Character debuts add value to classic comic books

Copies of Golden Age comics in great condition, such as Detective Comics #27, which introduced Batman, easily sell for more than a million dollars. Still, this 5.0-grade example brought $1.125 million in June 2021 at Heritage Auctions.
Copies of Golden Age comics in great condition, such as Detective Comics #27, which introduced Batman, easily sell for more than a million dollars. Still, this 5.0-grade example brought $1.125 million in June 2021 at Heritage Auctions.
Copies of Golden Age comics in great condition easily sell for more than a million dollars. Still, this 5.0-grade example of Detective Comics #27, which introduced the iconic superhero Batman, brought $1.125 million in June 2021 at Heritage Auctions.

NEW YORK — If you are a serious comic book collector, your Holy Grail is the issue that features the first appearance of a character. People pay big bucks for issues where a beloved superhero or villain makes their debut. The gold standard has been issues such as Action Comics #1, which saw the debut of Superman; Detective Comics #27, which introduced Batman; and Amazing Fantasy #15, in which the comics-reading world met Spiderman. A host of less heavy-hitting characters are prompting collectors to pay robust prices for their debut issues, too. In June 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a copy of Marvel Spotlight #5, which contains the first appearance of Ghost Rider, for $264,000, making it the most expensive comic from the 1970s.

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