July 13 (UPI) — The piece of comic book art that first introduced readers to the Marvel Comics hero Iron Man sold for a record-breaking $3,875,000
Heritage Auctions <a href="https://comicvibe.com/miss-the-islanders-love-island-usa-season-8-reunion-date-announced/” title=”Miss the islanders? 'Love Island USA' Season 8 reunion date announced”>announced the original Don Heck artwork from page 1 of Marvel’s Tales of Suspense No. 39 from March 1963 was auctioned Friday for $3,875,000
“A fantastic image and a historic book combine for a record price,” Joe Mannarino, Heritage Auctions’ New York-based director of comics & comic art said in a news release. “Very few of the early Marvel splash pages are known to exist. When one shows up, the market is ready to react.”
Mannarino said the auction proved highly competitive, with six bidders continuing to drive up the price even after it surpassed $3 million
The final price set a new world record for the highest price paid for a piece of original comic art. The previous record of $3,360,000 was set by a piece of Mike Zeck art from 1984’s Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars No. 8. The artwork, which depicts the first appearance of Spider-Man’s black costume, was sold in January 2022
