By Emily Rella
Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … an exorbitantly priced comic book that’s taking the collector’s world by storm!“The complete story of one of the daring exploits of the one and only Superman,” reads the front page of the book, which promises 64 pages of colorfully paneled adventure.
Twenty-six people have made bids so far, the highest one being a cool $2,050,000 in an auction that ends at 4:00 a.m. on Dec. 17.
“Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman has enjoyed decades of popularity and has been featured in cartoons, serials, movies, television shows, and pretty much anything else you can put a price tag on,” the auctioneers said. “As one of the top Golden Age keys, this issue features Superman’s origin story, a must-read for Man of Steel zealots.”
The seller’s copy has reportedly changed hands only twice, once when it was purchased off a newsstand in 1939 and again around 40 years ago by a collector who kept it in a “temperature-controlled safe” since its purchase in order to preserve it.
“This is by far the nicest copy of Superman #1 I’ve ever brought to market and is the second highest-graded copy on the census,” gushed Metropolis/ComicConnect founder and COO Vincent Zurzolo. “The cover inks are rich and the interior pages supple. What a thrill that there are still undiscovered comics like this lying dormant.”
The comic is estimated in value at $728,000.