The million dollar comic ...

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Yup - a copy of Action Comics #1 from 1938, containing Superman's debut has sold for over US$1 million!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainm...ectid=10627957



Of course there is a tragedy involved with this much saught after comic - since the 80s, copies of this comic have been selling for astronomical prices. And I know many a Comic Book Guy clone who is convinced the comics they're hauding in their attack will similarly appreciate in value - hence why they buy all the copies of those collectable, mass-produced X-Men with the difference sleeves.

Of course when originally produced, Action Comics #1 was designed to be a disposable comodity, with kids reading, disguarding, and buying the new one. Also as part of the American war drive in the 40s, a lot of them were recycled.

Todays collectors are much more savvy, and so just about everyone is holding onto their comics, y'know just in case ...

[Paul Monk]

The real tragedy is that Joe Shuster, who co-created Superman with Jerry Siegel, died frustrated, blind and in poverty having never seen a penny from his creation. Jerry Siegel only fared slightly better.

[Stuart Wallis]

In fact, it's only recently that their families have seen any money to speak of, via a lawsuit. On top of a gratuity, if Warner Brothers don't get round to making a sequel to Superman Returns by a cut-off point some time next year, the film rights revert to them as well.

[Alex]

The real tragedy is that Joe Shuster, who co-created Superman with Jerry Siegel, died frustrated, blind and in poverty having never seen a penny from his creation. Jerry Siegel only fared slightly better.

Yes, both were treated appallingly, DC (and TimeWarner) should hold their heads in shame when it comes to this, considering how many millions (if not billions when you consider the films and dvd sales) they've made from the character.

99.9% of comics produced in the last thirty years are pretty worthless alas, as so many collectors have kept their issues in pristine condition. Which is annoying, as it makes my reasonably large collection worth about £50 at best!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Yeah his creators were treated pretty appallingly. I think alas people back then were much more naive about owning copyright. It's just the outright meanness of it all, for a company to make so much money from something but to ignore the people who created it - it feels kind of morally wrong.

No wonder people think Superman is cursed ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_curse

[Alex]

I found those curses to be very dubious in general to be honest - any long running series is bound to have unfortunate things happen to some of the cast and crew. You could say the same thing about Who: Hartnell - Dead! Troughton - Dead! Pertwee - Dead As Well! - Tom Baker - Has put waaaaay too much weight on! Matthew Waterhouse - Mocked by all, even his milkman! Etc, etc!

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Yeah - I thought that myself reading through some of those myself - the main biggies are the creators, the original TV Superman who possibly was killed by the mafia, and Christopher Reeves who had his terrible accident. Oh and Dean Cain who's acting career was killed dead. He's probably begging Terri Hatcher for a part in Desparate Housewives.

Problem with any long running and popular series where most of the people involved are dead is that you have to do your best to keep Derek Aorah away ...

[Rob McCow]

There are a number of possibilities as to why it fetched $1,000,000.

Perhaps it's due to the cultural significance of Superman. He became an alter-ego for the US, an ideal of how powerful and wholesome American values could be. The first issue of the comic where this character was created is hugely significant in that respect. This is a sample of an artefact that launched the giant of the American psyche.

On the other hand, all you need is two rich collectors who want to have all of the issues from #1 to #whatever. It's as anal as collecting the full set of model railway track pieces.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Or every Doctor Who story - even the one's you don't like!

[Rob McCow]

Fortunately there are very few Doctor Who stories that cost more than £50 to acquire, never mind $1,000,000. Even Issue #1 of DWM isn't worth a vast amount. I think the most expensive thing of that type is that Troughton DR WHO annual.

Of course, that Cyberman outfit on sale at Bonhams might go for a few million. You never know!

[Lissa]

Oops - they did it again.

A comic showing the debut of superhero Batman has been sold for more than $1m (£655,000) at an auction in Dallas.

The rare 1939 copy of Detective Comic No 27 was bought by an anonymous bidder from a seller who also wished to keep their identity secret.

The sale comes just days after an early edition of a Superman comic sold for $1m - only to be outdone by Batman.

Barry Sandoval, of auction house Heritage, claimed it was the biggest price on record for a comic book.

"It pretty much blew away all of our expectations," he said of the $1.075m winning bid.

"We can really say that Batman has nosed out Superman, at least for now."