Think your comic book collection has some hidden value to it? It probably can't compare to the recent auction of Amazing Fantasy #15, where the very first appearance of Spider-Man sold for $3.6 million as part of Heritage Auction’s Signature Comics and Comic Art event. That officially makes this issue the most expensive comic ever sold, beating the previous $3.25 million record set by Action Comics #1.

　　What made this issue especially valuable was its grade from Certified Guaranty Company, as the comic is essentially in near-mint condition with a CGC of 9.6 out of 10. For a comic book that was printed in 1962, it's an incredible feat for it to be in what can be considered close to flawless condition.

　　This isn't the first time that Heritage has broken records with comic book auctions--a 9.4 CGC-graded issue of Batman No.1 sold for $2.2 million recently--but it does come under increasing scrutiny for the company.

　　Having ventured into the collectible video games space, Heritage and video game grading company Wata have been accused of manipulating the market and artificially inflating the value of retro games for personal gain.

　　In a 52-minute video investigation, journalist Karl Jobst alleged that that Wata president and CEO Deniz worked with Heritage Auctions co-founder Jim Halperin to take advantage of the speculator's market of classic video games, leading to astronomical prices such as a copy of Super Mario Bros. being sold for $2 million.

　　Heritage has denied the allegations, responding to VGC with a statement that it was not involved in any illegal or unethical practices. While comic books and video games are two different markets, the one thing that they have in common is that Heritage will earn a substantial amount of cash for its part in the auction process.

　　Wata Games released the following statement in response to the allegations: "Wata Games is the trusted leader in collectible video game grading and we're honored to play a key role in this booming industry that we are incredibly passionate about. We're humbled by the support of our thousands of customers who trust us to provide accurate and transparent grading. The claims in this video are completely baseless and defamatory and it is unfortunate that Mr. Jobst did not contact us to give us the opportunity to correct him."

　　According to its website, Heritage can earn 5% of the fee for any comic books that sell over the $500,000 mark, meaning that it'll make at least $180,000 without any other fees factored in.

　　In other Spider-Man news, the wallcrawler will be making his video game return alongside fellow webhead Miles Morales in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Developer Insomniac revealed a new trailer for the sequel during the PlayStation Showcase this week, which teased both Spider-Men squaring off against Kraven the Hunter and the symbiote Venom in 2023.

　　Darryn Bonthuys on Google+