Top-Notch comic with Super-Brain and Nazi plane exploded for $10,922Alfred E. Neuman as a spiritual guru was wise enough to know that the original “Mad” magazine cover art with all four members of the Beatles would reach at least $50,000. It topped that number by more than $7,000 at the Hake’s Auction which closed on March 17th. The 25.75” x 31.75” original mixed media art was completed by Norman Mingo (1896-1980), an American artist and illustrator who formalized the iconic image of Alfred E. Neuman. The piece was published as the front cover of “Mad” Magazine #121 (Sept. 1968). In addition to the Neuman-faced guru and the Beatles, it also features Mia Farrow and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru who invented the Transcendental Meditation technique. The cover spoofs the Beatles’ 1968 trip to India, where they attended an advanced Transcendental Meditation training session. Other top lots included the earliest known baseball photo of Negro League pioneer Sol White which knocked it out of the park for $15,446. The team photo of the integrated Bellaire Globes was taken in 1884. The 5 7/8” x 7 5/8” studio photograph features all nine member of the club, along with their manager, posing together. Each of the players is identified in black fountain pen along bottom margin of cardboard mount. The notation “Bellaire Globes 1884” is written in black fountain pen at top margin along with the year. A copy of Top-Notch Comics #2 from January 1940, introducing “The Wizard,” the Man with the Super-Brain masterminded for $10,922. Graded at 9.6, it is the finest known copy in CGC consensus, and is also coveted for its cover with colorful, flaming Nazi fighter plane.
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