'Superman No. 1' - The most valuable comic ever sells for record $9 million

Fox11 ^ | 11/21/25 | Kevin Zelman

[DallasBiff]

A comic book found in an attic has become the most expensive comic of all time!

A copy of “Superman No. 1,” the 1939 issue that introduced everyone to the Man of Steel in his first solo title, sold for $9.2 million on Thursday at an auction run by Heritage, in near-pristine condition.

This price beats the previous record, set in 2024 when “Action Comics No. 1,” the comic where fans met the Kryptonian hero, sold for $6 million. Even prior to that, a copy of “Superman No. 1” held the record with a sale of $5.3 million in 2022.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: comicbook; superman

[DallasBiff]

I remember back in 73 or 74 a copy of the same sold for $1,800.

Pretty good investment.

[Dr. Sivana]

I saw an Action Comics #1 on display in New Haven, CT around 1974. I do not remember if it was $3,000 or $30,000. I was very happy to get a $1 double sized reprint for $1 a couple of years later. There was a Pep Morgan (Boxer like Joe Palooka) story in there that would be considered racist by some.

[Karliner]

If I only had my old comic books and baseball cards...sigh

[Coffee_drinker]

Same here. I had a big pile of old comics and cards. I don’t remember getting rid of the comics, but I was just a kid so...

[Jonty30]

Anybody forgiving mom for throwing out their comic collection?

[Jonty30]

That double sized reprint was probably worth something.

[kawhill]

I’ve still got some old comic books, somewhere.

[dfwgator]

[Dr. Sivana]

That double sized reprint was probably worth something.

I sold off my comic collection during a layoff. Problem was, I read them too much, and stuff from the '70s and later only gets value in primo condition.

[PGR88]

The mother died just before the pandemic, and the brothers left the house untouched until they were ready to go through it earlier this year.

They left an empty home "untouched" for six years?

[cpdiii]

Circa 1958 I well remember a bunch of us kids would get together to trade comic books. Each would bring in 30 or 40 comic books. I wonder how much they would be worth today?

[Mr. N. Wolfe]

“Problem was, I read them too much, and stuff from the ‘70s and later only gets value in primo condition.”

Yep.

I still have my collection but they’r definitely not in collectable condition.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So Sheldon Cooper get the Nobel Prize AND $9 million for one of his comic books? ;)

[CivilWarBrewing]

Old comic books, YUM !!!!

[minnesota_bound]

Money laundering.

In 2013, a painting called Onement VI sold for $43.84 million. What was on the canvas? One single blue line.

Who in their right mind would pay $43 million for something you could recreate for $30?
Here’s how the game works: A millionaire makes $43 million in 2022.
He hires an artist to create a “masterpiece” for $25,000. The artist paints one line on a canvas.
Then the millionaire calls in a friend, an art appraiser. The appraiser declares the piece worth $43 million.

The millionaire donates the painting to a museum. And receives a $43 million tax deduction. He doesn’t pay a cent in taxes that year. You walk into the museum, and think: “This is stupid. Just a line.”
The person next to you says: “You don’t understand... this is art.”
But it’s not. It’s money laundering, tax loopholes, and a system designed for the rich.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I still have a few dozen comics from Rip Off Press and such, mostly acquired in the 70s, but I doubt they’d interest a collector. Still fun to look through them.

[Inyo-Mono]

...$1 double sized reprint for $1

I still have my double sized reprint I bought back then.

[Karliner]

I went down that road a few years ago on baseball cards. I think comics have the same thing where there’s a price for each comic but goes to wear and tear and graded

Anyway, the amount I had in baseball cards I could have bought some nice property with a home.