A rare edition of the comic book that first introduced Superman to the world—and was once stolen from actor Nicolas Cage’s home—has fetched a record $15 million in a sale.
The private transaction for “Action Comics No. 1” was revealed on Friday. It surpasses the prior comic book price record, which was set last November when a copy of “Superman No. 1” sold for $9.12 million.
The sale of Action Comics No. 1 was handled by Manhattan-based Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, which stated that both the comic’s owner and the buyer wish to remain unnamed.
Released in 1938 at a price of 10 cents, the comic was an anthology featuring stories centered on mostly now-obscure characters. However, across a handful of panels, it recounts Superman’s origin story: his birth on a dying planet, his trip to Earth, and his adult choice to “direct his immense strength into ways that would help humanity.”
Its publication signaled the birth of the superhero genre. According to Vincent Zurzolo, president of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, approximately 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist today.
“This is among the Holy Grail of comic books. Without Superman and his widespread popularity, there would be no Batman or other iconic superhero comic book legends,” Zurzolo stated. “Its significance within the comic book community is clear in this transaction, as it completely breaks the previous record,” he added.
The comic was stolen from Cage’s Los Angeles residence in 2000 but was recovered in 2011, found by a man who had purchased the contents of an old storage unit in Southern California. It was eventually returned to Cage, who had bought it in 1996 for $150,000. Six months after getting it back, he sold it at auction for $2.2 million.
Stephen Fishler, CEO of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, noted that the theft ultimately played a major role in increasing the comic’s value.
“Over that 11-year period it was missing, its value skyrocketed,” Fishler said. “The thief actually made Nicolas Cage a great deal of money by stealing it.”
Fishler drew a comparison to the theft of the Mona Lisa, which was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris back in 1911.
“It was hidden under the thief’s bed for two years,” Fishler pointed out. “The recovery of the painting transformed the Mona Lisa from merely a great Da Vinci work into a global icon—and that’s exactly what Action Comics No. 1 is: an icon of American pop culture.”