CGC-graded Seven Seas Comic Sells for Record $81,000

A classic “Good Girl Cover” comic, graded by Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®), set a new sales record and sold for more than five times its previous amount in the Good Girl Art in Comics Valentine’s Showcase auction on February 9, 2023.

Topping the sale and setting a new sales record for the issue was a Seven Seas Comics #4 graded CGC 9.2 with a Davis Crippen pedigree (lot 81340) that realized $81,000. This sale lapped previous prices realized of less than $15,000 that occurred in 2017 and 2022. The Davis Crippen collection of Golden Age comics, to which this book is pedigreed, is second in size only to the extraordinary Edgar Church/Mile High accumulation, numbering roughly 13,000 issues and containing near complete titles from every company and genre between 1940 and 1955.

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The term “Good Girl Covers” was coined in the 1930s, referring to covers with provocative images of attractive women. By the 1950s, these covers came under fierce scrutiny by Dr. Fredric Wertham in his book “Seduction of the Innocent,” who alleged the content was harmful to children. This led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority, which required publishers to follow strict content guidelines. Wertham’s methodology and research have been questioned over the years, and the Comics Code Authority officially disbanded in 2011.

Other CGC-graded “Good Girl” comics in this auction included:

• a Phantom Lady #23 graded CGC 8.5 (lot 81285) that realized $21,600
• a Giant Comics Editions #12 graded CGC 3.5 (lot 81144) that realized $19,200
• an All Top Comics #16 graded CGC 8.0 with a Promise Collection pedigree (lot 81004) that realized $19,200
• a Terrific Comics #5 graded CGC 5.0 (81386) that realized $15,600
• a Phantom Lady #17 graded CGC 8.5 Restored (lot 81281) that realized $14,400
• a Spirit #22 graded CGC 8.0 (lot 81346) that realized $14,400
• a Teen-Age Romances #19 graded CGC 7.5 (lot 81370) that realized $10,800
• a Miss America Magazine #2 graded CGC 8.0 (lot 81257) that realized $6,600
• a Phantom Lady #13 graded CGC 6.0 Restored (lot 81279) that realized $6,600
• a Wings Comics #90 graded CGC 9.4 (lot 81425) that realized $5,760

Prices realized include a buyer’s premium.