Frank Frazetta's original cover art for Famous Funnies #214 is available for the first time ever. This 1954 Buck Rogers illustration is widely considered one of the greatest comic book covers ever created, and it's already commanding a price tag of $432,000 (including buyer's premium) with bidding still open at Heritage Auctions.
The artwork, which Frazetta kept in his personal collection throughout his lifetime, represents the pinnacle of his pen and ink style. As the auction description notes, this piece comes from "the series of eight Buck Rogers covers Frank Frazetta created for Famous Funnies from 1953-1955" which "represent the ultimate pen and ink expression of the legendary artist's mature style — an approach to comic and fantasy/science fiction art that completely shattered the possibilities of artistic expression in the field."
According to the auction listing, this "iconic science fiction image has undoubtedly been a huge influence on popular culture approaches to outer space in subsequent decades — notably in as hugely important a film as Star Wars."
Perhaps most telling about the artwork's significance is Frazetta's own attachment to it. Unlike most of his Famous Funnies covers, he "proudly kept this original in his collection his entire life, obviously viewing it as something very special, and is known to have stated that he'd never part with it, even for multiples of what his major paintings were selling for at the time."
Previously:
• Frazetta's 'A Princess of Mars' painting sells for $1.2 million at auction
• Frank Frazetta, RIP
• Frazetta Meatcard challenge results
• Frank Frazetta: Rough Work
• 40 Frazetta book covers at once
• Frank Frazetta's Escape on Venus painting fetches $660,000 at auction
