Doc's copies of Action Comics issue #1.
Action Comics is an American comic book series by Detective Comics, now known as DC Comics. Issue #1, released on April 18, 1938 (cover dated June 1938), saw the comic book debut of Superman, cost 10¢ and is now one of the most highly sought after comics in the collector's market.
History
On August 8, 2015, Dr. Emmett Brown won first prize at the Hill Valley 1980s Car Expo with his DeLorean, which was 10% off a hover conversion worth $3995.00 at Goldie Wilson Hover Conversion Systems. To get the money he needed for this and the Mr. Fusion, which he had spotted in a store window for $8200, Doc searched the internet for the best investment to make, then traveled back to 1938 to pick up several new copies of Action Comics issue #1.
Doc arrived on May 25, when the newsstand owner would be taking unsold items off the rack. This way, Doc wouldn't deprive any child of what would become the most valuable collector's item in history. He purchased the dealer's last ten copies of Action Comics issue #1 using a 1937 silver dollar, explaining that he had a lot of grandchildren.[1]
He sold one in 2015 or beyond to get the money he needed, and then traveled to 2015 or beyond, and sold another at Southby's Auction House for $2.5 million.
Behind the scenes
- The use of Action Comics #1 in "Emmett Brown Visits the Future" was acknowledged by IDW Publishing in the form of a credit on the story's splash page reading "Action Comics #1 appears courtesy of DC Comics". (original published text)
- The use of Action Comics #1 in DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown's Owner's Workshop Manual was acknowledged by Insight Editions (U.S.) and Haynes Publishing (U.K.) in the form of a credit on page 87 reading "Action Comics #1 ™ & © DC. Used with Permission". (original published text)
- Doc's sale of the comic books seemed to contradict his warning to Marty in the second film. However, he specifically stated he did not invent the time machine to win at gambling, and was later proven right when Gray's Sports Almanac fell into the wrong hands. Given that Doc had spent everything he had on the Delorean and it took years of hard work, the sale of the comic book at Southby's was likely seen as appropriate to rebuild the Brown family fortune.
- The concept of a comic book's value and time travel was spoofed differently in other media such as:
- In a Halloween episode of The Simpsons that spoofed Back to the Future, Bart Simpson complains of a rare comic book being a ripoff, then commandeers a time machine to go back to 1974 and buy the comic at its original sticker price of 25¢, and in doing so he disrupts his parents' meeting.
- In an episode of the 1990 animated series Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures, which was broadcast on a rival channel and timeslot to the animated BTTF series, the duo accidentally destroy a rare guitar and figure time travel is a quick fix to acquire another one. They fail in doing so, but buy a comic book before returning to their proper time. A novice programmer who is a fan of the comic book loses his chance to get that issue, and when Bill and Ted return to their own time, the programmer is now a successful video game designer who sees they own the rare comic book and offer them $750 for it, enough for them to buy a replacement guitar.
Appearances
Notes and references
- ↑ DeLorean Time Machine: Doc Brown's Owner's Workshop Manual; "Doc Brown's Journals: 2015"; May 25, 1938; page 87.
