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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016
PARTING SHOT FROM JOSHUA BESSEX
A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers
People walk along the beach near the Peter Iredale shipwreck at sunset in February.
ODDITY
Spidey cents
Debut edition
of Spider-Man
comic headed
to auction
By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press
CALVERTON, N.Y. —
Walter Yakoboski scraped
together nearly every penny
he made as short-order cook in
1979 to begin buying a small
collection of rare comic books
for $10,000, hoping his boy-
hood passion could one day
pay off as an investment.
That day may soon be
here.
Yakoboski’s copy of
“Amazing Fantasy” No. 15
from 1962 which introduced
the world to Spider-Man could
fetch $400,000 or more when
it goes up for auction this
month.
“This is the ¿rst time ,
really sold anything,” said the
60-year-old Yakoboski, who
wants to use the proceeds to
buy his late father’s 17-acre
vegetable farm in Calverton on
eastern Long ,sland.
He insisted that the fact that
he was recently laid off as a
supermarket baker after more
than 27 years is not the reason
he’s selling now.
“, have had it for 6 years
and it’s just time,” said Yako-
boski, who is also is selling
a 196 Spider-Man, as well
as two “Fantastic Four” edi-
tions and a “Justice League of
America,” which combined
could bring an additional
$75,000.
Crown jewel
But the crown jewel is the
“Amazing Fantasy” issue,
which Yakoboski originally
purchased individually for
Heritage Auctions
This undated photo pro-
vided by Heritage Auctions
shows the comic book
“Amazing Fantasy” No. 15,
by Marvel Comics.
$1,200 in 190. ,ts cover, fea-
turing a price of 12 cents,
shows Spider-Man clutching a
villain in one arm and swing-
ing from his web with the
other.
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
co-created the web-slinger and
his alter ego, the education-
ally gifted but awkward Peter
Parker, whose life changed
forever when he was bit-
ten by a radioactive spider. ,t
paved the way for Spider-Man
adventures on television and
the big screen.
Lon Allen, managing direc-
tor of the comics department
at Dallas-based Heritage Auc-
tions which is conducting the
sale Thursday said there are
probably 4,000 to 5,000 cop-
ies of “Amazing Fantasy” No.
15 in circulation. But Yako-
boski’s copy is in nearly mint
condition.
“,t was graded 9.4 on a
scale of 1 to 10, that’s what
makes it super desirable and
really special,” Allen said.
“Whoever buys this comic will
be joining an elite club.”
Frank Eltman/AP Photo
Walter Yakoboski holds an auction guide featuring one of his comic books, “Amazing Fantasy” No. 15, which features
the Spider-Man character. Yacoboski bought the comic book as an investment in 1980 for $1,200. Some experts believe
it could fetch $400,000 or more when it is sold at auction.
A record
Allen said a private col-
lector reportedly paid $1.1
million for a near-mint copy
of “Amazing Fantasy” No.
15 in 2011, but estimated the
$400,000 or more Yakoboski’s
edition may fetch could be a
record for a public auction of
the comic book.
Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner
of New York-based Metropolis
Collectibles, said the $1.1 mil-
lion sale which he was involved
with involved a comic book
graded higher at 9.6.
“This book will do great;
it’s an incredibly important
book,” said Zurzolo. “When
you have a sale like this there
is a residual effect on the entire
market, so that also makes it
very e[citing. ,t’s de¿nitely a
special book.”
Yakoboski admits he never
thought about such a payday
when he began reading comic
books as a child, sometimes
sneaking away from trips to
the library to visit a nearby
comic books store.
Rare editions
The collecting of rare edi-
tions continued as an adult
and Yakoboski says mother
thought it was a crazy way to
spend his hard-earned money.
His most cherished copies
were stashed in a bank safety
deposit bo[ he still has
prized editions left while lesser
comics ¿ll cabinets in his Mid-
dle ,sland, New York, home.
Heritage Auctions’ Allen
credits Yakoboski for hav-
ing a good eye for what might
become valuable. He said while
others sought to buy entire col-
lections, Yakoboski targeted
what he thought were the high-
est quality and rarest comics.
“The best stuff always
outpaces the market, and he
bought the best stuff,” Allen
said. “That was genius.”
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