Rare 'Superman' comic unearthed from attic sells for $9.12 million at auction
A rare copy of the first issue of the Superman comic, unearthed from an attic, has been sold for $9.12 million (over P500 million) at an auction house in Texas.
According to a press release from Heritage Auctions, three brothers came across the comic while cleaning out their late mother's attic last year in her home in San Francisco.
They uncovered the comic tucked away beneath layers of newspapers.
According to the brothers, their mom told them that she and her brother had an expensive comic collection, but never showed them. They added that she and their uncle wanted to pass the treasures along to them.
“Until then, she carefully tucked the box away, deep into the recesses of the attic, hidden but safe,” the youngest brother said. “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.”
Three months after the discovery, they called up Heritage Auctions in Texas to inspect the comics.
“It was just in an attic, sitting in a box, could have easily been thrown away, could’ve easily been destroyed in a thousand different ways,” said Lon Allen, vice president of comics at Heritage Auctions.
“A lot of people got excited because it’s just every factor in collecting that you could possibly want all rolled into one.”
Allen added that Superman No. 1, released in 1939 by Detective Comics Inc., is "one of a small number of copies known to be in existence and is in excellent condition."
The rare piece was not encased in a special protection, but was preserved in its mint condition due to the cool Northern California climate, allowing it to keep its firm spine, vibrant colors, and crisp corners, per the auction house.
It was rated a 9.0 out of 10 by comics grading company CGC, meaning it had only minor flaws.
Heritage Auctions website
On its website, the auction house explained why finding a first issue is challenging—especially those that have survived in near-pristine shape.
"It's certainly not because of the original print run—the first printing of the issue (which the present copy is from) was half a million, and after those sold out, the company made subsequent runs of 250,000 and then 150,000," it said.
It added that the back of the comic came with an ad that read, "Boys and girls! The back cover of this Superman book was made especially for framing! Be sure to cut off on the dotted line!"
"We presume that most every kid wanted to have a Superman pinup, and cut up the back cover along the dotted line as they were encouraged to, resulting in a lot of copies that are low-grade today if they survived at all," it said.
The brothers, as well as the buyer, refused to be revealed publicly due to the amount of money involved, per the auction house.
"This copy represents the pinnacle of comic collecting. Not only is this the highest-graded unrestored copy Heritage has ever offered, but it also holds the top position on the CGC census, outranking the likes of several esteemed pedigreed copies, including the Mile High and Davis Crippen copies," Heritage Auctions wrote.
