Welcome back to this week's top pics from Heritage's weekly comic book auctions! Heritage holds weekly funny book auctions that feature key issues, overlooked comics, oddball memorabilia items, and more. These auctions are a must if you want to beef up your collection! Here are my top picks for you to watch.
Archie Comics #50 CGC Universal 1.5
One could argue that this is one of the most popular - if not notorious - Archie Comic covers of all time. The famed 'headlights' cover, as some fans call it, features Betty front and center on the phone with Archie. Drawn by Archie creator Bob Montana, this fan-favorite cover is an absolute delight. Golden Age Good Girl Art is highly collectible regardless of condition - and this book has been loved. There is a lot of writing on the cover, with a crease coming down Betty's face. Even so, this is still a great book that is frequently talked about.
This CGC Universal 1.5 has off-white pages. Heritage notes there is tape on the interior cover. To date, CGC has only graded 184 copies of this book, with 170 obtaining Universal grades. The current highest grade is a Universal 9.0, with the lowest being a Universal .5. Currently, the fair market value of a Universal 1.5 is $525, making this an affordable GGA cover. Prices are trending up across all grades for this book, so if you've had this book on your wish list, it might not hurt to bid on it now!
Space Action #2 CGC Universal 5.0
This short-lived series from Ace Publications came out during the height of the Atomic Age of Comics, which was the tail-end of the Golden Age. Space Action ran for three issues all being released between June and October of 1952. It's disappointing that this series didn't last for very long. The covers truly exemplified the Atomic Age, and the stories explored other worlds filled with action and adventure. Ace themselves published a number of titles between 1940 and 1956 and they were quite popular during their time. Unfortunately many of their comics were used during the U.S Congressional Hearings during the 1950s, which led to the formation of the Comics Code Authority. It's safe to assume that caused them to cease the publication of comics.
This CGC Universal 5.0 has off-white pages and one of the best space covers I've seen. Black covers, especially Golden Age ones, are almost always visually striking. The look of horror on the man's face, the billow of smoke from his gun, and the reflection of a monster with a damsel in distress is a work of art. To date, CGC has only graded 39 copies, with 37 obtaining a Universal grade. The current fair market value on similarly graded 5.0s is $400, with prices trending up. This would be a great addition to any collection!
Pokemon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu #1 (9th Print) CGC 8.0
Pokemon is as hot now as it was when it first came to North America in the late 1990s. I was - and still am - a fan of the franchise, and in 1999, I collected any Pokemon manga I could find! Pokemon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu is a comic I distinctly remember picking up with my weekly books. During this time, Pokemon artists would draw Pikachu to be, well, more rotund than he is now. And to me, that was - and still is - the cutest form of Pikachu. While my copy has long been sold, interest in this book has started to go up.
This CGC Universal 8.0 has white pages, but an 8.0 for a 9th printing of a modern comic may not be attractive to many collectors. Still, the colors on the cover pop, and the book overall presents extremely well. To date, CGC has graded 155 copies of the first printing. The last fixed price on an 8.0 for that edition was for $119 almost 5 years ago, but an 8.5 sold recently for around $150 - meaning a collector could get this late edition book for a great price!
