ComicConnect
Any comic book fan would love to own the first-ever copy from their favorite universe. Well, there’s one lucky comic adorer who bought such a rare Marvel comic book for millions!
First-Ever Marvel Comic
Metropolis Collectibles & Comic Connect/YouTube
Marvel Comics no. 1 doesn’t have any common characters like Spider-Man or Captain America. Instead, it features the unique classics: The Human Torch, The Angel, Submariner, and Masked Raider. And fans are willing to pay more than $2.4 million for a copy!
Published back in 1939, the comic became the start of the highly addictive Marvel universe. The character introduced in this first installment — the Human Torch — would later be transformed into a new character by the same name who appears in Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Eventually, the comic series also opened up a world of movies, TV shows, and video games as Marvel became a household name.
"This is the beginning. Without this, there would be no Marvel Universe, no Captain America punching Hitler, no Marvel movies, no Spider-Man, not even today's superhero mythology as we know it,” stated ComicConnect, the online marketplace that hosted the auction for the book.
“Without this comic book being made, who knows? Maybe none of that happens,” commented Vincent Zurzolo, chief operating officer of ComicConnect. “Maybe the name ‘Marvel Comics’ resonated so much with people, in some way, that that’s what helped to birth all these other things...It’s an incredibly important look into the world and behind the scenes of the creation [of comics]."
Creating The Universe
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But there’s even more to Marvel Comics no. 1 than it being the first! This Marvel comic is a “pay copy.” That means that, after the comic was printed, publisher Lloyd Jacquet hand wrote the amounts paid to those who worked on it on the cover. For example, Frank R. Paul, who drew art for the cover, was paid just $25! Now, the book costs much more than that. These writings, although in pencil, add a lot to the value of the book. ComicConnect also stated that the more than 80-year-old Marvel comic is in "incredible, newsstand-fresh condition.” Together, that makes the Marvel Comics no. 1 pay copy one of the most popular items on the market and “arguably one of the top three comic books in the world of comics collecting,” said Zurzolo.
So, who bought the famous Marvel comic? The buyer asked to keep his name anonymous. Yet, Zurzolo assured fans that the book is in the right hands and that the buyer was “an extremely passionate comic book collector and investor” with a vast collection of other incredible items.
Still, the Marvel Comics no. 1 pay copy is not comic of its kind. Another copy of The Marvel Comics no. 1, without publisher notes, sold for $1.26 million in 2019. Also, in 2022, a single comic book page depicting Spider-Man in his black suit for the first time in history sold for $3.36 million! Yet, the record for the most expensive marvel comic ever sold belongs to a copy featuring Spider-Man's origin, which sold for $3.6 million at auction.
