First Appearance Issues
First appearances of popular characters are among the most valuable comic books in existence. In their spring 2002 issue, the editors of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide listed the ten most valuable comic books and seven were first appearances of popular superheroes. (Another, Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939), is the first appearance of the Golden Age Human Torch but it is probably more noteworthy because it was the first comic book published by industry giant Marvel Comics).
By the time a character is well-known; even iconic, many years have passed since his or her first appearance and few copies, and fewer good-conditioned copies, remain. These comic books may be worth thousands of dollars. In 2004, a copy of Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), the first appearance of The Flash, was auctioned for $42,000 and a copy of Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), the first appearance of Captain America sold for $64,400. In 2010, another copy of Flash Comics #1 sold privately for $450,000.
In February 2010 the first appearance of Superman was auctioned by the creator of the comic book grading system for $1,000,000. It was called the holy grail of comic books as not only was it the first appearance of Superman, it was also one of only two copies known to exist in the 8.0 grade. This issue essentially ushered in the Golden Age of Comic Books and began the superhero genre. Fewer than a hundred copies are known to exist. Within a few short days the first appearance of Batman was sold in a Heritage auction for $1,075,000. The previous record for a comic book sale was set in 2009 at $317,000.
Read more about this topic: Comic Book Collecting
Famous quotes containing the words appearance and/or issues:
“Never before has a generation of parents faced such awesome competition with the mass media for their children’s attention. While parents tout the virtues of premarital virginity, drug-free living, nonviolent resolution of social conflict, or character over physical appearance, their values are daily challenged by television soaps, rock music lyrics, tabloid headlines, and movie scenes extolling the importance of physical appearance and conformity.”
—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)
“Your toddler will be “good” if he feels like doing what you happen to want him to do and does not happen to feel like doing anything you would dislike. With a little cleverness you can organize life as a whole, and issues in particular, so that you both want the same thing most of the time.”
—Penelope Leach (20th century)