Comic book that unveiled Superman fetches $15M
A rare copy of the comic book that introduced the world to Superman has been sold for a record $15 million—its value skyrocketing after it was once stolen from actor Nicolas Cage.
The private deal for “Action Comics No. 1,” announced Friday, eclipses the previous record price for a comic book set last November, when a copy of “Superman No. 1” was sold at an auction for $9.12 million.
The Action Comics sale was negotiated by Manhattan-based Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, which said the comic book’s owner and the buyer wished to remain anonymous.
‘Holy Grail’
The comic book—which sold for 10 cents when it came out in 1938—was an anthology of tales about mostly now little-known 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.”
The pioneering publication marked the beginning of the superhero genre.
“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,” said Vincent Zurzolo, president of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect.
“Its importance in the comic book community shows with this deal, as it obliterates the previous record,” he said.
About 100 other copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist, Zurzolo said.
The sold rare copy also has the distinction of having been stolen in 2000 from the Los Angeles home of actor Nicolas Cage, who bought it in 1996 for $150,000.
In 2011—eleven years after the theft—the comic book was found by a man who had purchased the contents of an old storage locker and eventually returned to Cage. Later that year, the Oscar-winning actor sold it at an auction for $2.2 million.
Like the ‘Mona Lisa’
Stephen Fishler, CEO of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, said the theft played a big role in boosting the comics’ 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 1911 theft of the “Mona Lisa” from the Louvre museum in Paris.
“It was kept under the thief’s bed for two years,” Fisher 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 culture,” he said.
