The iconic original art for the page 10 splash page from issue #3 of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s The Dark Knight Returns, the comic series that almost single-handedly re-vitalized Batman and defined the best of 1980s comics, is expected to bring $100,000+ when it comes up for auction as part of Heritage Auctions’ New York Signature Vintage Comics & Comic Art Auction, May 5, at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion (Ukranian Institute), 2 East 79th Street (at 5th Ave.)
“This splash page, to my mind, is the single most memorable image from the entire book and the greatest image from the decade ever to come to market,” said Ed Jaster, Senior vice President of Heritage Auctions, “as well as one of the handful of most desirable pieces of original comic art from any era to come to market. This one has everything going for it and has already generated considerable buzz in collecting circles.”
The amazing piece is a perfect stand-alone image of Batman and Robin (Carrie Kelley, the first female, full-time Robin) soaring high above Gotham City, an apt symbol of the entire intense storyline.
Artwork from this famed series is much scarcer than anything else from the period, as demonstrated by the fact that Heritage has only offered two Dark Knight panel pages previously, along with the fact that any splash page – much less a such an undeniably classic image – has never been offered at auction. This gem has been locked away in a single collection since being purchased upon the series’ original publication. Unlike many pages from the series, where differences between the original art and the published version are evident, no changes were made to this artwork for publication, and the original contains no paste-ups or stats – it’s pure art, just the way it appeared in print.
In short, this is one of the most important pieces of original comic book art Heritage has ever offered.
