Another multi-million dollar comic book sale may be on the horizon this fall at Heritage Auctions as a Fantastic Four No. 1 comic book (CGC 9.6) is set to sell, the highest-graded copy to ever sell publicly.
The comic introduced the world to Marvel’s first superhero team, the Fantastic Four, in 1961, creating the blueprint for a new era and the dominance of Marvel.
No examples of this title rank higher in CGC’s census, with only one other copy found at the same condition grade. The next highest graded copy to sell publicly was a CGC 9.2 example, which sold for $1.5 million in 2022.
Fantastic Four’s influence is undeniable, as some even credit the series with the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s decision to create long-term story arcs and plot points for its characters. The origins can be traced back to publisher Martin Goldman, who noticed the success of rival company DC Comics’ “Justice League of America,” prompting him to tell Lee to create Marvel’s own superhero team.
Some say the series is responsible for launching Lee and Kirby’s reputations into the stratosphere thanks to its extraordinary success.
Earlier this year, the record for the most expensive comic book ever sold was set when Heritage notched $6 million for a copy of Action Comics No. 1. There have been a total of four comic book sales of over $1 million thus far in 2024, including a CGC 9.8 copy of Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, which sold for $1.38 million in January 2024.
Amazing Spider-Man No. 1 was released in 1962, just one year after Fantastic Four No. 1, but Spider-Man has nearly 5,000 copies in the CGC census while Fantastic Four has around 3,000.
There is also a discrepancy in terms of grade distribution between the two Silver Age Comics, as the Spider-Man debut has 26 examples graded CGC 9.0 or higher (including two CGC 9.8s) while Fantastic Four has a mere eight copies at CGC 9.2 or higher.
In addition to the healthy indicators stemming from the record-setting sale earlier this year, GoCollect’s Comics CPI, a collection of indices meant to measure the performance of various sub-categories in the comic market, shows that high-value books (measured by the Big Spenders Club index) have risen 53.7% over the past five years though they have remained essentially flat over the past year.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.