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Omaha Steve

(108,008 posts)
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:30 PM Monday

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a rare Superman comic book! And it fetched $9.12M!

Source: AP

By JACK BROOK
Updated 5:47 PM CST, November 24, 2025

A copy of the first Superman issue, unearthed by three brothers cleaning out their late mother’s attic, netted $9.12 million this month at a Texas auction house which says it is the most expensive comic book ever sold.

The brothers discovered the comic book in a cardboard box beneath layers of brittle newspapers, dust and cobwebs in their deceased mother’s San Francisco home last year, alongside a handful of other rare comics that she and her sibling had collected on the cusp of World War II.

She had told her children she had a valuable comic book collection hidden away, but they had never seen it until they put her house up for sale and decided to comb through the basement for heirlooms, said Lon Allen, vice president of comics at Heritage Auctions. The brothers uncovered the box of comics and sent a message to the auction company, leading Allen to fly out to San Francisco earlier this year to inspect their copy of “Superman No. 1" and show it to other experts for appraisal.

“It was just in an attic, sitting in a box, could have easily been thrown away, could’ve easily been destroyed in a thousand different ways,” Allen said. “A lot of people got excited because it’s just every factor in collecting that you could possibly want all rolled into one.”



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/superman-comic-world-record-auction-eadabeaadbb12e114623756ef0757244



I have some rare Marvel Comics!
15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a rare Superman comic book! And it fetched $9.12M! (Original Post) Omaha Steve Monday OP
If only my parents bamagal62 Monday #1
A reversal... Mike Nelson Monday #2
Anyone else think this is absolutely bonkers? 3catwoman3 Monday #3
The whole print production run of that comic would have cost a lot less than that. Aussie105 Tuesday #11
I was hooked. OAITW r.2.0 Monday #4
Ooh, The Haunted Tank. I loved that comic. rsdsharp Monday #5
Was that a great comic or what? OAITW r.2.0 Monday #6
And it just happened to be an M3 Stuart light tank! A coincidence, I'm sure. rsdsharp Monday #7
Not so Much. OAITW r.2.0 Monday #8
Got a bundle of comic book hand-me-downs Deminpenn Tuesday #10
What were your peak collecting years? Polybius Tuesday #13
I'd say 1960-1965 OAITW r.2.0 Tuesday #14
Nice, those were some great years Polybius Tuesday #15
Hunh... LudwigPastorius Tuesday #9
It always was Polybius Tuesday #12

bamagal62

(4,289 posts)
1. If only my parents
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:32 PM
Monday

Had not thrown those comic books out the window on our car trip to the grandparents!

Mike Nelson

(10,855 posts)
2. A reversal...
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:46 PM
Monday

... usually, it's the parents who throw away comic books, and the kids who want to collect or save them!

Aussie105

(7,450 posts)
11. The whole print production run of that comic would have cost a lot less than that.
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 02:53 AM
Tuesday

Bonkers?
Yes, some collectors are bonkers.

OAITW r.2.0

(31,114 posts)
4. I was hooked.
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:51 PM
Monday

I regret I never kept my collection of Superman, Spiderman, Fantastic 4, and Jeb Stuart Tank comics....

OAITW r.2.0

(31,114 posts)
6. Was that a great comic or what?
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 10:09 PM
Monday

You felt the tension of the battle and, somehow, JEB Stuart helped his progeny out.

rsdsharp

(11,588 posts)
7. And it just happened to be an M3 Stuart light tank! A coincidence, I'm sure.
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 10:33 PM
Monday

Did you read Sgt. Rock, too?

OAITW r.2.0

(31,114 posts)
8. Not so Much.
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 10:49 PM
Monday

Yeah the M3 against Panzers....not likely a positive long-term outcome. That's why I had to read every issue.

Deminpenn

(17,196 posts)
10. Got a bundle of comic book hand-me-downs
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 02:31 AM
Tuesday

from a relative who'd outgrown them. There were Superman, Batman, Richie Rich and more. Sure wish I'd held on to them and my Topps baseball cards, too. Oh well....

Polybius

(21,229 posts)
15. Nice, those were some great years
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 08:19 PM
Tuesday

Love the Silver Era, even though it was before my time.

LudwigPastorius

(13,867 posts)
9. Hunh...
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 01:25 AM
Tuesday

I would have thought that an Action Comics #1 would be the most valuable comic book in the world.

Polybius

(21,229 posts)
12. It always was
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 05:16 AM
Tuesday

Until this sale, I suppose. Perhaps the next time one sells, it will reclaim the throne.

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