Three brothers made an extraordinary discovery under a pile of faded newspapers while cleaning out their late mother’s California loft last Christmas; an original copy of the June 1939 first edition of the Superman comic, in remarkably good condition. It has now become the highest-priced comic book ever sold, fetching $9.12m (£7m) at Heritage Auctions, which described it as the “pinnacle of comic collecting”.
The comic was in a collection of six found in 2024, said Heritage Auctions; the brothers waited a few months before contacting the auction company, which sent vice-president Lon Allen to visit them in San Francisco. Mr Allen said that the un-named brothers are “in their 50s and 60s, and their mom had always told them she had an expensive comics collection but never showed them”, Mr Allen said.
The comics would have been bought between the Great Depression and the beginning of World War Two, Heritage said, adding that the cool northern California climate was perfect for preserving old paper. “If it had been in an attic here in Texas, it would have been ruined,” he said.
The youngest of the brothers said in a press release by the Heritage Auctions that the box had remained forgotten in the back of attic. “As the years unfolded, life brought about a series of losses and changes,” he said. “The demands of everyday survival took centre stage, and the box of comics, once set aside with care and intention, was forgotten. Until last Christmas.”
He added: “This isn’t simply a story about old paper and ink. This was never just about a collectible. This is a testament to memory, family and the unexpected ways the past finds its way back to us.”
Big Three
CGC, a third-party comics grading service, give the copy of Superman #1 a rating of 9.0 on a 10-point scale, topping the previous record of 8.5. At its sale price of over $9m, including buyer’s premium, Superman #1 easily beat the previous highest-priced comic book ever sold by $3m. Action Comics No. 1, the 1938 work that first introduced Superman, sold for $6m last year.
Half a million copies of Superman No 1 were initially printed, followed by print runs of 250,000 and then 150,000, but intact copies are rare today, partly because the comic included an invite to children to cut the cover off to use as a poster. Superman No 1 is one of the “big three” comics, along with Action Comics No 1, the first appearance of Superman, and Detective Comics No 27, which featured the first appearance of Batman.
Lon Allen, vice-president of Heritage Auctions, called the sale “a momentous day”, adding “Superman No 1 is a milestone in pop culture history, and this copy is not only in unprecedented condition, but it has a movie-worthy story behind it. I was glad to see the price reflect that and am honored Heritage was entrusted with this iconic book”.
The character of Superman was created in 1933 by Cleveland teenagers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, but they sold the rights to DC Comics for just $130, receiving $10 for each page they drew.
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