A rare copy of the comic book that introduced the world to Superman and was once famously stolen from actor Nicolas Cage has been sold for a record-breaking $15 million.
The private deal for Action Comics No. 1, announced on Friday, significantly eclipses the previous record price for a comic book. That benchmark was set last November when a copy of Superman No. 1 fetched $9.12 million at auction.
Manhattan-based Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect negotiated the sale, with both the comic book’s owner and the buyer opting to remain anonymous.
Originally priced at just 10 cents upon its 1938 release, the anthology also featured a collection of now largely forgotten characters.
But over a few panels, it told the origin story of Superman’s birth on a dying planet, his journey to Earth and his decision as an adult to “turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind.”
Its publication marked the beginning of the superhero genre.
Around 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist, according to Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect President Vincent Zurzolo.
“This is among the Holy Grail of comic books. Without Superman and his popularity, there would be no Batman or other superhero comic book legends,” Zurzolo said. “It’s importance in the comic book community shows with his deal, as it obliterates the previous record,” Zurzolo said.
The comic book was stolen from Cage’s Los Angeles home in 2000 but was recovered in 2011 when it was found by a man who had purchased the contents of an old storage locker in southern California. It eventually was returned to Cage, who had bought it in 1996 for $150,000. Six months after it was returned to him, he sold it at auction for $2.2 million.
Stephen Fishler, CEO of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, said the theft eventually played a big role in boosting the comic’s value.
“During that 11-year period (it was missing), it skyrocketed in value.,” Fishler said “The thief made Nicolas Cage a lot of money by stealing it.”
Fishler compared it to the theft of Mona Lisa, which was stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris in 1911.
“It was kept under the thief’s bed for two years,” Fishler noted. “The recovery of the painting made the Mona Lisa go from being just a great Da Vinci painting to a world icon — and that’s what Action No. 1 is — an icon of American pop.”