Action Comics #1 – The Million Dollar Comic Book
Well comic book fans, it’s been done. A comic book that sold for a mere 10 cents on the newsstand has sold for $1 million.
Yes that is correct, 1 Million Dollars.
The book in question is a CGC 8.0 copy of Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman. The book was sold through comicconnect.com, the online presence of Metropolis Comics. You can see a scan of the comic book below.
This comic was held in a private collection for the last 15 years and is one of the highest graded copies in existence. It has off-white pages and is one of about 100 known copies.
Action Comic 1 The Million Dollar Comic Book
Comic Book Pedigree – The Big Apple Collection
The Big Apple pedigree starts in 1939 and continues to the end of the Silver Age. The collector who put it all together was James Hilton.
Hilton died in 1968 and in 1993 that his nephew Ron discovered the comics. He too them to Christie’s Auction House where many of them were sold up until 2000.
Big Apple comic books have higher grades in the Golden Age books versus the Silver Age. This is due to the stacking of the comics and the storage of the Golden Age books in trunks, ensuring the older books received very little exposure to the elements.
One interesting fact about the collection – there are no books from 1949. If someone tries to sell you one watch out!
Click Here to see Big Apple comic books for sale – many at discount prices!
What’s in a Name? The Effect of an Artist on Comic Book Prices
There are several factors that impact the final value or selling price of a comic book. Most people are aware of the importance of the title (usually the focus) character, the issue number (say #1), the grade or condition, and any important events (for example a new character intro or origin). One other factor you should be aware of is the artist who worked on the issue, and if it is a famous example of their work. For the most part artists fall into the nameless category and there is no impact on the the value. But for specific artists the price of a particular comic book issue can change significantly. Let’s look at a recent sale of a Contact Comics issue as an example.
In the January 31 Heritage Auction a Contact #11 CGC 8.5 (VF+) sold for $239.00.
But a Contact #11 CGC 7.0 (FN/VF) sold for $896.25! (See the issue here)
Why would a later issue in lower condition sell for such a premium? The artist with a famous cover! Issue #12 has a cover by L.B. Cole that is noted as one of his most interesting. He also was part of #11 but for whatever reason the science fiction cover of #12 is more popular.
The lesson here is a particular artist can have a great affect on the price of a comic book. Look for first artwork, generic work, and “famous covers” from the artist for issues that rise above the usual prices.
