This comic could fetch some exorbitant prices.
A rare, unrestored copy of Detective Comics #27, Batman’s 1939 debut, is on the auction blockand the final offer could be closer to the rare edition record price of $1.74 millionaccording to an independent seller.
“$1.5 million is not an unreasonable assumption,” said Ted VanLiew, owner of Super World Comics in Holden, Massachusetts. “You can set a record. It’s so sought after that it’s going to get a lot of attention.”
Online bidding on the ultra-coveted piece of comic book history, which received a 6.0 “Excellent” rating from Certified Guaranty Company, began at just $1 on March 8 through Heritage Auctions.
The highest bid has already soared to $612,000 as of early Friday afternoon, and the auction ends March 30 via a live bid in Dallas.
“Basically, there are two comics that are the holy grails of comics,” VanLiew said. “One is Action Comics #1 from 1938, the first Superman, which started the superhero craze, and then Detective Comics #27, which came out the following year.”
Detective Comics #27 cemented its place in comic book lore by introducing the world to Gotham millionaire orphan Bruce Wayne with “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger.
In the story, Commissioner Jim Gordon invites socialite Wayne to the crime scene of a murdered man named Lambert, who co-owns Apex Chemical Corp., and whose son is initially believed to have stabbed the man to death. . Donning his Batman costume, Wayne tracks down Lambert’s real killer: his greedy business partner who was killing other co-owners to gain control of his company.
CGC has qualified only 75 copies from Detective Comics #27, with 14 unrestored books rated higher than the current one on sale.
The copy up for auction is coming to light now because the unidentified seller needs the cash to buy a luxurious new home, according to Ed Jaster of Heritage Auctions.
“This particular consignee is looking to buy a new home, and it’s a multi-million dollar home, so some of his comic assets became available,” he said.
Another copy of Detective Comics #27 with a 6.5 rating hit a record $1.74 million in May.
Superman No. 1, which raked in a colossal sum of $5.3 million in a 2022 private sale, it holds the record for the most expensive comic.
High Grade Comics’ Robert C. Storms said the comic book market has generally cooled compared to the COVID years, partly due to uncertainty in the stock market and banking systems. Still, sales of “super high” items like Detective Comics #27 have been largely immune to such economic fluctuations.
“There are only a certain number of buyers that will spend that amount of money, so it really comes down to how comfortable they are spending that amount of money,” Storms said. “The current economy will not influence its sale.”
The sale of Detective Comics #27 comes as part of a larger comic book auction that includes copies of Batman #1 and Marvel Comics #1, and a restored Superman #1 book.
