A 1962 copy of the first ever UK edition of The Incredible Hulk comic went under the hammer for £5,500 – about 61,000 times as much as it cost.
The comic, which was bought for 9p, was sold at Gildings Auction Market Harborough on August 1. A first edition of The Fantastic Four comic dating from 1961 also exceeded its guide price of £4,000 – £6,000 to sell for £6,500 as part of the auction’s specialist Die-cast, Comics, Trains and Aero-engines auction.
Both comics were originally picked up by two Leicestershire brothers who would eagerly await their weekly trip to the newsagent to get hold of the latest editions of their favourite titles.
The two first editions were the jewels in the crown in an offering of around 110 comics sold across 23 lots. Although not every lot sold, the auction of this nostalgic schoolboy collection achieved a total hammer price of £15,500. Another standout result included a copy of The Fantastic Four issue number 5, featuring Dr Doom for the first time, which achieved a hammer price of £1,600 despite having a tear to the front cover corner.
“We’re thrilled to achieve this wonderful result for this very special collection,” comments Gildings director Will Gilding. “The strong results for these first issues of two of the Marvel Universe’s most renowned titles shows that for the rarest first appearances, collectors remain eager to obtain original issue comics in good overall condition. It is a highly selective market, with demand dropping fairly quickly for later editions, and condition is crucial.”
He adds: “After first issues, collectors are looking for the first appearances of the most iconic supervillains as evidenced by the healthy price achieved for The Fantastic Four issue presenting Dr Doom’s debut. In this particular example, the high figure might perhaps be born of the recent hype and unveiling of Robert Downey Jnr who is due to don his second Marvel mask as the supervillan, as unveiled in last weekend’s ComicCon in San Diego.”
The top two lots of The Hulk and The fantastic Four first editions were acquired by two separate UK-based bidders via online bidding.
“Given the rarity and generally excellent condition of the collection we weren’t at all surprised that bidding was fierce,” adds Will. “It’s true that the first UK edition, the Hulk comic is not quite as coveted as an issue #1 American edition, but as the results show it’s certainly a close second and that these iconic examples of 20th century culture are still highly valued by many!”
A quirk of the first Incredible Hulk comic is that rather than appearing with his familiar green skin, The Hulk is grey. Originally envisaged this way, his skin tone was changed to the iconic green in Issue #2 after it became clear the printing process couldn’t portray grey consistently.
