Heritage Auctions will auction off Action Comics #1 Ashcan (DC, 1937) CGC NM- 9.2 Cream to off-white pages at  their April 1-4 Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction in Dallas, Texas.

The Action Comics #1 ashcans are possibly the most important ashcans ever produced because they prevented competing publishers from stealing the title for what would become DC's flagship comic book.  They were created by DC Publisher Harry Donenfeld in 1937 with four different names: Action Comics, Action Funnies, Double Action Comics and Triple Action Comics; he had yet to pick a lead feature for the book and he wanted all the possibilities protected.  There are three copies of both the Action Comics #1 and Action Funnies ashcans that exist, only one copy of Double Action, and no copies of Triple Action that are known.  Of the three copies that exist of the Action Comics #1 ashcan, one is locked away in a DC vault, another CGC 9.0 copy sold for $50,000 in 2010, and this CGC 9.2 copy has never been offered for public sale.

This copy of the Action Comics #1 ashcan is the highest-graded copy in existence.  It was acquired directly from retired DC Comics President Sol Harrison in 1986 by Chicago Comic book dealer Gary Colabuono (see "Heritage Auction of 'Marvel Comics' #1 Realizes A Record Price"), who later exhibited the ashcan at Wizard World Chicago in 2011.  The cover art was done by Craig Flessel, and was originally intended for Detective Comics #2 until the editors nixed it due to its gruesome imagery.  The interior features eight previously printed pages from Detective Comics #1.  The ashcan is documented in Overstreet, but has no value assigned.

Click on Gallery below for full-size images!