MARVEL COMICS (1939) #1
CGC G+: 2.5
(Stock Image)
SOLD ON: Thursday, 12/15/2022 8:32 PM
$293,250
Sold For
44
Bids
PUBLISHER: Timely
COMMENTS: A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
ow/w pgs; pc mssng from margin of pg 14-25, slightly affects art., CVA & QES Certified: Criteria met: impressive prime focal area + deep color strike
1st Sub-Mariner; 1st Human Torch; 1st Angel; 1st Marvel comic!! historic!! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
Read Description ▼
ow/w pgs; pc mssng from margin of pg 14-25, slightly affects art., CVA & QES Certified: Criteria met: impressive prime focal area + deep color strike
1st Sub-Mariner; 1st Human Torch; 1st Angel; 1st Marvel comic!! historic!! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
DESCRIPTION
A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
ow/w pgs; pc mssng from margin of pg 14-25, slightly affects art., CVA & QES Certified: Criteria met: impressive prime focal area + deep color strike
1st Sub-Mariner; 1st Human Torch; 1st Angel; 1st Marvel comic!! historic!! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
A precious few Golden Age comics serve as cornerstones of the entire industry. Marvel Comics #1 has earned its place in the publishing pantheon as the comic that spawned the Marvel Universe. This single comic matches Action #1 as a vital pop-culture artifact with the first appearance of the Human Torch, along with the Sub-Mariner’s own debut on the newsstands with an amazing origin story.
Timely publisher Martin Goodman had previously launched pulp titles including Marvel Science Stories. Superman’s arrival on newsstands in April 1938 inspired Goodman to get in on the superhero craze by the end of 1939. Marvel Comics #1, however, relied on outside writers from the pioneering content farm of Funnies, Inc. Those included artist Carl Burgos penning the first appearance of the Human Torch, along with the debut of the Sub-Mariner by writer/artist Bill Everett (salvaged from the never-releasedMotion Picture Funnies Weekly).
Marvel Comics #1 also brought in the character of Ka-Zar from his short-lived pulp origins, although this jungle lord is no relation to the future Marvel Comics hero. Other stories include the brutal antics of the crime-fighting Angel, plus more jungle action with diamond-hunters encountering “Jungle Terror” and a Western hero called the Masked Raider.
The comic was a huge success, selling an estimated 900,000 copies. The original print run dated October 1939 remains the rarest. Records show that Goodman initially printed approximately 80,000 copies, with those copies quickly selling out on the newsstands. The second printing would be for 800,000, changing the month to “Nov” as printed above a dark circle obscuring the original month of publication.
Marvel Comics #1 also established a different kind of comic storytelling. The contributions from Funnies, Inc. replaced the colorful genre pioneered by Jerry Sigel & Joe Shuster with a hauntingly aggressive take on crime-fighting. Both the original Human Torch and Sub-Mariner were introduced as unique anti-heroes capable of turning on mere mortals.
(Marvel Comics #1 would be the sole copy of the book under that title, with Timely changing the publication to Marvel Mystery Comics with the second issue. The company itself would become Atlas Comics in the 1950s, and finally adopt the Marvel name while launching Fantastic Four and other titles in 1961.)
Even as Timely brought in creative giants like Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, the company continued to license the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner before finally buying the rights to the characters from Funnies, Inc. in 1940. (That was just a year after Goodman had brought in his wife’s teenage cousin Stanley Lieber — later known as Stan Lee — to assist in the office.) Marvel Comics #1 has remained the scarcest of major Golden Age keys, with copies never failing to ignite a frenzy of attention when issues come to market.
____________________________________________
ComicConnect is proud of our longtime role in preserving the very few Marvel Comics #1 that have come up at auction over the years. Those include a 9.4 copy selling for a record-setting $1.26 million in 2019, with further records in 2022 as a 9.2 file copy sold for $2.4 million, and a 2.5 for $293,000. (Those three copies were all unrestored November printings. The CGC Census of July '24 shows 70 total CGC Copies of all printings, with only 39 copies listed as Unrestored.)
Marvel Comics #1 is an exceedingly rare, extremely important book. With only 66 copies reported on the CGC Census and less than half of them in original condition, this Holy Grail of a collectible is far from an everyday find. This QES-certified copy earned a 2.5 CGC Universal Grade, with off-white to white pages. Unfortunately, pieces are missing from the margins of pages 14-25, but the condition issue only slightly affects the art. This book presents as higher than its designated grade, and the iconic Frank Paul illustration is well preserved, showing the Human Torch beckoning toward his prey. Truly important milestones like this only become more compelling, hard to acquire, and valuable as the years go by.
Overstreet Guide 2022 G+ (2.5) value = $70,625
If you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us 24 hours in advance of the item closing at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.) Once approved, please log out of your account and then log in, for the approval to take effect.
We realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 3 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MORE
Visit the QES website.
ow/w pgs; pc mssng from margin of pg 14-25, slightly affects art., CVA & QES Certified: Criteria met: impressive prime focal area + deep color strike
1st Sub-Mariner; 1st Human Torch; 1st Angel; 1st Marvel comic!! historic!! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
A precious few Golden Age comics serve as cornerstones of the entire industry. Marvel Comics #1 has earned its place in the publishing pantheon as the comic that spawned the Marvel Universe. This single comic matches Action #1 as a vital pop-culture artifact with the first appearance of the Human Torch, along with the Sub-Mariner’s own debut on the newsstands with an amazing origin story.
Timely publisher Martin Goodman had previously launched pulp titles including Marvel Science Stories. Superman’s arrival on newsstands in April 1938 inspired Goodman to get in on the superhero craze by the end of 1939. Marvel Comics #1, however, relied on outside writers from the pioneering content farm of Funnies, Inc. Those included artist Carl Burgos penning the first appearance of the Human Torch, along with the debut of the Sub-Mariner by writer/artist Bill Everett (salvaged from the never-releasedMotion Picture Funnies Weekly).
Marvel Comics #1 also brought in the character of Ka-Zar from his short-lived pulp origins, although this jungle lord is no relation to the future Marvel Comics hero. Other stories include the brutal antics of the crime-fighting Angel, plus more jungle action with diamond-hunters encountering “Jungle Terror” and a Western hero called the Masked Raider.
The comic was a huge success, selling an estimated 900,000 copies. The original print run dated October 1939 remains the rarest. Records show that Goodman initially printed approximately 80,000 copies, with those copies quickly selling out on the newsstands. The second printing would be for 800,000, changing the month to “Nov” as printed above a dark circle obscuring the original month of publication.
Marvel Comics #1 also established a different kind of comic storytelling. The contributions from Funnies, Inc. replaced the colorful genre pioneered by Jerry Sigel & Joe Shuster with a hauntingly aggressive take on crime-fighting. Both the original Human Torch and Sub-Mariner were introduced as unique anti-heroes capable of turning on mere mortals.
(Marvel Comics #1 would be the sole copy of the book under that title, with Timely changing the publication to Marvel Mystery Comics with the second issue. The company itself would become Atlas Comics in the 1950s, and finally adopt the Marvel name while launching Fantastic Four and other titles in 1961.)
Even as Timely brought in creative giants like Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, the company continued to license the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner before finally buying the rights to the characters from Funnies, Inc. in 1940. (That was just a year after Goodman had brought in his wife’s teenage cousin Stanley Lieber — later known as Stan Lee — to assist in the office.) Marvel Comics #1 has remained the scarcest of major Golden Age keys, with copies never failing to ignite a frenzy of attention when issues come to market.
____________________________________________
ComicConnect is proud of our longtime role in preserving the very few Marvel Comics #1 that have come up at auction over the years. Those include a 9.4 copy selling for a record-setting $1.26 million in 2019, with further records in 2022 as a 9.2 file copy sold for $2.4 million, and a 2.5 for $293,000. (Those three copies were all unrestored November printings. The CGC Census of July '24 shows 70 total CGC Copies of all printings, with only 39 copies listed as Unrestored.)
Marvel Comics #1 is an exceedingly rare, extremely important book. With only 66 copies reported on the CGC Census and less than half of them in original condition, this Holy Grail of a collectible is far from an everyday find. This QES-certified copy earned a 2.5 CGC Universal Grade, with off-white to white pages. Unfortunately, pieces are missing from the margins of pages 14-25, but the condition issue only slightly affects the art. This book presents as higher than its designated grade, and the iconic Frank Paul illustration is well preserved, showing the Human Torch beckoning toward his prey. Truly important milestones like this only become more compelling, hard to acquire, and valuable as the years go by.
Overstreet Guide 2022 G+ (2.5) value = $70,625
If you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us 24 hours in advance of the item closing at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.) Once approved, please log out of your account and then log in, for the approval to take effect.
We realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 3 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MORE
Visit the QES website.