Suspense Comics #3

In the mid-to-late 1970s I was a fledgeling dealer in back issue comic books. I did this primarily to support my collecting habit, selling duplicates out of my collection and using the proceeds to buy comics I needed. Usually I was selling relatively cheap comics for 50 cents or a dollar. I was selling primarily at small comic shows where table prices were low.

At a mall show in New Jersey, I did fairly well with sales and had a few hundred dollars to work with. Mall shows typically had a lot of people come by to gawk at the weird comic book collectors, but not many serious collectors. As the dealer with the most cheap comics, I more than once was the only dealer who covered expenses.

At this particular mall show, ater some shopping around, I bought a copy of Suspense Comics #3; I believe it was from Walter Wang, who is still active as a comic dealer, but I'm not sure. I paid $200.

Suspense #3, published by Continental Magazines in 1944, is known for three things: first, the strikingly weird cover by artist Alex Schomburg, who also did many covers for Marvel Comics in the 1940's; second, two of the interior stories were drawn by noted Golden Age artist L. B. Cole; and finally, its scarcity. When I bought this copy, it was considered hard to find; over the years, subsequent assessments resulted in it being considered quite rare, especially in collectable condition.

In 2001, I had it professionally graded by the Comics Guaranty Company (CGC) and the grade was 6.5, making it the second best copy of this comic of the four that had been sent to GCG to be graded (and by far the most valuable comic I owned). As CGC was the major third party grading company and most valuable comics were sent to them to be graded before they were sold, the number in CGC's census were considered to be useful indicators of a comic's rarity. The CGC certification number was 0013021002, and the grading record is here.

In August 2002, I received the following email from Heritage Auctions:

Dear William Turner III,

Imagine YOUR comics and art selling for record prices alongside Nicolas 
Cage's Collection.

Heritage Comics Auctions (HCA) and Jay Parrino's The Mint, have been 
selected to jointly auction the valuable comic book collection of Academy 
Award-winning actor, Nicolas Cage.

After deciding to liquidate his collection, Cage, the star of such films as 
Raising Arizona (1987), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Leaving Las Vegas 
(1995), and Face/Off (1997), investigated a number of options before 
settling on Heritage and The Mint. See footnote [1]

The comic books are currently being graded and encapsulated at Comics 
Guaranty LLC (CGC), and will be offered in the joint auction during the 
weekend of October 11-13, concurrent with the Dallas Comicon. For 
convention information, ...

FM: (skeptically): You've got a Suspense Comics #3.
WRT: Yes.
FM: Not Tales of Suspense?
WRT: No, the Continental series from 1944.
FM: Has it been graded?
WRT: Yes, you can look at the CGC Census, it's the 6.5.
FM: Yes, we would very much like to include that comic in our auction!

I'm fairly sure that it was purchased in 2002 by Metropolis Comics, because I saw it in their display at a convention. But in any event, it was sold again via Heritage Auctions in 2005 for the same price, and again via Heritage in 2006 with a hammer price of $8,380, so the price actually declined over the next few years. Note that these are all sales of the same exact comic, with the same CGC certification number, not different copies of Suspense Comics #3. There were some sales of other copies.

The next sale I can find of that comic was sold on Ebay by Sparkle City Comics in April, 2012 for $24,977.Here is their description:

Suspense Comics #3 CGC 6.5 SCARCE Classic Schomburg Bondage Cover Continental

Suspense Comics #3 is one of the most desirable comics of the golden age. The cover is arguably Schomburg's best and due to both its scarcity and cover art, Suspense Comics #3 is at the top of just about every golden age collector's list. The biggest problem is finding a copy. This amazing copy is one just about the best that can be acquired. There are just 2 copies that have graded higher with the highest being a lone 8.0 and just a single copy one notch down at 7.5. It is doubtful that either of those copies will be available anytime soon. Serial number 0013021002. Very small piece of tape on centerfold at staple.

In the interim, it had been re-slabbed by CGC, but retained the same certification number.

In August 2023, I was perusing the ComicLink Web site, where I regularly list comics for sale, and noticed that "my" comic had again been sold, in March 2022, this time for $280,000.00!

Here's what ComicLink had to say about the comic:
Universally acknowledged as one of the greatest comic book covers of all time, Suspense Comics #3 carries a mystique and aura all its own. This CGC 6.5 ranks in the TOP 3 highest graded examples of Suspense 3 that CGC has ever certified. Even low grade or restored examples becoming available are very significant opportunities, but a 6.5 is perhaps a once-in-a-decade, at best, opportunity. Given the book's stature within the hobby it would not be surprising if, once gone, this extremely rare unrestored 6.5 remains out of the public eye for far, far longer than that.

Seasoned, long-time collectors will certainly recall when Ernie Gerber's Photo-Journals caused a major stir several decades back, as so many rarely seen Golden Age comic books got the star treatment. Suspense Comics #3 had always been a coveted book and its prominent place in Gerber's book accelerated its legendary status. Alex Schomburg's all-time classic cover depiction - a spear-wielding hero rushes to the rescue as a crew of hooded, swastika adorned Nazis prepares to sacrifice a helpless woman under a jungle sky - is rightfully considered the masterpiece by this pre-eminent comic book artist. Very few images contain elements of so many popular comic genres of the 1940s in such lurid detail, in what many collectors feel is the greatest comic book cover of all time. (And it only looks better in person!)

A mere 23 Universal examples of Suspense Comics #3 have ever been certified by CGC See footnote [2] and its rarity is unquestioned. But consider that of those 23, 16 of them fall at the CGC 3.0 tier or lower! This, despite reigning for decades as one of the most sought-after books of them all. We are positively elated to have the opportunity to make this one of the real comic book events of 2022.

While looking at that dollar amount does evoke some "if only..." musing, I have to say that the sale in 2002 paid for a very nice 2 weeks in Italy in 2003, so we can't complain at all!

Footnotes

[1] As a strange sidebar, Nic Cage's Action #1 didn't get sold in that auction. It was stolen from him during a houseparty in 2000. In 2011, it was found in a storage locker and returned to him. He had bought it from Metropolis Comics in 1996 for 150,000, and could expect it to sell at auction in 2002 for over $200,000. But when he got it back in 2011, values had jumped, and he sold it at auction for $2.2 million. Having it stolen and being prevented from selling it too soon turned out to be a brilliant investment strategy!

[2] As of when the original version of this article was completed. As of the current revision being made in January 2026, CGC reports that they have graded 29 "Universal" (no restoration) copies, 14 "Restored" copies, and 3 "Qualified" copies. While CGC remains the primary grader for high-end comics, there are now several reputable competitors, and it is probably safe to assume that collectively they have graded a similar number.

References

This draws from information in Rob Larson's blog at itsalljustcomics.com, and from Greg Holland's very useful site providing access to and analysis of CGC population data over many years http://cgcdata.com/cgc/.