Comic featuring Superman’s first appearance sells for $3.25 million

DC has been making big headlines for the past month or so, first via the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, and then through the debut of the trailer for The Suicide Squad. That hype has now spilled over into the physical comic book world as the record for the most expensive comic ever sold has been broken.

Not even three months after a copy of Batman #1 sold for $2 million, the Man of Steel has outgained the Dark Knight Detective as the comic of Superman's first appearance was sold for a record amount of money. Action Comics #1, which features the very first appearance of Superman, recently sold at auction for $3.25 million, breaking the previous record held by the same comic for the past seven years. 

Action Comics #1 is viewed as one of the most important comics ever. Understandable since it introduced the world's most famous superhero and paved the way for eight decades and counting of superhero popularity. Its influence on the comic book world remains to this day via its record-breaking sale, as that will have a direct effect on how much other rare comics are worth.

This particular copy of Action Comics #1 received an 8.5 grade from the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC). The grading system goes up to ten which means the 80-year-old comic is in almost pristine condition. The aforementioned previous record holder received a 9.0 rating, hence it fetching almost as much at auction seven years ago. The now-previous owner of the comic paid $2 million for the record-breaking copy just three years ago. That's quite the tidy profit.

It proves that Superman has lasted the test of time unlike any other hero, DC, Marvel, or otherwise. 83 years on from his first introduction to the world and he is still as popular and relevant today as he has ever been.