Detective Comics #27 CGC 1.8 OW/W 1st appearance BATMAN Bob Kane DC Golden Age

$2,161,000

Not a bad result… right where I thought it would be, actually.

I've got to update this post again, huh?

The record table is updates, at least.

I just thought I should point out how dominant the Saginaw books are on eBay record list. 6 of the top 30. Those are some strong results, especially since eBay results had lagged for several years.

The All-Time Top Individual Comic Sales on eBay » It's All Just Comics.

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This is precisely why I love this hobby. Even with all the research and all the biggest brains I can find feeding me information books like this can reappear and upset the applecart. I'll clearly be rewriting the most valuable comic books in the world article and we'll definitely have a new champion on top of the all time record comic book sales table. I don't see this selling for a penny less than $2,000,000.

What's interesting is I've known about this book for several years, being the copy stolen from Nic Cage and notoriously absent from his massive Heritage auction. I just never knew it was this nice. I also didn't know it was the book sold at the 1992 Sotheby's auction for $82,500. Here's my scan of that catalog image:

Just to capture this phenomenal series of books:

1. Action Comics 1938 # 1 CGC VG+: 4.5 $345,000
2. Captain America Comics # 1 CGC NM- 9.2 $343,057
3. Action Comics 1938 # 10 CGC VF/NM 9.0 $258,000
4. Detective Comics # 33 CGC NM-: 9.2 $194,000
5. Action Comics 1938 # 13 CGC NM-: 9.2 $185,000
6. Flash Comics 1940-49 # 1 CGC VF/NM 9.0 $85,000

Not too shabby, eh? I'll update with hammer prices as they come in.

From 1985's Overstreet #15.

The biggest news of the year was when the pristine-mint "Mile High" copy of Marvel Comics No. 1 sold for a staggering $35,000! This does not mean that every high grade Marvel No. 1 will sell within this range. In fact, three other high-grade copies changed hands in the $20,000 to $24,000 range. Obviously, possessing the most perfect copy of the most valuable comic book is worth a premium which that collector was willing to pay. We cannot close our 1984 books on "Mile High" just yet. More record prices were set at year's end. The "Mile High" copy of Action #1 sold to a dealer for $20,500 and Action Nos. 2-13 for $29,500. The dealer resold the set to a collector. The cash/trade value received for the No. 1 was set at $25,000. The "Mile High" copy of Batman No. 1 sold for the projected price of double the 1985 guide mint price. The "Mile High" copy of All-American No. 16 sold for triple the guide's mint value.

Based on the guide that year, the Batman #1 sold for something like $11,400 and the All American #16 sold for about $9000.

Was there ever a better year for books changing hands in the history of the hobby? All of those Church books? Even the recent $1,000,000 sales don't really compare because they aren't the legendary level of the books that traded hands all those years ago. Look at the roll call:

• The best Action #1 and the most valuable comic book in the world today. By any realistic measure a $3-5,000,000 comic book.
• The best All American #16 and a potential seven figure book.
• The best Marvel #1 and one of the ten most valuable comic books in the world.
• The best run of early Actions. Many or alll of which are likely worth more than six figures.
• Potentially the best Batman #1. If it is, it would also potentially be a seven figure book.

What a year!

With a bit of excitement growing over the Twin Cities books, I updated the Silver Age Pedigree Keys list.

As always, let me know if you've got an info on any of the books and pedigrees listed.

ComicConnect does it again. They've now got the two top comic book sales of all time.

That's a big number, especially for a book from the 1960s. It's a healthy premium over what I had the book valued at last year when all the big sales happened. I thought it was worth maybe $500-750,000 at the time, so it definitely exceeded my expectations. I tend to agree with the idea that Eric Roberts basically said, "I'd sell it for a million" and Comic Connect found a buyer.

Congratulations goes out to the Comic Connect team for once again busting an important barrier in the hobby.

The record comic book sale list has been updated.

It's that time again. Another killer Heritage auction is queued up for our bidding pleasure.

You know, no matter what the other auctions do the most exciting listings of the year are always Heritage's. That's just the reality.

This auction is no exception.

Let's look at some lots.

Archie Comics #1 (MLJ, 1942) CGC VF+ 8.5 White pages

Clearly the most exciting single comic in the auction for me. Early Archies are tough in high grade. This white paged beauty is about to lighten some lucky bidder's wallet in a big way.

John Byrne and Terry Austin X-Men #116 Cover Original Art

I've always liked this cover. It's a classic "comic book" cover. There's some Schomburg style danger and it's great tease to the story within. This is going to sell for many thousands of dollars.

Detective Comics #31 (DC, 1939) CGC GD+ 2.5 Off-white pages

One of the all-time classic covers.

Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #3 page 24 Original Art

Just seeing this page makes me want to read the whole book.

It's really interesting to see the adjustments that were made to the published page.
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As a note, for me personally, this is one of the toughest auctions in recent memory in terms of knowing where to place my bids. I could probably bid on 50 books in this auction. I've got it narrowed down to probably six, but it's hard to choose.

Sigh.

Anyway, here are some other books that you should know about:

ARCHIE COMICS #1

Interested in an Archie #1? Just go all in right now. They're not going to get any cheaper. Go back in time and buy one five years ago.

And get a Pep #22 while you're at it.

Archie.

DAREDEVIL #1 NM+ 9.6 Curator

I'd like to see the 9.8, but… that sure is a pretty copy.

Based on the above listing the consignor of the Curator copy just got the 9.8. Upgrading from a 9.6, pedigree copy. How often does that happen?
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