Hake’s Soars to $2.2M with Star Wars, Comics & Collectible Grails
Skywalker’s saber slashed records, Chaykin’s comic art drew big bucks, and even a Harrison/Tyler bank cashed in—Hake’s pop culture auction was a galaxy-spanning success.
Hake’s March 25-26 auction of extraordinary rarities from across today’s most popular collecting categories rocketed to a lofty $2.2 million, with many new world records set along the way. Before the sale, Hake’s president, Alex Winter, had predicted the Star Wars original comic art would reach “a new level in the marketplace.” It did precisely that.
The greatest prize in the comic book art category was Howard Chaykin’s (b. 1950-) original pen-and-ink page (Page 16) from Star Wars #1, the first of six issues in a series published by Marvel in July 1977 as a print adaptation of the film Star Wars: A New Hope. The page’s seven panels represented two pivotal scenes from the film, with Darth Vader appearing in four of them, and an immediately recognizable vehicle, the Jawas’ Sand-Crawler, in another. Significantly, the comic book’s text closely paralleled the movie’s dialogue. Undeniably one of the most important examples of Star Wars art from any era or publisher to reach the public marketplace, the Chaykin page made its auction debut with an open estimate and starting bid of $10,000. Following a bidding battle royale, it closed at $80,475, a record price for any Star Wars comic book story page original art.
Intergalactic villain Darth Vader may have landed in impressive high-five-figure territory at the auction. Still, The Force was dominant and scuttled The Dark Side’s attempt to claim top-lot honors. It was Luke Skywalker to the rescue in the form of a Star Wars (1978) 12 Back-A AFA 85 NM+ Double-Telescoping (DT) Lightsaber action figure that triumphed over Vader, as well as all other items in the 1,449-lot sale. The 3.75-inch figure was encapsulated in an AFA Archival case on a blister card that, importantly, lacked a SKU number on its footer. At the time of cataloging, AFA’s Population Report indicated only three known examples of this iconic figure on a 12 Back-A card without the SKU on the footer in an AFA 85 NM+ grade. It was only the second carded Luke DT figure in its grade to be auctioned by Hake’s and the first 12 Back-A example without a SKU on the footer to be offered by them in any grade. It was cataloged with a $35,000-$50,000 estimate but proved to have even more “upside” going for it. It earned a robust $84,370, a world auction record for a figure of its particular type in its high grade.
Animation art collectors competed with Star Wars fans over a hand-painted production three-cel setup and hand-painted background art featuring Boba Fett and Stormtroopers from CBS Television’s 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. The TV show captured the public’s imagination, airing after the release of the first Star Wars film (1977) and before the much-anticipated sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1980). It sold for $39,805 against an estimate of $5,000-$10,000, a new record price for any Star Wars animation art piece.
Exotic foreign productions are always popular with Star Wars action figure fans. In the March auction, many had their sights set on a Palitoy Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) Boba Fett 3.75-inch action figure on a Tri-Logo 70 Back-B blister card, graded AFA 85 NM Meccano Style Bubble. The French Meccano figure variety is noticeably darker gray plastic with a light-brown belt, and the back of its leg correctly lacks the origin text and origin production “scar” seen on Malaysian productions. Its tri-Logo packaging is printed with English, Spanish, and French text, adding to its unusual presentation. Only two other AFA 85 Boba Fett examples are known across all Tri-Logo varieties. At the time of cataloging, the figure offered by Hake’s was the single-highest-graded example of its type according to the AFA Population Report, with none higher. It sold near the top of its estimate range for $18,530.
Star Trek rarities made a strong statement, as well. The auction featured four Mego prototype test shot Series 2 Star Trek Alien figures, copyrighted 1976 Paramount, that were originally used in promotional photography to sell the line. All were fresh-to-the-market discoveries obtained directly from a former Mego designer and had been amply documented on the Mego Museum website and in toy magazines. Each was assigned an individual auction estimate of $5,000-$10,000. Their selling prices were: The Mugato from the second-season episode A Private Little War, $31,575; Romulan, $30,960; Andorian, $29,550; and Talos, $28,505.
From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle land, a rare 1992 giant-size (14½-inch) Slam Dunkin’ Don hand-painted hardcopy prototype for Playmates’ action figure of Donatello was a fan favorite. Jointed, as a final production figure would be, it exhibited the same overall design as the smaller Slam Dunkin’ Don figure released in 1991. Sporting a red and white TURTLES jersey with the number 23, the same as seen on Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls jersey, the figure was the actual example featured in the book Rad Plastic. Graded Fine/VF overall and one of only five TMNT prototypes known in the larger scale, it surpassed its high estimate to realize $12,390.
The enduring appeal of The Incredible Hulk delivered bidders galore to the auction, particularly for Neal Adams’ (1941-2022) original mixed-media artwork for the box lid of Aurora’s 1966 Hulk model kit. An early example of Adams’ work for Marvel, the color artwork depicts the musclebound superhero standing amid twisted wreckage and two smoking craters. It sold for $32,305 against an estimated $20,000-$35,000.
An absolutely unique Amazing Spider-Man #667 retailer incentive variant comic book, published by Marvel in October 2011, featured Gabriele Dell’Otto cover art and was documented as 1/1 in the CGC Population Census. The variant was offered only as an optional purchase to retailers who ordered 100 or more copies of the standard comic. The auction example’s cover was signed in bold in 2012 at two separate comic industry events by story author Dan Slott and interior-page artist Humberto Ramos. Of the approximately 200 copies of this variant cover believed to be in circulation, it was the only one of nine signed examples in the CGC Census to be autographed by both Slott and Ramos. Graded CGC JSA Authentic Autograph 9.8 NM/Mint, with provenance that included the Duke Caldwell collection, it sold at the upper end of its estimate range for $16,875.
Hake’s was founded in 1967 as a trusted authority on American political memorabilia and has retained that reputation ever since. Some of the most important campaign souvenirs in our nation’s history have passed through Hake’s doors, including an outstanding molded stoneware bank offered in the March sale. Made around 1840, it was designed as a log cabin with a large hard-cider barrel at its top to promote the candidacy of “Hard Cider Boys” William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. Possibly the earliest of all known political banks, it was formerly in the collection of Rex and Patti Stark, who acquired it from Edmund B Sullivan, Professor and Curator at the Hartford University Museum. Making its first-ever auction appearance, it was sold to its new owner for $53,970 against an estimate of $10,000-$20,000.
A fine selection of campaign buttons was also available. Topping the group was a Theodore Roosevelt “A Square Deal” button with a portrait of the future president shown at the center of a patriotic shield. At 1.25 inches, the largest iteration of this rare 1912 production, it commanded $19,485 against an estimate of $5,000-$10,000, a world record price for a button of this type.
Even Hake’s experts were not prepared for all the bidders who came out of the woodwork to chase a 1940 Superman collector card titled “Mountain Tragedy.” The last of a series of 36 cards produced by Leader Novelty Candy Company of Brooklyn, New York, its graphic depicted the Man of Steel flying toward a snow-capped peak where three climbers appeared trapped on a crumbling ledge. One of the rarest and most sought-after of all Superman cards from any set, it had once been part of the famed Danny Fuchs collection. Against an estimate of $1,000-$2,000, it sold for $29,540, a world auction record for any card from its particular series.
With a coolness factor that was off the charts, a circa-1966 pressed-steel comic book vending machine was finished in pop colors with glass panels for viewing and choosing from a selection of 10 different comic books. Its levers were designed to accept a dime and two pennies, costing each 12¢ comic. Made by Comic Vend Inc of River Grove, Illinois, this colorful survivor of the Silver Age of comic book production was bid to $10,620 against an estimate of $2,000-$5,000.
Prices quoted in this report include an 18% buyer’s premium. Click on links below to view a listing of the auction’s top lots in order of price, high to low, for both sessions.
To discuss consigning a collection or single item to a future Hake’s pop culture memorabilia auction, please call: 1 866-404-9800 (toll-free) or 1 717-434-1600, email hakes@hakes.com, or visit Hake’s online.
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