CRANSTON, RI.- A copy of Marvel Comics’ Avengers #1 from September 1963 sold for $23,125, a copy of Marvel Comics’ Amazing Spider-Man #14 from July 1964 brought $17,500, and a 1st edition, factory sealed booster box of Wizards of the Coast Pokémon Gym Challenge from 2000 made $17,500 at a Pop Culture auction held July 10th by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers.

“The bidding action this Comic, TCG & Toy auction brought to the gallery takes me back to what was found in similar sales ten, fifteen years ago,” said Kevin Bruneau, president and owner of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. “The floor, phones, online were all busy. It shows what direction the business is headed in for the next generation to come.” TCG stands for Trading Card Games.

Travis Landry, Bruneau & Co.’s Director of Pop Culture, added, “This auction proved again how hot the comic and TCG market is. Everything was on fire. I’m happy to say we broke 51 market records for graded books. Most notably, percentage-wise, was the Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. The day of the auction market average was $1,680, but it ended up hammering for $4,750.”

The copy of Marvel Comics Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963), graded CGC 8.0 and featuring the origin and first appearance of the Avengers, plus appearances by the Fantastic Four, Loki and Teen Brigade, was the expected top lot of the auction and it delivered, selling within its estimate of $18,000-$24,000. Mr. Bruneau called it “the finest copy of Avengers #1 we’ve handled to date.”

Not far behind was the copy of Marvel Comics Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964), graded CGC 9.0 and having a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$15,000. The comic book featured the very first appearance of the Green Goblin, as well as the first meeting of the Hulk and Spider-Man. Like with Avengers #1, Mr. Bruneau called it the finest example of ASM #14 he’s ever handled.




On to Pokémon, and the ever-popular world of TCG. The Wizards of the Coast Pokémon Gym Challenge 1st edition factory sealed booster box from 2000, a true Holy Grail item for Pokémon / TCG collectors, was a big hit with collectors. Also, a 1999 French Pokémon base 1st edition Dracaufeu (Charizard) holographic trading card, graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint, finished at $10,000.

A 1999 Wizards of the Coast Pokémon Fossil 1st edition factory sealed booster box with minimal shelf wear and tight WOTC branded cellophane wrap, another Holy Grail item for Pokémon and TCG fans, finished at $13,750. Also, a group of 30 factory-sealed 1999 Pokémon Jungle 1st edition trading card packs in the original booster box made $11,250.

A copy of Marvel Comics’ X-Men #1 (Sept. 1963), featuring the origin and first appearance of the X-Men and Magneto, graded CGC 3.0 with cream/off-white pages, in a CGC case, achieved $13,125. Also, an estate fresh, original owner collection of 115 Hot Wheels redline diecast cars, each car about 3 inches long, all played with and enjoyed, some with more wear than others, including a large grouping of buttons, garnered $9,375.

The first 52 lots in the auction were from the collection of Eric Baker, the creative lead of props and set dressing for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World and Disneyland. He was also Nickelodeon’s prop master and fabricator. Several props were fabricated by him during his storied career with Nickelodeon.

The second portion of the catalog featured 321 lots of graded CGC and CBCS comic books, in addition to group lots of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern Age comics. The entirety of the recently graded CGC Silver and Bronze age comics came from an original owner New Jersey collection Bruneau & Co. processed this year – truly a great selection of books. The final portion of the catalog included 166 lots of Pokémon trading cards.

The auction overall had more than 550 lots. Internet bidding was via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com, bidLIVE.Bruneauandco.com and the mobile app “Bruneau & Co.” on iTunes or GooglePlay. All prices quoted in this report included the buyer’s premium.