CGC-certified Fantastic Four #1 Realizes Record $2.04 Million in Heritage Sale

As fans await the new Fantastic Four movie in 2025, sales of the team’s first appearance have been increasing rapidly, with an example of the book graded by Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®) realizing a record $2.04 million. The book led the way at Heritage Auctions’ Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction, a multi-day sale that began on September 12, 2024.

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The Fantastic Four #1 graded CGC 9.6 (lot 91010) realized a record $2,040,000, the highest price at auction for any Fantastic Four book and the second-highest for any Silver Age comic book. With the first appearance of the Fantastic Four by the iconic duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this 1961 comic helped inaugurate the modern Marvel era of comics as we know it today.

There are slightly more than 3,000 examples of this comic in the CGC Comics Census, but this is one of only two with the highest grade of 9.6, as of September 2024. The record was previously held by a CGC 9.2 that sold for $1.5 million through Heritage Auctions in 2022. (To see CGC’s list of most expensive comic books ever sold, click here.)

Breaking the $2 million mark elevates Fantastic Four #1 into an elite club of only eight comics, which also includes Action Comics #1, Superman #1, Captain America Comics #1, Marvel Comics #1, Batman #1, Tales of Suspense #39 and Amazing Fantasy #15.

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Another impressive price for a CGC-certified comic in this sale was for an Amazing Fantasy #1 graded CGC 9.0 (lot 91004), which realized $540,000. The book features the first appearance of Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962. After the character’s immediate success in Amazing Fantasy #15, Marvel rushed Spider-Man into his own monthly series, and he has become one of the most recognizable superheroes of all time. This sale is a new record for this comic in this grade.

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Another extraordinary sale from this auction was as Amazing Stories #29 graded CGC 9.8 (lot 91017), which realized $105,000. What stands out here isn’t just the six-figure finish, but also its stunning grade. This pulp is nearly a century old and pre-dates the modern superhero by a decade, and it’s incredible to find a book of its age graded CGC 9.8! CGC began grading pulps this year and there are already 29 examples of this pulp in CGC Comics Census, but this one is easily the single highest-graded copy.

Published by Gernsback in 1928, this pulp is the first appearance of Buck Rogers, by creator Philip Francis Nowlan. After his debut, Buck Rogers was featured in a popular newspaper comic strip in 1929, which launched the character into radio, movies and television.

Other CGC-certified highlights from this sale included:

• an Amazing Fantasy #15 graded CGC 7.5 (lot 91170), which realized $156,000
• a Fantastic Four #5 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 91011), which realized $132,000
• a Showcase #4 graded CGC 9.0 (lot 91013), which realized $96,000
• a Crime SuspenStories #22 graded CGC 9.4 and pedigreed as the Gaines File Copy (lot 91007), which realized $90,000
• a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 graded CGC 9.8 (lot 91016), which realized $87,000
• a Superman #2 graded CGC 8.0 (lot 91015), which realized $78,000
• a Sub-Mariner Comics #1 graded CGC 8.0 (lot 91131), which realized $72,000

Prices realized include buyer's premium.

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. The newest division of CGC, CGC Home Video, provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of home media, including Betamax tapes, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.