Box-Office Hero Deadpool Poised to Break Records at Comic Book Auction

Deadpool, the wisecracking mercenary who has been a box-office sensation, is poised to break a record at a comic book auction.

Cover art showcasing Deadpool’s debut in comics went on sale this week at Heritage Auctions with a starting price of $7.5 million. If it sells for that amount, it will become the most expensive comic book artwork ever sold.

The pencil artwork was created by writer and artist Rob Liefeld when he was 23 years old for New Mutants #98, which hit the shelves in February 1991.

Liefeld no longer owns the artwork; he sold it to a collector 25 years ago. Nevertheless, he expressed his excitement about the financial success of his creation.

“I just keep smiling,” Liefeld said regarding the auction.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Deadpool in the blockbuster movie “Deadpool & Wolverine,” produced by Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disney. The film holds the title of the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, with over $879 million in worldwide ticket sales.

When New Mutants #98 was first released in 1991, the comic book was priced at $1. Today, original editions are highly coveted by collectors, with issues selling for between $350 and $55,000 on eBay.

“Selling artwork was part of the income stream back then,” Liefeld told Reuters. “I sold this 25 years ago. I have zero regrets.”

Liefeld designed Deadpool as a hybrid of Spider-Man and G.I. Joe. Following his debut, Marvel Comics received an overwhelming amount of fan mail.

“Marvel contacted me and said this is the most fan mail we’ve had on a new character in 15 years,” Liefeld recalled. “They were flooded with letters, fan letters, which they sent to me. And the box that mail arrived in… I thought I was getting a washer and dryer,” he joked.

The current record for comic book auctions is held by a copy of Action Comics #1, which features Superman’s first appearance and sold for $6 million earlier this year, also through Heritage Auctions.