Like Superman reigning upon his thrown as the king of the superheroes, the Mile High/Edgar Church pedigree levitates high above all other comic pedigrees.
Exactly why would that be?
Mile High/Edgar Church Police Comics #94
Well for starters the collection contains the most valuable comic book in the world – the Mile High/Edgar Church Action #1. Believed to grade into the 9.0’s its legend is only enhanced by the fact it’s held in a private collection with no known photos or scans. Out of the public’s eyes and into the mysterious realm of folk lore, whispered about at ComicCon’s and on collector messages boards through the decades.
No less than three of the top ten most valuable comics in the world come from the Mile High/Edgar Church pedigree. In addition to the Action #1, there is also a high-grade copy of both Marvel Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27. Toss in a Superman #1 CGC 8.0 and a Batman #1 for good measure, and you can see the collection contains some of the highest quality key comic books known to the hobby.
Mile High/Edgar Church Police Comics #77
Add to the quantity of “keys” and high grades of the books the sheer size and breadth of the collection. Imagine the excitement of discovering 18,000-22,000 comic books spanning from the 1930s to the early/mid 1950s? This is the stuff of celebrity among collectors – the granddaddy all comic discoveries.
What collector doesn’t dream about that “one great find?” Every collector has a tale to share about their best discovery from a garage or estate sale. But none can ascend to the heights in breadth, quality and volume of the Edgar Church Mile High pedigree. More than likely none ever will.
It also didn’t hurt that every comic book reader in the early 1980s remembers scanning full-page ads in Marvel comics promoting Mile High Comics (whose owner Chuck Rozanski made the Edgar Church discovery). These ads helped to usher in a new era of popularization for comic collecting. Kids’ could order a catalog and make a check list of missing copies needed to complete runs then start saving their paper route money hoping to order a back issue. Books from the Edgar Church collection sold for many multiples over the Overstreet price guide at the time adding yet more to the pedigree’s myth.
The story of the original discovery and bringing to market is best told by Chuck himself here in his Tales from the Database.
Target Comics V.5 #2 (Coded Edgar Church Mile High Copy)
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