Action Comics #1 KEY

Cover date: June 1938 · View on Grand Comics Database

First appearance: Superman [Clark Kent] (origin) (introduction); Bea Carroll (antagonist) (introduction); Alex Greer (antagonist) (introduction); Butch Matson (antagonist) (introduction); Senator Barrows (antagonist) (introduction); Chuck Dawson (origin) (introduction); Tigress (antagonist) (introduction); Tong (introduction); Zatara (introduction); Rusty James (introduction); Scoop Scanlon (introduction)

Cover image via Comic Vine

Print run records

C · Recalled ~200,000 copies Recalled estimate

The first issue had a print run of 200,000 copies, which promptly sold out.

Source: Van Lente & Dunlavey, "The Comic Book History of Comics" (IDW, 2012), p.32 -- as cited in Wikipedia's "Action Comics 1" article (Other)

D · Repeated claim ~200,000 copies Repeated claim

For reference, the original print run was 200,000 copies, which sold out VERY quickly.

Source: Comics Archeology -- "Action Comics #1" blog post (Community estimate)

Scarcity proxies (not print-run figures — adjacent data used to infer rarity)

45 — CGC census population (as of 2026-08-02) — CGC Census (Population Report)

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