DALLAS (AP) — A rare near-mint condition copy of the first Marvel
Comics comic book has sold at auction in Dallas for $1.26 million.

Heritage Auctions says the Marvel Comics No. 1 from 1939 sold
Thursday. Heritage says the buyer wished to remain anonymous.

Ed Jaster, senior vice president at Heritage, calls it "a historic copy
of a historic comic book." The issue features the first appearances
of characters such as the Human Torch, Ka-Zar, Angel and the Sub-
Mariner.

Heritage says the comic book was first purchased at a newsstand
by a Uniontown, Pennsylvania, mail carrier who made a practice of
buying the first issue of comic books and magazines. Jaster says
that since then, the issue has only changed owners a handful of
times.

ROSS SIMPSON

Actor Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is 63 years old today.

Denzel Washington won an Academy Award for Best Actor for
his role in the 2001 film Training Day. He has starred in several
films based on true events such as Remember the Titans (2000), 
Cry Freedom (1987), American Gangster (2007), Flight (2012), 
and Malcolm X (1992). 

2004

2012

Stan Lee (Stanley Martin Lieber)
(December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018)

Stan Lee was a comic book writer, editor, producer, and publisher. He was
the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, and later its publisher. He co-created
fictional characters including Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the
Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Black Panther, and the X-Men. Lee died today 
at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He had been
battling pneumonia.

Lee in the Army.

Stan Lee entered the United States Army in early 1942 and served within
the US as a member of the Signal Corps, repairing telegraph poles and
other communications equipment. He was later transferred to the Training
Film Division, where he worked writing manuals, training films, slogans,
and occasionally cartooning.

On this day in 1989, Tim Burton’s spin on the well-known story of
the DC Comics hero Batman was released in theaters.

Michael Keaton (above) starred in the film as the multimillionaire
Bruce Wayne, who has transformed himself into the crime-fighting Batman after witnessing his parents’ brutal murder as a child.

JACK NICHOLSON’S JOKER (ABOVE) WAS VOTED NUMBER ONE
ON THE LIST OF ALL TIME BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE VILLAINS. 

Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998)

Actor and singer Gene Autry is known as The Singing Cowboy for his
appearances in ninety-three movies and ninety-one TV productions. The
roles as honest American heros earned him a reputation as one of country
music’s most prominent figures. Before fame he did work on his father’s
ranch and worked as a railroad telegrapher. He also performed as a singer
and a guitarist at local dances. Gene Autry owned the Anaheim Angels
baseball team for over thirty years.