Comic book collector and industry legend Maggie Thompson of
Wisconsin has decided to put some 500 pieces of her personal
collection up for auction over the next few months. The first wave
alone includes the first issue of "The Avengers," ''Journey Into
Mystery" No. 83, which features the first appearance of Thor, the
first issue of "The Incredible Hulk" and the original cover art for
the fourth issue of "Conan the Barbarian."
News of the auction has comic lovers' wallets tingling. The books
are in exceptional condition; auctioneers expect the total
collection could fetch $1 million by the time sales wrap up next
year.
Comic book collections going for $1 million aren't unheard of, said
J.C. Vaughn, vice president of publishing for Gemstone Publishing,
which produces a comic book pricing guide. But it's rare to find
books from such a respected collector and in such good condition, he
said.
"What is unique is to get a pedigree collection from somebody of
Maggie's stature within the industry," Vaughn said.
Thompson, 70, has been collecting comic books since she was a girl
in the 1940s. She married another comic book collector, Don
Thompson, in 1962. Twenty years later they left Ohio, where Don
Thompson had worked as a reporter, for Wisconsin to take over
editing duties for an industry magazine, Comics Buyer's Guide.
They spent years working on the magazine. It grew into a
paper-and-ink equivalent of a Facebook page, connecting comic fans,
distributors, writers and artists across the country.
Don Thompson died in 1994, and CBG folded in January. But Maggie
Thompson is still as sharp as Wolverine's claws. She blogs about
industry happenings and can talk for hours about how comics have
evolved from something parents abhorred to a part of mainstream
culture.
"Everybody knows, 'With great power comes great responsibility.'
They (even) have opinions on Loki!" she said, referring to
Spider-Man's catch-phrase philosophy and Thor's evil adopted
brother, who has grown into one of the most popular comics villains
after he was featured in the "Thor" and "Avengers" movies.
She doesn't know exactly how many comic books she has but estimates
it's tens of thousands. She used money from selling "Amazing
Fantasy" No. 15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, and the first
100 issues of "The Amazing Spider-Man," to build a vault-like
storage addition on her home east of Stevens Point.
Employees with Dallas-based Heritage Auction took 524 items from her
collection in October. The auction house plans to sell them off in
waves. Live and online bidding on the first 86 issues plus the Conan
cover starts Thursday in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Conan cover already has earned a $45,000 prebid
online. "The Avengers" and "Journey Into Mystery" each are expected
to go for at least $80,000. "The Incredible Hulk" is expected to
garner at least $55,000.
"You almost never see (a collection) with this type of, basically,
love behind it," said Mike Zapcic, assistant manager at Jay and
Silent Bob's Secret Stash comic book shop and one of the stars of
AMC's "Comic Book Men."
"She wrote the book on collecting. She knew what to
do with them. Even if she pulled them out every five years to read
them, they've been read maybe five times. Not a lot of wear and tear
on these things," he said.
Thompson isn't going to part with the stories she loves completely.
The auction house has agreed to sell her lower-grade copies of the
issues she's giving up. She wants to read them and use them for
research without worrying about damaging them, she said. Selling
"Journey Into Mystery" No. 83 at $80,000, for example, would give
her enough money to purchase that series' entire run at a lower
grade, Steve Borock, the auction house's consignment director, said.
But she also wants to pay off a new car, perhaps remodel her
kitchen, build a bigger retirement nest egg and care for her
grandchildren, she said. And she's not sentimental about it.
"We are all temporary custodians," she said. "Until
they work out that eternal life, fountain-of-youth thing, we only
get to hold it for a little while. We get to hang it on the wall and
say, 'Oh, that's fun.'"
Thompson's daughter, Valerie Thompson, said she was shocked to hear
her mother was selling her comics. She said it's about more than
money.
"She's now in a place where she's comfortable passing them on to the
next generation," she said. "She's 70 at this point. Dad died 20
years ago. It's for the next generation of collectors to treasure
these things."
