The five rarest comic books are all considered icons in American cultural history, and each has left its mark on the national identity. Each of these comic books has sold for more than $25, 000 and their value increases every time one comes up for auction. The five rarest, in no particular order (except the first one are:
- Action Comics #1 is the rarest, marking the first appearance of Superman
- Detective Comics #3 features the first appearance of the Batman
- Amazing Fantasy #15 marks the debut of Spiderman
- Zap Comix #1, the first of the underground movement in comics and drawn by the legendary R. Crumb
- Fantastic Four #1 – The debut of the Fantastic Four in 1961.