A copy of Superman #1 discovered in a California attic has become the most valuable comic book ever sold, reaching $9.12 million at auction. Three brothers found the issue while cleaning their late mother’s loft last Christmas, uncovering the 1939 first edition beneath a stack of old newspapers.
Discovery of Six Vintage Comics
The brothers located six comic books, including Superman #1, in a cardboard box surrounded by cobwebs, according to Heritage Auctions. The copy was in notably pristine condition for its age, preserved under faded newspapers in the cool northern California climate.
Heritage Auctions said the family waited several months before making contact. Once they did, vice-president Lon Allen visited them in San Francisco within days. The brothers, who are in their 50s and 60s, chose to keep their names private.
Allen said their mother had long mentioned an expensive comic collection but never showed it to them. Heritage noted that she and her brother originally bought the comics between the Great Depression and the start of World War Two.
Condition and Grading
CGC, a major third-party grading company, assigned the Superman #1 copy a 9.0 rating on its 10-point scale. The score surpasses the previous highest-graded example at 8.5. Allen said the mild climate helped preserve the paper, adding that a similar attic in Texas would have caused damage.
Record-Breaking Auction Price
The $9.12 million result, which includes the buyer’s premium, sets a new record for the highest-priced comic ever sold. It surpasses the previous record by $3 million.
Action Comics No. 1, the 1938 issue that first introduced Superman, sold for $6 million last year.
Reflections From the Family
In a press release shared by the auction house, the youngest brother said the box had been forgotten in the back of the attic for decades. He said life events, losses and day-to-day pressures pushed the collection out of mind until the family returned to the house last Christmas.
He described the sale as more than a transaction, saying it involved memory and family, and that “the unexpected ways the past finds its way back to us” shaped their experience with the discovery.
Featured image credits: Heritage Auctions, HA.com
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