Rare Spider-Man Comic Book Scores Huge Bid Days Before Auction

Heritage Auctions is in possession of Amazing Fantasy #15, a Marvel comic book published in 1962. This is the first Marvel comic book to feature the now-iconic superhero Spider-Man — and, in the case of this auction, the comic book is in 'pristine' condition. The auction house is accepting bids for the comic book ahead of its live auction next week, and someone has already put down more than $2 million for the product.

Heritage Auctions first detailed the comic book milestone back in August, explaining that as of August 18, bidding on the title had pushed the comic book's value to $2.25 million, not including the buyer's premium. What makes this comic book so valuable? According to the auction house, this comic has the best-known condition of any other Amazing Fantasy #15 copies.

The comic book up for sale was graded at CGC NM+ 9.6, making it one of only four copies to earn such notable marks thus far. Given its current bids, it'll also set a new Heritage Auctions record for comic book auctions and also become one of the most valuable comic books sold at auction.

Heritage Auctions will hold a live auction on September 9 starting at 11 AM CDT during which this comic book and others will be sold. For comparison, a copy of the same comic book issue graded at CGC NM 9.4 sold through the auction house last year for $795,000. The listing shows the comic book currently sitting at $2,350,000, which is $2.8 million with the buyer's premium.

The new record-breaking bid comes amid growing interest in old comic books, playing cards, and retro games. We've seen some classic Nintendo game cartridges sell for astronomical sums in the past few months, for example, and card grading services have reported extreme demand, in some cases forcing them to pause their service to keep up with demand.