Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, DC Comics, Superman, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Curt Swan

47 Copies Of The Rare Superman "Bradman" Comic Found And Auctioned

47 copies of the insanely rare Superman comic, "This Island Bradman", have just been found and listed at auction in England.

Once upon a time, a wealthy British investor, Godfrey Bradman, discarded his son Daniel Bradman's sizable and valuable comic book collection. The room had been filled with asbestos as a result of other work in the house, and it was a sensible precaution, even though Daniel didn't see it that way. In an attempt to pacify his son in 1988, Bradman commissioned a one-off Superman comic book from DC Comics featuring his children, for his son's Bar Mitzvah, written by David Levin and drawn by Curt Swan and Angelo Torres for a vast sum, to be handed out to guests, estimated from around one hundred to three hundred copies. Sadly, the comic book didn't go down too well with Daniel, but it did make it to the party, and attendees got a copy. The remaining copies were given to one of Bradman's employees, who cleared up after the party, to do with as he saw fit. Forty-eight of them.

Unbeknownst to the family, however, the comic had become a collectable in its own right, as a few remaining "proof" copies from the DC Comics offices had "leaked" out, and it became a hot collectable, with a reputation as the rarest post-Golden Age Superman comic book of all time.

But back in the UK, things were moving. The 48 remaining copies were eventually disposed of at a car boot sale, where they were bought by a buyer with an eye for a bargain, for the sum of £20, along with some Star Trek comics, which is what he really wanted, his father being a big fan. He sold one copy on eBay to a buyer who claimed it was a present for a friend, but who then listed it on eBay for around £30,000 (unsold). Now aware of the potential value of the 47 unsold copies, the car boot sale buyer became bogged down with life issues and never got around to selling them.

Until now. The buyer, faced with his own mortality, has decided to sell the lot. And rather than eking out the sale over a number of years, selling them one by one, so as not to depress the market, he is selling them all at once. Forty-seven copies of the "This Island Bradman" Superman comic book, all from Ewbanks Auctions in the UK, and all live now. Ranging in condition from ungraded, CGC graded copies from 8.5 up to 9.6. For such a rare and desired comic book, this is one hell of a find and a very rare sale indeed. As it stands, there are only around twenty-odd copies that have been traded on the open market. And yes, the availability of so many copies all at once may well depress the market for a while. But it also means that if you ever did want to own this rare comic, especially if you have a large DC or Superman collection, this may be your best chance to get a copy at the lowest price possible.

Starting bids range from £40 for the lowest grades to £1000 for the highest. They have an estimate for the 9.6 copy as selling from £2,000 to £3,000, but I would have seen that as a low estimate. eBay currently has a 9.4 copy listed for $15,000 and a 9.2 copy for $46,000. I'm going to keep a keen eye on this. And maybe make a bid myself for the lower end…

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