A near-pristine copy of Superman #1 has become the most expensive comic ever sold, hitting $9.12 million at Heritage Auctions.
The 1939 issue was discovered last Christmas in a northern California attic, where three brothers found it inside a cardboard box under old newspapers while clearing out their late mother’s belongings.
Attic Find Becomes a Historic Sale
The late owner had bought the comics as a child in San Francisco during the era between the Great Depression and World War II. Over the years she told her sons she had “rare comics somewhere,” but they never found them until going through the attic.
Alongside five early Action Comics issues, they uncovered the first standalone Superman issue—Clark Kent’s debut in his own title after National Allied Publications transitioned into what became DC Comics.
Despite being stored with almost no protection, the book earned a CGC 9.0, the highest grade ever given to Superman #1. Fewer than 100 copies are known to exist in any condition. This one is just one of seven graded 6.0 or higher, making it rarer than even the Mile High and Davis Crippen pedigree copies.
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Why the Value Skyrocketed
Heritage Auctions said its condition and origin put it into a league of its own. The issue was part of DC’s first print run of 500,000 copies, though surviving examples are scarce due to readers being encouraged to cut off the cover to use as a poster. Heritage VP Lon Allen called the sale “a milestone in pop culture history,” noting that the book’s “movie-worthy story” added to the final price (via Deadline).
The sale surpasses the previous record of an Action Comics #1 that sold for $6 million last year. Another Superman #1 previously held the crown in 2022 at $5.3 million.
A Family Story Behind the World’s Most Valuable Comic
One of the brothers said the find wasn’t just about money but about family history resurfacing unexpectedly. The comics were a “treasured refuge” for the siblings growing up with few luxuries, and the box had been pushed deep into the attic and forgotten until their mother’s passing (via CNN).
The buyer has not been publicly identified, but Heritage says the result may mark a new era where the highest-end pop-culture collectibles continue to rise into the upper reaches of the auction world.
