A copy of Incredible Hulk #181 CGC 9.8 (CVA Exceptional) recently sold for the record price of $59,000 in ComicLink’s Focused Auction. The 1974 comic is a major Bronze Age key, containing the first full appearance of Wolverine. Not only did this sale set a new record, it exceeded the previous top sale by $20,000.
“Incredible Hulk #181 has long been the most desired Bronze Age key among a very wide group of collectors with its introduction of Wolverine, a character with a sustained level of popularity for decades now that now rivals Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman,” ComicLink CEO Josh Nathanson said.
“There are a couple of reasons we believe this particular example set the record by such a wide margin. First, we called it out in our description as a particularly special item, even for a CGC 9.8 Hulk #181. Second, it has a unique provenance. The consignor obtained it from famed collector John Verzyl, who himself had hand-picked it from a case of unread Incredible Hulk #181 [issues] as his payment for helping Chuck Rozanski organize and sort the Mile High II Collection back in the mid-1980s. Verzyl believed it was the best example of the book he had ever seen. And, last but not least, third party condition assessor CVA evaluated the example and determined that its quality is Exceptional, even for a 9.8. CVA is a service that identifies comic books with higher visual appeal than others assigned the same numerical grade by CGC,” Nathanson added.
There have been over 11,000 examples of Incredible Hulk #181 submitted to CGC over the past two decades, but only around 1% of those have been graded at the high grade 9.8 level, according to ComicLink. There is only a single CGC 9.9 example, which sold back in 2011 for $150,000, also via ComicLink.
The ComicLink Winter Featured Auction launches on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. There is still time to consign special material to this auction and the firm is also accepting consignments for their March and April Focused Auctions and Spring Featured Auction which will begin in May. ComicLink and their affiliates are seeking consignments of vintage comic books, comic related artwork, vintage sports cards, and certified coins. The firm provides upfront cash advances for consigned material, third party grading evaluation and submission, and promotion to their base of global bidders acquired over 23 years in the hobby ‒ all for a low commission rate.
Interested sellers can contact ComicLink by emailing buysell@comiclink.com or by calling (617) 517-0062 (option 1) to speak with Josh Nathanson, Douglas Gillock, Jason Crosby, Jon Signorelli, or Ross Kearney. In addition to auctioning items for consignors, ComicLink is also always accepting new sellers for the ComicLink exchange marketplaces, brokering private placement deals, and buying outright.
ComicLink’s auction schedule, Comic Book Exchange, and Comic Art Exchange can be viewed on their website.
