A rare copy of the first Batman comic book has far surpassed the previous comic books record price, $317,000, paid for a first Superman comic in 2009. The Batman comic is already priced at $418,250 with bidding still underway. The new record price will be revealed when the auction ends on Feb. 25. Heritage Auctions is selling the Batman comic on behalf of an anonymous consignor.
"One of the finest known surviving copies of the 1939 issue of Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of Batman, is being offered without reserve by Heritage Auctions in a public auction in Dallas, and simultaneously online," said Lon Allen, director of sales for the comics division of Heritage Auctions. "It's been an amazing thing to watch as the price has soared. Collectors know this may well be the only shot they will ever get at this, the ultimate comic book. Who knows how high it will go by the time bidding ends?"
"It was owned for decades and kept in excellent condition by a savvy comic book collector who purchased it for $100 more than 40 years ago," said Allen. "In the 1960s and 1970s many people considered that an outrageous amount of money to spend for a comic book of any era. It's safe to say those same people are kicking themselves today for not spending similar 'outrageous' sums on the same thing."
The Bat-Man, as he was originally called, appeared for the first time in a six-page story in Detective Comics #27 with a cover date of May 1939. Superman appeared a year earlier in Action Comics #1 with a cover date of June 1938.
