$9.12 million for a comic book? Sure! A replica of the primary Superman comedian, found by three brothers whereas cleansing out their late mom’s attic, bought for $9.12 million this month at a Texas public sale home, setting a brand new file for the costliest comedian guide ever bought.The brothers found the comedian guide in a cardboard field beneath layers of brittle newspapers, mud and cobwebs of their deceased mom’s San Francisco house final 12 months, alongside a handful of different uncommon comics that she and her sibling had collected on the cusp of World Battle II.She had advised her youngsters she had a helpful comedian guide assortment hidden away, however they’d by no means seen it till they put her home up on the market and determined to comb by the basement for heirlooms, stated Lon Allen, vp of comics at Heritage Auctions. The brothers uncovered the field of comics and despatched a message to the public sale firm, main Allen to fly out to San Francisco earlier this 12 months to examine their copy of “Superman No. 1” and present it to different specialists for appraisal.A small, in-house commercial within the comedian guide helped specialists determine it as originating from the primary version of 500,000 Superman No. 1 copies ever printed. Allen estimates there are fewer than 500 in existence right now.“It was simply in an attic, sitting in a field, may have simply been thrown away, may’ve simply been destroyed in a thousand other ways,” Allen stated, as quoted by AP. “Lots of people bought excited as a result of it’s simply each consider accumulating that you can presumably need all rolled into one.”The “Superman No. 1” comedian, launched in 1939 by Detective Comics Inc., is considered one of a small variety of copies recognized to be in existence and is in glorious situation. The Man of Metal was the primary superhero to enter popular culture, serving to enhance the copy’s worth amongst collectors, alongside its inconceivable backstory, Allen stated.The copy was not given any particular safety, however the cool Northern California local weather helped protect it, leaving it with a agency backbone, vibrant colours and crisp corners, in accordance with a press release from Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The copy was rated a 9.0 out of 10 by comics grading firm CGC, that means it had solely the slightest indicators of damage and growing old.The earlier file for the world’s costliest comedian guide had been set final 12 months, when an “Motion Comics No. 1” — which first launched Superman to the world as a part of an anthology — bought for $6 million. In 2022, one other Superman No. 1 bought for $5.3 million.The three brothers, of their 50s and 60s, didn’t want to be recognized because of the windfall concerned nor did the client of the comedian guide, in accordance with the public sale home.“This isn’t merely a narrative about previous paper and ink,” one brother stated in a press release launched by the public sale home. “This was by no means nearly a collectible. This can be a testomony to reminiscence, household and the surprising methods the previous finds its manner again to us.”