Action Comics #1: The Most Expensive Superman Comic Book

Technically, the title of this article would be wrong as Action Comics #1 isn’t the most expensive Superman comic book in the world. Action Comics #1 is THE most expensive comic book in the world, not just in the realm of Superman comic books. A very good condition copy of the issue is known to have sold at 195,000 US Dollars in May 2006, out-pricing a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, which featured the first appearance of Spider-man, another comic book icon the world has come to know.

Much of the world of comics somewhat owes the superhero genre from the popular line of Superman comic books which came after Action Comics #1. The cultural impact of Superman with modern society has added to the pricy collectible nature of Action Comics #1, defining it as the most expensive comic book in the world.

Originally released in 1938, Action Comics #1 was penned by Jerry Siegel, with Joe Shuster illustrating it, with the issue’s cover featuring a man lifting a motorized vehicle over his head, smashing it on the ground. In the strictest sense, Action Comics #1 is the definitive comic book, not simply for Superman comic books, but for all superhero comic books, as it is the first comic book to ever actually feature a superhero. Another point, aside from the fact that it featured Superman’s first appearance in comics, making it the most expensive comic book in the world.

Basically, Action Comics #1 features a twelve page story about Superman. In the story, Superman rescues Lois Lane, who is basically a staple character in Superman comic books today, as well as resolves an “execution error” which was actually the result of a faulty verdict from a trial. The first appearance of Superman never really featured him flying, but rather “leaping over buildings”. Superman was described as “faster than a speeding locomotive” which eventually was edited to “faster than a speeding bullet”. Soon after Action Comics’ much accepted success, a line of Superman comic books followed thus establishing Superman as the world’s superhero. The whole concept of the “secret identity”, as well as the whole “using one’s powers to defend those in trouble”, started with Action Comics #1, seconded by the Superman Comic Books following it, as well as popular comic book heroes like Batman, Spider-man, The Green Lantern, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men.

Batman soon followed after Superman in Detective Comics 27#, a year after Superman came out, and eventually, just like Superman comic books, had his share of Batman comic books with dedicated Batman stories.