Collectible Toys, Comic Books, and Comic Art at Bruneau & Co. on April 28

Cranston, RI - Nearly 350 lots of toys, comic books and comic art will be sold to the highest bidder in an auction planned for Saturday, April 28th, by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, in partnership with Altered Reality Entertainment and Travis Landry. The sale will be held online and in the Bruneau & Co. gallery, located at 63 Fourth Avenue in Cranston, at 11 am Eastern.

The auction will open with 87 lots of vintage Star Wars items, featuring a selection from the collection of David Montauck in Brooklyn, N.Y. The group is highlighted by a 1985 Power of The Force AT-AT Driver, graded AFA 85 and packaged with a Warlock coin -  a hard cardback to find, as it only saw limited release in Australia (est. $5,500-$7,500).

“It’s like being a child again back in 1978, going to Almac’s with my mother to pick out my Star Wars figure for the week,” said Kevin Bruneau, the president and auctioneer of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. “The 1985 Power of the Force AT-AT Driver is sure to be the strongest with the force, but that’s only one of several gems from the Montauck collection certain to get attention.”

One such gem is the 1977 Star Wars Luke Skywalker theater display, exceedingly rare and with an estimate of $2,500-$3,500. Luke stands a towering 8 feet 3 inches tall, striking an iconic pose from the style C one-sheet. The display is constructed of cut plywood, with a laminated image, and originated in Europe - most likely England or Italy. Montauck found it in a theater trash bin.

Other Star Wars highlights will include a 1978 Star Wars Power Passers Duel at Death Star Race Set, graded CAS 85, and Droids Series Tig Fromm, graded CAS 70+. The Montauk collection will also feature an additional 17 Power of the Force graded figures.

The second portion of the catalog will offer an eclectic mix of vintage American toys, led by a CAS high-grade set of ten 1988 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The set will be sold in single lots and all are early production variants. Also sold will be a 1964 GI Joe Action Pilot Dress Uniform set and a Knickerbocker Humpty Dumpty dart gun set, circa 1950s. 

The GI Joe Action Pilot Dress Uniform set is from the collection of a previous Hasbro employee in Central Falls, R.I. The individually carded set includes the 7804 dress jacket, 7805 dress pants and 7806 dress shirt. Each piece of equipment is factory sealed in its original cellophane, with a GI Joe helmet form sticker. The set should bring $600-$900.

The third portion of the catalog will offer over 220 lots of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern Age comics and original artwork. “It’s like Christmas in spring,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. specialist and auctioneer who is also a partner in the sale. “This auction is certain to draw collectors out of the woodwork with a great selection of comics and comic art.”

Landry added, “I’m most excited to see the original artwork for page 16 of Avengers #69, the first appearance of the Grand Master, cross the block. To think that page is the actual physical piece of paper on which Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger worked their artistic and creative magic gives me the chills. It’s a true piece of Marvel and all comic history.”

The page 16 artwork was executed around 1969 and carries a pre-sale estimate of $8,000-$12,000. It introduced the Grand Master character to the Marvel universe, later portrayed in an ironically hysterical way by Jeff Goldblum in the movie Thor: Ragnarok. The page is one of four from a collection out of Rumford, R.I. It is a rare piece of Marvel history.

Another piece of rare and highly collectible cover art is lot 165: Volume 2, Issue 2, pages 20 and 21 of DC Comics Justice League, drawn by the illustrators Jim Lee and Scott Williams and signed by both. The action-packed double splash features Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and Superman, facing an onslaught of parademons (est. $8,000-$12,000).

The Golden Age comics will be led by a copy of Timely Comics Sub-Mariner, issue #24 (Winter, 1947), graded CBCS 8.0 (est. $2,500-$4,000). The comic book features just the third appearance of Namora, and a bondage cover. Only one known copy is graded higher, at 8.5. This example, with white pages and an 8.0 grade, is sure to attract interest.

Other comic books in the auction include the following:

• Marvel Comics Strange Tales #110 (July 1963), CGC 4.5, the first appearance of Doctor Strange, Ancient One, Nightmare and Wong (est. $1,200-$1,800).
• Marvel Comics Uncanny X-Men #145 (May 1981), CBCS 9.9, the newsstand edition and featuring a Doctor Doom cover and appearance (est. $1,200-$1,800).
• DC Comics Superman #46 (May-June 1947), CBCS 9.0, featuring the first appearance of Superboy in a title and a Mr. Mxyzptlk cameo (est. $1,000-$1,500).
• Marvel Comics Amazing Spider-Man #129 (Feb. 1974), CBCS 7.0, featuring the first appearance of the Punisher and the Jackal, overall VG (est. $700-$1,000).
• DC Comics Batman #44, CBCS 8.5; Timely Comics Young Allies #9, CBCS 6.5.

Internet bidding will be available through Bidlive.Bruneauandco.com, the Bruneau app, eBay, Invaluable.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, ePaiLIVE (Asia), and Auctionzip.com.

Download the Bruneau app on Google play and iTunes. Phone and absentee (left) bids will also be accepted. Previews will be held on Thursday, April 26th, from 9-5; on Friday, April 27th, from 12 noon until 9 pm; and on Saturday, April 28th, the date of auction, when doors open at 8 am.

Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers has announced a new schedule for 2018. There will be no pre-sale with the estate auctions, as before. They will usually be on the first Saturday of each month and will start at 11 am Eastern. Monday night auctions will be held the third Monday of every month.

To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and the Saturday, April 28th auction, visit www.bruneauandco.com. To contact Bruneau & Co. via e-mail, use info@bruneauandco.com. 

Image: Copy of Timely Comics Sub-Mariner, issue #24 (Winter, 1947), graded CBCS 8.0, featuring the third appearance of Namora, and a bondage cover (est. $2,500-$4,000).