Posted in: Comics | Tagged: auction, chris claremont, Comics, heritage auctions, john byrne, marvel, MVL, original art, uncanny x-men, x-men

A Single Page Of John Byrne Original Art From the Death Of Phoenix Story Sells For $65,725

Published Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:42:07 -0600

by Mark Seifert

Last updated Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:22:19 -0600

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Original comic art from key 1980s-era comics has been hot for several years. It's considered an important, peak era for comics (think Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, etc) and the people who grew up reading comics during that time are entering their prime earning years. It is no longer uncommon for even panel pages from the most important material of this era to push into the 5-figure range — or beyond. Bleeding Cool told you just last year about a Dave Gibbons Watchmen page 1 going for $33,460, and the stunning world-record result of $448,125 for a Frank Miller splash page from Dark Knight Returns followed a few months later.

And while art from the classic early-1980s X-Men run has long demanded strong prices as well, today's result has surprised even seasoned observers: A single page from Uncanny X-Men #137, the classic Death of Phoenix issue by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin has just hammered for $65,725 at Heritage Auctions.

It's unquestionably one of the most historically important comics from the era, and of course as Heritage points out in their blurb, the "rewrite" notation at the top is interesting as well:

You'll notice the top of the art says "rewrite" — the Jim Shooter-mandated plot change has been so well-documented we need not discuss it here, but Byrne later called the finished product his favorite art job to that point. "All the little details right down the line, the reactions, the tiny little faces, the bodily poses, everything just clicked. It clicked perfectly." This superb page has an image area of 10" x 15", and the art is in Excellent condition.