Heritage Auctions co-founder pays record price for Frazetta comic art

“Knowing I’m a huge Frazetta fan and a rabid collector of EC, Stephen Ferzoco and Rob Pistella, the agents for the family, approached me as soon as [the family] asked them to sell this piece,” said Halperin. “I was thrilled to pay their asking price, which, although it set a new record by a wide margin, actually seemed quite fair for the ultimate EC cover.”

The artwork is also the first major piece by Frazetta to come up for sale since his death on May 10 of this year. Many experts concur that iconic examples of Frazetta's original art, already valued at a premium, will continue to earn record prices via private sale or through public auction.

Weird Science-Fantasy #29 is Frazetta’s only solo cover created for EC, though he also inked the Al Williamson-penciled Weird Fantasy #21 cover, which is also among the dozens of original EC covers by Wally Wood, Johnny Craig, Graham Ingels, Al Feldstein, Jack Davis and other comic art legends in Halperin’s personal collection.

“Frazetta did a total of 42 comic book covers, many of which are no longer thought to exist as original art,” said Halperin, “though WSF #29 is by far his most famous.”

Originally conceived as a Buck Rogers cover for Famous Funnies, and drawn in 1954, this cover was never published by Eastern Color. Instead it was later used by Bill Gaines’ EC Comics in 1955 in a slightly altered form – helmet replaced by blond hair, and one of the attackers was given more hair. It is almost universally regarded as the most iconic Atomic Age (late 1940s through mid-to-late 1950s) comic cover, and was called “the most outstanding cover ever put on a comic book,” by acknowledged EC authority Russ Cochran.

The previous record for a single piece of American comic book art is believed to be the Wally Wood cover to EC’s Weird Science #16, which Heritage sold via private treaty in April 2008 for $200,000. Some might argue that the cover to MAD #30, which Heritage sold for $203,150 the following November, broke the Weird Science #16 record. That, however, was two pieces – front and back covers – and it was really a painted magazine cover, which is not technically comic book art.

"I want to thank Stephen Ferzoco and Rob Pistella for offering me first shot, and also Heritage comic art experts Ed Jaster and Todd Hignite for advising me on the transaction," added Halperin. “I have no plans to resell it anytime soon.”

Heritage Auctions, founded by Steve Ivy and Jim Halperin, is the world’s third-largest auction house and by far the largest collectibles auctioneer, with annual sales more than $600 million. Archived catalogs for the company's past sales, complete with prices realized, may be viewed online at LiveAuctioneers.com.

Heritage will conduct an Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary Art sale on June 9, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.