Heritage Auctions' May 16-18 Comics Signature Auction has been led by the ever-popular Spider-Man, as John Romita Sr's cover art for Amazing Spider-Man #85 sold for $71,700.

John Romita Sr's cover art for Amazing Spider-Man #85 made $71,700

Showing Spidey trapped between two of his deadliest foes, Kingpin and The Schemer, the cover is a fantastic example of the legendary Romita Sr's work.

Matching the $71,700 sale price was a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the comic book that sees Spider-Man's very first appearance.

Described by Heritage as "the crown jewel of our Silver Age section" - a grand title given the auction house's prowess at the forefront of the comics market - this copy is graded CGC 8.0 with off-white to white pages.

Also selling with strong results was Dave Gibbons' cover art for Watchmen #6, known as the Rorschach Inkblot. Consigned from the outstanding Shamus Modern Masterworks Collection, which provided the world-record breaking Spider-Man #328 cover at Heritage's July 2012 auction, it sold for $44,812.

Many of Miller's added elements are incorporated into the most recent Batman films, spurring the popularity of the 1986 series

More original art was seen in the form of Frank Miller's artwork for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the landmark 1986 series that provided the foundation for the most recent movie incarnation of Batman.

A magnificent black and white Batman and Robin splash from page 36 of the second book in the series brought $41,825, while a page showing Batman and Robin riding the Batcycle sold for $40,331.

Paul Fraser Collectibles has a number of superb items for collectors of comic art, including a brilliant selection from Charles Schulz's much-loved work Peanuts.