{"id":319907,"date":"2025-11-25T21:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T21:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/three-brothers-found-a-1939-copy-of-superman-no-1-in-their-mothers-attic-it-just-became-the-most-expensive-comic-book-ever-sold\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T21:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T21:12:12","slug":"three-brothers-found-a-1939-copy-of-superman-no-1-in-their-mothers-attic-it-just-became-the-most-expensive-comic-book-ever-sold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=319907","title":{"rendered":"Three Brothers Found a 1939 Copy of ‘Superman No. 1’ in Their Mother’s Attic. It Just Became the Most Expensive Comic Book Ever Sold"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When their mother was 9, she and her teenage brother had pooled their money to purchase the 10-cent comic book. By the time she died several years ago, she had forgotten where it was<\/h2>\n
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\n \"Sonja\n <\/div>\n
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Sonja Anderson<\/a><\/p>\n

– Daily Correspondent<\/span><\/p>\n

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The front cover of\u00a0Superman No. 1<\/em>, the first issue in the first comic book series devoted to Superman
\n Heritage Auctions<\/span>
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Last year, three brothers began clearing out their late mother\u2019s house in San Francisco. Throughout their lives, she\u2019d mentioned owning a collection of rare comic books. But she didn\u2019t know where it was, and the brothers had never seen it, so they weren\u2019t sure whether it really existed, reports the Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Andy Lewis.<\/p>\n

But when the brothers reached the attic, they found a stack of comic books in a box of old newspapers. And \u201crare\u201d turned out to be an understatement. Their mother owned a near-pristine copy of Superman No. 1<\/em><\/a> from 1939\u2014the first issue of the Man of Steel<\/a>\u2019s solo comic.<\/p>\n

Now, the family has sold it for $9.12 million\u2014making it the most expensive comic book ever auctioned.<\/p>\n

The brothers, who\u2019ve chosen to remain anonymous, contacted Heritage Auctions a few months after they found the comics. Lon Allen<\/a>, vice president of the Dallas-based auction house, traveled to northern California to examine their discovery.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0back cover of\u00a0Superman No. 1<\/em><\/p>\n

Heritage Auctions<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t like we said, \u2018Let\u2019s go find that comic book,\u2019\u201d the youngest brother, 57, tells the Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. They\u2019d waited several years after their mother\u2019s death to clear out her house. \u201cIt was more, \u2018Let\u2019s get that dumpster and just fill it up.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

According to an October statement<\/a> from Heritage Auctions, the attic comic book collection included five early issues of Action Comics<\/a>, the series published by National Allied Publications. Until this month, the record for the most expensive comic belonged to a 1938 copy of Action Comics No. 1<\/em><\/a>, containing Superman\u2019s debut. Heritage Auctions sold it in 2024 for $6 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Superman No. 1<\/em> was issued in 1939, after National Allied Publications had become Detective Comics, Inc. (which later became DC Comics). It tells the origin story<\/a> of Clark Kent, a baby rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton. The book sees Kent grow into a big-city reporter who uses his otherworldly powers to fight crime and injustice as Superman.<\/p>\n

Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) graded the brothers\u2019 copy of Superman No. 1<\/em> a 9.0 on its 10-point scale<\/a>, according to a recent statement<\/a> from Heritage Auctions. San Francisco\u2019s cool, damp climate might have helped preserve the book. \u201cIf it had been in an attic here in Texas, it would have been ruined,\u201d Allen said in the October statement.<\/p>\n

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Quick fact: What does a 9.0 rating mean?<\/h4>\n

According to CGC, items rated 9.0 are \u201cvery well-preserved [collectibles] with good eye appeal\u201d that have \u201ca number of minor handling and\/or manufacturing defects.\u201d\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The brothers\u2019 mother purchased her issue of Superman No. 1 <\/em>when she was 9, per the Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. She and her teenage brother had pooled their money to buy some comics from the newsstand. Superman No. 1 <\/em>cost them 10 cents, reports CNN<\/a>\u2019s Lianne Kolirin.<\/p>\n

Comics \u201cbecame a treasured refuge\u201d for his mother and uncle, said the youngest brother in the October statement. The children lived in a small apartment without a lot of money, \u201cbut they had each other and a shared love for comic books,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Years later, his mother and uncle decided to pass the comics down to her sons, given that his uncle had no children. She hid the box of comics in her attic for safekeeping, and eventually she forgot about it.<\/p>\n

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Another comic book in the attic collection, an\u00a0Action Comics\u00a0<\/em>issue, was rated 9.4 on the CGC scale.<\/p>\n

Heritage Auctions<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was just in an attic, sitting in a box,\u201d Allen tells the Associated Press<\/a>\u2019 Jack Brook. \u201cCould have easily been thrown away, could\u2019ve easily been destroyed in a thousand different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though it\u2019s breaking records, this copy of Superman No. 1 <\/em>is more than \u201cjust a comic book,\u201d the youngest brother said in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was never just about a collectible,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a testament to memory, family and the unexpected ways the past finds its way back to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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