Frank Miller's original artwork for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #2 has sold as part of Heritage Auctions' August 1-3 Comics Signature Auction in Dallas.
 Frank Miller's interpretation of Batman changed the face of modern comic books |
The highly coveted artwork brought an impressive $478,000 to the sale, topping the $450,000 seen by the original cover art for The Dark Knight Returns #3 in 2011.
Prior to the sale, Heritage's Todd Hignite commented: "For fans of modern comics, this drawing is where everything really begins.
"This moment defines Miller's Dark Knight, and the modern day perception of Batman, like no other drawing.
"It represents not only one of the most memorable images from the 1980s, but from Batman's entire illustrious history.
"Miller's revolutionary Dark Knight radically altered the direction of comics with its prestige miniseries format, combined with the fact that it was one of the first modern mainstream features to put a gritty noir patina on the squeaky-clean Silver Age hero mythos previously exemplified by DC."
 Batman's first solo appearance came in 1940, during the Golden Age of comic books |
But it was the Caped Crusader's very first solo comic book appearance, 1940's Batman #1, that saw the highest bids of the sale, selling for $567,625. The Near Mint 9.2-graded issue is the finest copy in grading company CGC's census and was offered without reserve.
With first appearance copies among the most sought after in the hobby, Superman's inaugural issue - Action Comics #1 - also fared well. The Billy Wright pedigree GD/VG 3.0 example made $388,375.
Action Comics is widely regarded as the most valuable comic book of all time, with the record held by a 9.0-graded copy formerly owned by Nicholas Cage that sold for $2.1m in 2011.
In June, another copy that was used as insulation in the walls of a 1930s home sold for $175,000.
See our fantastic selection of original comic art for sale.
