With the recent popularity of the Avengers movie and the
Iron Man films, there is a growing nostalgia for the Silver Age and Bronze Age
Iron Man! With that in mind, the panelology department set their sights on
acquiring a nice copy of ‘Iron Man #47’. But in order to acquire the necessary
funds the following books were sold: first, ‘Batman #251’, published by DC
Comics September, 1973. This issue is the bronze-age debut of the Joker,
profoundly revised by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. Graded around
F (6.0), the cover gloss on this issue still has moderate reflectivity,
although there is some minor cover wear, with some minor to moderate creasing;
second, ‘Batman #386’, published by DC Comics August, 1985. This issue contains
the first appearance of the villain Black Mask. Graded around VF/NM (9.0), this
is a sharp copy with no creases, and still has outstanding eye appeal. Issue
#251 was sold for $49.96 CAD and issue #386 for $45.79 CAD - a total of $95.75.
These funds were then used to purchase a CGC graded 9.0
(VF/NM) copy of ‘Iron Man #47’ for a total of $92.64 CAD. Published by Marvel
Comics in June, 1972, this issue retells the origin of Iron Man, written by Roy
Thomas with art by the incomparable Barry Windsor Smith. This is the first
detailed retelling of the golden Avenger’s origin since his debut in ‘Tales of
Suspense #39’, a decade earlier. The cover itself, an iconic Iron Man image
if ever there was one, is by the legendary Gil Kane. As the Iron man movie
franchise has grossed over one-billion dollars worldwide, there will be lots of
fans for generations to come that will be interested in key issues of his
eponymous comic book series!
