- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Move over Superman and Batman, there’s a new record-setting hero in town.
The sale of Amazing Fantasy no. 15, featuring the first appearance of Spider-Man, has set the record for the most expensive comic ever sold.
The comic sold Thursday for $3.6 million as part of Heritage Auction’s Signature Comics & Comic Art auction being held Sept. 8 to 12.
The senses-shattering sale beat out the previous record, Action Comics no. 1, published in 1938 and featuring the first appearance of Superman, which sold privately for $3.25 million earlier this year.
The Spider-Man comic is graded CGC 9.6 and is one of only four copies known to exist in that near mint condition. There are no copies in CGC 9.8, which is the next grade above.
Related Stories
Amazing Fantasy no. 15, from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, introduced readers to wallflower Peter Parker, who gains incredible powers but whose selfishness leads to the death of his beloved Uncle Ben, leading him to learn the lesson of the great responsibility that comes with great power. The comic proved very popular and launched Spider-Man into his own month periodical. The hero quickly proved to be Marvel’s most popular hero and led to a cartoon and newspaper strip. In modern times, Spider-Man is more popular than ever, headlining million unit-selling video games and billion dollar movie franchises.
Comics have been setting and breaking record prices during the pandemic with many key comics doubling in prices just from 2019. Previously the most expensive copy of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 was the CGC 9.4-graded copy Heritage sold in March 2020. The copy sold for $795,000
Heritage’s previous comic-book record was set last January, when the only known Batman No. 1 graded CGC 9.4 sold for $2.22 million. That book shattered the previous $1.5 million world record set for a Batman title in November 2020, a sale involving a copy of 1939’s Detective Comics no. 27. At the time, that was the highest price ever realized for any Batman comic book.
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day