Original Art for The Punisher’s First Appearance Expected to Fetch Millions

A piece of comic book history has found its way into the public and could fetch a pretty penny at auction very soon. TMZ reports that the original cover art for Amazing Spider-Man #129, the trademark issue from 1974 that introduced Frank Castle aka The Punisher into the Marvel canon, has been found and will go up for auction at ComicConnect very soon. Drawn by artist Gil Kane and John Romita Sr., the outlet reports that Kane “quietly and privately sold the piece to a private collector.” Now though the piece has found its way to the site who plans to sell it to the highest bigger, and they apparently value the piece at $2 million. The cover will be up for auction from November 23 to December 14, where its true value will be revealed.

It’s unclear how much this key issue will sell for eventually, though $2 million seems a hair high even considering its place in Marvel history. Previously the cover art for Marvel’s 1971 Amazing Spider-Man #100 was sold at in 2018 for $400,000. Created by by artists John Romita Sr and Frank Giacoia, that issue’s cover featured the wallcrawler and 25 of his friends and foes throughout.

Another key Spider-Man issue that has fetched a pretty penny before is Todd McFarlane’s original cover art for The Amazing Spider-Man #328, an image that feature Spider-Man fighting The Incredibly Hulk. The cover art sold for $657,250 in 2012, a record at the time. This record was shattered last year for a cover art sale with the Frank Frazetta original painting “Egyptian Queen,” cover art for Eerie #24, selling for $5.4 million, though this and Marvel originals might be in different leagues considering the art style and the comic structure of Eerie itself and Marvel.

As for Amazing Spider-Man #129, the issue didn’t get into the meat and bones of The Punisher’s story (beyond his Marine background and propensity for firearms) but would immediately make him a popular with Marvel readers. He would appear again just a few issues later in Amazing Spider-Man #134 & 135, becoming a regular supporting character in the series with appearances throughout the 1970s and 80s. He would finally appear in his own solo series in 1986, a five issue jaunt from Steven Grant and Mike Zeck, before his second solo book ran uninterrupted for 104 issues through the 1990s.