Comic Book.
Story.
Ever.
Posted on 08/03/2010 1:30:36 PM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
A struggling family facing foreclosure has stumbled upon what is considered to be the Holy Grail of comic books in their basement – a fortuitous find that could fetch upwards of a quarter million dollars at auction.
A copy of Action Comics No. 1, the first in which Superman ever appeared, was discovered as they went about the painful task of packing up a home that had been in the family since at least the 1950s. The couple, who live in the South with their children, asked to remain anonymous.
"The bank was about ready to foreclose," said Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Comics and Collectibles in New York. "Literally, this family was in tears. The family home was going to be lost and they're devastated. They can't figure out a way out of this. They start packing things up. They go into the basement and start sifting through boxes – trying to find packing boxes – and they stumble on eight or nine comic books."
Most of the comic books in the box were worth between $10 and $30 but one – dated June 1938 and depicting the Man of Steel lifting a car above his head – was extremely rare. That issue, which originally sold for 10 cents, is considered to have ushered in the age of the superhero.
"It's a tremendous piece of American pop culture history," Zurzolo said. The couple learned online that ComicConnect.com had brokered the record-breaking sales of Action No. 1 copies for $1 million in February and then $1.5 million one month later. They immediately texted a cell phone picture to the firm's co-owner, Stephen Fishler.
"You couldn't have asked for a happier ending," Zurzolo said. "Superman saved the day."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Ping! ;)
“Superman saved the day.”
Great story!
Superman does save the day. But the moral of the story is don’t use your house as a piggy bank.
Love reading stories like this. One comic saves a house!
It’s why we’re storing the H2!
Gonna be worth a million $$$ someday. Yep!
Since it is a collectible they have to pay the full income tax on it instead of the lower capital gains rate. Good thing they can sell it this year before they get the Obama tax increase.
Funny thing is that it wasn’t all that long ago that Action #1 listed for about $5,000. That’s it, five grand. Of course, that was before the “greed” of the 80s, back when the listed price of the cars on “The Price is Right” was under $3,000, so, yeah, it was a while ago.
Well, you know...it’s what I do.
Capital gains tax and “unpaid inheritance tax” will take care of the money they receive.
1.5m for a comic book. Wow.
Comic Book.
Story.
Ever.
And even in the more recent era...
“The copies of Action Comic No. 1 that sold for $1 million and $1.5 million earlier this year had been purchased for about $140,000 each more than a decade ago.”
Man, think of the value now of that otherwise pristine ‘38 Ford Superman is smashing!
Personally, I hope this story hits all the papers and some nice philanthropist bids up the price of this issue and the family gets $500,000 for their comic, or maybe the bank can buy it.
I know that’s Pollyanna-ish, but these folks needed a little miracle. A priest once told me to pray for little miracles because God likes to hear from us. It works. He said to pray for parking spaces — you’d be surprised how often that works.
Last Christmas I had no money for my property taxes and I really didn’t know what I was going to do. I was looking around for things to sell, and an unexpected check came in the mail that was exactly enough to cover the 1st installment. Also, for another miracle, the 2nd installment showwed up on time too.
Shazam!!! Superman to the rescue or was that Capt. Marvel??
I’m thinking a time traveler probably dropped it off in the basement. It’s somehow important to the entire space-time continuum for that family to stay in that house.
paging Dr Who
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