FANTASTIC FOUR (1961-96; 2003-12) #1
CGC FN: 6.0
(Stock Image)
SOLD ON: Tuesday, 10/01/2024 8:44 PM
$25,500
Sold For
27
Bids
PUBLISHER: Marvel
COMMENTS: ow/white pages
1st appearance of Fantastic Four, w/ origin; 1st app. Mole Man; Jack Kirby cover/art; the Marvel Age begins here (11/61) COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 10 (CBI)
Read Description ▼
1st appearance of Fantastic Four, w/ origin; 1st app. Mole Man; Jack Kirby cover/art; the Marvel Age begins here (11/61) COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 10 (CBI)
DESCRIPTION
ow/white pages
1st appearance of Fantastic Four, w/ origin; 1st app. Mole Man; Jack Kirby cover/art; the Marvel Age begins here (11/61) COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 10 (CBI)
Fantastic Four #1 didn't just make history with the first appearance of Mister Fantastic, the Thing, Human Torch, and Invisible Girl (along with the debut of the tragically evil Mole Man). This artifact of a first issue also marks when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby secured the Silver Age of Comics and launched the Marvel Age of Storytelling. Their bold vision for the Fantastic Four would provide an unexpected depth to this tale of an experimental space flight gone wrong.
The Mole Man's sad backstory was just one of the many signs that Marvel was out to redefine superhero comics. For starters, this first issue of Fantastic Four was fully dedicated to a single story. That included an epic origin establishing that the Fantastic Four didn't bother with secret identities. The generous page count also allowed for plenty of petty infighting amongst the team — who didn't even wear costumes, although Stan would give in to public demand over that by the third issue.
Fantastic Four would also redefine the Marvel Comics Group, which was literally a set of comics that distributors sent to retailers. Marvel's monster books (including Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense) began selling as well as Fantastic Four once characters like Thor, Iron Man, and Ant-Man began to take over their pages.
The pop-culture passion for the Fantastic Four was recently renewed when Marvel Studios recovered the film rights to the company's first super team. In addition to the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps featuring the Silver Surfer and Galactus, fans also have high hopes of (finally) getting the Mole Man as a villain. It's also been confirmed that the Fantastic Four will join Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in both 2026's Avengers: Doomsday and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars.
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Collectors keep a close eye on the cover for any issue of Fantastic Four #1, with even higher-grade copies often presenting dull colors. As seen here, however, this copy retains strong reds in the logo (and the details of Johnny Storm's flame), plus all the orange hues of the Thing — with the emerging monster's various green shadings also all intact.
If you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us 24 hours in advance of the item closing at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.) Once approved, please log out of your account and then log in for the approval to take effect.
We realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 3 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MORE
1st appearance of Fantastic Four, w/ origin; 1st app. Mole Man; Jack Kirby cover/art; the Marvel Age begins here (11/61) COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 10 (CBI)
Fantastic Four #1 didn't just make history with the first appearance of Mister Fantastic, the Thing, Human Torch, and Invisible Girl (along with the debut of the tragically evil Mole Man). This artifact of a first issue also marks when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby secured the Silver Age of Comics and launched the Marvel Age of Storytelling. Their bold vision for the Fantastic Four would provide an unexpected depth to this tale of an experimental space flight gone wrong.
The Mole Man's sad backstory was just one of the many signs that Marvel was out to redefine superhero comics. For starters, this first issue of Fantastic Four was fully dedicated to a single story. That included an epic origin establishing that the Fantastic Four didn't bother with secret identities. The generous page count also allowed for plenty of petty infighting amongst the team — who didn't even wear costumes, although Stan would give in to public demand over that by the third issue.
Fantastic Four would also redefine the Marvel Comics Group, which was literally a set of comics that distributors sent to retailers. Marvel's monster books (including Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense) began selling as well as Fantastic Four once characters like Thor, Iron Man, and Ant-Man began to take over their pages.
The pop-culture passion for the Fantastic Four was recently renewed when Marvel Studios recovered the film rights to the company's first super team. In addition to the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps featuring the Silver Surfer and Galactus, fans also have high hopes of (finally) getting the Mole Man as a villain. It's also been confirmed that the Fantastic Four will join Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in both 2026's Avengers: Doomsday and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars.
______________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Collectors keep a close eye on the cover for any issue of Fantastic Four #1, with even higher-grade copies often presenting dull colors. As seen here, however, this copy retains strong reds in the logo (and the details of Johnny Storm's flame), plus all the orange hues of the Thing — with the emerging monster's various green shadings also all intact.
If you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us 24 hours in advance of the item closing at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.) Once approved, please log out of your account and then log in for the approval to take effect.
We realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 3 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MORE