One of the finest known copies of the Tales of Suspense #39 comic has seen outstanding results at Heritage Auctions' November 21-23 Comics Signature Auction.
 The comic sees both the first appearance and origin story of Iron Man, making it a key issue for any serious Silver Age collector |
Crossing the block in Beverly Hills, the comic made $262,900. A non-pedigree copy, it is tied for the highest-graded honours at CGC, having been rated NM+ 9.6.
Tales of Suspense #39 is a key issue for any serious comic book collector, and is one of the most desirable of all Silver Age comics. Released in 1963, it sees the introduction and origin story of Iron Man, one of Marvel's most successful characters and a new fan favourite following the successful film series.
The iconic cover was created by Marvel's master artist Jack Kirby, with interior art by Don Heck with backup from Steve Ditko and Gene Coloan.
Heritage Auctions sold the other NM+9.6 graded issue from the celebrated Pacific Coast Collection for an identical $262,900 in July 2012.
The second highest bids of the auction were seen by The Avengers #1 from the Don and Maggie Thompson Collection, a renowned pedigree collection that is being sold through Heritage Auctions both in this sale and in the coming months.
 Thompson is replacing her finest issues with lower-graded examples so that she may enjoy the collection without worrying about their value |
The Avengers #1 sees the origin and first appearance of the team consisting of Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp, as well as appearances from the Fantastic Four, Loki and the Teen Brigade. With only three copies graded higher than this example, it sold for $89,625.
Another example graded NM 9.4 sold for $95,600 in August at Heritage Auctions.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has some wonderful original comic art for sale, including examples from Charles Chulz, Friz Freleng and Bill Hanna.
