The Wall Street Journal is taking note of comic books making quite a bit of money at the auction houses lately.
From the piece...
The comics market will be tested again with the auction of two original pieces of cover art—the patriotic Superman No. 14 and Detective Comics No. 69 featuring a large image of Batman's nemesis, the Joker.
"When the recession hit, the market took off," said Stephen Fishler, chief executive officer of ComicConnect, the online marketplace that will offer the works through Dec. 1. "A lot of people who maybe looked towards traditional investments now felt that they were on incredibly shaky ground."
A comic book's value depends on how many copies remain, its historical significance, the quality of its condition and the characters' current relevance. The art created for the covers of these books, on the other hand, can't be evaluated in the same way: The artworks are one of a kind and extremely rare because most were destroyed after the comic went to the printer.
The two drawings up for auction in the sales that begin Wednesday were only saved because of 88-year-old Jerry Robinson, who started working on the original "Batman" comic book series in 1939. Earlier this week, Mr. Robinson spoke of toiling beside comic-book greats Jack Kirby, Fred Ray and Joe Shuster: "I think we knew we were working on something unique." Whenever he thought the works were exceptional, he'd call the printer and ask for the covers to be returned as a keepsake.
"Americans somehow feel if it's too popular, it can't be art," he said.
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