Santa Claus
No Christmas character is more beloved than Santa, as shown by his vast number of comic book appearances and covers. Santa made his first cover appearance in Toy World Funnies. Published by Eastern Publishing in 1932, this Platinum Age beauty was a promotional comic given away at Wannamaker and Golden Eagle department stores.
There are only two graded copies in the CGC census, both in the 3.0 grade; one of them just sold in the November Heritage auction for $12,600.
Santa made his first cover appearance in the comic format that became standard in the 1930s in Famous Funnies #5, published by Eastern Publishing in 1934. There are 20 graded copies in the CGC census, none above 8.0.
A 3.5 graded copy was the only one to sell this year when it went for $999 in a March 16 Hake’s auction.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You know him from songs and TV specials. He’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the courageous leader of Santa’s sleigh-pulling team of reindeer. Rudolph made his first comic book appearance in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer #1, published by DC in 1950. The series would be published on an annual basis with the final issue appearing in 1963.
There are 18 graded copies in the CGC census. A 5.5 graded copy sold in an eBay fixed price sale on November 27 for $400, the first sale of this issue in any grade in nearly four years.
Frosty the Snowman
In another annually published series that would last for a decade, Frosty the Snowman made his first appearance in Four Color #359, published by Dell in 1951. There are only 12 graded copies in the CGC census, none of which have sold since a few days after Christmas in 2014.
While there are few graded copies, many raw issues of Four Color from the 1950s abound in comic shops around the country. This one could be worth the hunt.
Scrooge
OK, this one’s a bit of a cheat. Ebenezer Scrooge is the main character from Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. However, in comic book collecting there is only one Scrooge, and that’s Scrooge McDuck, or Uncle Scrooge. Uncle Scrooge made his first appearance in the story, “Christmas on Bear Mountain” in Four Color #178, published by Dell in 1947. Leaning heavily on Dickens’ character, Uncle Scrooge is Carl Barks’ greatest creation.
There are 247 graded copies in the CGC census. The lone 9.6 graded copy – the highest graded copy in existence – sold in the November Heritage auction for $90,000, the same price it went for in a June 2021 Heritage auction. This is one of the most sought-after issues in the entire Four Color series, and would make an awesome gift for your favorite collector (hint to any family members reading this).
Wishing all of you a Happy Holiday! And drop a note below if you have a favorite Christmas comic.
*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.
