Comics Superman’s debut comic sells for $1 million

[FlawlessVictory]

Superman’s debut comic sells for $1 million
Sale breaks record of $317,000 for the comic that originally cost 10 cents

updated 25 minutes ago

NEW YORK - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman has sold for $1 million, smashing a record set just last year.

The issue sold Monday morning is a 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books. It features Superman lifting a car on its cover and originally cost 10 cents.

The transaction was conducted by the auction site ComicConnect.com. Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the site and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles, orchestrated the sale.

Fishler said it transpired minutes after the issue was put on sale at around 10:30 a.m. Eastern time. He said that the seller was a "well known individual" in New York with a pedigree collection, and that the buyer was a known customer who previously bought an Action Comics No. 1 of lesser grade.

"It's considered by most people as the most important book," said John Dolmayan, a comic book enthusiast and dealer best known as the drummer for System of a Down. "It kind of ushered in the age of the superheroes."

Dolmayan, who owns Torpedo Comics, last year paid $317,000 for an Action Comics No. 1 issue for a client. Others have sold for more than $400,000, he said, but this copy fetched a much higher price because it's in better condition. It's rated an "8.0 grade," or "very fine."

Dolmayan said he didn't buy this copy but he wishes he could have.

"The fact that this book is completely un-restored and still has an 8.0 grade, it's kind of like a diamond or a precious stone. It's very rare," he said.

There are only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful have been rated so highly. It's rarer still for those copies to be made available for sale.

"The opportunity to buy an un-restored, high-grade Action One comes along once every two decades," Fishler said. "It's certainly a milestone."

The sticker shock was astounding to Fishler, nevertheless.

"It is still a little stunning to see 'a comic book' and '$1 million' in the same sentence," Fishler said. "There's only one time a collectible hits the $1 million threshold."

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35524375/ns/today-today_books/

 

[Motown Marvel]

if i had a million to spare, i'd buy it.

 

[Mace Dolex]

If I had a million I'd pay off my credit card/student loan debts.

Seriously I'm a huge Superman fan but even if I had that much money I'd rather settle for a reprint.

 

[Mace Dolex]

I was searching online for inflation adjustments and a 10 cent comic from 1938 would actually be only $1.51 in 2010, wouldn't it be neat if all vintage items were sold according to inflation?

 

[Bruce Malone]

Batman did it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/books/27arts-BATMANBEATSS_BRF.html

 

[The ?ion]

I am not too surprised. Batman was the second official super hero (I say official because I would consider Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel to be the first super heroes if we don't adhere to modern definitions) and is arguably more popular than Superman at certain points of time.

 

[FlawlessVictory]

March 29, 2010

Action Comics No. 1 sells for $1.5 million

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The record price for a comic book, already broken twice this year, has been shattered again.

A copy of the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1 sold Monday for $1.5 million on the auction Web site ComicConnect.com. The issue, which features Superman's debut and originally sold for 10 cents, is widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books.

The same issue sold in February for $1 million, though that copy wasn't in as good condition as the issue that sold Monday. That number was bested just days later when a 1939 comic book featuring Batman's debut sold for $75,000 more at an auction in Dallas.

There are about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful in good condition. The issue that sold Monday was rated slightly higher than the one that sold in February; it had been tucked inside an old movie magazine for years before being discovered.

The issue was bought from a private collector and then sold by Stephen Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo, the co-owners of ComicConnect.com. It was bought minutes after being posted Monday at the asking price of $1.5 million by "a hardcore comic book fan," Fishler said.

"There's been a lot of attempts to acquire this book over the last 15 years," he said. "The recent activity, I guess, did the trick."

Fishler speculated that the sudden burst of record-priced sales are due to "pent-up demand." Issues of such prized comic books rarely become available for purchase. Rarer still are issues in such good condition.

"I can't imagine another book coming on the market that exists that would top this," Fishler said. "This may be the final say -- at least for the next 10 or 20 years -- for a record price of a comic book."

http://www.heatvisionblog.com/2010/03/action-comics-no-1-sells-for-15-million.html

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

I didn't want to start a new thread for this, but here goes. On another forum I'm a member of, this guy has got his hands on a copy of AC #1. Used to belong to his dad, who was a big collector, and he found it in his basement today. No word on what kind of condition it's in, but I'll keep giving updates.