A lucky bidder snagged a near-mint copy of Batman No. 1 (1940) for $2.2 million today. From Heritage Auctions:
The finest known copy of 1940's Batman No. 1 sold Thursday for $2.22 million, far and away the highest price ever realized for a comic book starring Bruce Wayne and his caped-and-cowled alter ego.
The issue, the sole copy ever to receive a 9.4 grade from the Certified Guaranty Company, was already a record-setter before the start of Heritage Auctions' four-day Comics and Comic Art event. A week before the Jan. 14-17 auction even began, Batman No. 1 crossed the $1.53-million mark, besting the previous world record set for a Batman title in November when Heritage sold 1939's Detective Comics No. 27 for $1.5 million.
The book shattered estimates and expectations long before it was sold during the first session of the four-day event. It has seen more than two dozen bids since Christmas and accrued tens of thousands of pageviews worldwide; more than 700 Heritage clients also kept close tabs on its progress as it made its way toward the auction block.
By Wednesday afternoon, all that interest had pushed bids on Batman No. 1 to $1.89 million with buyer's premium. Shortly before the auction opened at noon Central Standard Time Thursday, it had climbed to $1.95 million. Heated bidding raised the final price to $2.22 million.
This issue of Batman No. 1, featuring the debuts of the Joker and Catwoman, is now the most expensive comic book ever sold by Heritage Auctions.
"We knew when the book came in that it was beyond special, that it was a once-in-a-lifetime offering – from appearance, its blindingly bright cover to its white pages, to provenance," says Heritage Auctions Senior Vice President Ed Jaster of this newly discovered copy. "As I like to say, this is just a breathtaking book in so many ways. So we are not at all surprised that this has become a record-setting issue. But we are extraordinarily proud and honored to have brought it to market, to have done justice to its owner and to have found it a new home."
