One comic book accounted for almost a fifth of the entire CGC-graded market’s reported sales during the October 5–18, 2026 reporting period. It was a copy of Action Comics #1, the 1938 publication that introduced Superman, and its $1.3 million sale through ComicConnect was the fortnight's largest individual transaction.
That sale's significance becomes clearer when placed alongside the wider market. GPAnalysis recorded 19,091 books changing hands for a combined $6,709,282, with a median price of just $100. The distance between that typical transaction and the fortnight’s largest sale illustrates how differently money can move through the graded comic market.
Beyond the headline sale, the results reveal several interesting contrasts. The 1960s generated substantial spending across multiple Marvel titles, The Incredible Hulk overtook Amazing Spider-Man in 1970s sales, and the 1990s produced one of the most evenly distributed Top Five sales rankings.
Contemporary comics also made their presence felt. Absolute Batman led both trading volume and sales for the 2020s, with a financial advantage over its closest competitors that few other decades could match.
Together, these results show how collecting activity and financial value can follow very different paths.
Reporting Period: October 5–18, 2026
Total Volume: 19,091 books
Total Sales: $6,709,282
Median Price: $100
Source: GPAnalysis.com, sales recorded from October 5–18, 2026.
Market Observations
🏆 Trophy Sale
Action Comics (1938) #1 CGC 9.0 $1,300,000 via ComicConnect.com.
🕷️ The Volume King
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) 1,231 books sold, generating approximately $0.6 million.
Insights
The Market
at a Glance.
Fourteen days of CGC-graded comic, magazine and pulp sales across major reporting venues.
Individual books sold
Middle sale price
Action Comics #1
Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man was the fortnight's most frequently traded title, accounting for approximately one in every sixteen books sold.
Comics #1
This single transaction accounted for 19.4% of all reported sales value during the fortnight.
Where the
Money Went.
How much did the five highest-selling titles from each decade generate? The totals reveal a striking difference in the financial weight of each era's leading publications.
The 1930s' Top Five total was approximately 49% higher than the 1960s'.
The $1.3 million sale of Action Comics #1 overwhelmingly influenced the decade's combined Top Five sales.
Batman led the decade's sales rankings, ahead of Superman and Phantom Lady.
Showcase generated the greatest sales value, despite Batman leading trading volume.
Amazing Spider-Man led a substantial group, with Fantastic Four and X-Men also generating more than $160,000 each.
Incredible Hulk led the decade, followed by Amazing Spider-Man and X-Men.
Amazing Spider-Man accounted for nearly half of the decade's combined Top Five sales.
The most evenly distributed Top Five sales ranking of any decade in the dataset.
Invincible generated approximately half of the decade's combined Top Five sales.
Ultimate Fallout led sales, with Detective Comics and Invincible also contributing significantly.
Absolute Batman accounted for almost nine-tenths of the decade's combined Top Five sales.
Combined Top Five sales
Combined Top Five sales
The 1930s produced the largest combined Top Five sales total, but the result was overwhelmingly influenced by one exceptional Action Comics #1 transaction. The 1960s generated the second-largest total, with spending distributed across several major Marvel titles.
Decade by decade
・
Decade by decade ・
Platinum/Golden Age
1930s
Top five titles by volume:
Weird Tales (1923-1954)
Shadow (1931-1949)
Super Comics (1938-1949)
Spicy Adventure Stories (1934-1942)
Phantom Detective (1933-1953)
Top five titles by sales:
Action Comics (1938): $1,300,062
Detective Comics (1937): $6,700
Super Comics (1938-1949): $6,282
Shadow (1931-1949): $6,177
Ka-Zar (1936-1937): $5,538
The most traded issues were:
Ka-Zar (1936-1937) #1 (1936)
Weird Tales (1923-1954) #170 (1938)
Super Comics (1938-1949) #9 (1939)
Super Comics (1938-1949) #12 (1939)
Amazing-Man Comics (1939-1942) #6 (1939)
1940s
Top five titles by volume:
Batman (1940)
Superman (1939-1986)
Jungle Comics (1940-1954)
Detective Comics (1937)
Flash Comics (1940-1949)
Top five titles by sales:
Batman (1940): $54,558
Superman (1939-1986): $23,966
Phantom Lady (1947-1949): $22,066
Detective Comics (1937): $16,058
Pep Comics (1940-1987): $11,929
The most traded issues were:
Batman (1940) #47 (1948)
Batman (1940) #23 (1944)
Spirit, The (1944-1950) #1 (1944)
Dynamic Comics (1941-1948) #13 (1945)
Thrilling Comics (1940-1951) #54 (1946)
1950s
Top five titles by volume:
Batman (1940)
Action Comics (1938)
Tales from the Crypt (1950-1955)
Four Color (1939-1962)
Haunt of Fear (1950-1954)
Top five titles by sales:
Showcase (1956-1978): $56,534
Action Comics (1938): $27,073
Mad (1952): $14,543
Authentic Police Cases (1948-1955): $12,256
Batman (1940): $11,617
The most traded issues were:
Flash, The (1959-1985) #106 (1959)
Strange Worlds (1958-1959) #1 (1958)
Superboy (1949-1979) #68 (1958)
Showcase (1956-1978) #22 (1959)
This Is War (1952-1953) #5 (1952)
Silver Age
1960s
Top five titles by volume:
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
Fantastic Four (1961)
X-Men, The (1963-1981)
Avengers, The (1963)
Daredevil (1964-1998)
Top five titles by sales:
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $363,474
Fantastic Four (1961): $186,809
X-Men, The (1963-1981): $162,144
Avengers, The (1963): $103,571
Amazing Fantasy (1962-1996): $73,319
The most traded issues were:
Fantastic Four (1961) #48 (1966)
Avengers, The (1963) #57 (1968)
Silver Surfer, The (1968-1982) #1 (1968)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #14 (1964)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #50 (1967)
Bronze Age
1970s
Top five titles by volume:
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
X-Men, The (1963-1981)
Star Wars (1977-1986)
Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999)
Fantastic Four (1961)
Top five titles by sales:
Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999): $198,382
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $128,329
X-Men, The (1963-1981): $86,698
Giant-Size X-Men (1975): $59,195
Star Wars (1977-1986): $43,484
The most traded issues were:
Star Wars (1977-1986) #1 (1977)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #129 (1974)
Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999) #181 (1974)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #194 (1979)
X-Men, The (1963-1981) #101 (1976)
1980s
Top five titles by volume:
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
Uncanny X-Men, The (1981)
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984-1985)
Star Wars (1977-1986)
Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999)
Top five titles by sales:
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $116,811
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984-1985): $52,740
Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999): $28,190
Uncanny X-Men, The (1981): $27,386
Wolverine Limited Series (1982): $20,203
The most traded issues were:
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984-1985) #8 (1984)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #300 (1988)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963) #252 (1984)
Wolverine (1988) #1 (1988)
Incredible Hulk, The (1962-1999) #340 (1988)
Modern Age
1990s
Top five titles by volume:
Spider-Man (1990-1998)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
Uncanny X-Men, The (1981)
X-Men/New X-Men (1991)
Spawn (1992)
Top five titles by sales:
Spider-Man (1990-1998): $28,478
New Mutants, The (1983-1991): $26,353
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $24,707
Uncanny X-Men, The (1981): $22,696
Spawn (1992): $19,646
The most traded issues were:
Spider-Man (1990-1998) #1 (1990)
X-Men/New X-Men (1991) #1 (1991)
Spawn (1992) #1 (1992)
Venom: Lethal Protector (1993) #1 (1993)
Uncanny X-Men, The (1981) #266 (1990)
2000s
Top five titles by volume:
Invincible (2003)
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963)
Batman (1940)
Spawn (1992)
Walking Dead (2003)
Top five titles by sales:
Invincible (2003): $38,646
Walking Dead (2003): $13,659
Batman (1940): $8,947
Spawn (1992): $8,582
Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963): $7,237
The most traded issues were:
Batman (1940) #608 (2002)
Catwoman (2002) #51 (2006)
Hulk (2008) #1 (2008)
Invincible (2003) #1 (2003)
Batman (1940) #655 (2006)
2010s
Top five titles by volume:
Invincible (2003)
Secret Wars (2015)
Spawn (1992)
Amazing Spider-Man (2014)
Detective Comics (1937)
Top five titles by sales:
Ultimate Fallout (2011): $23,276
Detective Comics (1937): $16,861
Invincible (2003): $14,603
Edge of Spider-Verse (2014): $12,968
Something is Killing the Children (2019): $10,492
The most traded issues were:
Ultimate Fallout (2011) #4 (2011)
Detective Comics (1937) #880 (2011)
Something is Killing the Children (2019) #1 (2019)
Spider-Gwen (2015) #1 (2015)
Edge of Spider-Verse (2014) #2 (2014)
2020s
Top five titles by volume:
Absolute Batman (2024)
Bangers Cover Gallery (2025)
Amazing Spider-Man (2022)
Fantasy of Cosplay Comic Cover Gallery (2024)
Batman (2016)
Top five titles by sales:
Absolute Batman (2024): $206,876
Amazing Spider-Man (2022): $8,865
Mark Spears Monsters (2024): $8,220
Amazing Spider-Man (2025): $6,218
Fantasy of Cosplay Comic Cover Gallery (2024): $5,882
The most traded issues were:
Absolute Batman (2024) #1 (2024)
Absolute Batman (2024) #19 (2026)
Absolute Batman (2024) #15 (2026)
Absolute Batman (2024) #20 (2026)
Fantasy of Cosplay Comic Cover Gallery (2024) #7 (2026)
The Biggest Sellers
by Decade.
Every decade has its financial leader. Explore the highest-selling comic title from each era and see how much it contributed to its decade's combined Top Five title sales.
Amazing Spider-Man led the 1960s, but Fantastic Four and X-Men also generated substantial sales. The decade's financial activity was distributed across several major titles.
The Bottom Line
The October 5–18 reporting period provides a particularly useful example of why trading volume and sales value need to be considered together.
At one extreme, Action Comics #1 demonstrated the financial influence a single high-value transaction can have on the entire market. At the other, Amazing Spider-Man remained the most frequently traded title, with 1,231 books changing hands across the fortnight.
Between those two results, the decade rankings revealed several different patterns.
The 1960s produced substantial spending across multiple established Marvel titles, while the 1990s displayed unusually close competition among its five financial leaders. The 2020s offered another contrast, with Absolute Batman commanding the majority of its decade’s Top Five sales.
Perhaps the most useful observation is that financial leadership does not always correspond with trading popularity. Across the ten decades, six shared the same leader in both volume and sales, while four produced different leaders.
That distinction is central to understanding the graded comic market. The publications collectors trade most frequently are not necessarily those attracting the greatest expenditure, and a large financial total does not always indicate broad activity.
This fortnight offered particularly clear examples of both.
Want to dig into every sale behind these highlights?
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See you in two weeks. Keep stacking.
