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The comic book shattered the previous record set last year when a comic book sold for $6 million
Kelly Rissmanin New YorkFriday 21 November 2025 23:34 GMTComments
CloseFamily finds rare Superman comic in attic — it just sold for $9.1M | ChicagoLIVE
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An original copy of the first edition of a 1939 Superman comic book has sold for more than $9 million after lying in a family’s attic for decades.
Superman #1 sold for $9.12 million on Thursday, marking the most expensive comic ever sold. It “represents the pinnacle of comic collecting,” according to Heritage Auctions, which described the comic book as the “highest-graded unrestored copy Heritage has ever offered.”
The sale shattered the previous record set last year for an Action Comics #1, a 1938 copy that first introduced the world to Superman, which sold for $6 million.
Given its rarity, bright colors, sharp corners and tight spine, CGC — the world's largest third-party comics grading service — gave the comic book a 9.0 on a scale of 10.
Three brothers from Northern California came across the eight-decade-old comic book tucked away in a box, hidden under cobwebs in the attic of their family home while sifting through their late mother’s belongings. The trio said they forgot about the box entirely until last Christmas.
A first edition 1939 Superman #1 broke records, selling for more than $9 million (Heritage Auctions)The brothers, who have not been named, found five early issues of Action Comics, but Superman #1 was the most promising of the bunch. The comic book was issued after National Allied Publications changed its name to Detective Comics, now famously known as DC.
The trio, who are now in their 50s and 60s, said their mother and uncle bought the comic books between the Great Depression and World War II.
“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 youngest brother said in a statement to the auction house. Comics “became a treasured refuge” for the siblings, who grew up in a cramped apartment where luxuries were rare, he said.
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,” Heritage Auctions Vice President Lon Allen said in a statement.
The Northern California conditions were ideal for preserving the old comic book, Allen said, unlike the Dallas, Texas, where the auction house is based.
“If it had been in an attic here in Texas, it would have been ruined,” he said.
Only two comic books currently rank higher than Superman #1 on Overstreet's Top 100 Golden Age Comics list: Action Comics #1 and the Detective Comics #27 from 1939, which had the first appearance of Batman, the auction house said.
Superman #1 is the “hardest” of these three to find, according to the auction house. More than half a million copies of the first edition were printed, but “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,” Heritage Auctions said.
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