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Frank Miller Dark Knight Sells For $210,000 After Legal Suit Settled

Recently, Heritage Auctions sold the original Dark Knight Returns cover to Comics Interview from 1986 for $210,000, as a lawsuit is settled.

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Article Summary

  • Original Dark Knight cover by Frank Miller sells at auction for $210,000.
  • Heritage Auctions handled sale after Frank Miller's legal dispute settled.
  • Sales of Miller’s Dark Knight artwork consistently set auction records.
  • The lawsuit involved the late David Anthony Kraft's widow over artwork ownership.

This past week, Heritage Auctions sold the original artwork for the Frank Miller Dark Knight Returns promotional cover to David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview magazine from 1986. You can watch the auction play out as live here, from $80,000 to $210,000, including buyer's fee.

The Dark Knight original artwork sales of late have broken many records, with the first issue cover selling for $2.4 million. But this piece had a further legal issue behind it.

Frank Miller's Dark Knight Comic Interview Cover Sells For $210,000

In 2022, Frank Miller sued Jennifer Bush-Kraft, the widow of former DC editor and magazine publisher David Anthony Kraft and his estate over the original artwork to both the Comics Interview Magazine #2 from 1983 and #31 published in 1986. The cover artwork was to promote books both being published by DC Comics at the time, but the Batman cover came out before the first Dark Knight issue was published. Frank Miller's lawsuit claimed that Kraft should have returned the work to him, but believed it had been lost." The filing stated that Miller learnt of the artwork after learning Jennifer Bush-Kraft was looking to sell the pieces at auction and that the current pages at issue were being held by the auction house, who were waiting on the verdict.

At the time, George Gene Gustines of the New York Times reported that Jennifer Bush-Kraft, disagreed with Miller's assertions, stating that she found no such return requests from Miller, and that she believed that Miller had gifted the art to Kraft.

Recent court filings state that a settlement was reached, stating "the parties hereby inform the Court that they have executed a written settlement agreement which provides for dismissal of the above-captioned case upon fulfillment of certain conditions, including actions taken by unrelated third parties." Which means the sale of the original artwork could now go ahead. And did. For a considerable sum of money as well.

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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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