First ‘Fantastic Four’ Comic Sells For $1.5 Million

Topline

A well-preserved copy of the first issue in the Marvel comic series Fantastic Four from 1961 sold for $1.5 million at auction Thursday, seven times more than a pre-sale valuation, according to the auction house.

Three men study a copy of Fantastic Four at the 1981 Australian Comic Convention.

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Key Facts

An online buyer snapped up the comic for the highest price yet paid for the issue of Fantastic Four, according to Heritage Auctions, and the second-highest for a title from the so-called Silver Age of comic books, a period roughly between 1956 and 1975 when their popularity began to rebound in the U.S. after a decline following World War II.

The Certified Guaranty Company, which grades the quality of comic books, rated the comic a 9.2 out of 10, and according to their 2022 census, only five copies of the comic were rated higher.

The sale also far surpassed pre-sale valuations, and fetched seven times more than the $210,000 price tag suggested last year for a 9.2 CGC rating in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, the leading comic book price guide.

Big Number

$3.6 million. That’s the record auction price for a comic book, paid in September for Amazing Fantasy No. 15, which was published in 1962 and includes Spider-Man’s first appearance.

Key Background

The Fantastic Four series was the first superhero team comic created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and its success inspired the company to launch characters including Spider-Man, the X-Men, The Incredible Hulk and to revive Captain America. Auction prices of superhero comic books have been rising, driven by the popularity of superhero movies at the box office and on streaming services. On Thursday, a copy of the first comic to feature Captain America sold for more than $3 million.

Surprising Fact

Of the top 10 highest-grossing films, four are superhero movies released by Marvel in the past 10 years, according to figures from IMDb. Those titles are Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Avengers.