A Piece Of Star Trek History Just Sold For a Record Amount
A copy of the 1967 comic book Star Trek #1 sold for $46,500 at auction.
Through television, films, and Star Trek comics, fans have been following the likes of Captains James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard into the Final Frontier for more than 50 years. According to ComicBook.com, one of those fans just paid a hefty sum for the first ever Star Trek comic book. A copy of the Star Trek #1 sold for $46,500 at the Doug’s Dell and Gold Key Comics Auction on November 3rd.
The comic book was graded by Certify Guaranty Company (CGC) and received a CGC 9.6, meaning the copy was in outstanding condition. The CGC has graded five copies of Star Trek #1, with only one copy receiving a higher grade. The sale price is almost double the previous record of $20,400 for a comic book in the same condition, sold in 2019.
More comics also saw high sales at the Doug’s Dell and Gold Key Comics Auction. A copy of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #2 sold for $38,400, and a copy of Four Color #9 sold for $31,200.
Star Trek first appeared on television in 1966. The American science-fiction series was created by Gene Roddenberry and premiered on NBC. It follows the crew of the starship USS Enterprise and her Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, as they take on the mission “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Star Trek #1 was the first comic book to feature the Star Trek franchise in comic edition. It was published by Gold Key Comics in 1967, one year after Star Trek initially appeared on television.
The recently sold comic features the story “The Planet of No Return,” which was written by Dick Wood with art by Nevio Zeccara.
Though the show and the comic series ran at the same time, the comic book series was infamous for being inconsistent with the plot of the television series. For instance, the Enterprise features a different design, the crew all wear the same green uniforms, and Spock often shows much more emotion than he does on the television screen. Despite the differences between book and screen, Star Trek #1 is still an important piece of history for the celebrated franchise.
The Star Trek comic series was planned for 62 issues but only ever published 61. In 1979, Marvel Comics bought the rights to the series and began their own rendition, starting with an adaptation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
New Star Trek comics are underway with the current Trek license holder, IDW Publishing. They recently released a new Star Trek #1 that takes place between the finale of Star Trek: Voyager and the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. There is also a possibility for new television Star Trek content as well, with Marvel’s Loki director, Kate Herron, in talks to helm a new Star Trek series for streaming.
