Posted in: Comics, Comics, DC Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Sponsored, Superman | Tagged: action comics, action comics 1, auction, golden age, heritage

Action Comics #1 Bought By 13-Year-Old, Will Sell For Over $2 Million

Published Mon, 10 Jan 2022 10:57:13 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Welcome to history. Action Comics #1 slabbed and CGC graded at 6.0 is currently at auction from Heritage Auctions as part of their Platinum Collection, with bids of over two million dollars. This copy has been named "The Rocket Copy", and there's an interesting story behind the name. After it was bought by its then-thirteen-year-old owner who then put a rocket stamp on the cover. Because when it's 1938 and you are 13 years old that's what you do. Aside from that, it is in remarkable condition for its age. And the family of the original owner are the ones now selling it, through Heritage Auctions. The rocket stamp that the original owner used on the cover is even included in the sale, as a reminder of how much it could have sold for if he hadn't have thought to use it.

Heritage Auctions who are rather excited about this find, say "It's the first original-owner copy of the issue we've offered since the Billy Wright copy in 2012, and it's the highest-graded copy we've ever presented. Unquestionably it's the most important comic book ever issued. The Superhero genre essentially was born with this issue, as was the Golden Age of Comics. Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster had been submitting ideas to newspapers for several years – from the time they were still teenagers – and had begun getting work in the new genre of comic books by 1935, along the way honing their ideas for a Superman character. Their early ideas for the character were rejected, but by 1938, the publisher Detective Comics (DC) decided to introduce Superman in the premiere issue of a new anthology comic book titled Action Comics, and the rest is history. Ernst Gerber's 1989 The Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books assigned Action Comics #1 a scarcity index rating of "7" or "scarce", estimating that no more than 50 copies were still in existence. It turns out that was a conservative estimate, since CGC has to date certified 75 copies (just 43 unrestored) of the issue. But it is exceedingly difficult to find an unrestored copy in the grade as offered here. It's the finest copy we've ever offered in our 20 years of auctioning comics, from the FN 6.0 grade to the astonishingly vivid colors and the unbelievable matchless white pages! And the actual stamp that produced the rocket ship imprint is included! Besides the first appearance of Superman, herein are the first appearances of Lois Lane and Zatara. Joe Shuster created the iconic cover, with Fred Guardineer and Bernard Baily contributing story art in this issue. Overstreet 2021 FN 6.0 value = $920,500. CGC census 12/21: 2 in 6.0, 8 higher."