Superman #1 and Batman #1 to Auction in UK for First Time

UK-based Excalibur Auctions is offering two rare comics believed never to have been offered in the UK before at auction.

The first is Superman #1 which arrived in 1939, one year after his first appearance in Action Comics #1 which demonstrated his quick rise in popularity. The issue retells the origin of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, with new material. A spokesperson for Excalibur said: “This comic is graded 1.8 by CGC and presents well considering it is 85 years old and was printed on cheap paper at the time. At the time of writing, there are currently 77 unrestored copies on the CGC census with only 37 of them graded higher.” It has a starting price of £20,000.

The second is Batman #1 with a starting price of £5,000. Having first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, this is Batman’s first solo-titled comic and features the first appearances of two of his most famous foes, The Joker and Catwoman. The issue saw the publication of four stories, including The Joker, The Giants of Dr. Hugo Strange, The Cat and The Joker Returns. The stories are believed to have been written by the American comic book, TV and film writer Bill Finger (1914-1974) and it has a classic cover image by Bob Kane (1915-1998) who co-created Batman and most early characters for DC Comics. It dates from 1940 and is graded 3.0 (RESTORED C-3) by CGC.

Both comics will be offered in Excalibur Auctions' Marvel, DC & Independent Comic Books sale on June 8.

Jonathan Torode, Excalibur’s Auctioneer said: “We are thrilled to be able to offer these two pieces of exceptionally rare comic history. Having not been sold in the UK before, except one without a cover, this is a historic moment for us as specialists and the comic industry and comic fan base.”