ComicConnect is pleased to bring a single-owner collection of high-grade copies of the first nine issues of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics to auction. Beginning with the crème-de-la-crème of Modern Age books, a first printing of TMNT #1, CGC graded 9.6, a second-highest graded copy. This book was purchased directly from Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird at a local New England appearance at the time of its release and is signed by both creators on the inside cover. Prices on this book have skyrocketed recently, especially on high-grade examples.
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Not to be outdone, there’s also a counterfeit copy of the first issue CGC 9.4, CGC 9.8 copies of issues #2 and #3, both highest graded copies, the #3 is the incredibly rare version that was produced ahead of its wide release for an appearance at the 1985 New York Comic Con. 500 copies were produced for the event, known as the “White Laird’s Photo” variant because it lacks the lighter blue shade that appears on the regular cover, making the sign, Laird’s Photo, appear as mostly white instead of blue as was intended. These copies sell for many times the value of equivalently graded copies of the regular edition. Both the #2 and #3 are also signed by Eastman and Laird on the inside cover.
Those are followed by a CGC 9.0 copy of #4, a signed raw 9.6 copy of #5, a signed CGC 9.6 #6, and a CGC 9.8 #7. Issue #8, with its special appearance by Dave Sim’s Cerebus, is a raw 9.6, but it does feature a turtle sketch by Kevin Eastman on the inside cover along with signatures, and a CGC 9.8 copy of #9.
In addition to all of those, there’s also a CGC 9.2 copy of the Raphael one-shot featuring the 1st appearance of Casey Jones, a CGC 9.6 copy of the Michelangelo one-shot, and an ungraded 9.6 copy of the Donatello one-shot, all signed by both Eastman and Laird. Lastly, there are CGC 9.2 copies of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #1, the first comic based on the animated series, and the unusual Raphael issue of the TMNT Martial Arts Manual #4.
This is a rare opportunity to see a complete high-grade run of all the key early issues of this groundbreaking series that launched the black-and-white boom of the 1980s in the same auction, all purchased at the time of their release with many of them signed.
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