Vintage Paper is about old comics and more: whether you're interested in the Platinum Age, the Golden Age, the Silver, Bronze, or Copper Ages — or the history behind it all — Bleeding Cool has you covered on that. Featuring articles and research from some of the best experts in the field for comics, pulps, dime novels, and much more.
In 1977, comic book dealer Chuck Rozanski unearthed the most important comic book collection that the world will ever know. 18,000 comics from the late 1930s to the early 1950s — the earliest days of American comic books — in unimaginably high-grade condition. The collection is so important that researchers have spent considerable effort in […]
Arguably the most iconic sword and sorcery character in American comic books, Red Sonja has been an enduring fan favorite since her debut in Marvel's Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover-dated February 1973). Created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith based on material by Conan creator and pulp writer Robert E. Howard, the character's early formative […]
Reddit User Johnathan Michael Seman has such a hulk of a find, posted to Reddit, that we had to get in touch with him and ask him to share it with you all. Because he found a copy of The Incredible Hulk #181, the first appearance of Wolverine, at an antique store in a shopping […]
Neil Gaiman's seminal run on The Sandman introduced The Endless to captivated readers in 1989. Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium are a family of seven supernatural beings that, as you can probably tell from the name, encompass different forces of existence. One of the most beloved works featuring The Endless is Death: The High […]
We love him almost as much as he loves lasagna. Garfield is an American icon and is as synonymous with newspaper comic strips as Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Calvin, and Hobbes. Cartoonist Jim Davis launched Garfield in 1978 and still draws it to this day, continuing an incredible 42-year run on this iconic title. The title that […]
There's been quite a lot written about the rise to prominence of DC Comics character and Batman villain Black Mask in recent years — and for good reason. The character's rise from relative obscurity in 1980s DC Comics to major fixture of the DCEU across comics, games, TV, and film is impressive indeed. Created by […]
Creator Drew Hayes reportedly once described his signature creation Poison Elves as "Elfquest meets Terminator", but another way to look at this seminal product of the early 1990s is as the legacy of not only Elfquest, but also indie touchstones like Dave Sim's Cerebus and even Kevin Eastman's and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. […]
The science fiction pulps of the 1920s and 1930s constitute one of the defining moments of the genre. The artists who illustrated those pulps influenced how we think of science fiction and even science itself to the present day. Even the best-known names who worked in that era — artists like Frank R. Paul and […]
Garfield fans have a cool opportunity to own the complete artwork of one of the newspaper strips. On Auction over at Heritage Auctions, this strip is from June 13th, 1980. It features the pesky cat running to perform a stunt, only to have Odie step in and do it for him. The artwork looks to […]
The sole highest-graded Batman #1 CGC 9.4 White Pages copy has just closed at Heritage Auction's 2021 January 14 – 17 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction for $2,220,000.00. The sale is a record price for a copy of Batman #1, and is the second highest price ever paid for a comic book in a […]
There are very few comic books in American history that have the historical importance of Captain America Comics #1. This late-1940 Marvel Comics release is of course the first appearance of Captain America, a character who has become the cornerstone of one of the world's most successful media franchises. It's also the first appearance of […]
Recently, Bleeding Cool told you about the noteworthy rise of the first appearance of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) in Detective Comics #359 in the current Heritage Signature Series Auction. But key comic book appearances of many of the women of DC's Bat-franchise are gaining attention in the current market, and chief among those is Batwoman (Kathy […]
The auction market for vintage comics has been incredibly strong over the past few months, but even in that context, this is an extremely impressive showing — and it's not over. Detective Comics #359 is the first appearance of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon). The cover story, "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" was written by Garnder […]
Zenescope Entertainment has a dedicated base of collectors who collect their many exclusive variant covers as well as original art. The company is known for putting out convention-themed covers to all of their titles, featuring characters in cosplay or at specific locations themed to the state in which Zenescope is exhibiting. These have become highly […]
Iron Man and Nick Fury have never looked more enticing. Up for auction right now is an art page from Marvel Swimsuit Special #1 by John Romita Jr. It features Tony Stark and Nick Fury on a beac in their speedos and with massive amounts of hair all over their bodies. Dare I say this […]
DC Comics character The Mighty Atom is a rare combination of overlooked and enduring. Simply a physically well-trained man of short stature in the Golden Age, the character received a post-atomic-age reboot for the Silver Age and beyond. It's fairly well known that the Silver Age version of the character was in part inspired by […]
Longtime readers of the Vintage Section of Bleeding Cool will know that figuring out the real-world inspirations for characters, stories, and plot elements is one of my favorite things about vintage comic books. It's the old cliche made real: I've learned an astonishing amount of history from unraveling the inspirations behind the comics. The reasons […]
Batman artwork by Carmine Infantino is not going to pop up for purchase all that often, let alone something like this. On auction over at Heritage Auctions right now is a piece of artwork from the iconic artist from the Kenner toys packaging for the animated series line in 1993. This stuff just does not […]
Fugitoid #1 is one of those books that people need to keep an eye on. As TMNT back issues from the Mirage days continue to burn up the aftermarket, other Eastman and Laird works are starting to see their prices start to creep up. This includes this CGC 9.4 copy of Fugitoid #1, which has […]
Throughout all of Batman's history since the character's debut in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, the era of the late 1950s is unique. Batman and Robin had gone from fighting criminal gangs and supervillains to finding aliens and UFOs in the environs of Gotham. There are some very interesting reasons behind this bizarre shift, and […]
