DELAYED 40 YEARS, A COLLECTOR IS FINALLY ABOUT TO AUCTION OFF HIS COPY OF ACTION COMICS NO. 1
I remember the first time (probably the only time) I saw a copy of Action Comics No. 1, the very first time Superman made an appearance, anywhere. It was in the old, classic Forbidden Planet store in NYC, on 12th Street and Broadway, back in the early 80’s. Downstairs, where the comics used to be, there was a very protected copy of this comic. I don’t remember the price exactly, but probably a few dozen thousand, at least, which blew my mind. But the quality of the copy means a lot, and that one must not have been top rated. And now, after being delayed for 40 years, the second best quality copy if finally going to be up for auction.
IN THE 80’S, COLLECTOR PLACE SMALL BIDS, HOPING TO SCORE AN OVERLOOKED ITEM
The story goes back to the early 80’s as well. There was a collector who was on a limited budget who tried to score beyond their means by scanning auction catalogs and then phoning in small bids, with the hope that he scored something that everyone else overlooked. And on one of those bids, he won, big. And yes, it was for Action Comics No. 1. His phone rang, and he was the highest bidder, and his bid was less than half its market value at the time. Even more amazingly, he didn’t have that money, so they offered him a payment plan! And according to broker Timmy Heague, (owner of Arsenal Comics & Games stores in Newbury Park and Ventura, California), the winning bidder “slept in his store, borrowed money, sold possessions” to close the original purchase.
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THIS COPY OF ACTION COMICS NO. 1 IS EXPECTED TO SELL FOR OVER $2 MILLION NEXT MONTH
And now, 4 decades later, this collector is about to finally auction off his biggest score. And his copy of Action Comics No. 1, which has a CGC Conserved 7.0 grade, is expected to sell for more than $2 million when it’s on the block at Heritage’s Comic Books Signature Auction, May 7–10. My inner nerd child is excited for this guy after all these years. But check out the auction list, as there’s plenty more to be excited about, including including a CGC 6.5 Detective Comics No. 27 (Batman’s 1939 debut), 30 Al Williamson original pages from his Star Wars newspaper strip — which have never been offered at auction before
