Early Marvel Work
No artist was more synonymous with Bronze Age horror comics than Bernie Wrightson. Some of his earliest work was for Marvel’s nascent horror titles. Tower of Shadows #9 would be only the third Marvel comic to feature a Bernie Wrightson cover. The demon crawling from the sewer is classic Wrightson, as is the ignorant soon-to-be victim.
There are 62 graded copies and only a few show up for sale each year. The most recent sale was a 9.0 going for a very reasonable slashed $80. Of course, the highest price paid was a 9.6 going for $565 in a fixed-price eBay sale on January 21.
Prices paid for 9.6 graded copies in 2022 were slightly below $200. Neither of the two 9.8 graded copies has ever come up for sale.
Forgotten House of Mystery Cover
You rarely see House of Mystery #217 in a list of Wrightson’s best covers, but it’s amazing! The creepy tree monster and the kids in jeopardy are vintage Wrightson. There are 76 graded copies and these too are rarely sold. 9.6 and 9.4 graded copies are the most plentiful, representing 37% of the census.
Prices are high, as you would expect, with a 9.6 selling in a May 2022 Heritage auction for $840 and a 9.5 selling on August 25 for a slashed $850. However, values below those grades rarely top out at more than $200.
The Impish Children of the Damned
No one drew tiny demonic figures like Bernie Wrightson, and they’re on full display on the cover of Frankenstein #18. Completing the cover are Frankenstein and an obligatory damsel in distress. There are 55 graded copies with the most recent sale being a 9.8 going for $469 in a June 11 eBay auction.
Below that top grade, however, prices are far more reasonable; a 9.4 sold in the peak of the boom in September 2021 for a slashed $200. They don’t appear for sale very often but you should be able to find a copy below that top grade for a decent price.
The Halloween God
Coming at the tail end of the Bronze Age we have Secrets of Haunted House #44. The Halloween God is awesome-looking on this cover. Particularly noteworthy is the light from his head cast on the ground. There are only 16 graded copies of this comic in the CGC census and there have only been four sales. Collectors are just beginning to discover this Wrightson cover as we can see that three of those four sales were in this calendar year.
The top was a 9.6 going for $399 in a fixed-price eBay sale on August 6. With so few graded copies and high prices for those, this is a comic where you would be best off searching for raw copies at shops and shows and then sending them in for grading. Current eBay listings show higher-grade raw copies in the $35 to $50 price range, but you can likely find them cheaper elsewhere.
Are there any Bronze Age comics you think are undervalued and deserve more attention? Let us know below!
