Cover art showing Marvel hero Deadpool’s first appearance could sell for record $7.5 million

(CNN) — As Deadpool breaks records at the box office with “Deadpool & Wolverine,” cover art depicting the of superhero’s first ever comic book appearance could sell for a record $7.5 million.

Designed by writer and artist Rob Liefeld in 1991, it would become the most valuable comic book cover art ever sold if it fetches its asking price, according to Heritage Auctions, which is handling the sale.

Ever since Deadpool’s first appearance, fans have embraced the mercenary supervillain turned witty and unfiltered antihero, played by Ryan Reynolds in the movie adaptations of the comic books.

“Marvel contacted me and said, this is the most fan mail we’ve had on a new character in 15 years,” Liefeld said, according to Reuters. “They were flooded with letters, fan letters, which they sent me. And the box that that mail arrived in … I thought I was getting a washer and dryer.”

When Liefeld began working on “The New Mutants” – the series in which he and scripter Fabian Nicieza introduced Deadpool – it was Marvel’s lowest selling mutant title.

But the increasing popularity of Deadpool, alongside other new characters like Cable, transformed it into a more successful series, even outselling X-Men.

And similarly, the recently released “Deadpool & Wolverine” has smashed expectations at the box office, raking in $211 million domestically on its first weekend, making it the biggest opening of 2024, the biggest opening ever for an R-rated film, and the sixth biggest opening of all-time.

With Deadpool now firmly established as a lucrative franchise in pop culture, the cover art’s owner approached Heritage Auctions saying “the time is right” to sell it, the auction house said in a statement.

The owner acquired it almost 20 years ago, after Liefed had sold it, but refused any offers to sell. In the years since then, Deadpool has migrated from the comic book to the silver screen, making his debut appearance in the 2009 movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” and his first lead appearance in 2016’s “Deadpool.”

If the cover art fetches $7.5 million, it will surpass the current record held by a 1938 comic that features Superman’s first appearance and sold for $6 million at an auction in April.

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