Strange Tales #110, Tales of Suspense #39, and X-Men #1 are up for grabs. And, there’s a plethora of classic 50’s horror, pre-code hero Marvels, and even more from the Kentucky Collection.

Art highlights include a Steve Ditko hero and villain-filled Amazing Spider-Man #18 page, an Amazing Spider-Man #39 page by John Romita featuring a classic Spidey vs. Green Goblin battle, a Jack Kirby Fantastic Four Annual #2 page with Dr. Doom. There are two Alex Ross Cap covers, an X-Men #152 page with Wolverine vs the Hellfire Club, a dynamic Gene Colan Daredevil #30 page with horn head, Captain America and Black Widow, and finally the kitschy, cool disco cover to Spectacular Spider-Man #24. 

Video game hunters can find WATA-certified games like Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link, Stadium Events Family Fun Fitness, Super Mario Bros, Doom, Grand Theft Auto, and a Castlevania Trilogy.  Check out more auction items HERE.

-AMAZING FANTASY #15 AUCTION UNDERWAY - We’re bound to see a record breaker this week. Over at ComicConnect, finding an auction for Amazing Fantasy #15 is not difficult. When it starts getting into the upper-mid grades, that is a different story. Already, this CGC Universal Labeled 7.5 has reached $30,000, and there are still three weeks left on the clock. There was a 7.5 that earned $156,000 just this past April, so the expectations are very high for this auction. This is the highest grade sold online since an 8.0 brought $177k last May. Get more information and read more HERE.

-ICONIC MINT-CONDITION 1933 BABE RUTH BASEBALL CARD AMONG 1,000 OTHER ITEMS COULD BE YOURS - In addition to the rare 1933 Babe Ruth card, Memory Lane Inc. says the sale will feature more than 1,000 items including "some of the finest known examples of other Hall of Fame players including Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner, Ted Williams and Cy Young, as well as World Series program books dating back to 1903." Read more!

-HERITAGE AUCTIONS: MID-GRADE FIRST APPEARANCE OF BATMAN EXPECTED TO BREAK RECORDS - In the minds of a considerable number of collectors, this is the most desirable comic issue of all, and here you have it in a 5.0. The first appearance of Batman came 11 months after that of Superman in Action Comics #1, and over the years copies of the two issues have alternately set auction records. Co-creator Bob Kane provided the cover and contributed story art, as did Joe Shuster and Fred Guardineer.  CGC census 5/21: 2 in 5.0, 16 higher. Read more!

-HERITAGE AUCTION: ACTION COMICS #1 AT $320K AND GOING - The stature of this iconic issue just grows larger every year, and it invariably fetches way more than Guide prices. Heritage last sold a Universal copy three years ago. Joe Shuster provided the cover and story art of the Superman story, while Fred Guardineer and Bernard Baily also contributed interior art. CGC notes this as "From the Collection of Jon Berk" and "Conservation includes: cover cleaned, cover reinforced, staples replaced.". Follow the auction!

-DEBUT OF THE ORIGINAL CAPTAIN MARVEL UP FOR SALE - Whiz Comics #1's popularity has seen a resurgence in recent years. It was one of the fastest climbers on Overstreet's Top 100 Golden Age Comics list from 2019 to 2020, all because herein are included the origins and first appearances of Captain Marvel, Sivana, Golden Arrow, Dan Dare, Lance O'Casey, Spy Smasher, and Ibis the Invincible. Not as easy to find as Action Comics #1 or Detective Comics #27, CGC has certified just 27 copies in Universal grades. C. C. Beck cover and art.  Read more!

-HERITAGE AUCTION: DETECTIVE COMICS #38 - It was one of the fastest-rising books on Overstreet's Top 100 Golden Age Comics lists from 2019 to 2020, and it's expected to move up another notch or two this year. When Heritage last offered a copy, a 5.5 example in September 2020, it fetched close to triple Guide! The origin and first appearance of Robin (Dick Grayson) is the key to Detective Comics #38 currently ranking #24 on the list. Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson cover and art. Fred Guardineer art.  CGC census 5/21: 6 in 5.0, 16 higher. There are still 16 days left to bid. Check the auction out here!

-VINTAGE 1969 WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL TICKET AT AUCTION - Want a piece of music history? You can own a small part for the low price of $1,349.99. What makes this particular ticket special is that it is graded a gem-mint 10.0.  Read more.

Auction Results

-WAYNE GRETZKY ROOKIE CARD SELLS FOR $3.75 MILLION, SHATTERS RECORD FOR HOCKEY CARD - A 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky rookie card has sold for $3.75 million in a private sale brokered through Heritage Auctions.

The card was graded a Gem Mint 10.  It blew past the previous record for a hockey card, which was set this past December when the same version of the Gretzky card sold for $1.29 million, also with Heritage Auctions. The card that sold in December had previously sold for $465,000 in 2016 and $94,000 in 2011.

-AMERICAN AMUSEMENTS COLLECTIBLES BRING IN $5.4 MILLION AT AUCTION - Collectors eager for the array of rare antique and vintage American amusements offered at Morphy Auctions helped push the five-day marathon auction series to sales of $5.4 million. The 3,400 lots recently offered ran the gamut, from 19th-century railroad memorabilia and coin-op machines to mid-20th-century petroliana and automotive signs.  Read more.

-COLLECTING VINTAGE VIDEO GAMES - Check out this interview with Valarie McLeckie, Heritage Auctions Director of Video Games, about the sale and her thoughts on the current video game market.  Read more.

Check it out: 

- CGC GRADER OFFERS INSIGHT INTO THE PROCESS - Some might argue that Matt Nelson, CGC Primary Grader, has the best job in the world. After all, he gets paid to spend all day, every day looking at comic books. A dream job for many! Comic book collectors would be ecstatic to hold in their hands some of the most coveted and valuable comics in existence, such as Action Comics #1, the book that introduced Superman in 1938, or Batman #1 from 1940.

“Not only do we get to hold these comics in our hands,” Nelson said. “We also take immense pride in knowing that our brand displays and protects them, providing liquidity that makes them amazing investments.”

Nelson recently sat down with ToyTales to give advice about how comic collectors can get the most enjoyment out of and protection for their investments in the hobby. From how to handle comic books — heat, humidity, light, and air need to be carefully controlled — to the five main steps comic books go through when they reach CGC — receiving, grading, encapsulation, quality control, and shipping — to how the pandemic has affected the industry, Nelson covers it all.

Don’t miss this great interview, which you can read in full here.

-IN-HOUSE PRIVATE SIGNING WITH WALT AND LOUISE SIMONSON - Get your Beta Ray Bill, Cable, Apocalypse, and Doomsday keys ready because the Simonsons are going to be signing some autographs. 

From CGC’s website: "CGC is excited to announce an In-House Private Signing event with one of the comic book industry’s most beloved couples, Walt and Louise Simonson.  Walt wrote and illustrated the definitive run of Thor before moving on to several other characters, while Louise helped guide the X-Men franchise and wrote New Mutants along with X-Factor." Read more.

-SUBLIME MEMBERS BECOME COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS IN TRUE-TO-LIFE GRAPHIC NOVEL - The book is filled with stories about parties, life in Long Beach, music, and Nowell’s faithful Dalmatian — and band mascot — Lou Dog. Besides taking him down memory lane, Gaugh also enjoyed seeing himself in a comic. “I grew up on comics. To me it’s just really cool, I’m a comic book character, it’s (expletive) rad,” Gaugh said. The book will be released in August 2021. Read more!

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