Batman beats Superman in record comic book sale

A Batman comic book that cost 10 cents in 1939, sold for more than $1 million at auction on February 25, beating out a Superman comic which had sold on Monday for a record price of exactly $1 million.

In fact Batman's first appearances in comic books have regularly set auction sales records. Now one has broken the $1 million barrier.

And at a time of economic recession, when conventional investments in stocks and real estate are questioned, collectibles do well and have growth potential. This week's transactions appear to be smart investments.

The 1939 Batman book, Detective Comics #27, was the first edition of the superhero ever published. It was bought for $1,075,500 through Heritage Auction Galleries by an anonymous source. The consignor, also anonymous, was a collector who purchased the comic 40 years ago for $100.

The Superman comic which debuted a year earlier, as Action Comics #1 in 1938 and would seem more valuable, sold through a private arrangement on February 23, for more than three times the price paid a year ago - also a record sale.

http://www.ha.com

RC