Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Vintage Paper | Tagged: aquaman, Edgar Church, green arrow, Mort Weisinger

1st Green Arrow, Aquaman, More Fun Comics 73 to Set New Record Tonight

The Edgar Church CGC 9.4 sole highest graded copy of More Fun Comics #73, the first appearances of Aquaman and Green Arrow, stands at $318,333 with hours to go at auction.

Published Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:47:03 -0500

by Mark Seifert

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Article Summary

More Fun Comics #73 marks the first appearances of both Aquaman and Green Arrow in 1941.
Mort Weisinger and George Papp introduce Green Arrow, while Paul Norris debuts Aquaman in key stories.
This key has gained collector popularity in recent times fueled by increasing Green Arrow and Aquaman interest.
The Edgar Church/Mile High pedigree elevates the historical and collectible value of this rare copy.

Among a number of highlights during this week's Event Auction #63 at ComicConnect, the Edgar Church copy of More Fun Comics #73 might be the item that interests me the most. The November 1941 cover-dated release from DC Comics contains the first appearances of both Aquaman and Green Arrow. The story "Case of the Namesake Murders" in this issue written by Mort Weisinger and drawn by George Papp features the introduction of Green Arrow and his sidekick Speedy, and the story "The Submarine Strikes" written by Weisinger and drawn by Paul Norris is the introduction and origin of Aquaman. This CGC 9.4 copy is at $318,333 as of this writing (not including buyer's premium), which is already well into record territory for a copy of More Fun Comics #73. The auction ends in tonight's session of Event Auction #63 at ComicConnect.

More Fun Comics #73 (DC Comics, 1941) featuring the first appearances of Green Arrow and Aquaman.

More Fun Comics #73 had, until recent years, been considered an afterthought among many Golden Age comic collectors, as Green Arrow and Aquaman took something of a backseat in the minds of many fans for decades compared to the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash. The fact that neither Green Arrow nor Aquaman appears on the cover of this issue has historically been an additional quirk in the minds of many collectors. However, with these characters enjoying renewed popularity over the past decade, driven by movies and television, such perceptions have changed.

Notably, the copy at auction is from the Edgar Church / Mile High pedigree. This comic book pedigree is a collection of almost 15,000 comic books 1937 to 1957 amassed by Denver, Colorado commercial illustrator Edgar Church. The collection, much of which has been preserved in incredible high grade, has become the stuff of legend since it was discovered by longtime retailer Chuck Rozanski and began to hit the collector market in the late 1970s. The Church copy of Action Comics #1 is widely considered the most valuable comic book on the planet, and the collection as a whole set the standard for the sale of high-grade Golden Age comic books for decades. Likewise, copies of key or otherwise important comic books from the Edgar Church pedigree have often been held in private collections, unseen by the market at large, for years or decades.

When this copy of More Fun Comics #73 was auctioned in 2012, it sold for $75,000. The market has changed dramatically since then, with a handful of top keys climbing into multi-million dollar ranges. The CGC 9.4 Edgar Church sole highest graded copy of More Fun Comics #73, the first appearances of both Aquaman and Green Arrow, currently stands at $318,333, with the auction ending in a few hours at ComicConnect.