Iron Man constructed a new auction record for original art when the first page of the Marvel hero’s introduction in Tales of Suspense #39 sold for $3,875,000. The original splash illustrated by Don Heck was sold in Heritage’s Comic Art Signature Auction on July 10, 2026.

This sale tops the previous record for comic art, which was held by Mike Zeck’s Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #8 story page 25. That page revealing Peter Parker’s new black costume sold for $3,360,000 in January 2022 at Heritage.

The page shows Iron Man in his impressive metal suit, busting his way through a barrier while looking out at the reader. Not only is it one of the earliest renderings of Tony Stark/Iron Man, it is a striking image of the hero who would become one of the most popular Marvel heroes.

“A fantastic image and a historic book combine for a record price,” Heritage Director of Comics & Comic Art Joe Mannarino said. “Very few of the early Marvel splash pages are known to exist. When one shows up, the market is ready to react.”