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Super-valued: Special copy first-ever Marvel comic fetches US$2.4M

Stephen Fishler, co-owner and CEO of ComicConnect.com, poses for a photo holding up a copy of Marvel Comics #1, Friday, March 18, 2022, in New York. The prized copy of the first-ever Marvel comic book has fetched over $2.4 million in an online auction. (Michael Cohen via AP) Stephen Fishler, co-owner and CEO of ComicConnect.com, poses for a photo holding up a copy of Marvel Comics #1, Friday, March 18, 2022, in New York. The prized copy of the first-ever Marvel comic book has fetched over $2.4 million in an online auction. (Michael Cohen via AP)
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A particularly prized copy of the first-ever Marvel comic book fetched more than US$2.4 million in an online auction, the auctioneer said Friday.

Known as the Marvel Comics #1 "pay copy," it's "arguably one of the top three comic books in the world of comics collecting," said Vincent Zurzolo, chief operating officer of ComicConnect. The New York-based auctioneer sold the book Thursday night for a bit under $2,427,800.

The buyer's name has not been disclosed. He is "an extremely passionate comic book collector and investor" who also collects other items, Zurzolo said.

Published in 1939, Marvel Comics #1 introduced characters including Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch, a precursor of the character of the same name that was later a member of Marvel's Fantastic Four. The book launched what became the Marvel universe of comics, movies, TV shows and video games.

The very well-preserved "pay copy" is especially sought-after because it bears the publisher's handwritten notes recording how much the multiple writers and artists were paid. For example, Frank R. Paul earned $25 for drawing the cover of a book now worth nearly 100,000 times as much.

"It's an incredibly important look into the world and behind the scenes of the creation" of a comics powerhouse, Zurzolo said.

The Marvel universe would eventually include such characters as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, X-Men, the Avengers, Iron Man, Daredevil and the Hulk, often known on-screen as the Incredible Hulk.

"Without this comic book being made, who knows? Maybe none of that happens," Zurzolo said. "Maybe the name `Marvel Comics' resonated so much with people, in some way, that that's what helped to birth all these other things."

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