GUEST: I brought "The Defenders" number one, page one, and I think it's from 1972. It's this page.
APPRAISER: And where did you get the page from?
GUEST: I bought it online. I was stationed in Iraq back in s, '06 and '07. I saw it go on sale, so I decided to buy it. And I believe I paid around 7,000 for it, which was a lot, but I had combat pay. So I used my combat pay to pay for this baby. I didn't see it for over a year. I had to wait till I come back to the United States.
APPRAISER: You are correct in that, yes, this is page one from "Defenders" one. When you first came to the table today...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: ...literally, I had to control my eyeballs from exploding out of my head-- that's how good this page is.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: Yes, absolutely.
GUEST: 'Cause no one else ever seems to like it but me, so... Yeah.
APPRAISER: Well, you've met the second guy that likes it. So I'm right there with you.
GUEST: Oh, thank-- yeah! Wow.
APPRAISER: Yeah. So, the Defenders, very interesting team of heroes when it comes to Marvel. While this is "Defenders" one, they were actually first introduced in "Marvel Feature" one...
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: ...in, uh, December 1971. The Defenders were portrayed as the first non-team, really, when it comes to Marvel Comics, 'cause prior to this, you have the Fantastic Four, you had the X-Men, you had the Avengers. You have all these people that have come tobe, gether as a concrete team, whereas when the Defenders first came, your three initial members are the Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Namor the Submariner. From 1972 to 1986, the Defenders had a revolving door of characters that were included. I mean, you had Valkyrie, Son of Satan, and Luke Cage. They included Silver Surfer becoming a member officially of the Defenders in issue two.
GUEST: All right.
APPRAISER: But let's get to the page itself.
GUEST: Okay, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: So you have Sal Buscema on the pencils, and you have Frank Giacoia on the inks. It's just such an eye-catching page. In really good condition-- it does have some toning to it.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Have you ever had this appraised before or anything like that?
GUEST: (chuckling): Um, yeah, it was probably about 2011, and it was for $400, which really disappointed me.
APPRAISER: Okay, well, I am happy to report that we're going to give you a lot better news...
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: ...than $400 today. If this were to come up for auction in a properly well-advertised setting, I would put a catalogue estimate on it of $15,000 to $20,000.
GUEST: Whoa. (laughs) Whoa!
APPRAISER: And I wouldn't be surprised, personally...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: ...if that high estimate would be exceeded, if not doubled, because just as a comparison...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: You know, being original artwork...
GUEST: Yeah!
APPRAISER: Yeah, you're, get excited, yeah, this is awesome!
GUEST: Right, right, right, because I'm just, like, looking at this. That's more than I paid for it, and that $400, I was so disappointed, 'cause like, I love this. I, and I'm not trying to put prices on my paper babies, as I call 'em, but I didn't think it was respectful. That's how I felt. I appreciate it, you, I mean, I'm happy, 'cause... Baby, I knew, I knew you were worthwhile. (laughs) I really did.
APPRAISER: It's a great piece.
GUEST: I really-- oh, thank you, I love it.
APPRAISER: Recently, in 2022, the cover to "Defenders" one brought over a quarter-million dollars at auction.
