Golden Age Comics Dominate Hake’s $2.9M Pop Culture Auction

A rare copy of Timely’s Captain America Comics #1 led Hake’s' latest pop culture memorabilia auction.

The CGC-graded 5.5 Fine March 1941 comic book introducing the indomitable World War II character Captain America, his sidekick Bucky Barnes and their Nazi nemesis The Red Skull, was sold for $172,221.

In the #2 position was the Man of Steel with the summer 1939 Superman #1 containing the Superman origin story, as written and illustrated by co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and included stories that detailed Superman’s interplanetary origin and chronicled Clark Kent’s arrival at the Daily Star newspaper (precursor to the Daily Planet). Hake’s example, graded 0.5 Poor, sold for $84,370.

The auction also highlighted the growing interest in original comic book art, especially cover art. Bill Sienkiewicz’s original oil painting cover art for Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #6, published by Marvel Comics in December 1985, with its atmospheric depiction of Moon Knight trudging through a snowstorm went for $35,046 against an estimate of $10,000-$20,000. Meanwhile Sam Kieth’s original pen-and-ink art for the cover of Marvel Comics Presents Ghost Rider #99, published in March 1992, was finally sold for $29,854.

Among other highlights was South Carolina-born outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson who led the sports offerings in a 1909-13 M101-2 supplement to the March 23, 1911 edition of The Sporting News. Printed on heavy paper, the newspaper insert shows Jackson in a typical outfielder’s pose, with his eye appearing to be fixed on a baseball headed his way. PSA-graded 1 Poor, this item was fresh to the market and sold for $12,565.