Heritage Auctions, CGG, and comic retailer Timmy Heague have joined forces to offer one of the holy grails of comic book collecting, and to do so for a good cause. Heague, owner of Arsenal Comics and Games, is helping auction off a copy of Action Comics #1, with some of the proceeds donated to comic book industry charities, Comics Pro, The Hero Initiative, and BINC.
The Conserved 7.0 Off-white to white pages copy has already received a bid of $712K, with the auction taking place at Heritage Auctions and ending May 9th. Heague chatted with The Beat about where the book came from, acting as a broker for its sale, the process of getting the book graded by CGC, and the charities that will benefit from this sale.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Javier Perez: You are helping facilitate this sale. How did that happen, and did you meet the seller?
Timmy Heague: One of my areas of expertise is dealing in vintage collectibles. I’ve been dealing with key issues, back issue collections, and vintage comics since day one of my store.
Even before opening my store, I’ve always been just such a big collector, and I’ve had an eBay account since I was a kid, and I would use an eBay account to flip hot comics and toys or collectible stuff that I would have duplicates of or stuff I didn’t necessarily care to collect for myself. So I’ve always been savvy, and I’ve had a reputation as a straight-and-narrow guy when it comes to being fair in buying and selling vintage.
And one day, I get a call from a friend who goes, “Hey, remember that friend I was telling you about who had a pretty insane collection? And I mentioned he had an Action Comics #1? Well, he wants to sell it.”
The friend threw my name into a hat as a guy to facilitate the deal and figure out the best way to sell this book. It was essentially a friend-of-a-friend operation, so I got on a plane and went out of state.
I hung out with my friends who know the guy. We went off to meet him, and I was told there was someone else in the running to facilitate the book. So I knew there was no guarantee it would be me, but I had a good feeling because my fee is very reasonable and I know how to max out very quickly. My whole thing is, I can look at a comic, know its value, and know its grade. But one thing I’m really proud of is that I always know how to maximize a book sale.
I know where to sell it and how to sell it to get the best price possible and make the most money possible, because there are different ways you can sell a book, but there are fees and all that kind of stuff, too.
And so I met the owner, and we really just hit it off. I mean, we were kindred spirits. He’s been a collector since the 70s, and his story about obtaining the copy was just so insane.
Back then, with auction houses, it was catalogs. You would call in, place some bids, and he would make lowball offers. Sure enough, one day, he got a call saying he was now the proud owner of an Action Comics #1.
And it was like $8,000, which is a good chunk of money, and back then it was even a bigger chunk of money. Which is just a crazy dollar amount for a book like that, so he’s then like, oh my God, now I gotta find $8,000.
He made some sacrifices. He was a comic book store owner. So that was like one thing we would relate on; he was living in a shop for a hot minute to make sure it worked, and it did. He got the book, kept it safe amongst many other great books, and now he’s ready to sell it.
When I held the book, I know it sounds silly to say it, but I knew I was going to be the one to sell it. I just knew, and so the book was graded PGX 9.0. So now we have to see if we can get the restoration removed from the book; it has to be re-graded.
And I told him I would help make sure that gets done. I would personally take the book to Florida CGC to get it regraded, figure out the best way to sell it to reach the most eyeballs and the people who would work best with me, and get the best deal possible.
So at the end of that meeting, we shook hands, and later that day, we drafted a contract for me to be the guy to get the book sold, get it regraded, and see if the restoration could be removed.
And so I took the book home, put it in a vault for about a month, and then I had an appointment in Florida at CGC, and I had an appointment with Heritage lined up because after about a month, I took some auction houses’ offers, and some collectors looked into places I could sell and offer it to.
And by the end of the day, it was just Heritage with the most eyeballs and the best treatment and the best bang for my buck and for the original owner.
I wanted the best deal and the best eyes possible because not just do I get my percentage for selling the book and brokering the deal and facilitating it all, but I had a crazy thing where I wanted to have this book impact the comic industry and benefit it with the proceeds of this book.
We got just about 3, 4 hours of sitting down with CGC and Heritage, looking at the book, seeing what restoration could be taken off, and what could be done. After a couple of hours, we came to an agreement on making sure I got the best deal possible and the best treatment, and on estimating what could be done with the book and what the grade could be with the restoration removed.
And everything was able to be taken off restoration-wise, except for foxing [discoloration on paper as it ages]. Because when a book gets foxing treatment done, it’s a chemical bath, and it’s to brighten up the colors, make the book look almost like it’s brand new, but there’s no going back from that.
So the book ultimately, once all the restoration is taken off, it was a 7.0 grade with a conserved label, which is a nice little sliver top.
It looks like a traditional blue label, but it has a little silver top that says Conserved. The market doesn’t really like the purple-label restoration, but do with the blue label with that silver top.
Granted, the book is not going to sell as high as a 7.0 regular-label book, but Conserved is still great, especially for such an old book. Cracking it open and looking at it was pretty rad. I had my friends from Bat City Comics Professionals. They’re right down the street from the CGC facility, so it’s cool to have had them by my side for it.
So at CGC, we cracked it open, looked at it page by page, and then it was submitted for grading, and I got to see the book the next day.
Javier Perez: Who are the charities you are working with?
Timmy Heague: Comics Pro is a fantastic trade organization that I’ve been part of since pretty much year one or two of my comics retailing career, and I really back what they do. They really benefit this industry by helping comic retailers, ensuring it’s at its best, and they’re really helpful to new retailers.
There’s an annual meeting every year where a lot of great work comes out of it. Publishers go to it, creators go to it, and I just can’t stress enough the work they do behind the scenes to make sure this industry is as best as possible for the retailer side of things, and working with publishers, it’s really great stuff. I can’t advocate for Comics Pro enough.
A really good group of people, and the board does just such amazing work for this industry and community.
BINC is an organization that helps out comic shops and bookstores in times of need. They have been really helpful to myself and other LA retailers that were affected by fires. I’m a real big fan of BINC, so it’s nice to give back to them.
And the Hero Initiative helps content creators who may need help with medical bills or in times of hardship. I’m a comic creator myself, so I really appreciate what they do for comic creators.
Javier Perez: Is there anything else you want to add?
Timmy Heague: I am very thankful to CGC and Heritage for helping out with the auction. I really hope the sale goes as high as possible, so we can do some good with the book with BINC, Hero Initiative, and Comics Pro.
And I’m just really thankful for the original owners of the book for entrusting me with the sale. It’s been the ride of a lifetime for sure.
I never, ever thought I’d sell an Action Comics #1. I’m just really, really excited and proud of the whole thing.
