MIKE ZECK’S PAGE FROM SECRET WARS NO. 8 BECOMES THE MOST VALUABLE ORIGINAL COMIC ART EVER SOLD AT AUCTION
By Intelligent Collector Staff
One of the most iconic transformations in comic book history, Spider-Man’s shift to the black costume that would eventually birth Venom, now holds a new distinction: the most expensive piece of original comic art ever sold.
On January 13, Page 25 from Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars No. 8 sold for $3.36 million at Heritage Auctions, setting a new world record for a single page of comic art. The moment, drawn by Mike Zeck and first published in 1984, shows the exact panel where Peter Parker’s suit morphs into the black symbiote — a now-legendary image that would reshape Spider-Man’s mythology and launch one of Marvel’s most popular anti-heroes.
Live bidding began at $330,000 but escalated rapidly, breaking the million-dollar barrier within moments and triggering applause from the auction gallery when the hammer finally fell.
“Comic book art is as beloved and valuable as anything put on canvas,” said Joe Mannarino, Heritage’s New York Director of Comics & Comic Art. “We’re thrilled for the consignor, who acquired the pages in the late 1980s and cherished them for decades.”
The sale took place during the opening session of Heritage’s January 13–16 Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction, which brought in nearly $13 million in just 90 minutes. Page 24 from the same issue, the prelude to the black costume’s emergence, sold moments earlier for $288,000, bringing the combined total for the sequence to $3.65 million.
The two pages mark a pivotal turning point in Spider-Man’s 60-year history. Though Secret Wars was originally conceived as a crossover to support toy sales, it introduced the living black costume that would eventually bond with Eddie Brock to become Venom, a character who has since headlined comics, films, and an expansive fan base.
The $3.36 million price tag also answers a question many collectors now consider carefully: Where’s the best place to sell a historic piece of comic book art? Heritage Auctions continues to prove that the biggest moments in pop culture command their strongest results on its stage.
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