Hey, Times Herald Readers, Remember When Spider-Man Used to Shop at Sanger-Harris?

While we wait for some return calls, let's set aside the heavy lifting for this never-before-seen flashback about to go on sale on Heritage Auction Galleries's website: a might-be-unreleased John Romita Sr. drawing done for a Sanger-Harris giveaway comic intended to be stuffed into a Dallas Times Herald, probably some...

By Robert Wilonsky

June 30, 2011

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While we wait for some return calls, let's set aside the heavy lifting for this never-before-seen flashback about to go on sale on Heritage Auction Galleries's website: a might-be-unreleased John Romita Sr. drawing done for a Sanger-Harris giveaway comic intended to be stuffed into a Dallas Times Herald, probably some time 'round 1979 to '83. Over the years we've ambled down Amnesia Lane to flip through the stacks of comics that did make it into our plastic sleeves and cardboard boxes -- everything from Spider-Man and Hulk hanging out at Sangers and Texas Stadium to Big Tex hanging with The X-Men. But this one? Never seen it before. Says Heritage:

An exceptional image from the legendary John Romita, this was the cover for a Dallas Times Herald newspaper advertising supplement, possibly unpublished, featuring Spider-Man and Doc Ock. If this were a comic book cover from the same era, it would easily sell in the $5-10K range, and even given its nature as advertising art, it is still an absolutely dynamic and classic image of two of Marvel's greatest characters.

It goes up for grabs July 23.

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