If you wanted that great copy of Superman No. 1 that I mentioned a few days ago, I'm sorry to tell you that you waited too long. The auction is over and the comic sold for $317,200. I know that all of you out there with a spare $325,000 to invest in comics are kicking yourselves right now for letting this one get away.According to the Los Angeles Times, the comic book was bought for an unnamed bidder who wanted to add this one to his already impressive collection:
The winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, whose cover features Superman lifting a car, was submitted Friday evening by John Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of a Down, according to managers at ComicConnect.com.I suspect that, when the economy improves in a few years, this will actually prove to have been a real bargain purchase for its mysterious buyer.
Dolmayan, who is also a dealer of rare comic books, said he acquired the Superman comic on behalf of a client. He declined to identify the client.
"This is one of the premier books you could collect," he said in a telephone interview. "It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books. I talked to my client, and we made the move."
Dolmayan said the client has "a small collection, but everything he has is incredible."
By the way, is it just me? Doesn't the cover of the comic make Superman appear to be a villain rather than a hero? Remember that no one was familiar with the Superman image when this comic first hit the market.
I just figured those were villains in the car...
ReplyDeleteBut I wonder, Bybee, if that's only because we know Superman now. I think if I had been a boy in 1938 that I would have been confused until I read the thing...?
ReplyDeleteHe does sort of look like he's on a violent rampage. Everyone around him is ducking and covering as he angrily slams that car into the rock (or whatever it is). Interesting choice of cover art. I've never actually read any of the Superman comics. Maybe at the start he was feared by people before coming into his hero status.
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