HA Hall of Fame Description: Spider-Man #1 Cover

Auction result: $358,500 on July 26. 2012

Todd McFarlane Spider-Man #1 Cover Original Art (Marvel, 1990).

This issue was nothing less than the single biggest-selling comic book of all time to that point in terms of dollars generated. The initial press run was 2.35 million copies, a number not seen in comics since the 1950s, and Marvel had to print hundreds of thousands more to meet demand. Five different editions were produced, all featuring the cover art shown here.

In 1990, there was no bigger star in comic art than Todd McFarlane, who was coming off a run on Amazing Spider-Man that gave the character an exciting new look. For this first issue, he took over as the writer as well, and fans couldn't wait to see what he would come up with next. One of his trademarks was Spider-Man's intricate webbing, painstakingly drawn, and as impressive as that was on the printed page -- it's even more so with the art in your hands.

Long held in a private collection, and fresh to the market, this is without a doubt, one of the most famous covers we've had the privilege to offer.

Bob Overstreet has commented that the excitement caused by this issue "spilled over to the entire Marvel line and to DC and other publishers as well." Very few comics in the history of the medium have had that sort of impact.

This timeless Marvel masterwork has an image area of 9.75" x 15", and is in Excellent condition.
Boldly signed by Todd McFarlane in its lower border.

From the Shamus Modern Masterworks Collection.

Don sez: While modern comic books themselves are so common as to seldom achieve staggering sums from collectors -- the original art is blowing original art fandom's socks off. Works from the 1990s are fetching astronomical figures. Of course, a key vintage Marvel cover has yet to surface, and it would be quite interesting to see what an early cover from the sixties would bring at auction. I'm standing by to describe such a piece.