A 1938 copy of the comic that first “introduced Superman to the world” has sold for a record-setting $6 million (€5,529,600).
According to Heritage Auctions, the rare copy of Action Comics No. 1 was sold to an anonymous buyer. The $6 million price tag makes the book the most expensive comic to ever sell at auction.
Heritage Auctions hails Action Comics No. 1 as “the most important comic ever published”, noting that the Superman who first appeared in the 1938 spring issue “remains remarkably like" the version still seen in comic strips and on the big screen today.
A report from comic book grading service Certified Guaranty Company, cited by Heritage Auctions, estimates that there are only 100 surviving copies of Action Comics No. 1 today — out of 200,000 that were printed by National Allied Publications, the predecessor to DC Comics.
The copy sold comes from the Kansas City Pedigree and has a “Very Fine+” CGC rating of 8.5 - with only two other unrestored issues of grading higher, Heritage Auctions noted.
Although not as high as $6 million, other rare copies of Action Comics No. 1 have also gone for millions at auction in recent years, including a 6.0-rated issue that sold for $3.56 million through ComicConnect last year.
This year’s record sale surpasses the previous titleholder of the most expensive comic book to ever be sold - which was a copy of another Superman-starring comic, Superman No. 1, that sold privately for $5.3 million (approx. €4.8 million) in 2022, according to CGC.
