The Dark Knight....Falls?

Even superheroes have an off day.

June 26, 2024

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Welcome to Alts & Ends, your lively guide to collectible market happenings. In this edition, we examine the market for high-end comic books and the dearth of highly collectible hockey stars.

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The Dark Knight….Falls?

If a rare comic book losing $465,000 in two-and-a-half years is one of the bigger stories from a big week in comic books, then it might not be a gangbusters moment in the comic book market.

Darkest before the dawn? Detective Comics #27 (the first appearance of Batman) graded CGC 4.5 sold for $1,140,000 in January of 2022. That same book, the top-billed book in Heritage’s signature event, sold for just $675,000 last week. Summer has started, and it turns out flip-flops aren’t just sandals. They’re also disastrous collectible trades.

It’s not 2022 anymore. There’s no unanimously common thread across performance of all comic books in recent years. But the most common trajectory looked something like this: a late 2021 to early 2022 peak, a significant pullback in late 2022 and early 2023, and then relative stability to present. While there are plenty of exceptions, these examples chart relatively well-trodden paths among frequently traded books:

  • Tales of Suspense #39 (CGC 9.2)

    • November 2022: $168,000

    • January 2023: $108,000

    • June 2024: $106,266

  • X-Men #1 (CGC 8.5)

    • September 2021: $150,000

    • November 2022: $58,800

    • June 2024: $57,600

Not all books are benefitting from more recent resilience though, as some continue to struggle to establish their footing:

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (CGC 9.8)

    • June 2022: $192,000

    • January 2024: $132,000

    • June 2024: $87,000

  • Incredible Hulk #1 (CGC 6.5)

    • April 2022: $84,000

    • October 2022: $54,000

    • June 2024: $39,600

Still, there are less frequently traded books - like Adventure Comics #40 and All-Star Comics #8 - mustering gains over 2021 and 2022 levels.

But broad interest remains. At face value, you might think interest has largely declined. The sales volume and average lot price from the Heritage June Signature event were the lowest they’ve been in four years. Surely the comic book faithful haven’t found “cooler" hobbies? That would be like Dale getting into catering and Brennan into helicopter sales in Step Brothers. Sad.

Fear not. All is right in the world.

Last week’s auction lacked at the very top, where the $840,000 top sale was far and away the lowest top sale of the last four June Signature Auctions. Last year’s $6,000,000 sale of Frank Frazetta’s Dark Kingdom original art significantly boosted 2023 numbers; absent that sale, 2024 would’ve delivered an improvement on nearly every metric.

As it stands, the 2024 edition still delivered 39% more six-figure sales than 2023.

Key stat: In an encouraging sign for the bulls, the bidder total reported by Heritage was the highest of the last four years of the event, narrowly eclipsing 2023’s edition. While bidders may be less exuberant in their pursuit of books than they were in 2021 and 2022, they have not mass-exited the category. The comic contingent’s interest is as resilient as their staunch defense of Zack Snyder’s cut of The Justice League.

Comic art is here to stay. Comic art lots accounted for approximately half of all offered lots in the Heritage event, on par with years past. However, original comic art has been increasingly present at the high end of auctions. Of the 25 total six-figure sales in last week’s event, comic art accounted for 14. That’s the highest proportion of the last four years of the event.

The rise of comic art was a noteworthy storyline at the height of the market, and its presence has not faded in softer circumstances, in fact growing stronger proportionally. The relative strength of infrequently traded, 1-of-1 assets is a trend observable in other collectible categories as well.

The multi-million-dollar trophy art that highlighted 2022 and 2023’s editions, though, was not a feature of this event.

Resilient as steel. The Man of Steel continues to prove the strength of his early issues. A restored copy of Action Comics #1 graded CGC 5.5 sold for $379,579.35 last night at ComicConnect. Despite a B-5 restoration grade, which denotes extensive restoration and middling material use and visual quality of work, the result was higher than the $350,750 realized for a CGC 8.5 restored copy sold at ComicConnect in 2022, and that book had a superior A-3 restoration grade.

Similarly, Superman #1 - graded a mere CGC 1.5 - sold for $180,000 at Heritage. That’s only $12,000 off its June 2022 peak and a $6,000 improvement on a September 2023 result for a like-graded copy.

Regardless of condition - restored or low-grade - these pivotal Superman issues are so coveted and so iconic that their allure proves as powerful as a locomotive, no matter the market obstacles in the way.

What’s next? ComicConnect continues to close its Event Auction throughout the week, led by a CGC 2.0 copy of Superman #1.

Hockey: A Market on Ice

The hockey collectible market has a superstar problem.

The problem is, the NHL doesn’t have a collectible superstar.

The stars of yesterday are either long retired or have one foot in the retirement home, and the stars of today can’t figure out how to get their hands on the good ol’Lord Stanley.

Oil Spill. With Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin both in the twilight of their respective careers, the torch has been passed to the next generation. For high-end hockey collectors, Connor McDavid looks to be the chosen one. Edmonton had a chance, but it’s now been more than 20 years since a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup. After falling behind 3-0 in their series with the Florida Panthers, then making a valiant comeback to force a Game 7, Connor McDavid and the Oilers ran out of steam.

Another season, another disappointing finish for hockey’s brightest star. Despite losing in the Stanley Cup Final and failing to record a point in the crucial Game 7, McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the playoff MVP, after racking up 42 points throughout the postseason. That postseason point tally fell just five behind the record of 47, set by another Oiler legend, Wayne Gretzky, in 1985.

For fans of the NHL, McDavid is a superstar – there is no question. For collectors and speculators within the hockey memorabilia market – McDavid needs to hoist the cup. There are too many potential catalysts to count. McDavid is marketable, he draws comparisons to and plays in the same city as “The Great One”, and he’s already building a trophy case fit for one of the greatest ever to lace up a pair of skates.

The market is waiting. In 3Q23, Goldin sold a McDavid Upper Deck Shield Rookie Card for $181,800, the highest price paid for a card that doesn’t showcase Gretzky or Ovi. The auction activity for McDavid’s game-worn memorabilia peaked last week when 50 bids drove his Game 3 worn Stanley Cup Finals jersey to $70,100. One can only speculate what that jersey would have appraised for if McDavid and the Oilers completed the historic comeback. However, with the jersey forever tied to a Conn Smythe-winning playoff run, $70,000 still looks like a bargain. It will likely take a championship to get a McDavid jersey near Gretzky territory though.

So, who’s next? We’ll hold out hope that someday, McDavid will get his title. But who else can carry the weight of the hockey collectible market?

That’s the million-dollar question. Literally – since no other hockey player aside from Gretzky can currently command seven figures for their memorabilia.

Every few years there’s a new name that generates hope and hype. Heading into the 2023-2024 season, that name was Connor Bedard. The newest NHL star found himself on the pitiful Chicago Blackhawks and made the best of an otherwise hopeless situation. At just 19 years old, Bedard amassed 61 points in 68 games and tied for the team lead in goals while leading the club in assists.

So how did his rookie card market perform? Almost as poorly as the Blackhawks played.

In March, PSA 10-graded examples of Bedard’s Upper Deck Young Guns rookie card found themselves flipping on eBay for anywhere between $3,000 - $4,000. On Monday night, as the Panthers celebrated their first Stanley Cup in team history, a PSA 10 sold on eBay for less than $750. Bedard could be a star, and his card prices aren’t necessarily indicative of his play, but the current situation in Chicago isn’t the ideal recipe for a collectible catalyst.  

Last week, the stick used by Wayne Gretzky sold for $336,000 to set a record for the most expensive NHL hockey stick ever sold at auction. Until a new championship-winning star emerges, hockey will need to ride the coattails of Gretzky just a little bit longer.

Results Round-Up

  • As seen above, after tepid early bidding for Wayne Gretzky’s 1988 Cup-clinching hockey stick, competition intensified into the close, propelling it to a $336,000 result. That’s the highest price paid for an NHL hockey stick.

  • One week after Goldin sold a 2004 Artbox Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban card (graded PSA 8) for $40,260, PWCC sold a PSA Authentic version for $28,800. The card is signed by each of the film’s three stars.

  • Sotheby’s most recent NBA Auction event, the City & Icon Capsule, scored two significant results. The jersey LeBron James wore to set the all-time NBA minutes-played record sold for $180,000, above a $50,000 - $70,000 estimate. A Victor Wembanyama jersey in which he recorded a double-double sold for $108,000 against a $30,000 - $50,000 estimate.

  • RR Auction sold an autograph musical manuscript from Ludwig Von Beethoven, dating to circa 1798-1799, for $225,000, above a $150,000 estimate.

  • REA sold a number of vintage baseball sets, including:

    • 1963 Topps (Complete, 8.01 GPA) - $75,000

    • 1960 Topps (Complete, 8.00 GPA) - $66,000

    • 1961 Topps (Complete, 8.01 GPA) - $54,000

You might’ve guessed this one was coming - in fact, it was telegraphed like Batman’s punches the first time he fights Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Last week’s auction went about as well for the consigner as that fight went for Bruce Wayne.

This CGC 4.5 copy of Detective Comics #27 sold in January of 2022 for $1,140,000. While the market has remained largely hospitable to million-dollar issues, this isn’t one of the fortunate ones. It sold last week for $675,000, cementing a $465,000 loss in two-and-a-half years, with buyer’s premium included. That’s a 41% loss in total or 19% annually - net of BP, those figures grow to 51% and 25% respectively, while the total loss swells to $577,500.

But the Dark Knight rises, not falls. Perhaps better, Bane-smashing days lie ahead.

Photo: Goldin

6/29 - Goldin June Elite Auction


There’s nothing particularly interesting about a Fleer Jordan rookie coming to auction. What makes this sale interesting though is the inclusion of PWCC’s Top 30% Eye Appeal designation for a lot sold at…Goldin. PWCC’s eye appeal designations (marked by a sticker on the back of the slab) are rarely seen sold or marketed outside the confines of PWCC. With a PWCC rebrand underway, might we see more of this in the future? And will the designation carry value when marketed at another house?

Photo: Sotheby’s

6/26 - Sotheby’s The Library of Dr. Rodney Swantko


Before Harry Potter became a global phenomenon of literature and film, a young illustrator named Thomas Taylor became one of the first people to see the manuscript. Bloomsbury Publishing tasked Taylor with bringing Harry to life for the book’s cover art, and the rest is history. Offered at Sotheby’s is that original cover art. It last sold in 2001 for £85,750 and carries an estimate this week of $400,000 - $600,000.

Photo: Sotheby’s

6/26 - Sotheby’s Founding Documents of the United States


If you needed a keen reminder that the 4th of July is fast approaching, look no further than the Sotheby’s sale of a Declaration of Independence broadside. This edition was printed by John Holt within a week of John Dunlap’s first edition printing, and it’s the only Holt printing in private hands. It’s estimated to sell for between $2,500,000 and $5,000,000.

Also on the slate:

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