I love everything about this story: found at the bottom of a drawer; sold in 1974 for $300; Alaskan climate preserves 70 year-old comic magazine in near pristine condition. That is the trifecta of the comic book holy grail.
~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "brent wodehouse" <brent_wodeho...@...> wrote: > > http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2012509132_apuscomicbookauction.html?prmid=head_main > > Comic book buff selling rare copy of Batman No. 1 > > > A longtime Alaska comic book buff is selling one of the gems in his vast > collection, a rare copy of Batman No. 1 published 70 years ago. > > The Associated Press > > > FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A longtime Alaska comic book buff is selling one of > the gems in his vast collection, a rare copy of Batman No. 1 published 70 > years ago. > > Mike Wheat of Fairbanks has put the 1940 comic book on the auction block > through Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, where it's expected to > fetch more than $40,000. Online bids already have climbed to $35,000 for > the book, believed to be one of fewer than 300 still in existence. > > Online bids will compete with a live auction set for Thursday. > > The second and fourth Batman issues also will be part of Thursday's > auction. They are expected to bring more than $5,000 combined. > > Wheat, a retired city wastewater treatment plant operator, said he > considers the Batman comics an investment. He said it feels like the right > time to sell. > > "I just decided it's time for someone else to have it," he said. > > The Batman No. 1 comic book was discovered after local businessman Ron > Jaeger bought an old dresser at a garage sale in the early 1970s, then > kept it in storage for a few years. When Jaeger finally brought it out, he > noticed one of the drawers didn't slide easily. > > Three comic books and a few old issues of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner > were tucked beneath the drawer and a quarter-inch piece of plywood. The > haul included a copy of Batman No. 1, Superman No. 17 and an old issue of > a Red Ryder Western comic. > > Wheat already had a reputation as an avid comic collector in 1974, and > Jaeger sold him the comic books for $300. > > The auction house has handled many copies of Batman No. 1, but Wheat's > copy is notable because the low humidity and cool temperatures in > Fairbanks have kept the paper in excellent condition, said Barry Sandoval, > director of comic auctions and operations at Heritage. Old comics were > printed on cheap newsprint, but the pages in Wheat's copy remain white and > crisp. > > "If we got a Batman No. 1 from Texas or Louisiana, if you opened it up > after 70 years the pages would start to crumble," Sandoval said. > > The condition of comics is graded on a scale of one to 10. Wheat's copy > has been graded a 5.5. That's a middling score for a newer comic, but > impressive for a vintage copy. > > "I see how most comics from that era look," Sandoval said. "Most > 70-year-old comics are in pretty rough shape." > > Batman No. 1 was the first solo spin-off for the character, who made his > first appearance in 1939 as a character in Detective Comics No. 27. The > debut includes the original appearances by two of Batman's key foes, the > Joker and Catwoman. > > --- > > Online: > > http://www.ha.com > > --- > > Information from: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com >
