An original black-and-white drawing of a comic cover introducing Spider-Man villain Black Cat has sold for over $1 million at auction.
The Al Milgrom illustration was published in 1979 as the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #194.
On it a headline warns: “Never let the Black Cat cross your path” showing Felicia Hardy in her supervillain costume. She would repeatedly tangle with Spider-Man, would occasionally side with him, and even shared a romance with the masked hero.
The drawing was auctioned by Heritage Auctions, and was sold for $1.02 million (including buyer’s premium) at their sale ending last Sunday, January 12.
Comics are highly collectible, and collectors with money crave original artwork, particularly if it captures an iconic moment in a character’s arc.
The full cover shows what a masterful composition artist Al Milgrom produced to introduce Black Cat. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Todd Hignite, Heritage Auctions executive vice president said: “As we saw with Rob Liefeld’s Deadpool debut in our last auction, where it sold for nearly $1 million, first appearances of major characters are hugely sought after by collectors and represent many of our strongest prices in every auction.”
Spider-Man was launched in Marvel Comics’ Amazing Fantasy in August 1962. The Amazing Spider-Man made Peter Parker’s arachnid, crime-fighting alter-ego a title character from March 1963. With several breaks and relaunches, that title is still published today.
Artist Frank Frazetta’s work is the most valuable original comic art thus far. His Egyptian Queen cover art sold for $5.4 million in 2019. Another piece made $1.8 million in May 2018.
Al Milgrom was a long-time writer, editor, inker and illustrator who has worked for independents and both comic giants, Marvel and DC.
He was once fired by Marvel for bad-mouthing his boss in the background of a page he produced. His work was good enough for him to be brought back as a freelancer even after that.
He worked extensively on Spider-Man and earned an on-screen name check in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a hotel named after him in Ant Man.
Landmark comics from the Golden Age of the art form before censorship codes somewhat neutered them in the 1950s are the most valuable items to collectors.
The standout is Action Comics #1, the debut of Superman from 1938, a copy of which sold for $6 million last year.
A copy was sold for $384,000 in this sale, the relatively low price down to its poor condition. Elsewhere in the sale that ended on January 12, a Carl Barks painting of Scrooge McDuck on his lake of money made over $250,000.
This is a great start to 2025 which could be a landmark year in comic book and comic art sales.
