$1 Million Reward For Rare Comic Book Offered By Baltimore Business Executive
Share:
business executive, Stephen A. Geppi, for a near mint condition copy of the rare
1938 comic book that first introduced Superman and launched an icon of American
pop culture.
The reward is in conjunction with the First Annual Las
Vegas Comic-Con (http://www.LasVegasComicCon.com),
October 31 – November 2, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center where Geppi will
exhibit a copy of the fabled “Action Comics #1.”
Originally
sold for ten-cents each in 1938, even worn copies of Action Comics #1
today are valued at tens of thousands of dollars each. Less than 100 copies are
known to exist.
“I’ll pay at least $25,000 for an un-restored,
complete copy in good condition, and up to $1 million for a genuine, “near
mint” condition copy of Action Comics #1,” said Geppi,
President and CEO of Diamond Comic Distributors, a $300 million a year business
that distributes comics, collectibles, toys and games throughout the world. He
is also the owner and publisher of Baltimore Magazine and a part owner of
the Baltimore Orioles.
The distinctive cover of the 64-page comic book
depicts Superman lifting an automobile.
Experts caution there are
inexpensive reprints of the 1938 comic book in the market, but these are easy to
distinguish because the modern copies were printed on significantly larger pages
than the valuable originals.
“The Golden Age of Comics really
started with the introduction of Superman. Action Comics #1 has been
called the Queen Mother of comic books, giving birth to both a popular superhero
and an entire genre of Americana,” said Robert Brueggeman, Event Director
of the Las Vegas Comic-Con, a three-day public event that will bring together
artists, writers and publishers.
“I hope this reward prompts
people to check their basements, attics, garages and elsewhere for vintage comic
books and memorabilia they want to sell. You never know what grandpa might have
stashed away,” said Geppi.
“We’ll have experts available at
the Las Vegas Comic-Con to give free appraisals to everyone who brings in their
old comic books for evaluation,” said Brueggeman.
Geppi’s $1
million reward is for a copy of Action Comics #1 that grades at least 9.4
(near mint condition) on the CGC grading scale.
For additional
information about the reward offer, contact Stephen Geppi at (410) 560-7100 x
169. For information about Las Vegas Comic-Con, October 31 – November 2, call
(866) 36-COMIC, or go to http://www.LasVegasComicCon.com.
reflects the integrity of
the work itself.”<br><br>Groth first approached Charles Schulz in 1997 with the
proposition of publishing <i>Peanuts </i>in its entirety. After Schulz’s death
in January 2000, Groth continued discussing the project with Schulz’s widow,
Jean Schulz. ”It’s safe to say that this project wouldn’t have happened if Jean
Schulz weren’t as enthusiastic and supportive as she’s been,” said Groth. Added
Jean Schulz: ”This seemed like an impossible project, considering all the ’lost’
strips, but Gary’s determination never flagged, and we are so happy with the
aesthetic sensibility of the Fantagraphics team.”<br><br>Each volume in the
series will run approximately 320 pages in a 8” x 6 1/2” hardcover format,
presenting two years of strips along with supplementary material. The series
will present the entire run in chronological order, dailies and Sundays. Since
the strip began in late 1950, the first volume will include all the strips from
1950, 1951, and 1952, but subsequent volumes will each comprise exactly two
years. Dailies will run three to a page, while Sunday strips will each take up a
full page and be printed in black-and-white, an aesthetic choice agreed upon by
the editors, the designer, and Mrs. Schulz.<br><br>This first volume, covering
the first two and a quarter years of the strip, will be of particular
fascination to <i>Peanuts </i>aficionados worldwide: Although there have been
literally hundreds of <i>Peanuts </i>books published, many of the strips from
the series’ first two or three years have never been collected before - in large
part because they showed a young Schulz working out the kinks in his new strip
and include some characterizations and designs that are quite different from the
cast we’re all familiar with. (Among other things, three major