Neil Gaiman’s collection began online and resulted in an in-person presence in the Heritage Auctions Dallas offices. Also, it fetched $1 million, surpassing the house’s projections. All 125 lots found purchasers, and almost 1,200 bidders competed for lots. The lots include unique comic creations, autographed books, a puppet from the stop-motion picture Coraline, and awards won by this comics creator.
What Are Neil Gaiman’s Collection Most Special Pieces?
A gift from writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons topped the sale at $132,000. This piece is an autographed and annotated sheet from their miniseries Watchmen. It portrays the character Nite Owl waking up after a terrifying dream. In this dream, a nuclear detonation destroys both him and his lover, Silk Spectre. Moore and Gibbons devoted the title to three people, including Gaiman.
“I was obsessed by dreams”, Gaiman said, “and I had yet to come to write Sandman”. Two objects tied for second place, with each garnering $96,000. One was a 1994 artwork by Jean Giraud, often known as Moebius, portraying the character Death of the Endless. Also, the sister of the titular Sandman, who has existed since the universe’s inception. The other was John Totleben’s cover of Miracleman No. 16, after which Gaiman took up the title.
One item that was especially hard to let go of was the Coraline doll, which, Gaiman said, “has been in my bedroom in a glass case since 2009, and I had more qualms about letting her go than I did anything else in this entire auction. She’s there. She smiles at me. She’s special”. She earned $72,000.
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Some Earnings Will Go to Charities
Some earnings from the sale will go to two foundations. The first one is the Hero Initiative, which grants money for medical and other needs to comics authors, writers, and illustrators. The second is the Authors League Fund, which helps persons like authors, journalists, critics, poets, and dramatists who are in need due to illness or health-related issues, temporary loss of income, or other hardships.
“I love the idea of benefiting charities that look after authors who’ve fallen on hard times, that look after the artists, writers, and creators of comics who’ve had hard times. And I like the idea of normalizing the idea that we who bought [art] for $50 or $100 a page that now sells for tens of thousands of dollars a page get into the idea of giving something back to the artists who originally drew it. That seems to me an important thing to do”, Gaiman said.
“It was a privilege to work with Neil and his team to realise his vision for this auction”, says Roberta Kramer, Heritage’s senior vice president of strategy and business development. “Heritage is proud to have assisted in raising these funds for these artists Neil is working to support”.
