The Original Black Cat is Out of the Bag, Selling for More Than $1 Million

The Amazing Spider-Man No. 194 original cover art sells for $1.02 million at Heritage Auctions.

Courtesy Heritage Auctions

Continuing one of the biggest trends in comic book collecting, the original cover art for 1979’s The Amazing Spider-Man No. 194, one of the most iconic covers of the 1970s featuring Black Cat’s first appearance, sold for $1.02 million at Heritage Auctions Sunday, Jan. 12.

Illustrated by Al Milgrom, the cover art gave the world its first glimpse of Marvel’s captivating, catty criminal Felicia Hardy as the Black Cat. From her premiere, Black Cat instantly captured the hearts of fans, becoming a pivotal figure in the Spider-Man mythos and a regular presence in Marvel comics for decades. Her compelling character has cemented her status as one of Spider-Man’s most recognizable and beloved allies, adversaries, and even romantic interests, standing out prominently among his iconic roster of characters.

The finished product: The Amazing Spider-Man No. 194.

Courtesy Heritage Auctions

Comic book art has been red hot at auction. Last November, the original art of the first story page appearance of Deadpool by Rob Liefeld in The New Mutants No. 98 (Marvel, 1991) sold for $960,000. Earlier in June, the original cover artwork for Black Cat Comics No 50 (Harvey, 1954) by Lee Elias sold for $840,000. Adding to the interest in Black Cat is her rumored Hollywood debut in an upcoming Spider-Man movie.

“As we saw with Rob Liefeld’s Deadpool debut in our last auction, where it sold for nearly $1 million, first appearances of major characters are hugely sought after by collectors and represent many of our strongest prices in every auction,” Todd Hignite, Heritage Auctions’ executive vice president, said.

*The Silver Surfer* graphic novel (Marvel/Simon and Schuster, 1978, sells for $312,000 at Heritage Auctions.

Courtesy Heritage Auctions

Several other original art pieces garnered impressive winning bids at the Heritage Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction Jan. 9-12, including Jack Kirby and Mike Royer’s original cover art for The Silver Surfer graphic novel (Marvel/Simon and Schuster, 1978), which sold for $312,000; and Dale Keown and Bob McLeod’s The Incredible Hulk No. 379 original cover art (Marvel, 1991), which sold for $168,000.