Five lots above $1 million in a single comics auction. Heritage Auctions has never done that before. Nobody has.
The Comics Signature Auction ran February 26 through March 1, 2026. Final tally: $27.5 million. The top lot wasn't a comic book. It was a painting.
The $3.125 Million Painting
Frank Frazetta's original cover painting for Vampirella #1 sold for $3,125,000. That makes it one of the highest prices ever paid for a piece of comic book art at auction.
Frazetta painted it in 1969 for Warren Publishing's debut issue of Vampirella. Oil on board. The image defined the character before a single interior page was drawn. Frazetta originals rarely surface. When they do, collectors fight for them.
This wasn't a bidding war between comic fans. This was art market money competing with comic market money. And art market money showed up.
Five Lots Over $1 Million
Heritage confirmed this was the first time they had five lots clear $1 million in a single comics auction, per Overstreet Access. The named highlights:
- Frank Frazetta Vampirella #1 cover painting: $3,125,000 - Detective Comics #27 CGC 7.0: $2,318,000 (first appearance of Batman, 1939) - All Star Comics #8 CGC 9.4: $1,300,000 (first appearance of Wonder Woman, 1941) - Superman #1 CGC 6.5: $1,220,000 (1939)
Just below the million-dollar mark, John Romita Sr.'s original cover art for Amazing Spider-Man #84 sold for $656,250. A record price for any Romita cover.
Original Art Is the Story
Original comic art has been running hot for years. This auction crystallized something. The ceiling for original art is now higher than the ceiling for most graded comics.
A Frazetta painting outsold every Golden Age key in the room except the Detective Comics #27. A Romita cover set a new record for the artist. The two biggest original art lots combined for $3.78 million.
There are millions of graded comics. There is one original Vampirella #1 cover painting. Scarcity wins.
The Golden Age Keeps Climbing
The Detective Comics #27 result was covered here when it hammered on February 28. Same copy Heritage sold in 2020 for $1.5 million. 55% return in six years.
All Star Comics #8 at $1.3 million in CGC 9.4 is a major result for Wonder Woman's first appearance. High-grade copies of this book almost never trade publicly. The CGC census is thin at the top.
Superman #1 at $1.22 million in CGC 6.5 confirms that even mid-grade copies of the top Golden Age keys are seven-figure books now. This isn't a grade that would have hit $1 million five years ago.
Everyone Is Looking the Other Way
Sports cards and Pokemon dominate the collector headlines. Logan Paul's Pikachu Illustrator went for $16.49 million in February. The T206 Wagner hit $5.124 million at Goldin. The Goldin 100 auction closes tomorrow with a Babe Ruth rookie approaching $1 million.
Meanwhile, Heritage just moved $27.5 million in comics and original art in four days. Five lots over $1 million. Record prices for Romita cover art. A Frazetta that would hang in a museum selling for more than most Golden Age keys.
The comic book market is running hot. It's just doing it quietly.
What $27.5 Million Means
Heritage closed 2025 with over $2.15 billion in total sales across all categories. Fifth consecutive annual record. The comics division is a meaningful piece of that number, and this auction just became the biggest single comics sale in Heritage history.
The buyers at this level aren't flipping books on eBay. They're building collections that function as alternative asset portfolios. Four of the five top lots in this auction were published between 1938 and 1941. The fifth was painted in 1969. Nothing modern. Nothing speculative. Just the most important objects in the history of the medium.
Golden Age comics and original art. Fixed supply. Record demand. The quiet market keeps getting louder.
