That was the most exciting auction I've ever seen.
In a furious round of bidding it hammered out at $1,075,000 with buyer's premium.
More on this later, when I catch my breath!
The bid came in last night at $358,500. How much further will it go from here? I feel like the book is valued at around $500,000 to $550,000, so that would be my ceiling. Thing is, with books like this it's all just uncharted territory. Maybe the optimists at the CGC Forum will finally be right about a book and this will do $750,000? I'd love to see it.
Here's the top five right now:
1 Detective Comics #1 CGC 8.0 Heritage $358,500 (and counting)
2 Marvel Comics #1 CGC 9.0 Pay Copy Private Sale $350,000
2 Flash Comics #1 CGC 9.6 Church Private Sale $350,000
4 Action Comics #1 CGC 6.0 March 13, 2009 Comic Connect $317,200
5 Batman #1 CGC 9.0 late 2007 ComicLink $280,000
If you have to ask what book, you're on the wrong blog 
As of right now it's the 4th highest price ever for a comic. And there are 21 days to go.
Detective Comics #27 (DC, 1939) CGC VF 8.0
From the Heritage newsletter:
This exceptional copy of the comic featuring the very first Batman story will be auctioned by Heritage in our February 25-27, 2010 event in Dallas. It's being sold without reserve.
CGC has graded the comic Very Fine 8.0. It's one of two in this grade on CGC's census, with none graded higher.
"This is probably the most desirable comic Heritage has ever auctioned," said Lon Allen, Director of Sales for the Comics division of Heritage. "The eye appeal is absolutely outstanding. Most comics from 1939 are smudged, torn, creased, and so on — this one's got really bright colors and looks fresh. It has no restoration which is a major plus as well. We've never handled a copy that's anywhere near this nice."
This amazing book is part of an excellent collection of highly desirable Golden Age known as the Pinnacle Hill Collection. Look for more on the book and the collection in the weeks to come!
If this book doesn't set the record for a price paid for a comic book it will be a bitterly disappointing result. Personally I'll be disappointed if it doesn't crack $500,000.
Put another way, this book is good enough that it should really give us an idea of what the ceiling is for comic book sales. If this sells for the $500,000 it deserves then all the talk of seven figures for the Allentown Detective 27 and the Church Action #1 become that much more realistic. If it fails to break that level, then maybe we have to set our sights a little lower.
Batman has always been one of my favorite characters. Kane's design was brilliant from day one and the people that have followed him in the years since have created a rich body of work that just happens to include some of the best superhero comics ever created. With talents like Frank Miller, Marshall Rogers, Neal Adams, Jim Lee and Brian Bolland all doing some of their best work illustrating Batman's adventures it's hard not to see why Batman, and his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 are personal favorites of mine.
Of course, the impact of Batman and Detective Comics #27 is far-reaching and stretches far beyond my humble walls. With the movies, the campy (but popular) TV series, the excellent various animated adventures and the decades of excellent comics stories, Batman has proven to be a vibrant part of the American (and world) pop culture landscape. One needs to look no further than the recent, runaway success of the Dark Knight to see how well this timeless character still resonates with fans around the world.
And it all started here, 70 years ago, with Detective Comics #27.