Newly Discovered in Mom’s Attic: Is This the World’s Most Valuable Comic Book?

Three Northern California brothers taking stock of their late mother’s belongings in their family home during the holiday season last year discovered she had for decades held onto a cache of old comic books, tucked away in an attic beneath layers of brittle faded newspapers and cobwebs. Six treasured comics, kept since she and her brother bought them between the Great Depression and the looming World War II, will likely result in a life-changing windfall at Heritage’s Comic Books Signature^® Auction November 20-22 — and could include the world’s most valuable comic book.

Three months after their discovery, the brothers contacted the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to discuss the possibility of a sale, leaving a message that crossed the desk of Heritage Auctions Vice President Lon Allen on a Sunday. Within days, he was in San Francisco examining their collection.

“They’re in their 50s and 60s, and their mom had always told them she had an expensive comics collection but never showed them,” Allen says. He smiles and adds, “It’s a twist on the old ‘Mom threw away my comics’ story.”

Among the collection were five early issues of Action Comics, the National Allied Publications anthology that introduced Superman to the world in its premiere issue. It included issues 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21, which would soon achieve CGC grades varying from fine to near-mint.

By far the most promising, though, was a copy of Superman No. 1, issued in 1939 after National Allied changed its name to Detective Comics, Inc. — forever known to fans as DC. Fortunately for the family, Allen says, the climate in Northern California was ideal for the preservation of the decades-old books.

“If it had been in an attic here in Texas, it would have been ruined,” he says.

For the youngest of the three brothers, this Christmas discovery is more than “just a comic book.”

“This isn’t simply a story about old paper and ink,” he says. “This was never just about a collectible. This is a testament to memory, family and the unexpected ways the past finds its way back to us.”

Comics, the youngest brother says, “became a treasured refuge” for his mother and uncle in their cramped childhood apartment where luxuries were few.

“But they had each other and a shared love for comic books,” he says.

As adults, his mother and uncle determined to pass along their treasured comics to her sons, as the uncle was a lifelong bachelor with no children of his own.

“Until then, she carefully tucked the box away, deep into the recess of the attic, hidden but safe,” he says. “But as the years unfolded, life brought about a series of losses and changes. The demands of everyday survival took center stage, and the box of comics, once set aside with care and intention, was forgotten. Until last Christmas.”

The Man of Steel has been at or near the top of the list of most valuable comic book issues for years. A copy of Action Comics No. 1 sold for $6 million through Heritage Auctions in 2024. That issue’s condition was graded an 8.5 on a 10-point scale by CGC, the world’s largest third-party comics grading service. The current runner-up most valuable issue is a Superman No. 1 that sold for $5.3 million in a 2022 private sale. CGC graded that issue at 8.0, but the following year CGC raised the grade to 8.5, rendering it even more valuable.

With its bright colors, sharp corners and tight spine, CGC graders determined the family’s copy merited a 9.0.

Along with its superior condition, it was positively identified to originate from the first print run of the issue, when DC printed a half million copies of the issue. After those sold out, the company made subsequent runs of 250,000 and then 150,000.

For decades, Allen says, nobody knew of a way to distinguish which copies came from that initial run. Then a grader noticed a key difference in a small in-house promotional spot advertising the upcoming Action Comics No. 14. In the first run, those ads included text reading “On sale June 2nd.” Subsequent print runs had updated it to “Now on sale.”

CGC President Matt Nelson and his team of expert graders are proud for CGC to have certified and encapsulated this piece of comics history.

“Collectors around the world rely on CGC because we provide the most trusted and thorough grading for rare, high-value comics, ensuring that iconic pieces like this one are recognized and protected for generations to come,” Nelson says.

“This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime story, and one that will go down permanently in popular culture lore,” says Jim Halperin, Heritage Co-Chairman. “A newly discovered, highest-graded copy of one of the greatest comic books in the history of the medium is the stuff dreams are made of. This auction may set a new milestone for the hobby, and we’re honored we were entrusted with this grail of grails.”

Given its condition, rarity and importance, the final sale price of this 9.0 copy of Superman No. 1 looks all but certain to go up, up and away to join Heritage’s Comics & Comic Art Hall of Fame.

Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/7427.

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!