A rare ‘Superman No. 1’ comic book found in attic sells for $9.12 million

A copy of the first issue of Superman, unearthed by three brothers cleaning out their late mother’s attic, fetched $9.12 million this month at a Texas auction house, which says it is the most expensive comic book ever sold.

The brothers discovered the comic book last year in a cardboard box beneath layers of brittle newspapers, dust and cobwebs in their late mother’s San Francisco home, alongside a handful of other rare comics she and her sibling had collected on the eve of World War II.

She had told her children that she had hidden a valuable comic book collection, but they never saw it until they put her house up for sale and decided to scour her belongings for heirlooms, said Lon Allen, vice president of comics at Heritage Auctions. The brothers took out the box of comics and sent a message to the auction company, prompting Allen to fly to San Francisco earlier this year to inspect their copy of “Superman No. 1” and show it to other experts for review.

“It was just sitting in an attic, sitting in a box, could have easily been thrown away, could have easily been destroyed in a thousand different ways,” Allen said. “A lot of people got excited because you want to have all the factors in collecting in one.”

The “Superman No. 1” comic, published in 1939 by Detective Comics Inc., is one of a small number of copies known to exist and is in excellent condition. The Man of Steel was the first superhero to enter pop culture, increasing the specimen’s value among collectors in addition to its unlikely backstory, Allen said.

The previous record for the world’s most expensive comic book was set last year, when an “Action Comics No. 1” – which first introduced Superman to the world as part of an anthology – sold for $6 million. In 2022, another Superman No. 1 sold for $5.3 million.

A small internal advertisement in the comic book helped experts identify it as being from the first edition of 500,000 Superman No. 1 copies ever printed. Allen estimates that fewer than 500 exist today.

The copy received no special protection, but Northern California’s cool climate helped preserve it, giving it a sturdy spine, vibrant colors and sharp angles, according to a statement from Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The copy was rated 9.0 out of 10 by comics grading company CGC, meaning it showed only the slightest signs of wear and aging.

The three brothers, aged between 50 and 60, did not want to be identified because of the windfall, and neither did the buyer of the comic book, the auction house said.

“This is not just a story about waste paper and ink,” a brother said in a statement released by the auction house. “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.”