Wrightson, Frazetta Art & More Close Apr. 30-May 3 in Heritage Auction
Original art by Bernie Wrightson, a Frank Frazetta painting, a Robert Crumb four-page story, Winsor McCay Little Nemo Sunday strip, Amazing Fantasy #15, and the Vermin Game & Watch Sales Demo are just a few of the highlights in Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Auction. The auction is set to close this week, starting on Thursday, April 30 and continuing through Sunday, May 3, 2020.
The Bernie Wrightson’s Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein front endpapers illustration original art is among the auction rarities. Wrightson spent six years creating images for this book, with only three done in landscape – this one among them.
“Part of the popularity of Bernie Wrightson’s work stems from the unbelievable amount of detail he works into his images,” Heritage Vice President Todd Hignite said. “Look at it closely and you’ll see the incredible number of lines he has in everything, whether it is the Frankenstein character, the trees around him or even the background. The amount of work he invested in this powerful image, which offers a glimpse into the monster’s soul, is part of why it is considered such a masterpiece.”
The Frank Frazetta The Serpent paperback novel cover original painting creates conflict for the viewer. The woman’s skin almost blends into the color around her and the black and green serpent, despite having its head under water, creates the strongest visual contrast.
Donald Duck’s 60th anniversary is celebrated in Carl Barks’ Surprise Party at Memory Pond original painting. The oil on Masonite painting, which is signed by Barks, features Donald, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Uncle Scrooge, Daisy, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Grandma, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander and Gus Goose.
The auction contains Robert Crumb’s CoEvolution Quarterly #14 complete four-page story “R. Crumb’s Modern Dance Workshop” original art. In the story, he directs a women’s modern dance troupe, until he gives so many orders that one of the women in group spins him back into his place.
“Robert Crumb is an extremely important figure, a pioneer in the history of comic art, and his artwork always is in extremely high demand among collectors,” Heritage Comics & Comic Art Director Joe Mannarino said. “Throughout his career, he has taken an edgy, sometimes risqué look at the world through an adult lens, and this four-page story is a revealing look at the way he and women sometimes interact with each other.”
From Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau’s collection comes Winsor McCay Little Nemo In Slumberland original Sunday comic strip art. In the strip, dated December 13, 1908, Nemo is waiting for Santa when he climbs on the roof and is sheathed in ice before falling during an icicle landslide.
Top comic book lots are led by two important Silver Age introductions. One is Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 8.0, housing the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man, which features a cover by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. The other is Showcase #22 CGC 9.2, with the origin and first appearance of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, featuring cover and interior art by Gil Kane.
The auction also includes 50 copies from the fresh to market Variety Store Collection. This high grade single-owner collection of Marvel titles from the 1960s and ’70s, many of which carry grades of 9.6 and 9.8, has been stored by a Midwest convenience store owner for years. The store owner pulled the nicest copies from his stock issues, often with multiple copies of the same issue, and stored them away to preserve them.
“This is one of the most pristine original owner collections Heritage has ever had the pleasure of offering at auction,” Heritage Comics Consignment Director Matt Griffin said. “We are in awe of how well these were preserved over the years and we are certain bidders will be astounded by their condition and eye-appeal as well.”
Some of the top lots include The Amazing Spider-Man #39 CGC 9.8 and #40 CGC 9.8, Fantastic Four #48 CGC 9.6 and #52 CGC 9.6, and Tales to Astonish #93 CGC 9.8.
The auction will also include a fully-operational sales example of a video game used more than 40 years ago to showcase Nintendo’s Game & Watch toys at the New York City Toy Fair. The Vermin Game & Watch Sales Demo – Mego and Nintendo (c. 1979-1980) was used to sell store owners on the technology, which could not be completely explained without a sample that could be shown and tried out. Nintendo eventually released its Game & Watch units under its own branding to great success.
“This is the very first Game & Watch item that we have offered so far, and it is nothing if not unique. While this is currently the only known, surviving example of the Vermin demo cabinet, there is one other existing cabinet known, but it’s for Flagman,” Heritage Video Games Consignment Director Valarie McLeckie said. “Whether or not others were created is difficult to say, but it seems unlikely that multiple units were created for each title. Mego produced the handheld Game & Watch toys on behalf of Nintendo for such a short time before their company went bankrupt, so it seems likely these units didn’t get to see more than one tradeshow in their time.”
In addition, the sale will mark the first time that Atari games certified by Wata Games will be offered at auction. Atari was a forerunner of the video game industry after they were founded in 1972, pioneering both the arcade scene and the home console business throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Some of the top certified games in the auction include Swordquest: WaterWorld WATA 7.5 A, Adventure WATA 7.0 NS, Donkey Kong (Early Production) WATA 7.0 NS, and Donkey Kong Junior (Red Box) WATA 9.4 A++.
This auction will also be the first to formally present original video game art, including: Bob Eggleton Laser Lords: A CD-Interactive Space Adventure video game box wraparound cover painting original art; Steven Chorney Castles and Catapults video game box cover preliminary concept original art; Rodney Ramos G-Police video game ad original art; and Steven CHorney Sid Meier’s Pirates video game box cover concept painting original art.
Additional auction highlights are Wally Wood’s Daredevil #5 original splash page 1, Carl Barks’ Unsafe Vehicle Painting CB-Oil 103 original art, Frank Frazetta’s “Fantasy World” Doubleday Science fiction Book Club house ad original painting, and Batman #1 CGC 1.5.
Popular Topics
Overstreet Access Quick Links
Wrightson, Frazetta Art & More Close Apr. 30-May 3 in Heritage Auction
Original art by Bernie Wrightson, a Frank Frazetta painting, a Robert Crumb four-page story, Winsor McCay Little Nemo Sunday strip, Amazing Fantasy #15, and the Vermin Game & Watch Sales Demo are just a few of the highlights in Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Auction. The auction is set to close this week, starting on Thursday, April 30 and continuing through Sunday, May 3, 2020.
The Bernie Wrightson’s Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein front endpapers illustration original art is among the auction rarities. Wrightson spent six years creating images for this book, with only three done in landscape – this one among them.
“Part of the popularity of Bernie Wrightson’s work stems from the unbelievable amount of detail he works into his images,” Heritage Vice President Todd Hignite said. “Look at it closely and you’ll see the incredible number of lines he has in everything, whether it is the Frankenstein character, the trees around him or even the background. The amount of work he invested in this powerful image, which offers a glimpse into the monster’s soul, is part of why it is considered such a masterpiece.”
The Frank Frazetta The Serpent paperback novel cover original painting creates conflict for the viewer. The woman’s skin almost blends into the color around her and the black and green serpent, despite having its head under water, creates the strongest visual contrast.
Donald Duck’s 60th anniversary is celebrated in Carl Barks’ Surprise Party at Memory Pond original painting. The oil on Masonite painting, which is signed by Barks, features Donald, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Uncle Scrooge, Daisy, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Grandma, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Gander and Gus Goose.
The auction contains Robert Crumb’s CoEvolution Quarterly #14 complete four-page story “R. Crumb’s Modern Dance Workshop” original art. In the story, he directs a women’s modern dance troupe, until he gives so many orders that one of the women in group spins him back into his place.
“Robert Crumb is an extremely important figure, a pioneer in the history of comic art, and his artwork always is in extremely high demand among collectors,” Heritage Comics & Comic Art Director Joe Mannarino said. “Throughout his career, he has taken an edgy, sometimes risqué look at the world through an adult lens, and this four-page story is a revealing look at the way he and women sometimes interact with each other.”
From Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau’s collection comes Winsor McCay Little Nemo In Slumberland original Sunday comic strip art. In the strip, dated December 13, 1908, Nemo is waiting for Santa when he climbs on the roof and is sheathed in ice before falling during an icicle landslide.
Top comic book lots are led by two important Silver Age introductions. One is Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 8.0, housing the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man, which features a cover by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. The other is Showcase #22 CGC 9.2, with the origin and first appearance of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, featuring cover and interior art by Gil Kane.
The auction also includes 50 copies from the fresh to market Variety Store Collection. This high grade single-owner collection of Marvel titles from the 1960s and ’70s, many of which carry grades of 9.6 and 9.8, has been stored by a Midwest convenience store owner for years. The store owner pulled the nicest copies from his stock issues, often with multiple copies of the same issue, and stored them away to preserve them.
“This is one of the most pristine original owner collections Heritage has ever had the pleasure of offering at auction,” Heritage Comics Consignment Director Matt Griffin said. “We are in awe of how well these were preserved over the years and we are certain bidders will be astounded by their condition and eye-appeal as well.”
Some of the top lots include The Amazing Spider-Man #39 CGC 9.8 and #40 CGC 9.8, Fantastic Four #48 CGC 9.6 and #52 CGC 9.6, and Tales to Astonish #93 CGC 9.8.
The auction will also include a fully-operational sales example of a video game used more than 40 years ago to showcase Nintendo’s Game & Watch toys at the New York City Toy Fair. The Vermin Game & Watch Sales Demo – Mego and Nintendo (c. 1979-1980) was used to sell store owners on the technology, which could not be completely explained without a sample that could be shown and tried out. Nintendo eventually released its Game & Watch units under its own branding to great success.
“This is the very first Game & Watch item that we have offered so far, and it is nothing if not unique. While this is currently the only known, surviving example of the Vermin demo cabinet, there is one other existing cabinet known, but it’s for Flagman,” Heritage Video Games Consignment Director Valarie McLeckie said. “Whether or not others were created is difficult to say, but it seems unlikely that multiple units were created for each title. Mego produced the handheld Game & Watch toys on behalf of Nintendo for such a short time before their company went bankrupt, so it seems likely these units didn’t get to see more than one tradeshow in their time.”
In addition, the sale will mark the first time that Atari games certified by Wata Games will be offered at auction. Atari was a forerunner of the video game industry after they were founded in 1972, pioneering both the arcade scene and the home console business throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Some of the top certified games in the auction include Swordquest: WaterWorld WATA 7.5 A, Adventure WATA 7.0 NS, Donkey Kong (Early Production) WATA 7.0 NS, and Donkey Kong Junior (Red Box) WATA 9.4 A++.
This auction will also be the first to formally present original video game art, including: Bob Eggleton Laser Lords: A CD-Interactive Space Adventure video game box wraparound cover painting original art; Steven Chorney Castles and Catapults video game box cover preliminary concept original art; Rodney Ramos G-Police video game ad original art; and Steven CHorney Sid Meier’s Pirates video game box cover concept painting original art.
Additional auction highlights are Wally Wood’s Daredevil #5 original splash page 1, Carl Barks’ Unsafe Vehicle Painting CB-Oil 103 original art, Frank Frazetta’s “Fantasy World” Doubleday Science fiction Book Club house ad original painting, and Batman #1 CGC 1.5.
Popular Topics
Overstreet Access Quick Links
