Deadpool’s First-Ever Cover Is Gunning To Be World’s Most Valuable Comic Art

Photo 208354881 © Mihail Ivanov | Dreamstime.com

The Merc with a Mouth makes a mega moolah move. The original cover art for Deadpool’s debut is hitting the auction block, and it’s no laughing matter. The historic cover art for New Mutants #98, featuring the first appearance of everyone’s favorite fourth-wall-breaking antihero, Deadpool, is being listed for a cool US$7.5 million, an amount enough to make even Tony Stark’s eyes water.

This piece of comic book history has been in the hands of an anonymous collector for nearly two decades. Now, they’ve decided to part ways with it through Heritage Auctions. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, with Deadpool & Wolverine smashing box office records and catapulting the character to new heights of popularity.

Image via Heritage Auctions / HA.com

The pen-and-ink artwork, created by Rob Liefeld, one of Deadpool’s co-creators, showcases the character's Spider-Man-inspired design. It’s a visual that has become synonymous with the wise-cracking mercenary, complete with his signature guns and swords. Liefeld’s creation has stood the test of time, evolving from a comic book favorite to a silver-screen sensation.

If the cover art sells for its asking price, it will become the “single most valuable piece of original comic book art ever sold,” according to the auction house.

Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage Auctions, didn’t mince words about the piece’s significance, hailing it as what he believes is “the most important piece of comic book art from the 1990s.”

[via Gizmodo, Bleeding Cool, Dexerto, images via various sources]