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A 1938 copy of the comic that first \u201cintroduced Superman to the world\u201d has sold for a record-setting $6 million, the auctioneer that handled the purchase said last week.<\/p>\n
According to Heritage Auctions, the rare copy of Action Comics No. 1 was sold to an anonymous buyer on Thursday. The $6 million price tag makes the book the most expensive comic to ever sell at auction, the action house added.<\/p>\n
Heritage Auctions hails Action Comics No. 1 as \u201cthe most important comic ever published\u201d \u2014 noting that the Superman who first appeared in the 1938 spring issue \u201cremains remarkably like\u201d the version still seen in comic strips and on the big screen today. In addition to the Man of Steel\u2019s first appearance, the book also introduced central love interest Lois Lane.<\/p>\n
A report from comic book grading service Certified Guaranty Company, cited by Heritage Auctions, estimates that there are only 100 surviving copies of Action Comics No. 1 today \u2014 out of 200,000 that were printed by National Allied Publications, the predecessor to DC Comics.<\/p>\n
The copy sold last week, which comes from the Kansas City Pedigree, has a \u201cVery Fine+\u201d CGC rating of 8.5 \u2014 with only two other unrestored issues of grading higher, Heritage Auctions noted.<\/p>\n
Although not as high as $6 million, other rare copies of Action Comics No. 1 have also\u00a0gone for millions<\/a>\u00a0at auction in recent years, including a 6.0-rated issue that sold for $3.56 million through ComicConnect last year.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s record sale surpasses the previous titleholder of the most expensive comic book to ever be sold \u2014 which was a copy of another Superman-starring comic, Superman No. 1, that sold privately for $5.3 million in 2022, according to CGC.<\/p>\n The Action Comics No. 1 sale was part of a four-day comic auction event that featured several big-name superheroes and rare comics featuring them. The event realized more than $28 million by its end on Sunday, according to Heritage Auctions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the new Fortune CEO Weekly Europe newsletter to get corner office insights on the biggest business stories in Europe. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n