NEW YORK : 1st Superman Comic Fetches $61,900

Steve Geppi knows the value of a good superhero. The owner of a major comic book company spent $61,900 for a copy of the 1938 comic in which Superman first leaped tall buildings in a single bound. Geppi outbid two other collectors at Sotheby’s sixth annual sale of comic books and comic art to win the rare Action Comics No. 1. Geppi, 46, now owns two copies of that 10-cent issue, which has a cover portraying the Man of Steel hoisting a car above his head. Several other selections from the so-called “Golden Age of Comics” also attracted heavy bidding. Over two days, buyers dropped $1.8 million.