Democratic Rep.-elect Robert Garcia of California will be sworn into the House of Representatives on a first-edition “Superman” No. 1 comic valued at $5.3 million.
The story broke when a reporter saw the classic comic, which came from the Library of Congress, among many articles that incoming legislators chose to take their oaths on. A congressional aide initially refused to identify the soon-to-be lawmaker who chose Superman.
Not long afterward, however, Garcia tweeted that he will be sworn into office on the comic. He said he “will be proudly sworn into Congress on the U.S. Constitution. Underneath will be 3 items that mean a lot to me personally.”
Those items included a photo of his parents who died from COVID-19, his citizenship certificate, and the original Superman comic book. The California Democrat said he would promise allegiance to the Constitution, but not on a Bible.
Good to see the Left taking their responsibilities to the American people seriously https://t.co/gq7qpvBT0p
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 4, 2023
Garcia described himself as a comic book nerd who will display various images from comics in his Washington office. He tweeted an image of two Superman comics in November and added: “I’m going to have a hard time deciding which one to check out first.”
He is also the first openly gay immigrant to be elected to the U.S. Congress and is the former mayor of Long Beach. He along with his family immigrated from Peru when he was five years old.
A spokesperson for Garcia told the New York Post that he “learned to read and write in English by reading Superman comics, so it’s especially exciting he was able to borrow this rare copy from the kind folks at the Library of Congress.
As for Superman, the comic was first published in 1939 and cost 10 cents. Last year, comic grading service CGC reported that a copy of the first edition sold for $5.3 million.
The swearing-in ceremony of new members of Congress was to be held Tuesday but was delayed when representatives were unable to choose a new House Speaker.
Three consecutive votes pitted Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) against Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), but neither were able to reach the 218-vote threshold to secure victory. The process will continue until a winner is chosen, and then the incoming legislators will be sworn in.
