National Comic Book Day: 5 superhero Odd News moments
National Comic Book Day falls on September 25, and UPI marked it by revisiting five times superheroes, fans, and collectibles crashed into Odd News — from a costumed Spider-Man rescue in Arkansas to record-smashing comic art and Guinness-worthy memorabilia hauls that still thrill fans.
Key Takeaways
- National Comic Book Day is observed on September 25, celebrating heroes, villains, and decades of comic storytelling.
- UPI spotlighted five Odd News moments involving superheroes, fans, and high-stakes collectibles.
- Highlights include a real-life Spider-Man rescue, Iron Man art selling for $3.875 million, and a 1939 Superman No. 1 auctioned for $9.12 million.
- Fans also set Guinness World Records with massive Wonder Woman and Joker memorabilia collections.
What is National Comic Book Day all about?
September 25 is National Comic Book Day, a nod to the characters and stories that have filled comic pages for generations. UPI marked the occasion with a look back at five times superheroes — and their fans, collectibles, and real-life counterparts — made their way into Odd News.
For more strange-but-true headlines, browse BlasterPost’s Bizarre News & Florida Man hub.
Which superhero moments made Odd News headlines?
In July, an Arkansas traffic camera caught a man in a Spider-Man costume pulling off a real-life rescue on a busy road. The masked helper was later identified as Christopher Hellenthal, who had 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,’” Hellenthal said, according to UPI’s Odd News roundup.
Also in July, original comic art that first introduced Iron Man sold for a record-breaking $3,875,000. Heritage Auctions announced the sale of Don Heck’s page 1 artwork from Marvel’s Tales of Suspense No. 39 (March 1963). The price set a new world record for original comic art, topping the previous $3,360,000 paid in January 2022 for Mike Zeck art from Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars No. 8 — the first appearance of Spider-Man’s black costume.
A Georgia woman, Aleshia Wiley, paid tribute to her favorite hero by amassing the world’s largest Wonder Woman memorabilia collection: 1,581 items. Wiley said she likes that Wonder Woman stands for female empowerment and called her “a beacon of hope for girls and women everywhere.”
How high did comic collectibles and fan records climb?
In 2025, a 1939 copy of Superman No. 1 became the world’s most expensive comic book after auctioning for $9.12 million. Heritage Auctions said a Northern California family found it while cleaning out their mother’s attic after her death. Examined by CGC and graded 9.0 out of 10, it is the highest-graded copy of Superman No. 1 known to still exist and one of only seven known copies graded 6.0 or higher. The sale broke the previous record of $6 million.
Also in 2025, 22-year-old Bloomington, Indiana, fan Megan Pierce earned a Guinness World Record for 2,318 items related to Batman villain the Joker. Pierce said she started collecting in middle school and later amassed action figures, comics, Joker rollerblades, a skateboard, and milk caps from 1966. She began the Guinness process in 2023 after posting about her collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, and said the hobby helped her connect with fans and figures including actor Mark Hamill.
Together, the five stories show how National Comic Book Day is as much about real-world weirdness and passion as it is about the pages themselves.