Comic books have been at the forefront of entertainment for decades, giving us unforgettable characters like Batman and Captain America. Whether you are a fan of comic books or just curious as to the price people have paid in pursuit of rare iconic collectibles, you’re in the right place. These are the ten most expensive comic books in the world.
10. Fantastic Four #1, $1.5 million
Fantastic Four #1 is first on our most expensive comic book list, featuring heroes The Thing, Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch, and Invisible Girl together for the first time. Along with Jack Kirby’s signature artwork, this comic is quite magical, selling at $1.5 million in 2022.
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9. All-Star Comics #8, $1.62 million
All-Star Comics #8 highlighted the origin story of Wonder Woman. It also showed off Doctor Fate with a brand-new helmet and a cameo appearance by Hawkgirl. This issue is the highest graded copy known, with a 9.4 CGC grade. It was released in 1941 with a price tag of 10 cents and was later sold at auction for up to $1.62 million.
8. Detective Comics #27, $1.82 million
Detective Comics #27 from May 1939 features the first appearance of the legendary Batman and back in 2010, it was the most expensive comic book ever sold at $1.075 million. In 2020, a second copy of the comic was sold at auction for $1.5 million to become the most expensive comic book starring The Dark Knight (just not the most expensive comic in the world). It has most recently been sold for $1.82 million.
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7. Tales of Suspense #39, $2 million
Appearing for the first time in March 1963, Iron Man became the newest in a series of heroes from Marvel, and forty-five years later would appear in the film starring Robert Downey Jr. The “Invincible Iron Man” was an examination of Communism and the Cold War, and broke the $2 million mark at ComicLink in 2023.
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6. Batman #1, $2.2 million
Released in March 1940, Batman #1 became the first comic exclusively dedicated to The Dark Knight. The comic had Batman battling against classic menaces like Professor Hugo Strange and introduced The Joker and Catwoman. The legendary comic sold for $2.22 million through Heritage Auctions in 2021.
5. Marvel Comics #1, $2.4 million
One of the first Marvel Comics ever in print, this most expensive comic book was published by Timely Comics in 1939. The comic was an anthology series introducing characters like The Human Torch (not Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm). It would later be the namesake that changed Timely to Marvel Comics. One of these comics was sold in 2022 for $2.4 million.
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4. Captain America Comics #1, $3.1 million
This comic once cost 10 cents but today is worth a lot more. And it’s no surprise, as issue #1 hit newsstands in 1941, a year before the U.S. went to war, and depicts Captain America punching Adolf Hitler in the face. The highest-valued copy of Captain America Comics #1 sold for $3.1 million, placing this most expensive comic book at number four on our list.
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3. Amazing Fantasy #15, $3.6 million
In 2021, a private collector bought a CGC 9.6 copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, which includes the first appearance of Spider-Man, for a whopping $3.6 million. First released in July 1962, this issue only sold for 12 cents. The $3.6 million price tag makes Amazing Fantasy #15 the third most expensive comic book in the world.
2. Superman #1, $5.3 million
With Superman’s debut in Action Comics #1, he stood for years as the most expensive comic book character. After a brief Spiderman stint in 2021, Superman reclaimed his spot but instead appeared in our second most expensive comic book, Superman #1. Published in 1939, it was the first comic book series devoted entirely to one character, selling for a staggering $5.3 million in 2022.
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1. Action Comics #1, $6 million
The most expensive comic book on our list is the 9.0 CGC-ranked copy of Action Comics #1, which features the debut of Superman. While the original comic sold for just 10 cents when it came out in 1938, four copies have sold for more than a million dollars since then. The most expensive version of this monumental comic sold for a whopping $6 million in 2024.
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