This Thursday became a historic day for comic fans and collectors. A copy of Action Comics No. 1, the issue that introduced the iconic superhero Superman in 1938, sold for a staggering $6 million, setting a new record for the world of comics.
The auction, which began with a $4.5 million online bid at Heritage Auctions' Dallas headquarters, attracted intense competition among bidders, with $100,000 increments bringing the final price to the impressive $6 million of dollar mark. The buyer, whose identity remains anonymous, chose to make his offer online.
New record. #heritageauctions pic.twitter.com/1Ztuvp6ZXv
— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) April 4, 2024
This record price surpasses the previous mark set by a copy of 1939's Superman No. 1, which sold privately in 2022 for $5.3 million. Before that, the most valuable comic book in the world was a copy of 1962's Amazing Fantasy No. 15, where Spider-Man debuted and sold for $3.6 million in 2021.
Barry Sandoval, vice president of Heritage Auctions, expressed his astonishment at the offering. "Thursday was a historic day for a historic comic book, and we expected no less," he said. Additionally, he added that the first session of the four-day event would exceed $15 million and anticipated that more history would still be made in the following days.
The feat did not end with the sale of the Action Comics No. 1 copy. Moments later, another professionally restored copy of the same comic sold for $576,000, also setting an all-time high for any restored comic.
Action Comics No. 1 is an extremely rare comic. Only 78 copies are tracked by the Certified Guarantee Company (CGC), the service that authenticates and grades the condition of comics. The service believes there are about 100 in total of the 200,000 initially printed by National Allied Publications, a precursor to DC Comics.
The Superman-related collectibles market promises to continue to grow, especially with the upcoming July 2025 release of James Gunn's Superman movie, the hero's first solo film since Zack Snyder's 2013 "Man of Steel."
