After nearly a decade of speculation if it would ever happen, a copy of Action Comics #1 (Jun 38), has been sold for $1 million.
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The sale of Superman's first appearance, brokered by
ComicConnect.com, was
between two private collectors and details of the transaction, including
whether it was a straight cash deal or trading of other comics was
involved, was not released. It is known that the previous owner had it
in his collection for 15 years and it's likely that the new owner will
not be parting with it any time soon.
It's estimated that only 100 copies of Action #1 remain in existence, and of those 100, only two have received a Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) grading of 8.0 (Very Fine) or higher. This particular issue is one of those two.
The sale shatters the record sale last year, also by ComicConnect.com, of another copy of Action #1, CGC-graded 6.0 (Fine), for $317,200.
While some collectors weren’t aware of the existence of this million-dollar copy, ComicConnect.com Founder Stephen Fishler, was, because 15 years ago, he sold it for $150,000.
“I knew that someday, there would be a seven figure comic book sale, and I dreamed of being part of that historic moment," said ComicConnect.com COO and co-owner Vincent Zurzolo. "But I didn’t think it would happen so soon, particularly given the current state of the economy.”
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This copy of Action Comics No. 1,
featuring Superman's first appearance, has sold for $1 million. Photo
courtesy of ComicConnect.com
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The $1 million "bounty" for a higher-grade copy of Action Comics #1 has been discussed for many years and surfaced during a forum at Comic-Con International: San Diego in 2001.
At that panel, Bedrock City Comics Owner Richard Evans said, “At some point, certain comics are going to reach a price ceiling where it they are going to become museum quality items. If the guy who owned the nicest Action #1 put it on the table, well, there’s already an offer of $1 million. I don’t think it would be any stretch of the imagination to believe that that guy’s offer is low.” A complete transcript of the panel appeared in CBG #1451.
On The Comics Chronicles, John Jackson Miller speculates that the original circulation for the comic book was in the neighborhood of 200,000 copies.
"According to Audit Bureau of Circulation data, in January 1939, several months after Action #1 was released, all the issues on sale from the Detective Comics Group had combined sales of 709,379 copies," Miller said. That group in that month for the ABC included four monthly titles, Detective Comics, More Fun Comics, Action Comics, and Adventure Comics.
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