[Drusilla lives!]

Interestingly enough, I just heard that a copy of Action Comics #1 sold at auction for $1,000,000.

Btw, if you're wondering... yes, it was CGC graded (universal 8.0).

[Astaldo711]

That's just nuts! So he shells out the money and can't even read it? It's sealed in plastic so he pretty much has the cover he can look at.

[narfstar]

I had a friend who collected Star Wars action figures. He got em out of the cases like they were meant to be. He was gonna enjoy the darn things that is what he bought them form. On the same token you can read the contents of Action number one very easily. If I were to get a copy it would be for an investment only.

[Yoc]

 
You know he didn't buy that Action 1 for the Pep Morgan or Zatara stories.   

-Yoc

[phabox]

I'll stick to my tabloid size 1970's reprint of Action Comics number one for now thanks very much.

Cost me a lot less bucks and I'm NOT afraid of reading it.

A well known collector who now owns my old copy of Adventure Comics_040 has a VERY large collection of other similar books from the same era.

To complete a 'certain' project that I am working on I recently approached him regarding the possibility of getting DIGITAL PHOTOS of the 15 or so pages that I need to look at.

The answer was a polite 'no dice' as they were 'to fragile' to disturbe, which makes me wonder whats the point of owning these books if they are never to be looked at again.

Its not like he will even have any offspring to leave them to     


-Nigel

[bchat]

What really surprises me about this million dollar Action Comics # 1 is that the sale happened on an auction site I never heard about before today.  Not to say the sale isn't legit, but it makes me wonder if this isn't much more than a publicity stunt orchestrated by the site's owner, because it certainly is bringing them a lot of attention now.

[Drusilla lives!]

That auction news even made it to MarketWatch... they ran a small news blurb about it here.

Interesting that they've already labeled it a "Superman asset bubble" noting that this particular issue sold for three times what a copy went for last year.  Although they noted that that last one was in lesser condition then the one just sold.

I don't know what's worse really, paying one mil for Action #1 in 8.0 (which I could perhaps almost understand), or paying ten grand for Wolverine #1 in 10.0... perhaps it's the same person. 

But what's even worse then that is realizing that there are only (an estimated) 100 existing copies left... sad really, the initial run must have been at least in the tens of thousands. 

[phabox]

Not a great many people saved comics back in the 30's, many kids would read them then trade them for something they had not read so they passed through a great many hands in a short time which would not have done them a great deal of good.

Then of course World War Two brought the great scrap paper drives which sent many now classic issues into comic book heaven 

-Nigel

[Yoc]

I agree with bchat.
It smells fishy.
A new auction site can sell a book for triple it's previous record? 
I wonder which pedigree the book came from to be that high grade?   

What the heck, now I sound like someone on the CGC boards!   

-Yoc

[John C]

You know he didn't buy that Action 1 for the Pep Morgan or Zatara stories.   

To be fair, he probably didn't buy it for the Superman story, either.  Though I guess it would be pretty funny if it was just some guy who started reading at Action #2 and it's been bugging him for seventy years...

Though, yeah, with the publicity it's been getting--national and even LOCAL news--I'm increasingly suspecting this isn't entirely on the up-and-up.  It's one thing to hear a talking-head business guy mention it in passing as their version of human interest.  It's quite another to hear about it between school budget cuts and legislative pay raises.

(sigh)
Wonder what would cost more: building a time machine, or getting a roll of mint-condition mercury-head dimes?

Probably the dimes.  Well, assuming you mean "getting them" legally, like buying them at list prices.  Mugging people outside coin conventions can't be all that expensive...

[phabox]

Even made the national TV News in the UK so a lot of people seem to have taken notice of this story.

-Nigel

[Astaldo711]

Sounds like a publicity stunt.  I guess no cares if a comic sells for $300,000? That's chump change! How about "One Hundred Billion Dollars!" mwuh hahaha!

[Roygbiv666]

(sigh)
Wonder what would cost more: building a time machine, or getting a roll of mint-condition mercury-head dimes?

Build a time machine with the money from a roll of mint-condition mercury-head dimes that you bought yourself ages ago when you travelled back in time with that machine that you built using the money from a roll of mint-condition mercury-head dimes that you bought yourself ages ago when you travelled back in time with that machine that you built using the ... wait, what?

[bchat]

I checked-out the "Million Dollar Action Comics # 1" and, oddly enough, the auction only had ONE BID for $1,000,000, so it's not like there were dozens of collectors running-up the price on their own.  As if I wasn't suspicious enough about this before ...

[Yoc]

tsk tsk, and the national media can't smell a fish?

[Astaldo711]

I just saw that Detective #27 sold for just over $1 mil.

[OtherEric]

And unlike the Action 1, Heritage moved the Detective 27.  So even if the Action 1 is fishy- and I don't think it is, myself- the Tec 27 is about as solid as can be.

[Yoc]

Eric, just read some more about the Action1 seller.  Seems some on the Timely-Atlas board had less than good experiences with his honesty in the past so I still think the sale is fishy.  I believe Heritage more.

[Astaldo711]

Don't they do some kind of background checks when they know the bidding will be high? I wonder what the next one will be? Marvel Comics #1? Whiz Comics #2?

[phabox]

Maybe a copy of Motion Picture Funnies number one will show up being offered by a flying pig.

-Nigel

[DennyWilson]

I'm wondering what the next big-bucks comics will be.

Wonder Woman's first appearance (All-Star #8) could be a possiblity,or Captain America #1

[bchat]

I'ld guess Superman 1, Batman 1 or Marvel Comics 1.

[DennyWilson]

Those books are good possiblites.

[bchat]

Now that I gave it some thought, it's possible that Captain America # 1 could get into the Top Five with his own movie & then the Avengers movie coming-out.  Nothing boosts prices like a huge media blitz & increased public awareness.

[narfstar]

at least temporarily