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High Grade Copy of 'Superman No. 1' Fetches $2.3 Million at Auction
Posted on January 18, 2024 by Neil Cole
A vintage, high grade copy of "Superman No. 1" (CGC FN/VF 7.0) has sold for US$2,340,000.00 at Heritage Auctions' recent Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction which took place January 11th - 14th. Heritage offers the following description of the vintage comic book:
This is the finest unrestored copy we've ever offered; although there are two higher-graded, this beautiful book bears a QES sticker denoting superior presentation for the assigned grade. The last sale recorded per GPAnalaysis of a copy in this grade ended at just over $2.6 million in December, 2021; more recently, another CGC 7.0 copy ended at $1.62 million in June, 2023. The Edgar Church/Mile High CGC 8.0 Superman #1 sold for $5.3 million in January, 2022, breaking the record for the most expensive comic ever sold.
Following Superman's debut in Action Comics #1, DC quickly realized the immense potential of the Man of Steel, giving him a second title just over a year later. This marked the very first time a character who originated in the medium of comic books had a whole comic devoted solely to him. As such, Superman #1 heralded a new era in comics publishing, with other breakout characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Captain Marvel, and Archie all gaining their own self-titled series in the months to follow. Joe Shuster provides the cover, back cover pin-up, and art throughout with stories by Jerry Siegel, including the origin of Superman.
A magnificent book that's about to enter an elite group of the world's most valuable comics, a club that currently includes Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.6, Action Comics #1 Rocket Copy CGC 6.0, Captain America Comics #1 San Francisco Pedigree CGC 9.4, Batman #1 CGC 9.4, and Detective Comics #27 CGC 6.0. Currently the #3 book on Overstreet's list of Top 100 Golden Age Comics. Overstreet 2023 FN 6.0 value = $720,000; VF 8.0 value = $1,350,000. CGC census 1/24: 2 in 7.0, 2 higher.
Other Superman items that were featured in the Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction included another copy of 'Superman No. 1' (CGC Apparent FR/GD 1.5) which sold for US$55,200.00; original cover art from 'Superman: The Man of Steel No. 20 - Funeral for a Friend' (DC, 1993) by artists Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke which sold for US$38,400.00; and an original inscribed Superman Sketch (c. 1940s) by Joe Shuster which sold for US$8,400.00.
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