There is no first appearance in this comic. No origin, no debut, no death, nothing a checklist would flag.
Superman #14, from 1942, earns its place among the Golden Age hundred entirely on Fred Ray’s cover — Superman in front of a bald eagle perched on a shield, one of the defining patriotic images of the war years.
Two sales, four grades apart
| Grade | Result | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| CGC 9.0 | $43,000 | ComicLink, September 2025 |
| CGC 5.0 | $5,900 | Hake’s, July 2024 |
| guide record | around $35,000 (reported, undated) | — |
Two sales four grade points apart, and roughly seven times the money. That is a steep curve, and it is what you expect on a book bought for how it looks: a 5.0 shows the image with visible damage, a 9.0 shows it close to as printed.
Notice the third line as well. The documented sale is above the figure the guides list as the record, which tells you how far behind the published guidance is. A 9.0 brought $43,000 against a listed record of about $35,000.
Patriotic covers as a category
Wartime covers with flags, eagles and shields are collected as a group across publishers, in the same way Schomburg covers or L.B. Cole covers are. Buyers want the image, and they will cross titles and companies to get a good one.
That is why a comic with nothing significant inside can outprice issues of the same run that do carry a debut. It is competing in a different market from the one a checklist collector is shopping in.
It also explains the steep condition curve. A historical first appearance retains most of its meaning in a worn copy. A cover bought to be looked at does not.
Selling a Superman #14
- Photograph the front properly. Flat, even light, no glare. On a cover book I want to see the front before I say anything about price.
- Check for fading. Sun exposure hurts a cover book more than most defects and it is easy to miss.
- Do not use the guide record. The documented sale is already above it.
- Grade if it presents well. The gap between mid and high grade here is roughly sevenfold.
Have a copy?
Send three photos: front, back, and the small print. That is all I need to tell you where your copy really sits.
Related
- Superman #2, from the scarce early run.
- Captain America Comics #36, the other wartime cover on this list.
- The 100 most valuable Golden Age comics, and what each one really sold for.
Cover images on this page are shown small, for identification, with the publisher credited in the caption. If you are a rights holder and want an image removed, contact me and it comes down.
