Welcome back to this week's Weekly Comic Auction Gem rundown! Each week, we'll look at Heritage's weekly Sunday through Tuesday comic book auction to see which items should be on your radar!

Archie Comics #14 1945

After World War II had ended MLJ Publishing began shifting focus to their backup story breakout star, Archie. The publisher who was once known for patriotic superheroes shifted focus to teen humor, and would change their name from MLJ Comics to Archie Comics officially in 1946. By the start of the 1950's, Archie had released a number of new titles, while also turning Pep Comics into one of Archie's flagship books. Golden Age Archie covers are always so much fun. This cover, drawn by Bill Vigoda, shows Archie once again trying to impress Betty and Veronica while a concerned Jughead (who knows what's about to happen) looks on.

Heritage notes this condition as being Very Good, and we can only assume the page quality is decent. Graded copies of this book in similar grades sell for under $200, making this a very affordable book.

Eerie #12 1953

The iconic Dracula comes to life in his first comic book adaptation from Avon Periodicals in 1953. This issue tells the entire tale of Bram Stoker's story in 29 pages, making this one of the easiest ways to take in the tale. The artwork and colors in this book are great. But the cover itself is a sight to behold. Dracula bears a passing resemblance to the Joker here, but that look is dropped for the interior art.

Heritage notes this book as being in Fine- condition. Graded prices on this book are all over the place, despite only 58 copies being graded. This book could potentially end over $250, if not slightly higher as it is the character's first appearance in a comic.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer Pop-Up Book 1939

In 1939 Montgomery Ward asked an employee in their marketing department -- Robert L. May -- to come up with a children's story book character. During Christmas of 1939 Montgomery Ward would publish over 2 million copies of the book, which were given away to children during the season. Montgomery Ward would then hand the rights back to May years later, likely because they didn't know how big the character would eventually become. As a result, Rudolph is a Christmas icon, and Montgomery Ward is but a footnote in retail history. Ok, seriously, I don't think this one thing resulted in the company closing up shop decades later...but it does make you think!

This pop up book is a real find. I've seen similar copies sell for over $1,000, which is possible with this book. If there is one item I'd watch in this auction, I'd watch this one.

Primer #2 CGC Blue Label 9.0 1982

Matt Wagner's Grendel has been entertaining readers since his first introduction in Primer #2 in 1982. Grendel now has his own series under Dark Horse, and at one point even had a crossover with Batman. In 2021 Netflix had announced a Grendel series, but would ultimately cancel it in 2022. However, the producers are shopping it around, so we could very well see the assassin on screen at some point. If you're a long running Grendel fan (or a fan of Matt Wagner), this is a great opportunity to get the characters first appearance.

This CGC blue label 9.0 features off-white to white pages with noticeable wear on the spine. The fair market value of this book is $650, with prices trending up.