Captain America #1 Sells for Over $3 Million at Auction

A copy of Captain America Comics #1, the 1940 issue from Timely by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby that introduced Steve Rogers, Bucky, and The Red Skull to the world, was recently sold at auction for over $3 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Heritage Auctions sold the issue, which was in fact a CGC graded copy with a Near Mint 9.4 rating, one of only three copies of the landmark issue that have been graded that high (with the other two sitting at 9.6 and 9.8). To give you an idea of the rising value of this comic, the same issue has sold at auction through Heritage twice before, for just over $25k in 2010 and then for $915k in 2019.

This issue of Captain America Comics #1 joins a rare pedigree of comics that have sold for prices like this. Sitting ahead of the $3.12 million that this issue fetched are just a few other key issues including: a 9.6 copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 (the first appearance of Spider-Man) which sold for over $3.6 million; plus multiple copies of Action Comics #1 (the first appearance of Superman) which have sold for between $3.1 million and $3.2 million at auction. A copy of Batman #1 went for over $2.2 million in January of last year as well.

In the pages of Marvel comics, Captain America recently concluded a run by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates that wrapped up last summer. Since then the character has only appeared in other books from the publisher but will branch off into two different titles come this summer, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, a series focused on Steve Rogers as the hero, and Captain America: Symbol of Truth, a series focused on Sam Wilson as the hero. Both will be published concurrently starting this summer.

As for the character's status on the big screen, Anthony Mackie has officially graduated to the title having inherited the shield and a brand new suit in the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+. It didn't take long for that series to conclude though before it was confirmed that Mackie would be taking his wings and new title onto the big screen with a fourth Captain America movie officially in the works. Previous reports indicated that Chris Evans may also be returning for a role in the MCU as well.