A 1938 comic book featuring Superman’s first-ever appearance has sold at auction.
As the hammer hit, the copy of ‘Action Comics No.1’ became the most expensive comic in the world – smashing the previous auction record set in 2021.
Heritage Auctions, based in Dallas, Texas, said the item received a record-breaking bid of $6m (£4.7m) on 4 April.
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“Without Superman and Action Comics No. 1, who knows whether there ever would have been a Golden Age of comics – or if the medium would have become what it is today,” said Barry Sandoval, Heritage Auctions’ vice president.
The Superman character was created by friends, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
The debut story reveals Superman’s origin as a child sent to Earth to escape his planet’s destruction.
It even introduces his love interest, Lois Lane.
The comic also features the Man of Steel on its front cover.
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Prior to being sold at auction, the item was inspected by the collectible-grading service CGC and awarded a grade of ‘Very Fine+ 8.5’.
The grade is the third-highest for a copy of Action Comics No.1.
Out of 200,000 originally printed in 1938, only around 100 still exist today.
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CGC has graded 78 copies over the years.
The comic was originally published by National Allied Publications, the predecessor to DC Comics.
The previous record-holder for a comic book sold at auction was a copy of ‘Amazing Fantasy No.15’, featuring the first appearance of Spider-Man.
It sold for $3.6m (£2.8m) in September 2021, as reported by What’s the Jam.
However, a copy of ‘Superman No.1’, published in 1939, sold privately for $5.3m (£4.2m) in 2022.
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