Sept. 25 (UPI) — September 25 is National Comic Book Day, celebrating the heroes, villains and stories that have filled comic book pages for generations. UPI is marking the occasion with a look back at five times superheroes — and their fans, collectibles and real-life counterparts — made their way into Odd News.
In July, an Arkansas traffic camera was recording when a man in a Spider-Man costume pulled off a real-life rescue on a busy road.
Footage sharedon social media by the Jonesboro Police Department shows a man in a wheelchair struggling to cross a busy intersection. A man in a Spider-Man costume then climbs out from the driver’s side door of a vehicle stopped at the red light and gives the man speedy assistance to finish crossing.
The masked man was later identified as Christopher Hellenthal, who had been dressed as the Marvel character for superhero day at his job at Ultimate Air Trampoline Park.
“I was like, ‘All right, I’m in the Spider-Man suit; let’s do this,'” Hellenthaltold WREG-TV. “So I just got out and sped them along real fast, so none of us got hit, and everyone was really nice. There was no honking or nothing like that. I just got my vehicle, and I drove off.”
Artwork from Iron Man’s first appearance breaks auction record
Also in July, the piece of comic book art that first introduced readers to the Marvel Comics hero Iron Man sold for a record-breaking $3,875,000.
Heritage Auctions announced the sale of the original Don Heck artwork from page 1 of Marvel’s Tales of Suspense No. 39 from March 1963.
The final price set a new world record for the highest price paid for a piece of original comic art. The previous record of $3,360,000 was set by a piece of Mike Zeck art from 1984’s Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars No. 8. The artwork, which depicts the first appearance of Spider-Man’s black costume, was sold in January 2022.
A Georgia woman paid tribute to her favorite superhero by amassing the world’s largest collection of Wonder Woman memorabilia: 1,581 items.
Guinness World Records announced in June that Cedartown resident Aleshia Wiley’s collection of memorabilia, including comic books, Funko Pop figurines, action figures, specialty toys and branded merchandise,officially took the title.
Wiley said she likes that Wonder Woman stands for female empowerment.
“Wonder Woman is a beacon of hope for girls and women everywhere, and a reminder that we need to support one another more,” she said. “She shows that true strength comes from within and together we have the strength of the Amazons. Over the years, her character has evolved alongside new generations, but one thing has always stayed the same: women can do anything, and together we are unstoppable!”
‘Superman’ No. 1 from 1939 auctioned for a record-breaking $9.12M
In 2025, a 1939 copy of Superman No. 1 became the world’s most expensive comic book after being auctioned for a super-heroic $9.12 million.
Heritage Auctions said the comic book was found by a Northern California family while they were cleaning out the attic of their mother’s home after her death last year.
The comic book, which was in a cardboard box with some old newspapers, was examined by CGC, the world’s largest third-party comics grading service, and given a rating of 9.0 out of 10, making it the highest-graded copy of Superman No. 1 known to still exist. It is one of only seven known copies with a grading of 6.0 or higher.
The comic broke the previous record of $6 million,which was set in 2024 when Heritage Auctions sold a copy of Action Comics No. 1, the comic featuring the first appearance of Superman.
Indiana woman’s Joker collection earns Guinness World Record
Also in 2025, a 22-year-old comic book fan from Indiana earned a Guinness World Record for her collection of 2,318 items related to Batman villain the Joker.
Bloomington resident Megan Pierce said she started collecting in middle school, and soon she had amassed items ranging from action figures and comic books to Joker rollerblades, a skateboard and milk caps from 1966.
Pierce said she started posting content to social media about her collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was encouraged to apply for a Guinness World Record, a process she began in 2023.
She said her hobby has allowed her to make connections with Joker fandom figures including actor Mark Hamill, who voiced the character in several animated and video game projects, as well as other collectors.
