28/11/2018
No one would have predicted the impact that Peter Parker would make in the world outside of the comic strip, let alone in the Marvel universe. A teenager with his own toils and tribulations, the teenagers of the Western world quickly associated with the character, and took him immediately to heart. Never before had a superhero been so accessible to its readers. That “normality” of his character was conveyed in his powers – his web juice was limited, rather than infinite. It was in direct opposition to rival publishers DC Comics, whose characters seemingly had indefinite powers. After nearly 65 years there have been countless renditions of Spider-Man and his back story, in print, the small screen, the big screen and for today’s youth in computer games. Spider-Man is as beloved now as he was when first seen – he’s still the superhero that teenagers (young and old!) associate most with. Little wonder that the early comic book market generates such hype.
Other iconic Marvel characters within the collection were The Fantastic Four, with issue #4 realising £210; The Avengers, issue #2 and #3, realising £200; and Blank Panther’s first appearance in The Fantastic Four, issue #52, realising £290. You do not need superpowers to determine a trend here. The characters that are big money generators for the film studios today can command good money in their earliest format for the collectors market. The other comic powerhouses, DC Comics, wasn’t represented in this collection and so no argument from who won this battle in the Marvel vs. DC debate, but make no mistake, Batman and the like are just as popular. Perhaps the next collection will see the rise of the Dark Knight, or maybe The Man of Steel will triumph in the fight against evil. Either way, don’t miss the next installment – register your interest with our Toy category here, or contact our specialist for an auction valuation for any Superhero memorabilia.