The records continue to fall in 2022, and a Superman #1 put the world on notice with an astronomical sale.

It’s not often that Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27, and Amazing Fantasy #15 take a back seat. That’s exactly when happened when a graded 8.0 Superman #1 took home a whopping $5.3 million. 

Superman Soars

First reported by CGC, the sale actually occurred back in January, though it wasn’t made official until this week. The difference is that this particular sale didn’t take place on an auction site. This was the result of a private sale that was brokered by Tony Arnold of TonyeTrade and Roy Delic of Vintage Comics. 

The 8.0 Superman #1, which CGC noted as being an Edgar Church/Mile High copy, is one of just 165 copies on file with CGC. To give you a better perspective on the 8.0’s rarity, the CGC’s census lists 92 restored copies and three qualified editions. That leaves only 70 total universal grades in existence. Pair that with this being the first self-titled Superman comic from 1939 and it is no wonder any grade commands a massive price tag.

What makes the Superman #1 worth more than Action Comics #1?

It is the second-highest grade on record, coming in just behind the single 8.5 on the census report. Of course, this is the only 8.0 in the database, which implies that it could be the only one in existence unless there’s someone out there with an 8.0 Superman #1 hidden away in a drawer. 

The 8.0 is the highest-graded Superman #1 to ever be sold. Before the January transaction, a 7.0 was sold on ComicConnect for $2.6 million on December 17. Last month, a 1.0 brought $141,450 also through ComicConnect. There also was a single Page 14 that took home a respectable $1,440 in February.

January’s $5.3 million purchase easily becomes the most expensive comic sale ever recorded. The previous record-holder was a 9.6 Amazing Fantasy #15 that sold for $3.6 million in September 2021.

Not even the illustrious Action Comics #1 can compete with the 8.0 Superman #1. The highest price for Superman’s first appearance was $3.25 million for an 8.5 from April 2021. In January, a 6.0 Rocket copy earned $3.18 million. 

In a Record-breaking Time

It hasn’t been only those Superman and Spider-Man firsts reaching seven figures in the past year. Last year, a 9.4 Batman #1 brought $2.2 million. Two 8.0s also sold for millions last year, with a Larson pedigree copy earning $1.47 million and the other 8.0 hitting $1.2 million. There also was a 4.5 Detective Comics #27 that had a price tag of $1.14 million in January, and that was on the heels of the $1.12 million sale for a 5.0 last June. 

The massive Superman #1 sale managed to make the 9.2  Marvel Comics #1 that stole headlines when it brought $2.4 million in March look cheap by comparison. 

The takeaway from all this is that more millionaires are getting into comic investments. I expect that the day will come in the next few years when an issue reaches $6 million.

What comic will be the next to hit $5M? Let us know in the comments!

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not reflect investment advice on behalf of GoCollect.