During a Christmas cleanup last year, three brothers sifting through their late mother’s attic in California unearthed a remarkable piece of history: a rare, early edition of a Superman comic.
This original June 1939 first edition, chronicling the adventures of the Man of Steel, was found in exceptionally well-preserved condition.
Recently, it achieved a record-breaking feat, selling for $9.12 million (£7 million) at auction, making it the most valuable comic book ever sold.
Heritage Auctions, based in Texas and the host of Thursday’s sale, lauded the comic as the “pinnacle of comic collecting.”
According to a press release from Heritage, the brothers discovered six comic books, including Superman #1, in 2024, within a cardboard box hidden beneath a layer of newspapers and surrounded by cobwebs.
After a few months, they contacted the auction house. Lon Allen, Vice President of Heritage Auctions, promptly visited them in San Francisco, the auction house reported.
The brothers, who wish to remain anonymous, are “in their 50s and 60s. Their mother had always mentioned owning a valuable comic collection but never showed it to them,” Allen stated in Heritage’s press release.
“This is a fresh take on the classic ‘Mom threw away my comics’ story.”
Their mother had kept the comic books since she and her brother acquired them between the Great Depression and the start of World War II, according to Heritage.
Allen noted that Northern California’s mild climate was ideal for preserving old paper.
“Had it been stored in an attic here in Texas, it would have been ruined,” he commented.
This favorable condition enabled CGC, a prominent third-party comics grading service, to award this Superman #1 copy a 9.0 rating on a 10-point scale, surpassing the previous high of 8.5.
With a sale price exceeding $9 million, including buyer’s premium, Superman #1 outstripped the prior record for the most expensive comic book by $3 million.
Action Comics No. 1, the 1938 publication that introduced Superman, fetched $6 million last year.
The youngest brother mentioned in Heritage’s press release that the box had been forgotten in the attic’s depths.
“Over the years, life brought a series of losses and changes,” he said. “The necessities of daily survival took precedence, and the box of comics, once carefully set aside, was forgotten until last Christmas.”
He added, “This is more than just a tale of old paper and ink. It was never merely about a collectible.”
“It’s a tribute to memory, family, and the unexpected ways the past can resurface.”
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