Bam! Superman comic book bops Batman record

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There's a multi-million-dollar battle brewing between superheroes.

Just a month after a Batman comic knocked Superman from his perch as the highest-selling comic book ever, Clark Kent's alias is back for revenge. A high-quality copy of Action Comics #1, which marks Superman's 1938 debut, sold for $1.5 million on Monday.

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A high-quality copy of Action Comics #1, which marked the debut of Superman in 1938, sold for $1.5 million Monday.

A lower quality copy of Action Comics #1 was the first comic book to reach the $1 million mark in February, but it only held the record for three days before a copy of Detective Comics #27 - the comic book that marked the first appearance of Batman in 1939 - netted $1.08 million at auction.

ComicConnect.com, an online comics seller, claimed to make both the record-breaking $1.5 million sale Monday and the $1 million sale in February. Vincent Zurzolo, who co-owns the site with Stephen Fishler, said headlines about the sales last month helped drive interest in comic book trades since then.

Three million-dollar sales in a month, regardless of the character, are great news for comic book fans looking to increase the value of their collections, said Ed Jaster, vice president of Heritage Auctions, a Dallas-based auction firm that sold the Batman comic book last month.

"This puts the hobby in a much greater light," he said. "People now have to think of vintage comics with the same kind of respect that they would with American paintings."

As for the age-old question of who would win in a fight, Zurzolo said that,- hands down, it's the "Man of Steel."

"Based on sheer strength and super powers, Superman wins every day of the week," Zurzolo said. "Batman is so much more mortal."  To top of page

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