Action Comics #1

[Fat Freddy]

I may not collect comics anymore, but I still occasionally have geek daydreams about stumbling across a copy of this bad boy (or a similarly important comic, i.e. "Batman" #1, "Detective Comics" #27, "Amazing Fantasy" #15, etc.) in someone's attic or basement...

 

 

Rare Superman comic sells for $317,200

 

By DAVID B. CARUSO / Associated Press Writer

 

Published: March 14th, 2009 01:52 PM

Last Modified: March 14th, 2009 05:42 PM

 

NEW YORK - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman has sold for $317,200 in an Internet auction. The previous owner had bought it for less than a buck.

 

It's one of the highest prices ever paid for a comic book, a likely testament to the volume's rarity and its excellent condition, said Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the auction site ComicConnect.com and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles.

 

The winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, which features Superman lifting a car on its cover, was submitted Friday evening by John Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of a Down, according to managers at ComicConnect.com.

 

Dolmayan, who is also a dealer of rare comic books, said he acquired the Superman comic on behalf of a client he declined to identify.

 

"This is one of the premier books you could collect," he said in a telephone interview. "It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books. I talked to my client, and we made the move."

 

Dolmayan said the client has "a small collection, but everything he has is incredible."

 

Only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist and they seldom come up for sale.

 

"Maybe in a booming economy, it would have done a hundred grand more, but in this economy, I think the price is great," Fishler said.

 

The man who had previously owned the book purchased it in a secondhand store in the early 1950s when he was nine years old.

 

He paid 35 cents.

 

 

http://www.adn.com/nation/story/722847.html

[SamboraRocks86]

holy crap Batman!!

 

i love comics and i have some rarities in my collection, but spending $300,000 on a piece of paper is just silly, i mean theres a line to be drawn!

 

funny thing is i found this at a comic convention last summer, in a bargain bin for 50p, showed it to my brother and he freaked....problem is that i knew it was a reprint from about 10 years ago

[Fat Freddy]

I was at a comic book convention twenty-some-odd years ago where one of the dealers had a copy of Action #1 on display at his booth (encased in what looked like bullet proof glass)... I believe the price on it was ten grand, and back then THAT seemed ridiculous. Now it'd be a hell of a bargain

[SamboraRocks86]

I was at a comic book convention twenty-some-odd years ago where one of the dealers had a copy of Action #1 on display at his booth (encased in what looked like bullet proof glass)... I believe the price on it was ten grand, and back then THAT seemed ridiculous. Now it'd be a hell of a bargain

 

bet ya regret getting that "bargain bin treasure"

 

ive generally discovered that you can find some real gems in the "50p comics" boxes at these conventions....stuff tahts like 10 years old now and is worth about £10, imagine what it could be worth in 30 years? probably zilch knowing my luck

 

while we're on the subject of comics appreciating in value, you said you used to buy anything that said "FIRST ISSUE!!!" on it back in the day, did you manage to find anything thats worth a pretty penny nowadays?

[Fat Freddy]

while we're on the subject of comics appreciating in value, you said you used to buy anything that said "FIRST ISSUE!!!" on it back in the day, did you manage to find anything thats worth a pretty penny nowadays?

 

Rarely, but on occasion I managed to make a decent pickup. When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first came out in 1984 as a self-published black & white book, I bought the first issue of that just cuz it sounded interesting. I sold that one for some bucks a couple of years later.

 

But generally, the rule of thumb is if you see "COLLECTOR'S ITEM!" or some similar hype on a front cover, it's usually crap...

 

I was not a big "money" collector, I wasn't into it for the wheeling & dealing anyway, I was one of the odd balls who actually READ the stuff he bought; I was not one to buy stuff, take it home and wrap it in Mylar without even opening it, with plans of sitting on it for 20 years and getting rich.

[SamboraRocks86]

while we're on the subject of comics appreciating in value, you said you used to buy anything that said "FIRST ISSUE!!!" on it back in the day, did you manage to find anything thats worth a pretty penny nowadays?

 

Rarely, but on occasion I managed to make a decent pickup. When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first came out in 1984 as a self-published black & white book, I bought the first issue of that just cuz it sounded interesting. I sold that one for some bucks a couple of years later.

 

But generally, the rule of thumb is if you see "COLLECTOR'S ITEM!" or some similar hype on a front cover, it's usually crap...

 

I was not a big "money" collector, I wasn't into it for the wheeling & dealing anyway, I was one of the odd balls who actually READ the stuff he bought; I was not one to buy stuff, take it home and wrap it in Mylar without even opening it, with plans of sitting on it for 20 years and getting rich.

 

me niether, but thats not to say that Acid Free bags and non-damaging backing boards are a waste of time

[Dark Star]

I saw this on Blabbermouth the other day actually.. Damn, one expensive comic alright....

 

I wonder how much My copy of Hulk #181 is going for now.....

[SamboraRocks86]

I saw this on Blabbermouth the other day actually.. Damn, one expensive comic alright....

 

I wonder how much My copy of Hulk #181 is going for now.....

 

you have the first appearance of Wolverine?!?!?!

 

seriously man, if you're not kidding around that things worth almost as much as Amazing Fantasy #15!

 

can i have it?

[Fat Freddy]

you have the first appearance of Wolverine?!?!?!

 

seriously man, if you're not kidding around that things worth almost as much as Amazing Fantasy #15!

 

can i have it?

 

Yea, I can vouch for him, he DOES have that Hulk #181, I've seen it with my own two eyes.

 

 

Mind you, he knew nothin about comic books when we were in college, but one day he brought a stack of old comics (mostly 70s Marvels) that had been hanging around his house for years over to my dorm room and let me take a look at 'em... (he must've needed beer/weed money, haha!!) Anyway, I bought a bunch of Spider-Man ishes off of him, and I probably would've been able to relieve him of that Hulk ish super cheap too if I'd kept my composure and not said anything when I came across it towards the bottom of the stack, but as soon as I saw it I was so surprised that I was like "HOLY SH*T!" -- so the cat was outta the bag, so to speak.

 

(Sean, I have no idea anymore how much $ I gave you for those half dozen or so Spidey ishes, but I probably screwed you on those, by the way... hahaha)

 

I'm surprised you still have that book, tho... I woulda ran to the nearest comic shop with it a LONG time ago and Ka-CHING!! Hell, when the Wolverine movie hits this summer and Wolvie-mania takes hold, you might want to do that while the iron's hot.

[SamboraRocks86]

you have the first appearance of Wolverine?!?!?!

 

seriously man, if you're not kidding around that things worth almost as much as Amazing Fantasy #15!

 

can i have it?

 

Yea, I can vouch for him, he DOES have that Hulk #181, I've seen it with my own two eyes.

 

 

Mind you, he knew nothin about comic books when we were in college, but one day he brought a stack of old comics (mostly 70s Marvels) that had been hanging around his house for years over to my dorm room and let me take a look at 'em... (he must've needed beer/weed money, haha!!) Anyway, I bought a bunch of Spider-Man ishes off of him, and I probably would've been able to relieve him of that Hulk ish super cheap too if I'd kept my composure and not said anything when I came across it in the stack, but I couldn't help myself, as soon as I saw that I was so surprised that I was like "HOLY SH*T!" -- so the cat was outta the bag, so to speak.

 

(Sean, I have no idea anymore how much $ I gave you for those Spidey ishes, but it was most likely a screw job... hahaha)

 

I'm surprised you still have that book, tho... I woulda ran to the nearest comic shop with it a LONG time ago and Ka-CHING!! Hell, when the Wolverine movie hits this summer and Wolverine mania takes hold, you might want to do that while the iron's hot.

 

you're an idiot

 

im sorry but it had to be said

[Fat Freddy]

you're an idiot

 

im sorry but it had to be said

 

It's OK...that's nothin' I haven't told myself lots of times in the twenty years since that night.

[SamboraRocks86]

you're an idiot

 

im sorry but it had to be said

 

It's OK...that's nothin' I haven't told myself lots of times in the twenty years since that night.

 

heh heh, its a funny story for those of us that understand the weight of it though!

 

although i cant help but think of Big Bang Theory when i think of you telling that story to a bunch of other nerds

 

or as you call em, Geeks!

[Fat Freddy]

You shoulda seen me trying to cover myself...

 

Me, holding Hulk #181: "HOLY SHIT!"

 

Sean: "What? WHAT?"

 

Me: "Oh, er, um, nothing... nothing..."

 

Sean: "Don't bullsh*t me. WHAT?"

 

Me: (Sigh) "Aw, hell..."

[Fat Freddy]

By the way, Sean, as you can see from this quickie eBay search, values on that Hulk ish vary widely depending on condition...hope you've been taking care of it!!

 

http://shop.ebay.com/Collectibles_Comics__hulk%20181

 

Either way, it's still not in the rarified air occupied by stuff like Action #1 or Amazing Fantasy #15, but it would command a nice chunk-o-change nonetheless.

[SamboraRocks86]

You shoulda seen me trying to cover myself...

 

Me, holding Hulk #181: "HOLY SHIT!"

 

Sean: "What? WHAT?"

 

Me: "Oh, er, um, nothing... nothing..."

 

Sean: "Don't bullsh*t me. WHAT?"

 

Me: (Sigh) "Aw, hell..."

 

you shoulda just said that you forgot to turn the oven off

 

man, sounds like you guys were spitting images of Cheech and Chong....how i would love to have been a fly on the wall in those days

[Fat Freddy]

man, sounds like you guys were spitting images of Cheech and Chong....how i would love to have been a fly on the wall in those days

 

Nah, Sean was a frat brother... bad enough I probably raped him on those random Spider-Man issues, I couldn't screw him out of a REAL treasure while I was at it, my conscience would've bothered me forever...

 

If it had been a total stranger, I would've offered him $20 for it and ran like hell though!!

[SamboraRocks86]

man, sounds like you guys were spitting images of Cheech and Chong....how i would love to have been a fly on the wall in those days

 

Nah, Sean was a frat brother... bad enough I probably raped him on those random Spider-Man issues, I couldn't screw him out of a REAL treasure while I was at it, my conscience would've bothered me forever...

 

If it had been a total stranger, I would've offered him $20 for it and ran like hell though!!

 

ah yeah, if you had bought it offa him then you woulda spent the last years regretting that

 

however you look at it you were screwed....Sean shoulda never shown you that damn comic book! 20 years of regret right there

[Dark Star]

I remember that!! you going through that stack of comics I bought and going HOLY SHIT!! To Hulk #181, that peeked My interest right there..... I think the condition is at best fair to good.. It's sitting in NY, in plastic, so it's not getting any worse at least.. Maybe when I go back east I hunt it down and bring it back out West with Me.....

 

And I think You gave Me like 20 bucks or so for them Spidey comics.. I don't honestly remember....... Hell if I didn't know You I woulda taken 20 bucks for that Hulk comic.. Hell I didn't know what it was worth until you told Me.....

[Fat Freddy]

i think of you telling that story to a bunch of other nerds

 

or as you call em, Geeks!

 

What your people call nerds, my people call geeks.

[SamboraRocks86]

i think of you telling that story to a bunch of other nerds

 

or as you call em, Geeks!

 

What your people call nerds, my people call geeks.

 

Geeks were employed by the circus to bite the heads off of chickens at freak shows.....Nerds are the people in "Revenge Of The Nerds" who enjoy more intellectual hobbies such as reading (comics) and science fiction, the thinking mans entertainment (as opposed to the jocks who enjoy sports or the frat boys who enjoy.....god knows what )....and never get laid

[Dark Star]

Oh and I have Amaziing Fantasy #15 too.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a reprint, but I still got it!!!!!

 

Came in the box set of the first Spiderman movie on DVD.....

[Fat Freddy]

Oh and I have Amaziing Fantasy #15 too.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a reprint, but I still got it!!!!!

 

Came in the box set of the first Spiderman movie on DVD.....

 

Nice one.

 

I probably had three or four different reprints of that issue in my old collection. "Marvel Tales" (an ongoing Spidey comic that reprinted classic issues) reprinted it first when I was about 14, then some years later (probably Spidey's 30th anniversary or some such) it was included as a back up feature in the anniversary ish of Amazing Spider-Man... and I also had a giveaway version that I think I got by sending in a coupon from the back of a cereal box.

[SamboraRocks86]

Oh and I have Amaziing Fantasy #15 too.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a reprint, but I still got it!!!!!

 

Came in the box set of the first Spiderman movie on DVD.....

 

Nice one.

 

I probably had three or four different reprints of that issue in my old collection. "Marvel Tales" (an ongoing Spidey comic that reprinted classic issues) reprinted it first when I was about 14, then some years later (probably Spidey's 30th anniversary or some such) it was included as a back up feature in the anniversary ish of Amazing Spider-Man... and I also had a giveaway version that I think I got by sending in a coupon from the back of a cereal box.

 

ah yes, i have both Amazing Fantasy #15 and Hulk #181 reprinted in Graphic Novels (the one with the spiderman one also had the first X-men comic, first Fantastic Four comic and the first Hulk comic....i think it also has the first Avengers comic in it too )