If you ask which comic book is the single most valuable, those in the know would say Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman. Those outside the bubble of knowledge might say Superman #1 instead, unaware Superman made an appearance before then. But….we’re all going to have to revise our statements. The most valuable comic WAS Action Comics #1 until this week, and now it is Superman #1.
Heritage Auctions put up a slabbed and graded copy of Superman #1 recently, and it just sold for a record $9.12 million — more moolah than any single comic has ever generated in the aftermarket. The story behind it is every collector’s fantasy: two people were cleaning out the home of their dead mother and found the issue buried within a stack of ancient newspapers. The papers protected the issue from the elements all these decades and kept it flat, pristine and mint.
No one would argue that, of the two, Action Comics #1 is the more culturally significant. In fact it’s probably the most important and influential single issue of a comic book in American history, But condition plays a role in the price. Last year, a copy of Action Comics #1 sold for six million dollars. It was graded 8.5 out of 10. This copy of Superman #1 was graded at 9 out of 10. Previously, the last copy of Superman #1 held for auction generated $5,3 million, and that was considered a record.
Superman #1 had an initial print run of 500,000 copies, followed by second and third printings of 250,000 and 150,000 respectively, but these were the days when comics were considered cheap disposable entertainment and most of those copies are gone. Counting this one, only seven copies of Superman #1 graded at 6 or above are known to exist.





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