the pay copy is back. Like a bad penny.
Heritage says:
It doesn't get much better than this," said Ed Jaster, Vice-President for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries. "Not only is this one of the most important and significant comic books ever published, not only is it at the very top of CGC's condition census, but it's also a legendary piece of comic book history."
The comic book in question is the well-known "Pay Copy" of Marvel Comics #1. As aficionados know, this comic, published in 1939, featured the origins and first newsstand appearances of The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner – technically, Sub-Mariner had appeared previously in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1, but that book was never actually released to the general public – as well as The Angel and Ka-Zar the Great. It was also the first publication of fledgling Timely Comics, the company that would become one of the dominant publishers of the Golden Age and would eventually evolve into Marvel Comics, the premiere comics publishing firm of modern times. These distinctions alone have been enough to catapult this rare and desirable book to the Number Three spot on Overstreet's list of Top 100 Golden Age books, trailing only Action Comics #1 (the origin and first appearance of Superman) and Detective Comics #27 (the first appearance of Batman).
"This particular copy possesses an added degree of importance," said Jaster. "The 'Pay Copy' first surfaced in the early 1990s, having been discovered in the estate of Funnies, Inc. publisher Lloyd Jacquet, the man responsible for packaging the contents of the comic that would be released as Marvel Comics #1. In fact, this is the copy that Jacquet himself retained in order to record payment details for this issue's contents. For example, Jacquet has noted on the cover that artist Frank R. Paul was paid $25 for his drawing of a man on fire melting through a bank vault door. Inside, one can also see notations of payments, complete with dates and check numbers, to Carl Burgos (The Human Torch), Bill Everett (Sub-Mariner), Paul Gustavson (The Angel), Ben Thompson (Ka-Zar) and others."
"In addition to its value as a high-grade copy of an extremely desirable book – CGC has graded this copy as VF/NM 9.0 with off-white pages – the 'Pay Copy' has historical significance unmatched in this industry," Jaster said, "To my knowledge, there's not another copy like this in the entire field, one that combines rarity, desirability, and historical importance. While there are other high-grade copies of this and other significant books available in today's market, there will only ever be one 'Pay Copy' of the book that began a legendary line of comics, a line that has continued to grow and thrive to this day with such characters as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk and Captain America. This book will certainly be the jewel in the crown of any important collection."
The "Pay Copy" of Marvel Comics #1 and many other gems will be offered in our August 2-4 2007 Vintage Comics Signature Auction.