First Appearance of Human Torch: Marvel Comics #1 (1939)

The Human Torch first appeared in Marvel Comics #1, cover-dated October 1939, published by Timely, the company that became Marvel. Carl Burgos created him as an android built by the scientist Phineas Horton; he later took the name Jim Hammond and a job as a New York City police officer (Wikipedia). He was popular enough to get his own title, The Human Torch, which started at issue #2 in fall 1940 by taking over the numbering of Red Raven Comics. His sidekick Toro was the son of two nuclear scientists who could also control fire.

In 1961 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reused the name and fire powers for Johnny Storm, the youngest member of the Fantastic Four, who first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961). Johnny is a human who gained his powers from cosmic radiation on a space flight with his sister Susan and her fiancé Reed Richards; the 1939 Torch is an android (Wikipedia).

For collectors this means two different keys:

• Marvel Comics #1 (1939): the original android Torch, and the first comic from the company that became Marvel.
• Fantastic Four #1 (1961): Johnny Storm and the rest of the Fantastic Four.

The android also connects to the Vision: a later retcon said Ultron rebuilt the Torch's body to make the Vision, and What If? #4 later offered a separate android, Adam II, so both characters could exist.

Marvel Comics #1 is one of the most expensive comics ever sold. CGC's list of top sales (updated July 13, 2026) records:

• $2.4 million: CGC 9.4, ComicConnect, 2022
• $1.26 million: CGC 9.4, Heritage Auctions, 2019
• $675,000: CGC 7.5, Heritage Auctions, 2023

PriceCharting, retrieved September 25, 2026, shows about one sale a year in the grades it tracks: $57,360 in CGC 4.0, $71,700 in CGC 6.0 and $101,575.01 in CGC 8.0. Its other grades are marked as having no recent sales, so do not read them as market prices.

PriceCharting values for Fantastic Four #1 (1961), retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $2,725.11 (about one sale a month)
• CGC 4.0: $12,810.00
• CGC 6.0: $21,960.00
• CGC 8.0: $100,650.00
• CGC 9.2: $600,000.00
• CGC 9.6: $376,899.00
• CGC 9.8: $753,797.08

The 9.2 figure matches a $600,000 Heritage sale in 2025. CGC's own top-sales list separately records a $2.04 million Heritage Auctions sale in 2024 for a CGC 9.6 copy; PriceCharting's current 9.6 figure is well below that record, which shows how thin these high-grade sales are. Each high grade rests on about one sale a year.

Photograph the front cover straight on, then the indicia (the small print on the first page or inside cover with the title, issue number and date). ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover from the photo, matches the likely issue with a confidence indicator you can correct by hand, and shows a reference price range that moves with the grade you pick. Marvel Comics #1 and Fantastic Four #1 have both been reprinted and issued as facsimiles; a modern barcode or price on the cover means a later edition. There are free scans every day; the range is a reference estimate, not an appraisal or an offer.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market, and a grade that trades about once a year can move a lot on a single sale.