First Ever Marvel Comic Sells for $2.4M at Auction
The debut issue that has catapulted the modern Marvel Era of dominance has just shattered records as the first-ever Marvel comic reportedly sells for $2.4M at a recent auction.
In 1939, newsstands had featured the debut issue of a brand new band of stories; with the first appearance of Marvel Comic #1.
Source: Marvel
That issue could be purchased for a single dime, and is nearly extinct in 2022; yet, one of the last remaining remnants of that bygone era has just been sold at a recent auction for millions.
The New York Daily News first reported the news of the first-ever Marvel Comic selling for $2.4M, while quoting the Comic Connect COO, Vincent Zurzolo, who described the anonymous bidder as, “an extremely passionate comic book collector and investor.”
The first Marvel comic sold for a dime in 1939, but fetches for $2.5M at a recent auction.https://t.co/LORy5ZbUQq
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) March 18, 2022
The $2.4M issue is what Zurzolo refers to as,m “Arguably one of the world’s three most wanted comics amount collectors,” and with the surge in popularity by Marvel thanks to their unprecedentedly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is little question why.
The story that is captured within the confines of the original issue follows the journey of the original Human Torch- names John Hammond- and the debut of the Sub-Mariner, later known to Marvel fans as Namor.
Source: Marvel
What the New York Daily News refers to as the “Pay Copy” of the book interestingly reveals, “handwritten notes by the publisher detailing payment information for the comic’s writers and illustrators.”
What is perhaps the most mind-boggling aspect of these publisher notes is that artist Frank R. Paul made $25 for designing and drawing the cover of the issue.
Source: TMZ/Marvel
It is incredibly fascinating for comic book fans to consider how vital and important this issue was to the overall history and success of Marvel; and the entire comic book industry.
Marvel is unquestionably one of the top two biggest comic book publishers of all time, and with Hammonds Human Torch, or Sub-Mariner, one questions what Marvel comics would look like today; as this was the very beginning of the Marvel we understand today.
Source: Marvel
