$46,875
An original cover art by Curt Swan (pencils) and George Klein (inks) for DC Comics’ 80-page Giant #1 Giant Superman Annual (DC Comics, 1964). This multi-panel cover features a number of “what if” scenarios for Superman, in his “most fabulous imaginary adventures.” The issue also includes non-Superman stories as well as stories within the normal continuity. Seven stories total. This issue is titled “80-Page Giant,” though subsequent issues were titled “80-Page Giant Magazine.” The average page count for a regular series comic book was 32 pages, so 80 pages was substantially larger in length and, hence, a special issue in both size and content. This particular issue was originally promoted in various DC Comics issues (cover dated August 1964) as “Giant Superman Annual #9.” DC Comics subsequently decided to rebrand all of its series-specific “Annual” issues into a series. The forerunners to the “Giant” series were the “Annuals,” which ran from 1960 through 1964. For that reason, the cover art from this issue is important as a turning point in how DC Comics approached these annual issues. The “Giant” series continued through 1971, then were brought back again from 1998 to 2003, though the page count was not always 80 pages. This is the only “80-Page Giant” issue that included the word “Annual” on the cover. The final published artwork for this lot shows the words “80 pg GIANT” in a burst over this original artwork’s “GIANT” at the top (though with the published cover one can
Auctioneer:
Juliens Auctions
Date:
2016-09-23
