It is hard to imagine a time when there were no "superheroes" because now those guys are everywhere and it is near impossible to avoid them. There are dozens of them and they are in movies, television cartoons, and books of all kinds, not just comics. Try taking an eight-year-old boy to a toy store and walking out with something other than a superhero action figure or two. It has gotten so bad that I have to wonder what percentage of today's toy sales relate to superhero gear of some sort.It all started in 1938 when Action Comics introduced Superman, the first superhero, in a comic book that sold for ten cents at the time. Ten cents may not sound like much, but 1938 being one of the Great Depression years, I have to wonder how many children actually got their hands on one of those comic books.
Well, here is a chance for adults to get in on the action because a copy of the Action Comics introduction to Superman is being sold in an online auction that ends on March 13. As of this morning, bidding has reached $260,399 but you still have more than 12 days to get in on the bidding.
According to CNN:
Those who can afford to bid "would ordinarily put money into the stock market. But that's a shaky proposition." These days, the comic book may even be a better investment than putting money into a CD or a bond...The owner of the book has not been identified but he is said to have purchased it as a nine-year-old in 1950 with 35 cents he borrowed from his father. The auction house expects the comic to go for about $400,000 because, although there are about 100 known copies of the comic book, only 20 of those are in "unrestored" fine condition like this one.
Get those bids in...the clock is ticking.
Great story on Action Comics Stan.
ReplyDeleteI have linked your story and blog on my blog down here in New Zealand.
I wish I could afford to buy this and present it as a gift to my son. He'd faint!
ReplyDelete*faints at the bidding* This is why I try to avoid collecting things!
ReplyDeleteSome folks have way too much money on their hands. I mean I love the idea of valuable books, but over 200 grand for a comic book? The world is a twisted place.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Bookman...always much appreciated on this end.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see his face, Bybee...just before he faints. You know, even if I had that kind of money, I honestly think I'd be terrified to spend it on something as fragile as a very old comic book.
ReplyDeleteHeather, the lure of collecting things for me is that you sometimes get lucky by buying dirt cheap, or very early, and ending up with something of real value.
ReplyDeleteI bailed out of baseball cards in the early nineties and made out like a bandit because for once in my life I timed a market correctly. I bought at the absolute bottom and sold at very near the top...never happen again, I'm sure.
Alissa, people who can afford to bid on this are not like me an you...normal. :-)
ReplyDelete