Superman-Man-of-Steel
1st Superman comic book sells for $317,200 John Dolmayan, drummer of the rock band System of a Down and a dealer of rare comics, purchases a copy of ‘the Holy Grail of comic books’ for a client. A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman has sold for $317,200 in an Internet auction. The previous owner had bought it secondhand for less than a buck.It is one of the highest prices ever paid for a comic book, probably a testament to the volume’s rarity and excellent condition, said Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the auction site ComicConnect.com and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles. The winning bid for the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, whose cover features Superman lifting a car, was submitted Friday evening by John Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of a Down, according to managers at ComicConnect.com. Dolmayan, who is also a dealer of rare comic books, said he acquired the Superman comic on behalf of a client. He declined to identify the client.”This is one of the premier books you could collect,” he said in a telephone interview. “It’s considered the Holy Grail of comic books. I talked to my client, and we made the move.”Dolmayan said the client has “a small collection, but everything he has is incredible.”Only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist, and they seldom come up for sale.Fishler said, “Maybe in a booming economy, it would have done a hundred grand more, but in this economy, I think the price is great.”The previous owner had purchased it in a secondhand store in the early 1950s when he was 9 years old. He paid 35 cents.