Posted in: Comics, Vintage Paper | Tagged: marvel, spider-man

1st Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.6 Hits Record $3.6 Million

Published Thu, 09 Sep 2021 11:16:09 -0500

A stunning copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.6 has set a new record of $3,600,000 at Heritage Auctions' Sept. 8-12 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction. That's an all-time record price paid for any comic book, surpassing the $3.25M paid for an Action Comics #1 CGC 8.5, the first appearance of Superman, set in April 2021. Amazing Fantasy #15 is of course the first appearance of Spider-Man, created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, and published by Marvel, cover-dated August 1962. There are four copies of Amazing Fantasy #15 in CGC 9.6 on the CGC Census, and none in higher grade.

The strong showing for this copy is the latest example of just how hot the vintage comic book market has been in 2021. We've already seen sales ranging from Batman #1 CGC 9.4 for $2.22M to Marvel Spotlight #5 CGC 9.8 (and the first appearance of Ghost Rider) for $264,000, not to mention a long list of records set by the Promise Collection, such as the first appearance of the Riddler in Detective Comics #140 CGC 9.6 for $456,000.

Amazing Fantasy #15 (Marvel, 1962) CGC NM+ 9.6 Off-white pages. In the running for the most desirable comic we've ever offered is this pristine copy of the origin and first appearance of Spider-Man. No 9.8 has ever been certified by CGC, and as you see below, just three others have hit 9.6.
This is an image we think you'll be staring at for some time, and we certainly did the same. The cover is a familiar sight, but with nary a blemish, chip, or color break? That's a remarkable sight indeed. This issue had what is surely the best-known Marvel story — the many movie adaptations have seen to that — and one of the best-known origin stories in the entire comic book medium, featuring Peter Parker gaining his spider-powers and the death of his beloved Uncle Ben. That story was by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and the unforgettable cover was by Jack Kirby. Spider-Man was such a hit that he was next seen in his own book, Amazing Spider-Man #1, and the rest was history.
Heritage has been auctioning comic books for 20 years, and in seemingly every one of those 20 someone has reached out to us asking if we knew the whereabouts of one of the 9.6 copies of this book. Well, now we do and so do you — this is your chance! Overstreet 2021 NM- 9.2 value = $450,000. CGC census 9/21: 4 in 9.6, none higher. From the #1 Amazing Spider-Man Registry Set Collection.

View the certification for CGC Certification ID 1071479001 and purchase grader's notes if available.

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