As the House has spent two days trying to elect the next Speaker, one Democratic representative-elect is planning on being sworn in with his hand on a comic book.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) was first elected to Congress in 2020. He solved a mystery discovered by a journalist by tweeting on Tuesday that he plans to take the oath of office by swearing on several documents, including a prized copy of the first edition of the “Superman” comic book.
A journalist saw the classic comic among the collection of bibles and other documents that were assembled for the incoming House members intended to use to give their oaths of office. The journalist asked about the book’s ownership but was brushed off by a congressional aide.
Will be proudly sworn-in to Congress on the U.S. Constitution. Underneath the Constitution will be 3 items that mean a lot to me personally. A photo of my parents who I lost to covid, my citizenship certificate & an original Superman #1 from the @librarycongress. 🇺🇸😊 pic.twitter.com/YGW43OLsIp
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) January 3, 2023
Garcia posted his tweet later that resolved the comic book mystery. A self-described “comic book nerd,” Garcia wrote: “Will be proudly sworn-in to Congress on the U.S. Constitution. Underneath the Constitution will be 3 items that mean a lot to me personally. A photo of my parents who I lost to covid, my citizenship certificate & an original Superman #1 from the @librarycongress.”
Both of Garcia’s parents died from complications related to COVID-19 infections in 2020. When he was five, he came to America with his parents from Lima, Peru. Garcia is now 45 years old. He has worked as a professor at the University of Southern California and was the Mayor of the City of Long Beach before being elected to Congress.
Garcia is the first openly gay immigrant to be elected to serve in the U.S. Congress.
The first edition of “Superman” was published in 1939. A copy was sold last year for $5.3 million. The copy Garcia possesses belongs to the Library of Congress.
No details were available regarding how Garcia acquired the book or how long he will be allowed to keep it out of the library. However, he did say that he intends to place the book worth millions on display somewhere in his congressional office.
