Heritage Offers Golden Age Superman and Batman Grails Certified by CGC

The 1930s gave birth to superhero comics, and grails from that era command large sums among collectors today. Now, incredibly rare and valuable books featuring Superman, Batman and others are part of a massive auction of classic Golden and Silver Age comics graded by Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®) and being offered in Heritage Auctions’ Signature Comic Book Auction on February 26-28, 2026.

Among the standouts of this sale is a Superman #1 graded CGC 6.5. One of the most iconic fictional characters of all time, Superman launched the superhero genre when he first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938, ushering in a new type of protagonist that harkened back to ancient mythology. As sales of Action Comics surged with each issue, DC then decided to give Superman his own title, another first for the burgeoning comic industry. Superman #1 hit the stands in the summer of 1939 and instantly sold out its first print run of a half million copies. The company made subsequent runs of 250,000 and then 150,000.

However, time took its toll, and a little more than 200 copies are recorded today in the CGC Population Report, with a mere five graded higher than this one in Universal grade. One of those (graded CGC 9.0) set a record for most valuable comic book ever with a $9.12 million sale by Heritage Auctions in 2025. In addition to the CGC 6.5 example, the February auction also includes Superman #1 issues graded CGC 1.0 and CGC 6.0 Restored.

If there’s any character that could challenge the Man of Steel for the most valuable comic, it’s Batman — and this sale also offers a Detective Comics #27 graded CGC 7.0, featuring the first appearance of the Dark Knight.

Published in 1939 by creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character’s introduction was an attempt to mimic the success of Action Comics' Superman. Batman was indeed a success, which led to the Caped Crusader's own solo series in 1940. There are fewer than 100 examples of Detective Comics #27 in the CGC Population Report, and only six Universal copies are graded higher. A CGC 6.5 copy claimed the high mark for this book when it was sold for $1.82 million in 2024.

But if the World’s Finest isn’t on your pull list, this auction also features many grails featuring characters such as Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hulk, Captain America, X-Men and many more!

Just a few of the CGC-certified comics in the sale are:

• an Action Comics #1 graded CGC 2.0 Qualified
• an Action Comics #252 graded CGC 9.0
• an All Star Comics #8 graded CGC 9.4
• an All Winners Comics #21 graded CGC 9.8
• several examples of Amazing Fantasy #15, including one graded CGC 8.0
• an Amazing Spider-Man #1 graded CGC 9.0
• an Avengers #4 graded CGC 9.4
• a Batman #11 graded CGC 6.5
• a Captain America Comics #1 graded CGC 7.0
• a Detective Comics #31 graded CGC 3.0
• a Fantastic Four #1 graded CGC 7.5
• a Green Lantern #1 graded CGC 5.5
• an Incredible Hulk #1 graded CGC 9.2
• an Incredible Hulk #181 graded CGC 9.8
• a Sensation Comics #1 graded CGC 3.0
• a Star Wars #1 35 Cent Variant graded CGC 9.4
• a Suspense Comics #3 graded CGC 5.0
• an X-Men #1 graded CGC 9.0

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 sports cards, TCGs 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. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.

CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 100 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs and stamps.