It's debatable how much Superman is appreciated and loved by comic book collectors around the world. But the fact is that he represents the icon of American superhero comics, the DC comics brand and one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world. The first comic that introduced this hero to the world was "Action Comics no.1", published in June 1938, in 200.000 copies, with a price of ten cents. In an environment where The Lone Ranger and Buck Rogers represented the core of popular comics, Superman became the first superhero and the progenitor of the entire genre. An estimated 130.000 copies of this issue of "Action Comics" were sold, while about 70.000 were recycled. The volume, which also featured the image of the new hero on the cover, included 13 pages of comics with Superman, and then "Chuck Dawson", "Zataru", "The Adventures of Marco Polo" and seven other short comics on a total of 64 pages.
With this edition, the "golden age" of American superhero comics began - in previous years, America went through a terrible Great Depression, an economic collapse that affected a large part of the planet, and a new hero from Krypton, with a red cloak, endowed with unimaginable powers, soon became an icon of comics .
CUSTOMERS "OF THE HOLY GRAIL": "Action Comics no.1", the "holy grail" of collectors of American superhero comics, is still a rare commodity today. Of the initial 130.000 copies sold, a large portion passed from hand to hand with friends from the area and were irretrievably destroyed in the process, countless were recycled during the paper shortages of World War II, as were most of all comics from the 50s. Today, it is estimated that only between 100 and XNUMX copies of this comic exist. And the comic book that set eBay ablaze this summer is, according to experts, the best-preserved copy with white pages ever seen on open sale.
American comic book collectors relied heavily on the evaluations of experts from CGC (Certified Guaranty Company), a company founded in 2000 with the aim of establishing standards for evaluating the preservation of comic books. The founders' intent, in addition to cashing in on the collector's obsession with perfectly preserved comics, was to protect potential buyers from sellers and their inadequate and biased preservation assessments. CGC experts gave this comic a score of 9.0. Of the 60 copies that passed the CGC grading, only two of the recorded copies did not yellow with age, and this time it was the best-preserved at auction.
(NE)ASSESSABLE: According to Darren Adams of Pristina Comics, the eBay seller of Action Comics no.1, the original owner bought this copy directly from the newsstand back in 1938, and kept it until the late 30s in a cedar chest with the rest of his collections. The climate of West Virginia, as well as storage in a chest, have contributed to this comic looking more or less the same today as it did when it was purchased. Namely, the deterioration of comics, in addition to reading, is affected by humidity, temperature changes, exposure to light, and this comic was spared from all of the above. It was bought from the original owner by an unnamed dealer, only to change hands once more who kept it for the next 14 years, again in ideal condition, and then came into the hands of the current seller who finally decided to put it up for public auction via eBay. The auction started on August 19, with preliminary registration of potential participants and checking of their financial rating, as it is a transaction for which several million dollars are expected. Three minutes after the start of the auction, the price reached one million, and in the afternoon of August 24, it exceeded two million. On August 3.207.852th, the auction closed, and the comic sold for $XNUMX! It is the largest sum in history paid for a comic book.
WHATEVER IT COSTS: Three years ago, a copy of "Action Comics no.1" was sold via comicconnect.on for $2,16 million. This copy is also graded 9.0, but, unlike the one now being auctioned, its pages are cream-white, a major drawback in the eyes of wealthy collectors. A similar specimen graded 8.5 sold in 2010 for $1,5 million, and a specimen graded 5.0 sold for $250.000 the same year.
One of the proud owners of "Action Comics no.1" is their passionate collector, actor Nicholas Cage. That is, he was the owner until it was stolen from his collection in 2000. Nicolas Cage is widely known for his love of comics, as evidenced by the fact that he gave himself the last name of the famous comic book hero Luke Cage, after deciding to change it from Coppola, so that people would not look at him differently because of his famous cousin Francis Ford Coppola. Eleven years later, the stolen copy was found in a warehouse in the San Fernando Valley, and the actor has already received a large compensation from the insurance company for this theft. There are announcements that a film will be made about this event.
How normal is it to pay three million dollars for a comic book? Anyone can buy whatever they want with their money, so if they want to buy a seven-figure comic book, that's their business. This comic will undoubtedly bring many happy moments to the customer. And happiness has no price.
