Superman comic sale is a record: $1.5 million

Comic sale is a record

The record price for a comic book, already broken twice this year, has been shattered again.

A copy of the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1 sold Monday for $1.5 million on the auction website ComicConnect.com. The issue, which features Superman’s debut and originally sold for 10 cents, is widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books.

The same issue sold in February for $1 million, though that copy wasn’t in as good condition as the issue that sold Monday. That number was bested just days later when a 1939 comic book featuring Batman’s debut sold for $75,000 more at an auction in Dallas.

-- associated press ‘Walking Dead’ on TV

AMC has picked up its fourth original series, ordering six episodes of “The Walking Dead,” which is based on Robert Kirkman’s popular comic book series about humans looking for a safe home in a world overrun by zombies.

The series will air in October as part of AMC’s Fearfest, the network’s annual marathon of thriller and horror films, AMC announced Monday. Frank Darabont (“The Shawshank Redemption”) wrote and directed the project and will serve as one of the executive producers.

-- Maria Elena Fernandez Ahmanson gets ‘Normal’

“Next to Normal,” Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Tony-winning musical about a family’s struggle with a mother’s mental illness, is coming to the Ahmanson Theatre in November.

The show’s producers announced Monday that the national tour would begin in Los Angeles, where it would run from Nov. 23 to Jan. 2. A spokeswoman for the Center Theatre Group confirmed the report although the group has not yet announced its 2010-11 season.

-- Karen Wada Ricky Martin comes out

Ricky Martin is no longer dodging the rumors: He’s gay.

In a statement posted via Twitter in Spanish and English, Martin said: “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.”

For many, Monday’s announcement will come as no surprise; the “Livin’ la Vida Loca” singer’s sexuality has been speculated about for years. But the Puerto Rican star, who got his start as a child in the teen group Menudo, never directly addressed it and was usually seen at events with beautiful women on his arm.

Martin, 38, said he decided to reveal the truth after working on his memoirs helped him realize that he had to be free with himself, and not keep any more secrets.

Martin said one of the reasons he kept his homosexuality hidden was because he was told by some that it would hurt his career. Though his U.S. career peaked after the release of his 1999 self-titled English album, a multiplatinum success that included the hits “Livin’ la Vida Loca” and “Shake Your Bon-Bon,” he is still a hugely successful Latin artist.

Martin, who is the father of two boys born via surrogate in 2008, said he couldn’t continue to hide his sexuality now that he is a father: “Enough is enough.”

-- associated press Early close for ‘Miracle’ play

The Broadway revival of “The Miracle Worker” will close April 4 after a disappointing run of less than two months and a loss of more than $2.5 million.

The production stars Abigail Breslin as Helen Keller and Alison Pill as Annie Sullivan, the determined young woman who teaches the deaf and blind Helen how to communicate.

The production will have played 21 previews and 38 regular performances at Circle in the Square Theatre. The play by William Gibson originally was on Broadway in 1959 with Patty Duke as Helen and Anne Bancroft as Annie.

-- associated press Chaz Bono petitions court

Chaz Bono is asking a judge to formally change his name and gender.

The 41-year-old writer, activist and reality-TV star, was born a girl to Sonny Bono and Cher. He filed a petition to change his name and gender last week.

Bono’s doctor filed a declaration with the court indicating he performed a gender-change operation last year.

Formerly called Chastity, Bono has called the gender change “the best decision I’ve ever made.” A hearing on the petition is scheduled for May 6 in Santa Monica.

-- associated press