The original art used on The New Mutants No. 98 comic book’s page 14, which introduced Deadpool for the first time, sold for $960,000 at Heritage Auctions over the weekend.
Released in 1991 by Marvel, the comic art created by Rob Liefeld features Deadpool’s dramatic entrance into the comic world for the very first time.
The style would become an incredibly influential contribution to the aesthetics of comic books of the era in addition to bringing one of the most popular modern comic characters to life.
The page had never previously appeared at public auction, residing in a public collection since the 1990s.
Liefeld took over New Mutants in 1986 when the series was “the dog of the line,” according to Liefeld. He says Marvel told him to use “whatever energy, ideas and creativity you have because we are going to turn the lights off, otherwise. This is kind of like the last chance."
With new characters such as Deadpool, the series finally had a hit. According to the auction house, “Marvel Comics received more fan mail about Deadpool than any character in years.”
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.