DALLAS — More than 100 pieces of art, signed books, and other collectibles belonging to revered writer Neil Gaiman up for auction through Dallas-based Heritage Auctions this week raised more than $1 million for groups supporting comics creators and writers.
Gaiman, the bestselling writer behind novels, comic books, and screenplays such as “The Sandman,” “Coraline,” “Good Omens,” “The Ocean at the End of the Lane,” and more, was on site for the auction Thursday to discuss the treasures.
As Gaiman told WFAA during an interview ahead of the auction, many of the pieces were gifted to him by other artists and writers inspired by his work. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the original artists, The Hero Initiative, which benefits comics creators in need, and the Author’s League Fund, which supports authors, journalists, and other writers in need.
“I love the idea of benefitting charities that look after authors who’ve fallen on hard times, that look after the artists and writers and creators of comics who’ve had hard times,” Gaiman said. “And I like the idea of normalizing the idea that we who do have art we bought for $50 a page 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.”
Watch WFAA's full interview with Neil Gaiman here:
One of the pieces Gaiman told WFAA has sentimental value to him was a page-16, issue-7, 17-panel piece from “Watchmen.” It was gifted to Gaiman by writers Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, and it was a top seller during the auction, according to Heritage, raising $132,000. Not far behind was Jean Giraud’s 1994 painting of the popular “Sandman” character Death of the Endless, which sparked a bidding war that drove its price to $96,000. John Totleben’s cover of “Miraclemen” No. 16 also raised $96,000.
Another sought-after piece during the auction was a puppet of Coraline used in the eponymous movie accompanied by her companion, The Cat.
Gaiman told the audience that the piece “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.”
The Coraline piece eventually raised $72,000.
Gaiman said he was inspired to do the auction by his friend, Geoff Notkin, who starred in the show “Meteorite Men” and played drums in a punk band with him.
“[Notkin] had two huge reasons for auctioning off these meteorites. One of which was they had given him joy for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, and he thought it was time that they could give other people joy, and the other was going, 'There are charities out there, I can give money to them,' which he did,” Gaiman said ahead of the auction. “Geoff kept saying to me, ‘You should do one of these.’”
Gaiman’s own auction drew more than 1,200 bidders and raised a grand total of $1,029,392 for his charities.
