Finest known copy of Batman No. 1 sells for an insane $2.2 million

The finest known copy of 1940’s Batman No. 1 sold for $2.22 million at a Heritage Auction on Thursday.

The issue, the sole copy ever to receive a 9.4 grade from the Certified Guaranty Company, was already a record-setter before the start of Heritage Auctions’ four-day Comics and Comic Art event. A week before the Jan. 14-17 auction even began, Batman No. 1 crossed the $1.53-million mark, besting the previous world record set for a Batman title in November when Heritage sold 1939’s Detective Comics No. 27 for $1.5 million.

The book shattered estimates and expectations long before it was sold during the first session of the four-day event. It has seen more than two dozen bids since Christmas and accrued tens of thousands of pageviews worldwide; more than 700 Heritage clients also kept close tabs on its progress as it made its way toward the auction block.

This issue of Batman No. 1, featuring the debuts of the Joker and Catwoman, is now the most expensive comic book ever sold by Heritage Auctions.

The current record for a comic book is Action Comics No. 1 (the first appearance of Superman) which sold for $3.2 million on eBay in 2014, so at $2.2 million this issue of Batman is a total bargain. At this price I can only assume the buyer is purchasing it to use as toilet paper since supermarkets have put a limit on how much can be bought.