Heritage opened their four-day Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction on September 12, 2024, by setting a new auction record. Fantastic Four #1 CGC 9.6, the book that introduced Marvel’s first family, sold for a new world record price of $2,040,000.

This copy of Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, and the Thing’s debut is one of only two at the grade. It is the highest graded copy that Heritage has offered, which bidders responded to by driving the price up to $1.05 million before live bidding even began.

The book went well beyond the previous record of a CGC 9.2 copy that Heritage sold for $1.5 million in 2022. This price also makes it the second most valuable Silver Age comic sold at auction, settling behind Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.6 that Heritage sold in 2021 for $3.6 million.

“As one of the greatest and most significant comics of all time, copies of Fantastic Four #1 tended to sustain lots of wear and tear from being read and reread,” Heritage Vice President Barry Sandoval exclusively told Scoop. “The state of preservation of this copy was unbelievable, and bidders felt the same, propelling it to a new record. More than $2 million for a comic book is rarefied air; typically, only World War II era rarities have reached seven figures. But this 1960s comic thoroughly earned its spot in that exclusive club.”

The Golden Age of comics produced several notable sales in the first session of the auction. Batman #3 CGC 9.0, featuring Catwoman’s first in-costume appearance, realized $66,000 – setting a record for the title in any grade. The highest graded copy of Detective Comics #233 CGC 9.2 with Batwoman’s debut sold for $50,400. Action Comics #12 CGC 6.0, the finest known copy that Heritage has offered, went for $40,800.

The world of pulps made its mark when Amazing Stories #29 CGC 9.8 featuring the first appearance of Buck Rogers, skyrocketed to a record setting $105,000. This is the highest graded copy of the pulp magazine, which begins with Frank Paul’s instantly recognizable cover of the soon-to-be popular hero.

Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction continues to close on Friday through Sunday, September 13-15.