GUEST:
This is "Action" 1 and "Detective" 27. The first appearance of Superman in "Action" 1 and "Detective Comics" is first appearance of Batman. I knew about the, the comics, but I-- and I was collecting comics, but I wasn't really going for the keys, as they call them. I was just a completist. I was just completing runs of comics. And then one day, I, I thought, "You know what? "I really would like to have these books because of their historical significance." So I got them together about ten or 15 years ago.

APPRAISER:
What do you think of when you think of Superman?

GUEST:
First of all, he was like an immigrant, a force for good. Like I believe most immigrants are.

APPRAISER:
And Batman?

GUEST:
Batman is the same, although Batman is darker. In Batman, there's not just the fight against evil, but also, I think, a, a desire to redeem.

APPRAISER:
I think you're absolutely spot-on when you're talking about Superman, because, let's face it, he changed the world completely in 1938. I mean, he's the first comic book superhero, and he created, basically, the comic book industry. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the basement of, of Jerry Siegel's house in Cleveland, and what I find fascinating, they originally had him as a villain...

GUEST:
Hm.

APPRAISER:
...in 1933, and they realized after a while that this wasn't going to work, this comic strip. Heroes have longevity, and we can see that because both of these superheroes have lasted more than eight decades. This is "Action Comics" 1. This is the most important comic book in the history of comic books, because it is the dawn of the Golden Age, with Superman. And it's interesting, because when Detective Comics issued it in 1938, they printed 200,000 copies, but they didn't know, because there are actually 11 stories in the "Action Comics" book. It just happened that Superman is the lead and on the cover.

GUEST:
Hm.

APPRAISER:
And when they sold out of 200,000 copies, it still took them a couple of months to figure out it was Superman. The creators of Batman are Bob Kane and Bill Finger. All four of these creators were inspired, interestingly enough, by Douglas Fairbanks and "The Mask of Zorro." It's in this time period of the 1930s where you've got the rise of Hitler. These creators were all Jewish immigrants, and the fate of our world was really hanging in the balance. So why not create these superheroes who are going to give inspiration and hope to generations of people? What did you pay for these?

GUEST:
For this one, at the time, I think I paid about $55,000. This one cost me less. It was about $40,000 $45,000.

APPRAISER:
Today, believe it or not, you're looking at probably about 100 copies of each that exist. These have been restored.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
If you had a book that was in poor condition, this would bring it up to a much better, you know, higher level, much more presentable. Also, it'd raise the value up.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
But not nearly as much as one that's in original condition. We're looking at "Detective Comics" today, now, this is graded a 7.0 on a scale of one to 10 in restored condition. An estimate on this, an auction estimate, is going to be somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 today.

GUEST:
Oh, wow. Oh. That's a lot more than I would've imagined. (chuckles)

APPRAISER:
And that, that's quite the layaway plan now. (laughs)

GUEST:
Well, no, the guy who sold it must be hitting himself in the, against the wall right now. But then we all did that at some point.

APPRAISER:
Well...

GUEST:
But this is great to know.

APPRAISER:
If this was an original...

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
Now you're looking $800,000 to $900,000.

GUEST:
Hm.

APPRAISER:
And "Action" is the same. I mean, this is the second-most important comic. This is the, the ultimate Holy Grail. Most important of the Golden Age comics. This is graded lower than "Detective," it's 5.5, but it's a more important comic. So again, you're looking at an auction estimate probably somewhere, at least $175,000 to $225,000.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
And again, if this were a 5.5 in an original condition, you're looking at $800,000 to $900,000.

GUEST:
My socks go up and down.

APPRAISER:
(laughs)

GUEST:
Of joy. Thank you, socks. No, but, you know, it's, it's interesting. I mean, I'm glad I did it.

APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.

GUEST:
I just, I'm a, like, like... I'm a collector. Like I said, a completist. So it's really wonderful to know that at least I'm helping protect the books, as well. But at the same time, they're gonna help me in the future. Not just me, my son. My, my family. So it's good to know.