Superman Comic Sells for Record $9.12 Million

In late November, an extremely rare comic book was sold for $9.12 million. It’s the first issue of the comic book series “Superman”, which features the famous superhero. It was found in an attic last December, and now it’s the world’s most expensive comic book.

Superman is one of the most famous superheroes of all time. The character was created by two high school students, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, in 1933. His adventures were first published in a comic book called “Action Comics” in 1938.

The first issue of Superman’s own comic book series came out in 1939. It was called “Superman #1”. Though it’s very common now, at the time, no comic book had ever focused on just one superhero. It was a sign of how popular Superman was, and how much the character would influence the comic book world.

In December, 2024, three brothers discovered a copy of “Superman #1”, along with several other comics, in their mother’s attic. She and her brother had led a simple life growing up in the 1930s and 1940s. But buying cheap comic books and reading them was one of their pleasures.

The brothers knew that their mother had a collection of comic books. But they had never seen the collection. The brothers only discovered them when they were clearing out their mother’s house after she died. They found the comics in a cardboard box in the back of the attic. The paper booklets had been protected by a pile of old newspapers.

Even though it was over 80 years old, the copy of “Superman #1” was in excellent condition. Heritage Auctions, the group that sold the comic, said it was the best copy of “Superman #1” that they’d ever seen.

On November 20, the comic was sold for $9.12 million. That’s the highest price ever paid for a comic book. Lon Allen, who works for Heritage Auctions, said he was “thrilled” by the sale.

The previous record was set last year, when a copy of “Action Comics #1” sold for $6 million. Before that, the record was $5.3 million, set by a private sale of “Superman #1” in 2022.

Nine million dollars is a lot of money for a comic book that only cost 10 cents when it first came out. But some things help make this copy of “Superman #1” valuable. First is its excellent condition. Another important point is that the brothers’ copy came from the first printing of the comic.

And even though over half a million copies of “Superman #1” were printed, most of those that still exist aren’t in good shape. One reason is that the comic book encouraged kids to cut it up so they could frame the picture of Superman on the back cover.

The brothers say the sale isn’t just about a rare comic book. They say it’s about “family, and the unexpected ways the past finds its way back to us.”