Historic $6 Million Sale of Action Comics #1 Shatters Records at Heritage Auctions

A pristine copy of Action Comics #1, the iconic 1938 comic that introduced Superman to the world, was sold for an astounding $6 million on Thursday at Heritage Auctions. The sale occurred during the inaugural session of the four-day Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction, capturing the attention of participants and observers worldwide.

Graded 8.5 by the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), this issue stands as one of the finest known copies of the landmark comic, with only two copies ever receiving a higher grade from CGC. This sale not only marks a significant moment in comic book history but also signifies the second instance a comic book has breached the $5 million threshold. The previous record was also set by a copy of Action Comics #1 in 2022.

Adding to the day’s excitement, another copy of Action Comics #1, professionally restored to an “apparent grade” of 8.0, sold for $576,000, setting a new record for the highest amount paid for a restored comic book.

Barry Sandoval, Heritage Auctions Vice President, expressed his excitement over the day’s sales, highlighting the significance of the records set and the historical items auctioned, ranging from a pre-Golden Age Superman artifact to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The auction also featured the sale of Jerry Siegel’s historic 1934 letter to comic strip artist Russell Keaton, outlining the concept for The Man of Steel as a time-traveler from the future, which fetched $264,000.

With 78 copies of Action Comics No. 1 listed in CGC’s population report and an estimated 100 surviving copies worldwide, the rarity of these comics cannot be overstated. The continuation of Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction through April 7 promises more exciting opportunities for collectors and enthusiasts to own a piece of comic book history.

DC Fires James Gunn, Zelda Earns 10 Rupees, WoW Is Forever – Geek Freaks

James Gunn and Peter Safran are out as the heads of DC Studios, and Frank and Squeaks process the news minutes after it broke. Frank calls it a firing, ties it to Skydance taking over Warner Bros., and walks through what he knows about incoming boss Jeremy Latcham, the former Marvel producer behind Iron Man, The Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Squeaks is angry about losing a plan he thought was working after Superman and Lanterns, and both wonder what happens to Batman and The Brave and the Bold. Frank spends the rest of Headlines hunting for silver linings in Skydance's 30-movies-a-year mandate, including Francis Galluppi's new Constantine movie, Danny McBride directing Bradley Cooper as Duke in G.I. Joe, and the 1955 Stranger Things prequel Other Worlds. Then Squeaks reviews the new Ocarina of Time and Frank reviews World of Warcraft Forever as an undead paladin. Chapters 0:00 Intro and Network Updates 1:56 James Gunn and Peter Safran Out at DC Studios 13:28 Francis Galluppi's New Constantine Movie 15:24 Danny McBride's G.I. Joe and Skydance's Movie Plan 19:45 Stranger Things Prequel Other Worlds and Welcome to Derry 24:35 Squeaks Reviews Zelda: Ocarina of Time 34:40 Frank Reviews World of Warcraft Forever 43:26 Network Roundup and Picks of the Week Key takeaways Deadline reported in October that David Ellison met with Gunn and Safran and planned to keep them in charge after the merger. Frank reads the reversal as a new owner with a different vision, and thinks it is a bad call this early in phase one. Gunn is still finishing Man of Tomorrow with Safran producing. The rest of the slate is a question mark, including Dynamic Duo and its unusual animation style. Frank expects safer, cheaper, faster DC movies under the new regime, which he thinks brings Hal Jordan back to life and gets a Flash on screen sooner. Squeaks hopes Latcham keeps Gunn's plan and only tweaks it. For G.I. Joe, Frank predicts a solid mid-budget action movie in the vein of The A-Team, worth a matinee and not much riskier than that. Squeaks gives Ocarina of Time 10 out of 10 rupees. The combat is unchanged, Link can jump on his own now, dungeons are color coded and easier to read, and Princess Ruto finally stays where you put her in Jabu-Jabu's Belly. Frank gives WoW Forever 9 out of 10 Doomhammers. Combat is slower, you can play without a build guide open, and strangers keep grouping up for quests. He docks a point for no Looking for Group and weak dungeon XP, which Blizzard buffed that morning. Quotes "James Gunn and Peter Safran just got fired. I'm using the term fired because there's no way it wasn't fired." (Frank) "We got to build something to get to that Infinity War, Endgame. Like, come on, man." (Squeaks) "Killing off Hal Jordan in the show was very risky. And that's not what you do to make money." (Frank) "I think this is how a game honors a legendary game from the past." (Squeaks) "That's how devoted you are to your religion, is that you'll embrace the pain to cure the wounds caused by Arthas." (Frank) Source All news discussed in this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com. Subscribe, rate, and share Follow or subscribe to Geek Freaks, leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and send this one to the friend who was counting on Gunn's DCU plan making it past chapter one. Tag your reactions with #GeekFreaksPodcast. Follow us Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Instagram and TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Listener questions Who should play Constantine now that a new movie is in the works? Are you leveling in WoW Forever or still lost in Hyrule? Send your questions, reactions, and topic ideas to thegeekfreakspodcast@gmail.com and we may read them on a future episode.