Action Comics 1 sells for $1M

A high-grade copy of Action Comics 1, featuring the first appearance of Superman, has sold for $1 million dollars, according to the Associated Press.  Both the buyer and seller remained anonymous.  The transaction was handled by ComicConnect.com, according to the AP.

The book is an unrestored 8.0 on a 10.0 scale.  “Action” No. 1 rarely comes up for sale, and only about 100 are believed to still exist.  The book was published in 1938.

Rob Vollmar, of the Atomik Pop comic-book store in Norman, said he was surprised to see a comic break the $1 million barrier in this tough economy, but said ultimately the scarcity and historical value of the book, and high quality of this copy, led to the record-breaking price.

“It illustrates the fundamentals of comic collection in a sense,” Vollmar said.  “There are very few of them, there are never going to be any more, and it’s a thing of significant enough cultural value that regardless of what the economy apparently is doing, if one of those changes hands, it’s going to shift a significant amount of money in the process.”

- Matt Price

Click past the cut for a scan of the the rarely seen back cover of this historic comic.