Heritage Auctions has reported a combined $18,174,129 from two sales of comics and original comic art held September 25-27, 2026. The Comic Books Signature Auction totaled $8,425,785, while the Comic Art Signature Auction brought in $9,748,344. The headline lot was a CGC 9.0 copy of Captain America #1, the 1941 issue containing the first appearance and origin of Captain America and Bucky along with the debut of the Red Skull. Its cover, showing the hero punching Hitler, is one of the most recognizable images in comics history. The copy, from the recently discovered Merrimack Valley Collection, hammered for $716,750. The Merrimack Valley Collection supplied several of the strongest results. Captain America #3, graded CGC 9.4 and considered the second finest known copy with a cover by Alex Schomburg, cleared $268,400. Copies of Captain America #2 (CGC 8.5) and #5 (CGC 9.0) each sold for $43,920. The collection also contained the first nine issues of Batman, led by Batman #1 graded 2.5 at $158,600 and Batman #9 graded 9.0 at $103,700. Four further lots exceeded $100,000, including Wonder Woman #1 (CGC 8.5) at $158,600 and The Avengers #4 (CGC 9.8) at $134,200. Original art performed strongly as well. Jerry Robinson's cover for Detective Comics #68 from 1942, the first cover appearance of Two-Face, led the art sale at $475,000. Seven pages from Frank Miller's 1970s-80s run on Daredevil changed hands, including the first story page of issue 168 at $450,000 and a rooftop showdown page from issue 181 at $325,000. Gary Larson's 1985 Far Side panel of socially insecure clowns made $112,500, more than doubling the previous Heritage record for Far Side art of $51,600. Heritage vice president Aaron White called the Merrimack Valley Collection a wonderful discovery, noting that for an original-owner collection stored in a cardboard box for some 75 to 80 years, the condition of the books was stunning. The house said the results show collectors continue to reward top-condition examples of foundational issues.