We’ve seen some significant vintage comics sold over the past few years at auction for astronomical prices. But the current Heritage Auctions Comic Book Signature Auction has one of the biggest treasure troves of first appearance issues we’ve ever seen together at one time. We learned about this massive sale via Comic Book. This auction has not one, but two editions of Action Comics #1, the iconic first appearance of Superman from 1938. But it also contains the first appearances of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Captain America, and Iron Man. It’s exceedingly rare to have this many significant comics sold together at one time.
The first copy Heritage Auctions has of Action Comics #1, graded at 6.5, is currently going for $160,000. That’s actually pretty low for that particular book. The second copy has a rating of 4.5, and is going for $912,500. That one will surely fetch more than a million when all is said and done. That issue remains the Holy Grail of comic books, and a pristine copy once sold for over $15 million. The first issue of Superman’s solo series also recently sold for $9 million. Yes, other characters are arguably more popular than Superman. But since he started the superhero genre, his first appearance will always fetch a huge amount.
Other comics of historical significance up for auction include copies of Batman #1 and Wonder Woman #1, and Fantastic Four #5, the first appearance of Doctor Doom. With Robert Downey Jr. soon to play the character in Avengers: Doomsday, the value of that book is about to skyrocket. There are plenty of other culturally significant comic books in this particular auction. The very first Marvel comic, titled Marvel Comics #1 (Namor the Sub-Mariner’s first appearance) is part of this, as well. Even if you’re not a millionaire, there are plenty of significant issues in this auction at far more reasonable prices, so you may want to check them out if you’re a serious comic book collector. To place a bid yourself, head over to the Heritage Auctions website.