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May 13, 2015: Superman #12 Original Cover Art Heads to Auction
The original art for the cover of Superman #12 (DC, 1941) by Fred Ray – the earliest piece of art from the comic book series to ever surface – saved from the trash bin more than 70 years ago by legendary Batman artist Jerry Robinson, will make its first ever public auction appearance as the centerpiece of Heritage Auctions' May 28-30, 2015 Comics Signature Auction.
The cover, one of the most iconic Superman covers of the Golden Age, shows the Man of Steel marching arm and arm with two of America's brave sailors and soldiers, ready to defend their country against the Axis threat. It was the first depiction of America’s armed servicemen on the cover of this title, though certainly not the last.
Equally as important is the fact that one of the greatest Batman artists of all time, Jerry Robinson – who was also a close friend of Ray’s – asked DC Comics for the art after the issue had published. Robinson passed away in 2011, kept the art for more than 70 years. It has been consigned to auction by his family.
“Not only was Jerry Robinson simply an amazing artist,” said Joe Mannarino, Director of Comics & Comic Art at Heritage New York, “he was also a visionary collector. He was gathering and keeping his own art, and that of his friends in the business, at a time when no one thought anything at all of it.”
At the dawn of the comics business, original comic art was considered useless and usually thrown away once an issue was printed. Time has proven Robinson’s impulse and excellent eye absolutely correct, as the best examples of original comic art routinely bring healthy five and six figure prices and the prime examples of Golden Age DC Comic cover art that still exist are very few in number and mostly sequestered in private collections.
