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Meet the man who always believed in the world's most expensive comic book

Long before it went for $6 million, Action Comics No. 1 sold for a record price to an 18-year-old

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Mitchell Mehdy made national news in May 1973, when the Associated Press wrote about a purchase he had made. The headline was not only about Mehdy's age, but the outrageous price he paid.

He was 18, and he spent $1,801.26 for Action Comics No. 1, the 1938 comic book that featured the debut of "Superman."

The price was a world record paid for a comic book at the time. For those scoring at home, it's an inflation-adjusted $12,580 in 2024 dollars.

Last Thursday, a new world record was set for a comic book sold ... and again it was Action Comics No. 1. This time, the winning bid was $6 million at Heritage Auctions.

Did Mehdy think that 1938 comic would ever reach such heights?

"I absolutely did," he said 51 years later. "I believe in that book. That book is history. Just think about what it took to save it. In order for it to be in the condition it was in, it had to make it through the ravages of life, through World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War."

Mitchell Mehdy made headlines, like this one in the Oakland Tribune, when he spent a record $1,800 for a comic book in 1973.
Mitchell Mehdy made headlines, like this one in the Oakland Tribune, when he spent a record $1,800 for a comic book in 1973.

To his credit, Mehdy, now a traffic ticket lawyer in San Diego, identified Action Comics No. 1 as the most special even before "Superman" leapt into the public consciousness. Sure, Superman had a appeared on the silver screen before, but Mehdy bought Action No. 1 more than five years before Christopher Reeve appeared as the Clark Kent-Superman combination in a 1978 film.

And it came decades before grading was introduced.

The copy that sold this past week — believed to be one of 100 still in existence out of the original sold-out print run of 200,000 — was graded at 8.5. Of those 100, 78 have been graded by CGC, and only two are graded higher than the one that sold. A Heritage auctioneer on Thursday revealed that the top two copies of this book, remarkably, were owned by the same person.

"I probably bought a fine copy, which was equivalent to a 5 in today's world," Mehdy said. "The comic book price guide at the time had that listed for $300. So I paid six times that because I wanted it so badly."

Back then, Mehdy made his money by buying and selling comic books. By 18, he was making as much money as his father, who worked as a driver evaluator at the DMV in Sacramento.

Mehdy was just 18 when he became known for his $1,800 purchase.
Mehdy was just 18 when he became known for his $1,800 purchase.

After news of his purchase circulated, Mehdy got calls from all over the country from people saying they had Action Comics No. 1. Mehdy bought two more for $1,000 each, and by 1974, he had three.

Having sunk $3,800 into three copies, he decided to recoup some of his investment. He said he sold one in 1975 for $2,500 and another in 1976 for $4,000.

"I'm a math guy," Mehdy said. "I had made $2,700, and I still had my best copy."

Mehdy continued to collect comics and follow the memorabilia world, throughout college and law school.

"I think some people in the industry loved me because of the attention I gave the comic book world and others hated me," Mehdy said. "They were outraged at me because I had told the world about Action Comics No. 1, which meant I had blown the top off the market. I couldn't care less. I loved that book, and as long as I had it, it was good with me."

When a market first explodes, the first generation often takes money off the table, but it's the second and third generation of collectors who often make out with better returns.

Did Mehdy hold onto at least one of his Action Comics No. 1?

"For a variety of reasons, I have to say, 'No comment," Mehdy said.

But if he did indeed hold on, his $1,000 purchase, if graded at his estimated 5, would be worth around $300,000 today.

Mehdy says he's happy for the recent sale – with one caveat.

"I just hope that the buyer has some emotional connection to it and isn't just buying it because they see the dollar signs."

Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.