Vintage Comic Sold at Auction is Now the Most Expensive Book of All Time

Superman just set a new record for the most expensive comic book ever sold with an absolutely staggering final sale price at auction.

Per the New York Times, A new record was set for the most expensive comic book ever sold on Thursday, November 20. The sale was made through Heritage Auctions and saw a 9.0 CGC-graded copy of 1939's Superman #1 sell for a whopping $9.12 million with fees, beating out the previous record by more than $3 million.

The issue of Superman #1 in question was discovered by three brothers who were in the process of sorting through their late mother's belongings in California. While the trio were previously aware that their mother and uncle shared a comic book collection, none were aware of what books it consisted of before their discovery. It was reported that a handful of comics, including the now record-breaking copy of Superman #1, were found in a storage box in an attic where they had been sitting effectively forgotten for several decades.

Heritage Auctions VP Lon Allen offered a statement on the story, noting that the brothers (who chose to remain anonymous) are "in their 50s and 60s, and their mom had always told them she had an expensive comics collection but never showed them. It's a twist on the old 'Mom threw away my comics' story." Allen added, "If it had been in an attic here in Texas, it would have been ruined."

One of the brothers also offered a statement, explaining that "As the years unfolded, life brought about a series of losses and changes. The demands of everyday survival took centre stage, and the box of comics, once set aside with care and intention, was forgotten. Until last Christmas."

Prior to the sale of Superman #1 this year, the last most expensive comic book ever sold was a copy of Action Comics #1, which sold for $6 million with fees back in 2024. That the previous record stood for barely a year isn't all that surprising, as past records have been broken in about the same amount of time, although the massive leap between the two most recent records is far beyond what industry insiders are used to seeing.

While Superman himself made his debut well before the release of Superman #1 in 1939, the issue still stands as one of the prime examples of a key issue in the realm of comic book collecting. Apart from marking the Man of Steel's first solo series, Superman #1 saw the first appearances of multiple iconic DC Comics characters, namely Superman's adoptive parents, John and Mary Kent, in the opening story by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.