Action Comics #1 sells for 2.16 Million Dollars!

Where the heck are my old comics????

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A rare and pristine copy of the first issue of Action Comics, famed for the first appearance of Superman, has set a record Wednesday for the most money paid for a single comic book: $2.16 million.

The issue, graded at 9.0, was auctioned starting Nov. 11 online at www.comicconnect.com. The starting bid was just $1 but there was a reserve price of $900,000. Neither the name of the buyer nor seller was disclosed.

It's the first time a comic book has broken the $2 million barrier. The issue was published in 1938 and cost just 10 cents.

"When we broke the record in 2010 by selling the Action Comics No. 1, graded at 8.5, for $1.5 million, I truly believed that this was a record that would stand for many years to come," said Stephen Fishler, CEO of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Collectibles.

The previous record set in March 2010 was followed by the sale of another copy for $1 million. But neither of those issues was in as good a condition as the issue that sold Wednesday, though it's pedigree of setting records was already documented. Twice before it set the record for the most expensive book ever, selling for $86,000 in 1992 and $150,000 in 1997.

But in 2000, it was stolen and thought lost until it was recovered in a storage shed in California in April this year.

About 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are believed to be in existence, and only a handful of those in good condition.

After it was stolen, Fishler said, collectors figured it would never be found or, worse, would be destroyed.

"Clearly, I was wrong. Not in my wildest imagination could I have predicted that this legendary, stolen Action Comics No. 1 would be found, graded at 9.0 and break the record a year and a half later," he said.

Zack Snyder signs to direct the new reboot of "Superman"

This must be a dream come true for Zack. Despite including some truly inspired choices like Darren Aronofsky, Matt Reeves and Duncan Jones, Deadline and Heat Vision are now reporting that Zack Snyder (of Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch) has been officially chosen to direct The Man of Steel, with final negotiations currently taking place this week with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.

Not many details are known about the project besides the fact that they need to get it going by 2012 before they lose the rights and that it will have some sort of connection to the Richard Donner Superman series of the past. Heat Vision, interestingly, also hints that the villain might be none other than General Zod. Zack won the gig by meeting with studio execs and producers Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas, almost all of whom are familiar with him considering his last few movies have all been made at Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. He also just opened the animated adventure Legend of the Guardians at WB back in late September.

Is Zack Snyder the perfect choice for Superman? That's going to be the question on everyone's mind the rest of this year (and probably next). I'm one of the few who defends Watchmen, especially Zack's Director's Cut, because it is a great adaptation stylized in a perfect Snyder way but with the same, fantastic story from the graphic novel. David S. Goyer is currently working on the screenplay for The Man of Steel from his own idea, and I'm sure Zack will tweak the script once he gets his hands on it. I'm kind of excited to see what he'll do with this superhero. Let's just hope Superman isn't his downfall like it was for Bryan Singer.

The most incredible slide for home...EVER!

Baseball, for the most part, is boring. Tedious long innings, with nothing happening. Except for those incredible moments where you can't believe what you see. Such is this moment.

Here's Brian Kownacki, a Fordham baseball player. Their team was losing 9 to 1 to Iona College. In the 8th inning, the Fordham team initiated a rally that put them withing distance of tying Iona.

Then this happen...

Kownacki leaps over the catcher @ Yahoo! Video

He was called safe! No rules were broken. Fordham went to win the game 12 to 9.

Batman beats Superman...again!

After some guy paid $1 million dollars for a comic with the first appearance of Superman, Batman comes and steals his thunder!

SUPERMAN and Batman's first appearances in comic books have each set auction sales records and broken the $1 million barrier, in an age when traditional investments have fared badly and superheroes look attractive.

A 1939 comic with the first ever appearance of masked crime fighter Batman sold at auction in Dallas overnight for a record $1.75 million, said Heritage Auction Galleries.

Three days earlier, a buyer paid US$1 million for Superman's world debut in Action Comics #1, more than tripling the previous comic book sales record set last year.

Shirrel Rhoades, former publisher and executive vice president of Marvel Comics, said high sales for those comics is partly a reflection on the poor economy.

"When the stock market is down, when real estate investments are over the cliff, collectibles offer an alternative that you can invest in that may have some growth potential," Mr Rhoades said.

He said the 1938 Action Comics #1 is arguably more historic than the first appearance of Batman, but that this week's sales seem to be following their own logic.

"We're probably seeing a little bit of a feeding frenzy," Mr Rhoades said
"With the sale of Action #1 for a million, I think that's going to keep prices up for awhile."

Heritage Auction Galleries did not disclose the name of the previous owner or the winning bidder for Detective Comics #27, the first book featuring Batman.

The previous owner is a savvy collector who bought the comic for $100 more than 40 years ago, a figure which at the time seemed a large price, said Heritage Auction Galleries.

The Action Comics #1 sale was handled by ComicConnect.com, and Vincent Zurzolo, chief operating officer of the website, echoed Mr Rhoades' view that comics are fetching record sums because they are an attractive investment in a down economy.

He said buyers pay high sums for vintage comics because they want something "they're familiar with, that they feel comfortable with, that they think are good investments."

Back in the 1930s, both Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27 sold for US10 cents.

Experts said the same edition of a comic can vary widely in price, depending on condition.

Heritage Auction and CommicConnect said the books they sold this week were pristine, well-preserved copies.

Mr Rhoades said he owns a ragged copy of Action Comics #1 that lacks a front cover and is worth very little.

But he said that more than eight years ago, he gave an art college a 1963 Amazing Spider-Man #1 then worth $40,000. He estimates the figure has since climbed above $100,000.

"My wife jokingly said why did I give it away, when I could have kept it and sold it a few years later for more than double its value," Mr Rhoades said.

And still kids are going hungry in Haiti and other parts of the world!

The Holy Grail of Comics sets a new record!

Action Comics #1 is called the "Holy Grail" of Comics because it's the first issue Superman appears. Well, the Man Of Steel can boast of a new record.

NEW YORK – A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman sold Monday for $1 million, smashing the previous record price for a comic book.

A 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books, was sold from a private seller to a private buyer, neither of whom released their names. The issue features Superman lifting a car on its cover and originally cost 10 cents.

The transaction was conducted by the auction site ComicConnect.com. Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the site and its sister dealership, Metropolis Collectibles, orchestrated the sale.

Fishler said it transpired minutes after the issue was put on sale at around 10:30 a.m. Eastern time (1530 GMT). He said that the seller was a "well known individual" in New York with a pedigree collection, and that the buyer was a known customer who previously bought an Action Comics No. 1 of lesser grade.

"It's considered by most people as the most important book," said John Dolmayan, a comic book enthusiast and dealer best known as the drummer for System of a Down. "It kind of ushered in the age of the superheroes."

Dolmayan, who owns Torpedo Comics, last year paid $317,000 for an Action Comics No. 1 issue for a client. Others have sold for more than $400,000, he said, but this copy fetched a much higher price because it's in better condition. It's rated an "8.0 grade," or "very fine."

Dolmayan said he didn't buy this copy but he wishes he could have.

"The fact that this book is completely un-restored and still has an 8.0 grade, it's kind of like a diamond or a precious stone. It's very rare," he said.

There are only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful have been rated so highly. It's rarer still for those copies to be made available for sale.

"The opportunity to buy an un-restored, high-grade Action One comes along once every two decades," Fishler said. "It's certainly a milestone."

The sticker shock was astounding to Fishler, nevertheless.

"It is still a little stunning to see 'a comic book' and '$1 million' in the same sentence," Fishler said. "There's only one time a collectible hits the $1 million threshold."

Wow! A cool million for a comic book that was only 10 cents 72 years ago! Do you think any of the kids that got that comic in 1938, would have known that 10 cent rag would be worth a king's ransom today?

So long DC Comics!

DC Comics is no more...now it's DC Entertaiment!

LOS ANGELES — Warner Brothers Entertainment said Wednesday that it was revamping its DC Comics franchise into a new company, DC Entertainment, that will try to more aggressively exploit its comic-book characters — including Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman — across film, television and other media.

The move, which Warner Brothers executives said has been in the works for months, comes quickly on the heels of the Walt Disney Company’s recent surprise deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment, the biggest rival of DC Comics. Disney said last week that it would pay $4 billion in cash and stock to buy Marvel, whose characters include Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four.

Diane Nelson, who among other duties has overseen the Harry Potter franchise at Warner since 1999, was appointed president of DC Entertainment, reporting to Jeff Robinov, president of the Warner Brothers Picture Group. Paul Levitz, who has served as president and publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will become a contributing editor and consultant to DC Entertainment.

Ms. Nelson’s new duties will extend beyond trying to create more blockbuster films featuring the DC Comics characters, company officials said, to exploiting more of its characters in other formats — opportunities that Warner executives clearly believed were being missed.

“It’s no secret that DC has myriad rich and untapped possibilities from its deep library of iconic and lesser-known characters,” Alan Horn, president and chief operating office of Warner Brothers Entertainment, said in a statement.

Warner had intended to announce details about its plans for DC Comics in January, as it begins a 75th anniversary celebration of the DC brand, Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner, said in an interview.

But the Disney announcement resulted in so many questions about the possibly heightened competition “that it would have been disingenuous for us to suggest that we had not been thinking about it.” He added that the Marvel-Disney announcement “reconfirmed in us our strong belief in how valuable DC really is.”

While Warner had a major hit in 2008 with “The Dark Knight,” part of the Batman franchise, the 2006 film “Superman Returns” did not live up to expectations, and many of its other most recognizable characters have long been absent from the big screen.

The next major theatrical release based on a DC Comics character, “Jonah Hex,” is scheduled for June 2010. The company also plans to release “The Green Lantern” in 2011.

Superman and other characters have been much more active in animated direct-to-DVD releases from Warner Premiere, the division overseen by Ms. Nelson since its founding in 2006.

In addition, “Smallville,” a television series broadcast on the CW network that chronicles Superman’s teenage years, is one of the longest-running series produced by Warner Brothers Television.

Yup! I can't wait for that Superman/Batman/Bugs Bunny/Porky crossover!