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Holy Smokes! Vintage Superman Comic Smashes World Record at Auction
It’s a bird! It’s a plane!
No, it’s the most expensive comic book ever sold! An original 1939 “Superman” No. 1 comic, hot off the presses from DC Comics, just flew past all previous records, fetching a staggering $9.12 million last Thursday.
This monumental sale, handled by Heritage Auctions, marks a new high for the comic book world.
The incredible find came to light in 2024 when three brothers in San Francisco were sifting through their late mother’s attic. They unearthed a hidden treasure trove of vintage comics, a collection their uncle had amassed between the Great Depression and World War II. According to the Texas-based auction house, the family, who wishes to remain anonymous, was completely unaware of the collection’s existence.
Lon Allen, Vice President of Heritage Auctions, shared a delightful detail: “They’re in their 50s and 60s, and their mom had always told them she had an expensive comics collection but never showed them. It’s a twist on the old ‘Mom threw away my comics’ story.” Talk about a pleasant surprise!
What makes this particular “Superman” No. 1 so special? The comic grading service Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) gave it an almost unbelievable 9 out of 10 condition rating.
Even more astonishing, the comic’s only protection for decades was a stack of old newspapers in a cardboard box. This makes it CGC’s highest-graded comic ever.
Including this record-breaker, there are only seven known comics with a CGC score of 6 or higher. The iconic cover of “Superman” No. 1 features the Man of Steel himself, promising readers “the complete story of the daring exploits of the one and only Superman” across “64 pages of action.”
While Superman first soared into public consciousness in “Action Comics” No. 1 in 1938 (a copy of which, graded 8.5, sold for a then-record $6 million in April 2024), “Superman” No. 1 holds the distinction of being the first comic dedicated solely to the Man of Steel.
The identity of the lucky buyer of this historic comic remains a mystery for now.