Good morning. A CGC 9.9 Absolute Batman #1 just sold for five figures, proving the spec bet paid off for one collector. Scholastic is teaming with Tezuka Productions to reimagine five manga classics. Plus, New York Comic Con drops its full panel schedule.
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A CGC 9.9 copy of Absolute Batman #1 sold for $10,000 at auction this week, while an ungraded copy of the same issue moved for $725. The gap illustrates how third-party grading can multiply returns for collectors who bet early on modern keys and nail preservation.
Absolute Batman #1 launched DC's Absolute Universe line last fall to significant collector interest. The series reimagines Bruce Wayne as a working-class engineer in Gotham, with character designs and story beats that diverge sharply from main continuity. Early sales data showed the book clearing 250,000 copies in its first month, and secondary market activity has remained steady since.
The 9.9 grade sits one tick below a perfect 10.0 on CGC's scale. Census data shows fewer than a dozen 9.9 copies have been slabbed to date, with no 10.0s recorded. The $10,000 hammer price suggests buyers are treating high-grade modern keys as short-term flips rather than long-term holds, a pattern that emerged during the 2020–2021 spec boom and has cooled but not vanished.
Raw copies of Absolute Batman #1 currently trade between $600 and $800 on peer-to-peer platforms, depending on print run and retailer variant. The $10,000 sale represents a 13.8× premium over the $725 raw sale, a multiple that only makes sense if the buyer expects either immediate resale or long-term appreciation driven by film or streaming adaptations.
Why it matters: The sale demonstrates that grading remains a meaningful value lever for modern books with strong early demand, but the narrow census at 9.9 and above means most collectors won't capture the premium. It also signals that some buyers still view DC's Absolute line as investable despite mixed critical reception and the broader slowdown in spec activity since 2022.
Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
Scholastic partners with Tezuka Productions to reimagine five classic manga Scholastic and Tezuka Productions announced a partnership to reimagine five classic Tezuka manga series with contemporary artists. The deal follows Scholastic's successful relaunch of Astro Boy with new creative teams. Titles and release dates have not been disclosed, but the publisher confirmed the books will target middle-grade and young adult readers. Read at source (The Comics Beat) →
Mad Cave Studios revives Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby Mad Cave Studios is launching a new comic series based on Alex Raymond's detective strip Rip Kirby, with Chris Sebela writing. The character debuted in 1946 and ran in newspapers for decades. Mad Cave has not announced an artist or release window, but the book joins the publisher's growing roster of legacy IP revivals. Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
Marvelman artist Garry Leach's collection goes on sale The comic book collection of Marvelman artist Garry Leach is being offered for sale through Book Palace. Leach co-created the influential 1980s Marvelman run with Alan Moore. The collection's size and contents have not been disclosed, but Book Palace specializes in vintage British comics and original art. Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
Keith Giffen's unseen Eternals designs surface Previously unseen character designs by Keith Giffen for Jack Kirby's Eternals project have been revealed. The designs offer insight into Giffen's visual approach to Kirby's cosmic mythology. No publication plans or further details on the project have been announced. Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
- CGC 9.9 Absolute Batman #1 → $10,000 (raw $725)
- Raw Absolute Batman #1 trading $600–$800 on peer platforms
👉 See today feed → — refreshed all day.
A CGC 9.9 Absolute Batman #1 sold for $10,000 this week, while a raw copy moved for $725. The 13.8× premium reflects the book's tight high-grade census and ongoing spec interest in DC's Absolute line.
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