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The most recent Heritage Auction event exceeded expectations when a copy of Action Comics #1 sold for a record-breaking $6 million.

Once again, Superman has claimed the title of the most valuable comic book in the world for the second consecutive time.

The initial debut of the Man of Steel, in 1938’s Action Comics #1, was sold for an astounding $6 million at the Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction on Thursday, organized by Heritage Auctions.

CGC, or Certified Guaranty Company, is responsible for grading the copy of the comics. They offer a service where owners can submit their comics to be officially graded on a scale of 1 to 10 and then sealed in a container to preserve their condition.

Action Comics #1 graded — Heritage Auctions/HA.com

An 8.5 graded Action Comics #1 is now the most valuable comic ever.

The grade of this specific edition of Action Comics #1 is 8.6, which is an exceptional rating for a comic of its age and rarity. This score is classified as “Very Fine+”according to the grading scale defined by CGC as “an attractive collectible with a moderate defect or a number of small defects.”The official auction listing states that this copy has off-white to white pages, “relatively sharp”corners, and a single color break at the mid-spine.

According to Heritage, even a copy of Action Comics #1 with a low-grade of 0.5 is considered a highly valuable collector’s item. In fact, a copy with a grading this low, which can account for significant defects or missing components, was sold for $408,000 in September 2023.

The previous record holder for the most valuable comic was 1939’s Superman #1, which sold for $5.3 million in 2022. This surpassed the sale of a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 (the first appearance of Spider-Man), which fetched $3.6 million in 2021.

Why are Action Comics #1 and other Superman comics so valuable?

The Action Comics #1 copy is among the 78 that have been graded by CGC Comics and is thought to be one of the fewer than 100 that remain in the possession of collectors at present.

Despite being targeted towards children, the comics of this era are now considered exceptionally rare due to various factors. The material they were printed on was not meant to withstand the test of time and has deteriorated over the years. Additionally, many were not well-preserved, further contributing to their scarcity.

In addition, World War II was another factor that affected paper salvage efforts. Due to the urgent need for paper to make ammunition, training manuals, and other essential items, collecting and recycling paper became a crucial task on the homefront. As a result, even comics, which were often seen as disposable entertainment, were among the first items to be discarded. Sadly, this led to the destruction of numerous early comics before anyone could even consider collecting them.