All right so a guy buys a house in Minnesota (Or some state like that-- I don't do fact checks-- pretend you're watching The Daily Show and take what I say as gospel) for $10K and starts to remodel.
He finds the walls insulated with newspapers and out falls an issue of Action Comics #1 from 1938-- which for you non-comics geeks out there is the FIRST appearance of Superman.
I've gotten asked about this a lot over the past three weeks or so-- and I'm disappointed that the local radio station didn't call me to ask what I thought-- they called me when Captain America was killed in the comics, they called me when Batman was killed in the comics, they called me when Superman was killed in the comics-- I think they finally realized that a death in comics is nothing like the real world.
So this Jamoke finds a copy of Action Comics #1 in the wall of his home that he just bought and paid only $10K for-- the comic book itself-- allegedly rated a 3.0 until he ripped the cover bringing it down to a 1.5 is valued at $100K-- and it hit $107K at last check of the auction it was listed in.
Good score for this guy, no?
Hmmm.
I question the timing.
Warner Bros is releasing the newly rebooted please forget about the Bryan Singer movie from only a few years ago MAN OF STEEL to possibly create a new franchise and even mimic the success Marvel Comics had with creating film franchises of their popular characters and then creating the BIGGEST movie hit of all time by putting them together in THE AVENGERS.
That seems just a trifle co-incidental.
The book also went to auction pretty quickly-- and not Comic Link where you'd expect it--because if you google search comic book auctions that comes up first-- and they are located in Chicago which last time I checked was near Minnesota.
They didn't go with Heritage either-- and they come up 2nd- and are notable for selling big publicity items.
They went with Comic Connect, a more than reputable auction site that I've done business with in the past (I've done business with them all) but Comic Connect is directly connected to Metropolis Comics in New York City-- who in my opinion are stand up guys but not adverse to getting publicity-- and they know how to get it.
Metropolis Comics, unlike the auction houses mentioned first, also has the one thing needed if one were to pull of a publicity stunt of this magnitude-- they have comic books in stock, some big comic books and very likely an Action Comics #1 in 1.5 grade condition.
They are also located in New York City, which happens to have a DC Comics office-- publisher of Superman Comics-- and a Warner Bros office-- producer of the new Superman film.
I don't believe in coincidences and I have an even harder time believing that someone in 1938 stuck a bunch of comics as insulation in a wall along with newspapers.
But who knows--
