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ANOTHER MONTH, ANOTHER COMIC BOOK RECORD, IT SEEMS. The collectible industry's eyes blew out of their collective sockets when Heritage Auctions announced Thursday it helped facilitate one of the largest private comic transactions ever recorded. In a one-two sales punch, one person plopped down $6 million for Batman No. 1, which features the first appearance of the Joker as well as Catwoman. The book is in the very high and very rare grade of CGC 9.4. They also bought the second highest graded copy of Superman No. 1 for $7 million. The book is an 8.5 CGC edition. Those sales now rank as fourth and third, respectively, for the most money paid for comics ever. And they come after November’s $9.1 million sale of Superman No. 1 in a 9.0 grade. (That copy is number two on the most valuable comic list.) It also comes after January’s megadeal of $15 million for Action Comics No. 1 in a 9.0 grade. We’re not going to get into why each book is important — historical relevance, pedigree, and all that —†t but we will ponder what it all means. Some in the comic collecting world are a bit skeptical over the actual sale. Sometimes comic book and comic art sales involve trading items of perceived value rather than actual money changing hands. Or sometimes it's a mix of barter and cash. And then you have someone publicly touting a price that may be inflated. Others are worried that the market is in Tulip fever territory because of the massive and seemingly out of nowhere jumps in these prices for comics. For instance, in a tale of two markets, a lot of prices for modern comics have fallen, many by 30 to 40 percent. An Amazing Spider-Man No. 194 (1979) in a CGC grade of 9.6, which features the first appearance of the Black Cat, was selling between $1,000 and $1,100 just over a year ago. That same book can now be had in the $600 to $700 range. Heritage, meanwhile, is saying that the collectible markets is evolving as it attracts “high-net-worth collectors, family offices and alternative-asset investors.” In the press release touting the sale, Jordan Seymour of SemperFi Comics, who was involved in the proceedings, stated, “We may be witnessing a transformational era in comic collecting. The combination of extreme rarity, global demand and sophisticated buyers has permanently reshaped the ceiling of this market. These books are no longer simply nostalgic artifacts — they are tangible pieces of world culture." https://view.email.hollywoodreporter.com/?vawpToken=U5IXE7EYSZNEVJWKSUJ5EHQXOE.70252&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=HV+2-6-26&utm_content=663040_2-6-2026&utm_id=663040