For a comic book fan, the ultimate flex is owning a copy of a popular character’s first appearance. Things like Incredible Hulk #181, Detective Comics #27, Amazing Fantasy #15, and Action Comics #1 instantly come to mind. Those first appearances of Wolverine, Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman respectively are holy grails for collectors, but there is a step above that. A step most collectors could never even dream about. And that’s owning the original cover art from one of those issues.
With Deadpool & Wolverine breaking box office records daily, Deadpool and his first appearance in New Mutants #98 hasn’t quite hit the heights of most of those books, but it’s on the way. And now the owner of the original cover art has put it up for sale for the eye-popping price of $7.5 million. If it sells at that price, it’ll become “the single most valuable piece of original comic book art ever sold.”
The owner of this piece has had it for two decades and has, apparently, turned down multiple offers over the years. But, with the new movie in theaters, the piece has been consigned to Heritage Auctions, and you can check it out here. “The time is right,” the anonymous owner of the art said.
“I’ve long admired—and coveted—this work, which I consider the most important piece of comic book art from the 1990s,” Heritage co-chairman Jim Halperin said in a press release. “I’m thrilled we’re now able to offer it to someone who, like me, admires Rob Liefeld and adores his Deadpool, who is among the most beloved characters in comics and, now, the MCU.”
As Halperin said, the art, of course, is by Rob Liefeld, one of the co-creators of the character. He told io9 back in 2016 where the design idea came from. “The visual of Deadpool was very informed by Spider-Man,” Liefeld said. “Recently, I asked [some friends at Marvel], ‘How do you remember when I walked in the studio with Deadpool? They said, ‘You pulled it out of your bag and said ‘Spider-Man with guns and swords.’’ That’s how I pitched it to them. A smart-ass mercenary.” You can read much more about his origins at this link.
And now that smart-ass mercenary has the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time (and counting)—and, quite possibly, the most expensive piece of original comic book art ever created. If someone buys it of course.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what the current most expensive piece of comic book art is, in 2022 the New York Times gave the honor to a $5.4 million Frank Frazetta piece. Which means New Mutants #98 could set the record even if it comes in under that $7.5 million asking price.
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