FOR THIS DYNAMIC DUO, TURNING A CHILDHOOD HOBBY INTO A SUCCESSFUL CAREER WAS THEIR ULTIMATE SUPERPOWER
Interview by Rhonda Reinhart • Photos by Josh David Jordan
For Xavier Chavez and Matthew McGee, it’s difficult to remember a time when they weren’t surrounded by superheroes. The comic book universe captivated both men at an early age, so much so that as teenagers, they each landed summer jobs at their local comics shops. After that, it was soon apparent that Miami native Chavez and New York native McGee had found their calling. By 21, Chavez was managing one of the oldest comic book stores in the country, and by 32, he was operating his own shop in South Miami. Similarly, McGee clerked at and eventually managed the world-renowned St. Mark’s Comics in New York City and later managed the back-issue operation for Midtown Comics.
Today, the lifelong comics fans serve as Consignment Directors in Heritage Auctions’ Comics & Comic Art department (Chavez in the Dallas office and McGee in Chicago), where they continue to spend their days with their friends in spandex. Below, Chavez and McGee share upcoming auction highlights, the comics that got them hooked on the art form and the sage advice they’d offer to every new collector.
Chavez and McGee with an original costume from the 1970s TV series ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’
How did you first get into comics?
McGee: The Super Friends cartoon was my favorite thing. And then, in 1989, Batman comes out, and that was it. I was 11 years old. My dad always loved Batman, so that movie was a way to connect with him. Three years later I’m working at a comics shop, manning the table of 50 cent books out front to earn a discount on everything else I’m getting. Daredevil stuff has always been a big thing, too. I always like the grounded characters. Well, grounded characters and then super sci-fi, like Green Lantern and Guardians of the Galaxy, which is set in the 30th century.
Chavez: For me, it was the Marvel trading cards. I was 8 when I first got Marvel’s 1992 and ’93 cards. I saw John Romita Jr. doing Daredevil, which was my favorite character. I also had some of the X-Men cards. I would collect them. I wanted to have all the cards. And then when Joe Jusko’s Marvel Masterpieces series came out, I was blown away by the paintings of the characters. That’s what got me into the comics.
Heritage’s April 4-7 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction counts this oversize cover art by Gene Colan and Frank Giacoia for ‘Daredevil’ No. 29 as one of its many standouts. In Chavez’s personal collection of original comic art, Daredevil pages dominate.
So it wasn’t the story of the comics that interested you. It was the art.
Chavez: It was absolutely the art that got me. It wasn’t until I was a teenager in high school that I started really reading the stories. I realized that all the stories I was following were by these particular writers. I started following Garth Ennis, and before that I was following Neil Gaiman. These were writers who were writing a little bit more mature than the cartoony stuff I was reading when I was a kid in the ’90s. But at 17, I started selling as many comics as I could to get all the art I could. To this day I still collect comic art, as expensive as it’s become. I’ve had to sacrifice many pieces to get other things that I’ve really wanted. I have about 40 pieces of art left from the 75 to 100 that I used to have, but they’re all choice pieces, 25 of them being Daredevil pieces.
What are some of the most special comics you’ve handled?
McGee: I remember the first Amazing Fantasy No. 15 that came in when I was working at the comics shop and just not wanting to touch it and treating it with this high reverence. Then, my first year at Heritage I had probably 10 come through my hands, and I still got excited each time. Every time I’m like, God, this is the first appearance of Peter Parker. Last year I got three or four Superman No. 1s all in a row and a couple of Batman No. 1s.
Featuring the debut appearance of Batman, one of the first comic book characters to capture McGee’s attention, 1939’s ‘Detective Comics’ No. 27 is difficult to find in any condition. This copy, graded GD/VG 3.0 by CGC, is a highlight in Heritage’s April 4-7 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction.
Is that your favorite part of your job, getting to interact with these pieces?
McGee: The pieces are cool, but making money for people with those pieces is such a great feeling.
Chavez: That is the most satisfying experience, not only finding out our clients’ story but also the fact that we’ve helped change their lives with something that Grandma gave them or Grandpa gave them or with something they found at a garage sale. That’s always mind-boggling to me – like, why didn’t I find this stuff at a garage sale? It’s always impressive when people come in with an original page of art they found at a thrift store or a garage sale that they bought just because they thought it was cool. I’m like, yeah, well, it’s really cool.
As Chavez notes, comic books are an American creation, and ‘Captain America Comics’ No. 1, featuring the iconic Hitler-busting cover art by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, is one of the most influential comic books of all time. This copy, graded NM- 9.2 by CGC, is available in Heritage’s April 4-7 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction.
What’s trending in the comics market right now?
Chavez: Pulps are trending because CGC just started grading them, so that’s going to be a big game changer. It’s going to solidify the market a little bit more. But besides that, it’s just what we normally deal with. Comic art is very solid. Comics have regulated; they’ve kind of leveled out after the COVID-era boom. So that’s good for the hobby because if nobody can afford to buy anything, then the hobby dies.
What do you think it is about comics and comic art that make them so popular with collectors?
Chavez: The whole world loves comics, especially now. They’ve become part of the zeitgeist. And, like jazz, comics as an art form is a gift America gave the world.
Daredevil is a favorite character of both Chavez and McGee, so this copy of ‘Daredevil’ No. 1, graded NM/MT 9.8 by CGC and available in Heritage’s April 4-7 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction, is a highlight for both of them.
What are some of the highlights in Heritage’s April 4-7 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction that you’re most excited about?
Chavez: For me it’s the Daredevil No. 1 in 9.8. There are only three of those total in the world. There’s also a Detective Comics No. 27, featuring the first appearance of Batman, and an Action Comics No. 1 in 8.5. That one has the first appearance and origin of Superman, and it’s going to be the most expensive comic book ever sold at auction. So, this auction is definitely stacked.
McGee: There’s also some great Sandman art, including a page by Jill Thompson from her personal archive. Anyone who missed out on our Neil Gaiman auction earlier this month will want to get in on that.
This ‘Sandman’ No. 49 story page by Jill Thompson hails from the artist’s personal archive. The 1993 work is available in Heritage’s April 4-7 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction.
Do you have any advice for collectors who are just starting out?
McGee: Buy what you love. It’s never wasted money if you love it.
Chavez: Another thing I always remember that somebody told me a long time ago and I truly believe is we don’t own these things. We’re just curators. If you do your job right, the pieces you collect are going to last generations after you, and somebody else is going to be the curator. Maybe they’ll even end up in a museum, and you having owned them may be part of their lineage one day. Provenance is very important to a lot of collectibles in the auction business, and you being associated with a piece centuries down the line might be the only way that you or your name is remembered in any way.
Xavier Chavez can be reached at XavierC@HA.com or 214.409.1559. Matthew McGee can be reached at MatthewM@HA.com or 312.260.7238.
RHONDA REINHART is editor of Intelligent Collector.