What you are looking at is a copy of Detective Comics #27 -- featuring the first appearance of Batman -- with a CGC grade of 8. It's currently being auctioned over Heritage Auction Galleries with bidding running for about another two weeks.As of this writing, the high bid is $350,000 -- over $30,000 higher than last year's record-setting sale of Action Comics #1. And this auction has two weeks left!
You might also see Heritage touting a $418,250 number. That's the high bid price plus a "buyer's premium" they charge on high-end auctions like this. That means that, even if no one else at all bids, the winner will have to pay over $400,000 for a single comic. During a recession.
So my first question is: who they hell has that kind of money and is willing to part with it for a single comic book? Second question: what kind of balls do you have to have to do that during a recession with overall unemployment floating around 10% and closer to 20% for those at lower socio-economic levels? I can appreciate the 'take care of you and your own first' mindset where someone might spend what seems like excessive amounts of money on luxuries like, say, going out to fancy restaurants, but even as a huge, life-long comic book fan, I can't see how someone could justify to themselves that kind of spending. Even if you really did not give a rat's ass about what happened in Haiti or anyone who's lost their job in the past year or whomever, I'd think you'd have at least a PR person tell you that, you know, maybe this might not look to good for your public image. Maybe it might be okay to pass on this one comic just at the moment. Because even if the buyer is using someone as a proxy -- which I would have to believe is the case here, because people with that kind of money tend not to bother themselves with trifles like actually bidding at an auction themselves -- this is the 21st century! This won't not get found out!
You know, when I first read that this auction is already at a record high, I was mostly just surprised. "Wow. $350,00. That's a lot of money." Then, it dawned on me just how much money that is. Especially in light of the current economy situation.
To whoever lands the winning bid on this auction: Since you clearly don't mind the extra dough on the "buyer's premium" can you send me an extra $68,000 as well? And to whoever gets the second-highest bid, can you send me whatever that amount is? You were just going to throw it away anyway.
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