According to experts’ estimates, only about 100 original copies still exist of Superman’s 1938 comic book debut—and merely a handful of them are in decent condition. Earlier this week, one of the best preserved printings of Action Comics #1 sold for $3.25 million, setting a new record for the most expensive comic book ever purchased, narrowly edging out the previous record of $3.2 million (for another edition of the same issue) set in 2014.
“There’s no comic book that you could value higher in terms of a comic book than Action Comics #1,” Vincent Zurzola, COO of ComicConnect.com, told The Associated Press yesterday. And that seems to prove true: the seller of yesterday’s big item bought the issue back in 2018 for a paltry $2 million.
We would like to take this time to recall that the reshoot costs for Zack Snyder’s Justice League are rumored to add up to around $70 million, or approximately 21.5 copies of an 8.0 rated Action Comic #1. Part of that $70 million paid for Jared Leto returning as the Joker to say, “We live in a society.”
This has been your daily reminder that money is a construct, and art is subjective.