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Number of Million Dollar Comics Doubles in 14 Months

n 2021 alone, the comic collecting market saw seven different copy brought $1.075 million at Heritage in 2010.
books sell for $1 million or more. Those seven comics A CGC 9.6 copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of
“Icomprised five different titles in seven different grades. If that Spider-Man, a comic two decades more recent than the early Batman,
wasn’t impressive enough, the world record for most valuable comic Action Comics, and Detective Comics issues, set a new record for the
book was set twice during the year,” said Robert M. Overstreet, author, highest price paid for a comic when it cleared $3.6 million at Heritage
and publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. in September. It trounced the previous top sale for this issue, which was
“Further, when we expand our look back by just two additional also a CGC 9.6, which hit $1.1 million in 2011.
months, during that 14-month period the number of sales matched all The final two books to fetch $1 million in 2021 were both sold by
of the $1 million or greater comic book transactions that had taken ComicConnect in December. A CGC 3.0 Action Comics #1 went for
place up to that point previously,” he said. $1.6 million. A few days later, the company sold a CGC 7.0 copy
The secondary comic book market is a complex system of ups and of Superman #1 for $2.6 million, the first time the Man of Steel’s
downs (mostly ups in recent times, but not exclusively) that sees the self-titled book surpassed $1 million.
value of comics change on a constant basis. Many titles are on slow “Again, it’s hard to put too much emphasis on the power of supply
and steady trajectories until they see spikes in value when major story- and demand. The first comics to sell for $1 million or more were
lines hit, or characters are set to appear in movies. Then there are the certified by CGC as being 8.0 or better. For more than a decade
titles at the apex of the hobby, ones that seem destined for bigger and after that point, we saw the market push for higher prices as long as the
bigger prices. grade was the same or higher
Of the record-setting sales A CGC 9.6 copy of than that. Now we’ve seen the
in 2021, first up was Batman Amazing Fantasy combination of a generally
#1, noted for the debuts of A CGC-certified #15, the first robust marketplace and the
the Joker and Catwoman, and 9.4 copy sold for appearance of understanding that there just
$2.22 million at
for being the Dark Knight’s Heritage Auctions Spider-Man, set a aren’t that many high-grade
first titular comic. A CGC- in January 2021. new record for the copies of these genuinely
certified 9.4 copy sold for This was the first highest price paid rare, high-grade vintage
for a comic when
$2.22 million at Heritage time a copy of it cleared $3.6 pop culture collectibles,”
Auctions in January. This was Batman #1 sold for million at Heritage Overstreet said.
the first time a copy of over $1 million. in September. “Each of these transactions
Batman #1 sold for over $1 Image courtesy of Image courtesy of is worth noting individually,
million (Detective Comics #27, Heritage Auctions. Heritage Auctions. but taken collectively they are
which features the first really something to point.
appearance of the character, In December, This was the first time that
had long been a part of the $1 In April 2021, ComicConnect sold seven comic books crossed the
million club). ComicConnect a CGC 7.0 copy $1 million mark in a single
“Any Golden Age comic brokered a deal for of Superman #1 year. When we add Heritage’s
graded 9.4 is remarkable on Action Comics #1 for $2.6 million, November 2020 sale of a
its own merit,” Overstreet CGC 8.5, which the first time the CGC 7.0 Detective Comics
said. “But a 9.4 copy of features the first Man of Steel’s #27 for $1.5 million to that
Batman #1 was bound to appearance of self-titled book already-impressive string of
draw attention, particularly in Superman, for surpassed sales, that’s eight in just 14
the current market.” $3.25 million. $1 million. months. Prior to that, only
In April, ComicConnect Image courtesy of Image courtesy of eight books had ever sold for
ComicConnect.
ComicConnect.
brokered a deal for Action $1 million or more,” he said.
Comics #1 CGC 8.5, which features the first appearance of Superman, With The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #52 due out July 20,
for $3.25 million. That sale toppled the record for the highest price Overstreet is hard at work on the pricing, with both his own observa-
paid for a comic, which had stood for over six years. The previous tions and those of his network of advisors. He has always shied away
record was also set by Action Comics #1, a CGC 9.0 copy, that realized from predictions but suggested that the market would indeed require
$3.2 million in an eBay auction in August 2014. watching in 2022.
Batman #1 grabbed another seven-figure sale when ComicConnect “There’s a standard joke that says, ‘May you live in interesting
sold a CGC 8.0 copy for $1.2 million, also in April. times!’ is a curse. I don’t know if it’s as bad as that, but the times in
“While there are not an overwhelming number of distinctions which we’re living certainly demand our attention in terms of the
between a 9.0 copy and an 8.5 copy of the same comic, it is definitely comic book market,” he said.
worth noting that supply and demand appear to have lowered the grade
threshold for setting a record price for what are generally acknowledged J.C. Vaughn is Vice-President of Gemstone
as the top, key issues,” he said. Publishing. Amanda Sheriff is Gemstone’s
A mid-grade, CGC-certified 5.0 copy of Detective Comics #27 Associate Editor. Both cover the comic book
hammered for $1.125 million at Heritage in June. This was the second and pop culture markets on a daily basis.
copy to sell for over $1 million, following 11 years after a CGC 8.0
40 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles