New Delhi: Artist Mike Zeck’s single page of artwork in a 1984 Spider-Man comic book was sold at an auction last week for a whopping $3.36 million in Dallas in the US, setting a new record, news agency Associated Press reported.
It was through this artwork, on page 25 of Marvel Comics’ 'Secret Wars No. 8', that Spider-Man made his first appearance in black suit. The symbiote suit eventually led to the emergence of the super anti-hero character, Venom.
Heritage Auctions held a four-day comic event in Dallas, and the record bidding came on the first day, the report said. The bidding started at $330,000 and the final bid was $3.36 million, which is a new record.
The previous record for an interior page of a US comic book, according to the report, was $657,250. It was for the artwork from a 1974 issue of 'The Incredible Hulk'. It had featured a tease for the first-ever appearance of the Wolverine character.
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Craze For Original Superhero Comics
Thursday's auction also saw a copy of Superman’s debut, Action Comics No. 1, getting sold for $3.18 million. The report said it was one of the few surviving copies, and the selling price just made it among the priciest books to be auctioned ever.
The sellers or the buyers were not identified.
In December last year, a rare copy of an original ‘Superman’ #1 comic was auctioned for $2.6 million. The 1939 comic book showed Superman leaping over tall buildings on its cover.
Prior to that, copy of Action Comics #1, which introduced Superman in 1938, sold for $3.25 million in April.