PBA Galleries set a new auction record for the 1977 35-cent variant of Star Wars issue 1. During the March 24 auction for Wayne Martin’s comic collection the very fine copy of the comic sold for a record-breaking $7200. According to PBA, “Marvel typically tested price increases on a limited basis before rolling out the increase to all titles, and approximately only 1,500 copies of the first printing priced at 35 cents are thought to exist; all others being priced at 30 cents.”
The auction additionally saw a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1984 debut issue sell for $3900.
Other highlights include:
The X-men made a good showing as well, with a very nice copy of Giant Size X-men #1 going for $1,080. The book is a highly collectible milestone of Marvel Comics, featuring the first appearances of many of the X-men’s most popular characters, including Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Thunderbird. This is the first issue of the X-men to feature the fan favorite Wolverine, and is his second full-length appearance in any comic book, after his debut in The Incredible Hulk #’s 180 and 181. X-men#94 sold for $300, the first issue in the regular series to feature the new team, signed by award-winning writer Chris Clairemont.
The collection featured a number of wonderful comics from the Golden Age (1930s–1950s), the highlight beingFlash 101 and 104 from the 1940s, the pair of them selling for an impressive $2,700. Issue 104 is considered to be the last Golden Age appearance of the Flash, who would not appear again in his own book for the better part of a decade.
This was the first comic lot to be auctioned off by the San Francisco-based auction house.
