‘Superman #1’ copy found in attic becomes most expensive comic ever sold

The mint condition copy of 'Superman #1' was published in 1939. (ForumAuctions/Bournemouth News/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource)

A copy of the first ever issue of “Superman,” discovered in a Californian attic last year, has become the most expensive comic ever sold, fetching US$9.12 million at auction.

Three brothers from northern California discovered the issue of “Superman #1” while clearing out their mother’s attic after her death. The 1939 comic had been kept in a cardboard box, protected by just a pile of old newspapers.

Nevertheless the comic, which originally sold for 10 cents, was found to be so well preserved that it was deemed the “highest ever graded copy” by Dallas-based auction house Heritage Auctions, which made the record-breaking sale on Thursday.

The brothers, who have not been named, found a collection of old comics while clearing out their mother’s property over the holiday season last year, the auction house said in a press statement issued before the sale. Their mother had always told them she had a valuable collection of comics, but they had never seen the prized editions for themselves.

Up in the attic they discovered five early issues of “Action Comics,” the anthology from National Allied Publications that first introduced Superman to the world. But it was the copy of “Superman #1,” the first time Clark Kent’s alias appeared in his own dedicated comic after National Allied became Detective Comics, Inc. — or DC as it is now famously known — that proved most promising.

The late owner had bought the comics with her brother between the Great Depression and the Second World War and later in life the pair had decided to pass them on to her sons, as the brother never married or had children.

The youngest of the three brothers, who are in their 50s and 60s, said in the auction house statement: “This was never just about a collectible. This is a testament to memory, family and the unexpected ways the past finds its way back to us.”

The comics had been a “treasured refuge” for the siblings who had grown up in a cramped apartment with few luxuries, he said. “But they had each other and a shared love for comic books,” he said.

He said the box had been hidden in the “recess of the attic,” adding: “But as the years unfolded, life brought about a series of losses and changes. The demands of everyday survival took center stage, and the box of comics, once set aside with care and intention, was forgotten. Until last Christmas.”

What set the comic’s valuation so high was not just its superior condition, but the fact that it had been part of DC’s first print run of half a million copies, the auction house said.

Lon Allen, vice president of Heritage Auctions, said in a statement published after the sale that he was “thrilled” by the result, adding: “Superman #1 is a milestone in pop culture history, and this copy is not only in unprecedented condition, but it has a movie-worthy story behind it. I was glad to see the price reflect that and am honored Heritage was entrusted with this iconic book.”

The previous record was held by a copy of “Action Comics No. 1,” which introduced Superman in 1938, which was sold by the same auction house for $6 million last year.

Prior to that, another issue of the Man of Steel’s adventures in “Superman #1” took the crown in 2022, fetching $5.3 million in a private sale.

In the years since his first appearance, Superman has become one of the most recognizable and enduring characters in American pop culture, spawning blockbuster movies, books, toys and even bubble gum.

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN