Vintage Marvel comics sell for £12,000

Auctioneers said the editions were in excellent condition

A pair of vintage Marvel comics, bought for ninepence each in the 1960s, have sold for a total of £12,000.

The rare copies of The Incredible Hulk and Fantastic Four, part of a collection belonging to two Leicestershire brothers, were sold at auction on Thursday.

The Hulk, famous for his green skin, unusually appears grey in the 1962 first-ever UK edition, which sold for £5,500.

Auctioneers said the bidding had been "fierce".

The Hulk was originally envisaged as a grey character but was later changed to green

The first edition of the Fantastic Four comic, from 1961, sold for £6,500.

Both comics were acquired by two separate UK-based bidders.

Will Gilding, director of Market Harborough-based auctioneers Gildings, said the unnamed brothers had put 110 comics, collected in their weekly childhood trips to the newsagent, under the hammer in all.

In total, their collection sold for £15,500.

It included another copy of Fantastic Four featuring metal-masked supervillain Dr Doom for the first time, which sold for £1,600 despite having a torn front cover.

The recent announcement casting of Robert Downey Jr as Victor von Doom may have fuelled interest in the sale, auctioneers said

Mr Gilding said: "The strong results for these first issues of two of the Marvel Universe's most renowned titles shows that for the rarest first appearances, collectors remain eager to obtain original issue comics in good overall condition.

"It is a highly selective market, with demand dropping fairly quickly for later editions, and condition is crucial."

He added: “After first issues, collectors are looking for the first appearances of the most iconic supervillains, as evidenced by the healthy price achieved for the Fantastic Four issue presenting Dr Doom's debut."

Mr Gilding said the recent unveiling of Robert Downey Jnr as the new Dr Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film might have fuelled interest in the auction.

He added: "Given the rarity and generally excellent condition of the collection, we weren't at all surprised that bidding was fierce.

"It's true that the first UK edition of the Hulk comic is not quite as coveted as an issue #1 American edition, but as the results show, it's certainly a close second and that these iconic examples of 20th Century culture are still highly valued by many."

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