Superman Comic Books: Which Issues Collectors Chase and Why Grade Matters

The three books at the top

Superman collecting starts with the character's origin and the first comic given over to him alone.

Action Comics #1 (cover date June 1938, on sale April 1938) is where Superman first appeared. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created him, and Detective Comics, Inc., the company that became DC Comics, published the issue. It is the first superhero comic and the most valuable comic book in the world: a CGC 8.5 copy sold for 6 million dollars at Heritage Auctions in April 2024. The guide to the first appearance of Superman covers the book in detail.

Superman #1 is the first comic devoted to a single superhero. A CGC 7.0 copy sold privately for 5.3 million dollars in 2022. Other record sales are listed in the guide to the most expensive comic books ever sold.

Superman #2 (cover date Fall 1939) is the second issue of that title. Joe Shuster's cover shows Superman lifting a car, and like #1 it reprinted and expanded early Action Comics stories alongside new material. It costs far less than #1 but is scarce in any grade. The guide to Superman #2 has the details.

Why the early solo issues matter

Few collectors will own Action Comics #1. The Golden Age run of the solo Superman title is where most can realistically hold a piece of the character's earliest years. Copies of early issues currently listed include Superman #1 in CGC 3.5, Superman #2 in CBCS 3.0 and Superman #9 in CGC 3.5.

Later issues in the run, such as Superman #101, #104 and #108, are also listed. How collectible any given issue is depends on its story content, its scarcity and current demand, so check what the specific issue is known for before paying a premium.

What CGC and CBCS look at on a Superman book

CGC and CBCS are third-party grading companies. Both grade on a 0.5 to 10.0 scale and seal the book in a tamper-evident holder. On a 1930s or 1940s Superman comic, graders focus on the things that age badly on pulp-era paper:

• Cover condition: creases, spine stress, color breaks, wear at the corners and edges, and any tears or missing pieces.
• Spine: splits, roll and stress lines, and the state of the staples.
• Page quality: paper from this period is prone to browning and brittleness, and the grade and label notes reflect that.
• Restoration: a book that has been cleaned, color-touched or repaired is flagged and sold at a different level than an unrestored copy, so check the label type before comparing prices.

How the grade changes the price

For any one issue, grade is the largest single driver of price, and the gap between a low-grade and a high-grade copy of an early Superman book can be very large. The record figures above show it: they were paid for specific grades of specific books, not for the issues in general.

Price a copy by finding recent sold prices for the same issue, at the same grade, with the same label type, from auction houses and marketplaces. Asking prices are not sales. A mid-grade copy of a Golden Age issue and a high-grade copy of the same issue are different markets.

If you already own Superman comics

Early Superman books can be valuable, but most of a household's Superman comics are usually later and more common. Before spending on grading, get an opinion on which issues justify it. A collection appraisal can sort that out, and grading submission handles the CGC or CBCS process for books that qualify.

For the character's origin and the company behind him, see the short history of DC Comics. The full list of copies for sale is on the Superman character page, with every graded book in the store.