First Appearance Of Wonder Woman Sells For New Record

A highly-graded copy of All Star Comics #8, the first appearance of Wonder Woman, sold for a record $1.62 million last week as part of Heritage Auctions’ comics-heavy four-day program, which also saw the iconic cover to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns sell for more than $2 million. The copy of All Star Comics, graded at a 9.4 (out of 10) by Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), marks a record for the issue. The auction blows away the the previous record for this issue — a 2017 sale that went for $936,223. It’s the latest in a string of record-breaking comics sales, and marks the eighth time in 2022 that a comic has sold for over $1 million, including Superman #1, Action Comics #1, Marvel Comics #1, Captain America Comics #1, Fantastic Four #1, and two copies of Detective Comics #27.

The issue, which was released in 1941, does not have the same instantly recognizable quality as some of those other books, or even the Wonder Woman-starring Sensation Comics #1. Instead, it features the Justice Society of America, with Wonder Woman appearing only on the interior. Sensation Comics is often cited as her first appearance, which makes sense given its visibility and the fact that Wonder Woman isn’t even named on the All Star cover. 

“No comic book that is primarily sought for its connection to a female superhero had ever realized more than $1 million at auction until now,” CGC said in an announcement on its website.

The CGC Census lists 191 examples of All Star Comics #8, but this weekend’s record-breaking sale marks the only one that is graded higher than CGC 9.0. 

Other CGC-certified comics that sold for big money at the Heritage Auction last weekend include:

• a Fantastic Four #1 graded CGC 9.0 (lot 91018), which sold for $420,000
• a Detective Comics #29 graded CGC 8.5 (lot 91016), which sold for $276,000
• an Amazing Fantasy #15 graded CGC 7.5 (lot 91003), which sold for $216,000
• an X-Men #1 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 91031), which sold for $204,000
• a Superman #1 graded CGC 1.5 (lot 91026), which sold for $198,600
• a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 graded CGC 9.8 (lot 91029), which sold for $192,000
• an Amazing Spider-Man #1 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 91004), which sold for $168,000
• a Fantastic Four #5 graded CGC 9.4 (lot 91019), which sold for $162,000
  

h/t CGC