DALLAS, TX.- Heritage Auctions' Sept. 14-17 Comics & Comic Art Signature ® Auction abounded with history — on the page and behind the podium.

Records were set throughout the nearly sold-out four-day event, which realized $13,021,591 and drew more than 5,100 bidders worldwide who competed for abundant books and works that had never before been to auction. Nineteen of the 1,300 lots realized six-figure results, among them a low-graded copy of The Most Important Comic Book Ever Published that soared to a record finish.

Action Comics No. 1, the 1938 book that introduced Superman, birthed the superhero genre and ushered in the Golden Age — for starters. That's why this issue, graded CGC PR 0.5, sold for $408,000, making it the most valuable copy of the comic in the grade. Up, up and away it went, even without its back cover, to become the first comic book with a CGC 0.5 grade to sell for six figures.

Several comic books set new auction records, chief among them 1945's Punch Comics No. 12, the highest-graded copy in CGC's registry. This book is among the "world's greatest comics," in the estimation of Golden Age entrepreneur Harry "A" Chesler — and the bidders who fought over it, driving its price to a record $204,000.

Published one year later than Superman's debut –June 18, 1939, to be precise — this Alex Raymond original Flash Gordon Sunday strip with the Jungle Jim topper sparked a bidding war that pushed its final price to $312,000. That's second only to the $480,000 realized in March 2020 for the very first Flash Gordon newspaper strip ever published, from 1933.

Raymond worked on Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim for just a decade, but his impact lingers well into the 21st century, whether in the ceaseless Star Wars franchise or the Thor films drenched in the bright, campy colors of the 1980 film adaptation. And the Star Wars nod is undeniable in this strip — the third pane, precisely. George Lucas has long insisted Princess Leia's "cinnamon-bun" hair in the 1977 film was inspired by "a kind of southwestern Pancho Villa woman revolutionary look." Yet Queen Fria is a dead ringer for Leia, from mane to moniker.

"This was one of my favorite pieces of art in the auction," says Heritage Executive Vice President Todd Hignite. "Not only has it never been on the market, but it's pretty much perfect in every way." Hence, its near-record result.

This event was filled with auction newcomers, including Fred Ray and Jerry Robinson's original Detective Comics No. 58 cover, published in December 1941. Not only is this a landmark Batman and Robin work, but this was also the issue that introduced The Penguin, which is why it realized $270,000.

Another rare survivor from DC Comics' Golden Age — Mort Meskin's original cover for 1941's Leading Comics No. 1, featuring the Seven Soldiers of Victory — sold for $150,000.

And speaking of Star Wars, Rick Hoberg and Dave Cockrum's original cover of 1977's Star Wars No. 5 was another auction newcomer. The Force was strong with this artwork that graced the cover of the penultimate issue of Marvel Comics' adaptation of Lucas' film, which was written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Howard Chaykin. This issue — featuring the story "Lo, the Moons of Yavin!" — was published on Aug. 10, 1977, just 77 (!) days after Lucas gave audiences a new hope for sci-fi on the big screen. Forty-six years later, the cover realized $102,000.

Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom and John Romita Sr.'s original cover for Captain Marvel No. 31, published in 1974, was among the auction's smash hits — no surprise, given its star-studded cover featuring, among others, Black Panther, Captain America, Thor, Vision, Iron Man and Drax. This landmark work signed by the art team realized $180,000.

Dave Stevens' Wally Wood homage, the glorious cover of World of Wood No. 1 published by Eclipse in 1986, had never before been offered at auction. Unsurprisingly, the extraordinary work sparked a bidding war, driving its final price to $114,000.

Not far behind was another auction newcomer: John Romita and Dan Green's original cover of 1985's The Uncanny X-Men No. 200 stood tall in an auction stacked high with landmark works. Comic Book Resources noted last year this issue "was a sea change to the X-Men status quo and a great story." With one hell of a cover that also sold for $102,000.

Not surprisingly, Barry Windsor-Smith's original cover for Conan the Barbarian No. 11, published by Marvel in 1971, sparked a tussle among bidders during the four-day event's first session. The striking work from the beloved creator realized $102,000.

But all that soared in this sale wasn't dressed in Spandex or a loincloth: Carl Barks' first commissioned Donald Duck oil painting came in 1971; two years later, he painted "Green Persia," which realized $102,000. That, too, was certainly something to quack about.