A new record has been set for the most valuable comic book ever sold: Action Comics #1 has been dealt for a monumental price tag of $3.25 million. It’s no secret why: Action Comics #1 is Superman’s fabled first appearance and therefore the celebrated first superhero story. Originally released in 1938, Action Comics #1 featured a Man of Steel who could not yet fly and fought crimes both great and small. As far as modern cultural Americana is concerned, the original superhero comics that gave rise to the global phenomenon in contemporary times are quickly becoming one of the most valuable commercial art forms to grace the auction house and, with this new summit reached, will likely continue to rise in price.

Action Comics #1 (currently on serial issue #1029) was released by Detective Comics in May of 1938, an anthology of 64 pages featuring all manner of comic strip stories including a cowboy western, an explorer’s yarn featuring historical figure Marco Polo and an escapist magician’s action tale featuring the character Zatara among other stories. It was the lead piece, written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Joe Shuster, that would end up having the greatest impact: a 13-page strip entitled “Superman, Champion of the Oppressed,” following the exploits of Daily Star newspaper reporter Clark Kent. In this story, Superman appears as an already fully-formed concept, a tireless warrior for justice who stops political corruption, saves a falsely accused murderer from death row, teaches a wicked wife-beater a lesson and rescues his date Lois Lane after she is abducted by a vicious gang led by sniveling thug Butch Matson. Now almost 83 years old, this story, and the characterization of Superman as an ideal hero within, is one which proved to have staying power.

Related: Small Pieces Of Action Comics #1 Available For Auction

This is why it should be no surprise that it has been, and is now once again, the most expensive comic ever sold. According to the Associated Press, a new sale, done in private, finalized on Tuesday, April 6, and brokered by ComicConnect.com, has raised the price tag up a quarter-million dollars to set a new height of $3.25 million for the highly prized comic. Few details have been released regarding this particular issue except that this particular issue was bought by the seller in 2018 for slightly over $2 million. Previously, the highest-selling copy of Action Comics #1 was sold for $3.2 million in 2014, bought by Vincent Zurzolo, who co-owns ComicConnect.com. This comic was graded at 8.5, which for a more than 70-year-old comic, is superb.

Action Comics 1 Cover Vertical

This original story sets up many tropes now associated with Superman, including his act as a befuddled coward when disguised as Clark Kent, his running tendency of having to save Lois Lane as Superman as well as Lois’s characterization as a tough-talking, no-nonsense reporter.

The sale follows a trend of gradually rising prices for rare, vintage comic books, particularly Golden Age issues such as Batman #1, originally published in 1939 and recently sold for $2,220,000 at Heritage Auctions in January. While treasured artifacts of the bygone origins of our modern culture, these comics are now also big business, and will likely continue to rise ever higher in price. Given that there are only an estimated 100 or so copies of Action Comics #1 in existence, this record-setting Superman sale will likely be topped once again for an even more exorbitant price the next time a copy is sold.

Next: Batman and Superman Return to Their Golden Age Costumes

Source: The Associated Press