The Marvel-Verlag revolutionized in the sixties together with the draftsman Stan Lee the superhero genre. Many of the characters such as X-Men, Hulk or Black Panther dominated for years also feature films. The foundations for this have been laid several decades earlier - and one of the earliest comic books has now been auctioned off.
For the booklet from the year 1939 now $ 1.26 million were offered in the US. The booklet is the "grandfather of all Marvel comics," said Ed Jaster of the auction house Heritage Auctions.
The comic is in very good condition and cost only ten cents at its appearance in 1939. It is the most expensive auctioned Marvel comic yet. The bid had been received by phone at the auction in Dallas, Texas. The buyer is a longtime collector of historical comic books.
"Amazing Fantasy", the first issue of Spiderman, scored $ 1.1 million at a 2011 auction. The most expensive comic to ever be auctioned is the first issue of Action Comics from 1938. The issue of Superman's first appearance was sold for $ 3.2 million in 2014.
On the cover of the comic with a fiery red figure are characters like the human torch, Sub-Mariner, the Angel and KA-Zar. According to the auction house, the booklet was then purchased from a postman who collected all first editions of comic books at a kiosk in the US state of Pennsylvania.