首版超人漫畫當年10美分 如今100萬
A 1938 copy of the first comic featuring Superman has sold for a record-smashing one million dollars in New York.
"It's the Holy Grail of comic books," auctioneers' founder Stephen Fishler said.
The record price was reached Monday, easily breaking a 317,200 dollar record set last year when sold another, less well preserved copy of the same first issue of Action Comics.
The mark-up on the original news stand price of 10 cents is one that even a superhero might have trouble arranging.
But the unnamed seller didn't do too badly either: he'd bought the comic for 150,000 dollars at auction 15 years ago.
The comic's cover marked Superman's debut. Wearing his red cape, he is pictured hurling a green car past terrified onlookers.
"Before Action Comics number one there was no such thing as a superhero or a man who could fly," Fishler said.
About 100 copies of the first Action Comics issue remain but only one other is considered to be in as good condition as the one sold Monday.
1938年出版的一本“超人”漫畫創刊號近日在紐約創紀錄地拍出100萬美元的天價。
拍賣網站的創始人斯蒂芬·菲捨爾說：“這本書是漫畫書中的極品。”
這本《動作漫畫》雜誌於本週一拍出，拍價輕鬆超過去年該網站以31.72萬美元拍出的另一本保存完好度稍次的首期雜誌，創下新紀錄。
這本雜誌最初在報亭僅售10美分，即便是超人也很難把價格飆到如此地步。
不過拍賣這本雜誌的未透露身份的賣家也“神”賺了一筆，他在15年前以15萬美元的價錢拍得這本漫畫雜誌。
這是超人首次出現在漫畫書中。雜誌封面上的超人身披紅色斗篷，正猛摔一輛綠色汽車，把圍觀人羣嚇得魂飛魄散。
菲捨爾說：“在《動作漫畫》創刊之前，根本沒有什麼超人或者會飛的卡通人物形象。”
目前，《動作漫畫》的創刊號在全世界僅剩約100本，但像本週一拍出的這本保存得如此完好的據稱只剩下一本。
Vocabulary:
record-smashing：創紀錄的
Holy Grail：聖盃。關於聖盃有很多種解釋，最傳統的解釋是在耶穌受難時，用來盛放耶穌鮮血的聖餐杯。
mark-up：the amount added by a seller to the cost of a commodity to cover expenses and profit in fixing the selling price（提價，標高價格）
news stand：a stall or other place at which newspapers and often periodicals are sold, as on a street corner or in a building lobby（書報亭）
