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1938 Superman Comic Sells For $1M

Posted by kdawson on from the check-those-boxes-in-the-attic dept.

slasher999 writes in to note a new world record sale for a comic: an instance of Action Comics #1, 1938, sold for $1 million at auction. Both the buyer and the seller remain anonymous. This comic marked the first time a superhero went to work in a city, and the first time a man flew without mechanical aid.

9 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. Technically speaking ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Superman is not a man. He is an alien from the planet Krypton. So this is NOT "the first time a man flew without mechanical aid."

    1. Re:Technically speaking ... by SirWinston · · Score: 5, Interesting

      >Superman is not a man. He is an alien from the planet Krypton. So
      >this is NOT "the first time a man flew without mechanical aid."

      And hence my favorite Tarantino fanboyism, courtesy of Kill Bill Vol. 2:

      Bill: "As you know, l'm quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology... The mythology is not only great, it's unique.... Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."

      --
      "It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word."--Andrew Jackson
  2. Re:Anonymous, huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm just going to leave this here:
    http://www.4shared.com/file/227765731/816ff19f/action_comics_01_-_superman.html

  3. Re:Value, Price, and Worth by AuMatar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why is gold? I can't eat it. Can't drink it. Can't hunt with it. Can't heal with it. Can't fuck it. It has some use in electronics, but there's better materials. The only reason to think it has value is because it did historically. If we actually entered a post-apocalyptic world where the dollar was useless, you'd quickly find gold to be equally useless- people would want food, ammo, medicine, sex, they'd have no use for gold. The comic book is just as likely to stand up as gold is.

    --
    I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
  4. Re:I thought Superman could just leap over things by 91degrees · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're absolutely right. Well, presumably he had the retconned ability to fly at the time.

    Not totally convinced by the argument that flight was a cost reduction thing for the animated series though. This was pretty high quality work, and flying would mean they couldn't use the rotoscoping technique they used for most of the animation.

  5. Re:Value, Price, and Worth by prionic6 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, there is a "Golden Age". Closing the circle to the article topic.

  6. Re:Value, Price, and Worth by jonadab · · Score: 5, Informative

    > If we actually entered a post-apocalyptic world where the
    > dollar was useless, you'd quickly find gold to be equally useless

    No, that doesn't follow.

    There have been many situations in history (frequently involving the near-certain imminent collapse of a government) wherein currency rapidly lost all its value. In each and every case, gold was still valuable.

    Gold is inherently rare. Nobody knows how to make counterfeit gold. Unless some brilliant physicist discovers an affordable way to do transmutation, that's always going to be the case.

    Gold also has a distinctive appearance that makes it easy to tell apart from other metals, even at a glance. ("Fool's gold" may look sort of like it might possibly contain gold ore, but you can't refine it and get anything that looks even vaguely like refined gold.)

    These features give gold a durable value that has outlasted innumerable currencies and governments.

    --
    Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
  7. Truth, Justice, and the American Way by clickety6 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I always liked the way Superman fought for "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" implying that whatever the "American Way" is, it doesn't include Truth and Justice ;-)

    --
    ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
  8. Re:Anonymous, huh? by russ1337 · · Score: 4, Funny

    but, but, but ... according to MPAA and RIAA doctrine, for every copy you distribute you're depriving someone in the market of the original. If you sell or give away 100 copies you've ripped the artist off over $100,000,000.... that he would have made selling originals...

    oh wait...