Rare first edition of The X-Men in super sale
IT’S the caped collection of comics that is simply Marvel-lous.
The rare superhero haul, dating back to the 1960s, was secretly stashed in a Midland loft for more than 50 years.
And now it is expected to spark a bidding war among collectors when it goes under the hammer.
More than 500 comics feature in Lichfield-based Richard Winterton Auctioneers’ online sale, which closes this Thursday.
The comics feature the daring deeds of cartoon crusaders such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Thor, Daredevil and
Captain America.
Then there are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Metamorpho and The Justice League of America.
There are Action Comics, DC and Marvel and lesser-known titles including Blackhawk, Challengers Of The Unknown, Atom, Doom Patrol, Tales Of Suspense, Mystery In Space and Strange Tales.
Huge interest surrounds the sale of comics that introduced superheroes to the public for the first time. Those prized publications include:
The X-Men: Volume 1, issue 1, published in September 1963, and titled X-Men Versus Magneto Earth’s Most Powerful Villain!!
Daredevil’s April 1964, debut in volume 1 issue 1 “Here Comes... Daredevil The Man Without Fear!”
The arrival of Puppet-Master in the November 1962, Fantastic Four Volume 1, Issue 8;
Metamorpho’s first bow in DC’s The Brave And The Bold, volume 1 issue 57, published in January 1965;
Further volume 1 X-Men comics featured in the auction introduce Juggernaut (July 1965), The Sentinels (November 1965) and Banshee (January 1967).
Auctioneer Richard Winterton said: “The Silver Age of comics marks a time of artistic advancement in mainstream US comics which also brought great commer cial success.
“It also spelt a resurgence of the superhero following new regulations cracking down on comics’ content in the mid-1950s.
“But as well as having superpowers, these were revolutionary superheroes, often with flawed characters and realistic human failings.
“That helped strike a chord with college students and branched out towards an adult audience, too.”
The collection was amassed by Reginald Clay, from Blurton, Stoke, who started buying comics as a 10-year-old.
He later stored the haul in a special cupboard in his loft.
Mr Clay kept the collection secret and only told family he owned a copy of the very first X-Men comic from September 1963 – something of a Holy Grail for fans.
Fifty-five years after The X-Men were introduced, Mr Clay took early retirement.
But less than 12 months later, he was diagnosed with cancer and died in March at the age of 65.
Before he passed away, Mr Clay asked his daughter and son-in-law to sell his comics, but they had no idea of the scope of the collection.
“We had no idea he had so many,” said Mr Clay’s son-in-law, who has asked not to be named.
“They were stored in a special cupboard in his loft and we didn’t expect to see so many.
“He had mentioned to us that he had the first edition of the X-Men, but that was all.”
The Silver Age, which ran until around 1970, is commonly regarded to have begun with a new version of DC Comics’ The Flash in October 1956.
Reacting to popular demand, DC published more superhero titles, including Justice League of America – which prompted Marvel to introduce The Fantastic Four followed by other now iconic characters such as Spider-Man, The X-Men and the Hulk.
Important artists and writers who contributed to the Silver Age of comics include Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Gardner Fox, Jack Kirby, Robert Kanigher, John Broome, Gil Kane and Curt Swan.