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Omaha Steve

(108,163 posts)
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:30 PM Nov 24

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!
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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 Nov 24 OP
If only my parents bamagal62 Nov 24 #1
A reversal... Mike Nelson Nov 24 #2
Anyone else think this is absolutely bonkers? 3catwoman3 Nov 24 #3
The whole print production run of that comic would have cost a lot less than that. Aussie105 Nov 25 #11
I was hooked. OAITW r.2.0 Nov 24 #4
Ooh, The Haunted Tank. I loved that comic. rsdsharp Nov 24 #5
Was that a great comic or what? OAITW r.2.0 Nov 24 #6
And it just happened to be an M3 Stuart light tank! A coincidence, I'm sure. rsdsharp Nov 24 #7
Not so Much. OAITW r.2.0 Nov 24 #8
Got a bundle of comic book hand-me-downs Deminpenn Nov 25 #10
What were your peak collecting years? Polybius Nov 25 #13
I'd say 1960-1965 OAITW r.2.0 Nov 25 #14
Nice, those were some great years Polybius Nov 25 #15
Hunh... LudwigPastorius Nov 25 #9
It always was Polybius Nov 25 #12

bamagal62

(4,297 posts)
1. If only my parents
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:32 PM
Nov 24

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

Mike Nelson

(10,874 posts)
2. A reversal...
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:46 PM
Nov 24

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

Aussie105

(7,483 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
Nov 25

Bonkers?
Yes, some collectors are bonkers.

OAITW r.2.0

(31,169 posts)
4. I was hooked.
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 08:51 PM
Nov 24

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

OAITW r.2.0

(31,169 posts)
6. Was that a great comic or what?
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 10:09 PM
Nov 24

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

rsdsharp

(11,641 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
Nov 24

Did you read Sgt. Rock, too?

OAITW r.2.0

(31,169 posts)
8. Not so Much.
Mon Nov 24, 2025, 10:49 PM
Nov 24

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

Deminpenn

(17,221 posts)
10. Got a bundle of comic book hand-me-downs
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 02:31 AM
Nov 25

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

(21,280 posts)
15. Nice, those were some great years
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 08:19 PM
Nov 25

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

LudwigPastorius

(13,930 posts)
9. Hunh...
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 01:25 AM
Nov 25

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

Polybius

(21,280 posts)
12. It always was
Tue Nov 25, 2025, 05:16 AM
Nov 25

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

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