by Amanda Sheriff & J.C. Vaughn

Superman & Batman Debuts Lead Heritage Auction to $22.38M Total
The two biggest keys in comic book collecting sold for nearly $3 million in Heritage’s Comic Books Auction. That auction on May 7-9, 2026, realized a total of $10,234,100, and was held alongside the Comic Art Auction on May 8-10, which reached $12,151,880.

Action Comics #1 CGC 7.0 Conserved featuring Superman’s debut hammered for $1.4 million at Heritage Auctions.
Image: Heritage Auctions

In total, top-tier comic book keys and important pieces of original art brought in $22,385,980.
The comic auction contained at least one copy of the top seven books on The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide’s most valuable list. Superman’s introduction in Action Comics #1 CGC 7.0 Conserved flew to $1.4 million. The sale more than doubled the previous record for an Action Comics #1 Conserved copy – a CGC 5.5 copy that Heritage sold for $528,000 in June 2021. This sale also marked the first time that a comic with a Conserved grade surpassed the $1 million mark.

Detective Comics #27 CGC 6.5,featuring Batman’s debut, achieved $1.52 million. The book, which also contains the first appearance of Commissioner Gordon, is one of only six copies at the grade with only eight copies graded higher.

Detective Comics #27 CGC 6.5 with the introduction of Batman sold for $1.5 million at Heritage Auctions.
Image: Heritage Auctions

The rest of the top seven books on Overstreet’s most valuable comics list each reached six figures. Superman #1 CGC 1.5 (his origin story, first appearances of Ma and Pa Kent) sold for $109,800. Marvel Comics #1 CGC 9.0 Restored Apparent (first Human Torch, Ka-Zar, and Angel, and Sub-Mariner origin) went for $158,600. Batman #1 CGC 5.0 (Joker and Catwoman debuts) cleared $366,000and was the auction’s third highest seller. All-American Comics #16 CBCS 4.0 (debut of Green Lantern Alan Scott) realized $158,600. Captain America Comics #1 CGC 4.0 (Captain America, Bucky, and Red Skull’s first appearance) saw $128,100.

Comic sales also included Spider-Man’s introduction in Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 8.5 that sold for $268,400 and Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze’s first appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5 CGC 9.8 that brought $244,000.

The top seller in Heritage’s Comic Art Auction was John Romita Sr.’s Amazing Spider-Man #41 cover that hammered for $656,250. The cover showing Rhino charging toward the reader comes from the issue that introduced the villain. It is now tied with The Amazing Spider-Man #84 cover as the most valuable Romita covers offered at auction.

Three more Romita Amazing Spider-Man covers were sold in the auction, including the cover of issue 91 featuring Spider-Man and his supporting cast that went for $325,000. Shocker’s second cover appearance on issue 72 had an electrifying $300,000 result, and the Punisher’s second cover appearance on issue 135 took aim at $137,500.

The Man of Steel had another six-figure result when the Action Comics #24 cover by Superman’s co-creator Joe Shuster soared to $450,000. The cover sees Superman confidently bursting through a wall, not a hair out of place, to stop a visibly worried criminal who is holding a woman hostage.

Jim Starlin’s Iron Man #55 story page 14 with a half-splash of Thanos brought $325,000. Joe Madureira’s The Uncanny X-Men #350 wraparound gatefold cover saw $275,000. Jim Lee’s X-Men II Keepsake Collection portfolio cover with three of the most popular mutants took in $212,500.

The Phantom Stranger #14 Gains Huge Value Increase
The secondary comic market regularly ebbs and flows as book sales go through moderate changes, and occasionally see big jumps (or falls) in value. Overstreet Access tracks these changes through diligent research into the market and via assessment of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide marketing reports.

One of the notable recent changes is the significant increase for The Phantom Stranger #14 (August 1971) from DC Comics. The book features a Swamp Thing-like story by Len Wein in which Elly Mae Mullins is abducted by the bayou ghost known as the Swampster. Dr. Terrence Thirteen investigates the swamp and is also attacked by the Swampster, then is taken to a hidden domed city ruled by Professor Nail and populated by mindless citizens.

This issue’s proximity to Swamp Thing has driven interest in collecting the book and its rise in value. The Phantom Stranger #14 was written by Swamp Thing’s co-creator Len Wein and is often considered a prototype of Swamp Thing, but it wasn’t published until after Swampy debuted. Wein and co-creator Bernie Wrightson introduced Swamp Thing in fellow DC book House of Secrets #92, which was published in July 1971, a month before The Phantom Stranger #14.

Even so, some collectors still consider the book with its striking cover by Neal Adams as a part of the Swamp Thing lore. Overstreet Pricing Editor Yolanda Ramirez recently did a valuation update on The Phantom Stranger #14, repricing the book in Near Mint from $55 to $445. This major jump reflects an 809.1% increase and makes it significantly more valuable than The Phantom Stranger #1 (June 1969). The title’s debut was also recently reevaluated to $20 in Near Mint, marking a 7.1% increase.

Amanda Sheriff is Editor-Digital for Gemstone Publishing. J.C. Vaughn is Gemstone’s President.