$2,427,800. This is the tidy sum for which a particularly rare copy of the very first Marvel went to auction, namely Marvel Comics No. 1, published in 1939, as reported by the New York Times. For 68 pages, we see the Sub-Mariner or even the original Human Torch, before we discover that the character is part of the Fantastic Four. Why so expensive, you say? Because it is a paid copy, understand that we have, in addition to the adventures of the characters, handwritten notes from the editor concerning the income of the writers and artists who worked on the comics. We learn, for example, that a certain Frank R. Paul, the man who designed the cover, was paid 25 dollars. In addition, the copy is particularly well preserved since it would have been hidden in its plastic in a cabinet until its discovery between 1993 and 1994. However, this comic was printed on poor quality paper not supposed to resist in the long term. A real rare commodity, then. Nevertheless, compared to Amazing Fantasy No. 15, where Spider-Man appeared for the first time, or Action Comic No. 1, introducing Superman, it’s still quite less – the latter having been sold at 3.6 million dollars for the first and 3.18 million for the second.
