Posted in: Comics, Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: auction, heritage, john romita, original art, stan lee

John Romita Sr's Origins Of Marvel Comics Cover Art At Auction

Published Mon, 15 Nov 2021 09:57:13 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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This was Marvel Comics' very first trade paperback, published by Simon & Schuster way back in 1974, and collecting the first stories of Marvel's best-known characters at the time, aimed at the book market. What a novelty! And it was John Romita Sr who painted the cover, meant to be Stan Lee at the typewriter… the original art for the cover is currently at Heritage Auctions, going under the hammer between the 18th and the 21st of November and currently has bids of $67,000. and is part of a seriously enviable lot of original artwork going through this system right now.

And this is how it looked on publication. Looks like someone turned up the contrast at the printers…

John Romita Sr. Origins of Marvel Comics Cover Original Art (Simon & Schuster, 1974). Iconic cover to Marvel's first Fireside Book and first trade paperback! The beloved book by Stan Lee was so successful that it spawned annual sequels which became the mainstays in any Marvel fan's collection. If you loved the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor, Doctor Strange, or the Hulk, you were able to read their first and most recent stories, all in this one book! And it could be found in both bookstores and libraries, which was a rarity for anything comic-book related in those days. And who better to provide the art for this cover than legendary comic artist Romita, providing a rarely seen painting, foregoing his usual pen-and-ink creations. This image holds a special place in countless comic fans' hearts — a piece that epitomizes what Marvel Comics means to readers! Gouache over graphite and blue pencil on illustration board with an image area of 14.5" x 21.5". Slight toning, the characters are original art paste-ups, Thing paste-up is discolored, residue staining, tape and abrasions in the margins, with an abrasion above Thing. Top right corner ding, bottom left corner crease, with smudging/handling wear. In Very Good condition.