As a kid, Ralph Chicorel was careful with the comic books he
faithfully bought for 10 cents at the drugstore in his Detroit
neighborhood.
"I loved the artwork so much that I took real good
care of them. I turned the pages very carefully," the 78-year-old said.
"I relished, treasured them."
Chicorel's diligence will likely
pay off when 110 or so of the comics he started collecting as an
8-year-old go up for auction soon at Heritage Auction Galleries, an
offering that's expected to bring in about $500,000. The sale will begin Thursday with the most important comics, followed by the rest over the weekend.
"These
comic books are all very hard to find and if you do find them you're
not going to find them in this kind of condition," said Maggie
Thompson, senior editor of Iola, Wis.-based Comic Buyer's Guide.
"Some of these are key comics in the field," she said."
The
collection boasts the likes of Batman No. 1 and Marvel Comics No.
1. The most expensive comic — expected to clear $100,000 — is the
scarce Marvel Mystery Comics No. 9, noted for its cover battle
between the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner — the first time two
superheroes appeared in the same story, said Heritage's director of
comics operations, Barry Sandoval.
UPDATED: 5.27.09 The collection sold for about $623,000 with Marvel Mystery Comics No. 9 going for $108,000.
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