Iron Man #274 Cover (Paul Ryan) (1991)

Really nice cover with Iron Man, Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom. Given the size differential, It's always a challenge to have the figures not appear too tiny against the size of a giant figure like Fin Fang Foom. This cover deals nicely with that. I remember well this story arc (Dragon Seed Saga), which had some cool moments. And this is a really great image of Fin Fang Foom, a villain I've always liked.

Which leads to an oddity---this hammered at auction for waaay more than expected and waaay more than other Ryan Avengers/Iron Man/Fantastic Four covers have ever sold for (to my knowledge). And it wasn't because it was only two stubborn bidders not wanting to give in and going back and forth and back and forth etc. (although that did occur at the very end) -- there were a number of other bidders involved.

I've seen speculation that it was the FFFF (the "Fin Fang Foom factor") -- that it was a great image of FFF and that it not only appealed to regular hero collectors but also to collectors of Marvel monster art (FFF appeared in Strange Tales before the Silver Age of Marvel Heroes and also since in places like Where Monsters Dwell). Others say it's because of the upcoming Iron Man movie and the general heightened interest in Iron Man. Or maybe just a favorite cover of a few people.

Feel free to email me if you were one of the bidders--I'd be interested to hear your reasons. Thanks!