This 1938 comic features the first appearance of Superman. Photo / AP
Up, up and away is synonymous with Superman and may acquire a new meaning for collectors as an ultra-rare and pristine copy of Action Comics No 1 goes up for auction at the weekend.
The mint-condition issue, featuring Superman's first appearance, is expected to surpass the US$1.5 million ($1.9 million) record set last year.
"It's an iconic milestone of the 20th century," said Stephen Fishler, chief executive of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Collectibles, of the issue which cost just US10c in 1938.
The auction at www.comicconnect.com closes on November 30.
The issue for sale has a story of its own worthy of place in the pages of a comic. It sold for US$86,000 in 1992 and then for US$150,000 in 1997, but it was stolen in 2000 and collectors feared it would never be found or, worse, would be destroyed.
"It was so recognisable that the risk was that the person who stole it could have tried to destroy it," Fishler said. "I felt there was a chance that it would never turn up."
But turn up it did, in a storage shed in California that had been bought in an auction this year.
"When we were contacted in April and saw a picture of the book, we were shocked," Fishler said. "After spending so many years looking for it, I was blown away."
In March last year a copy of Action Comics No 1 graded at 8.5 sold for US$1.5 million, just a few weeks after another copy sold for US$1 million. The issue on sale is graded 9.0.
- AP
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