A rare copy of the comic book that introduced the world to Superman and also was once stolen from the home of actor Nicolas Cage has been sold for a record US$15 million.
The private deal for Action Comics No. 1 was announced on Friday. It eclipsed the previous record price for a comic book, set in November last year when a copy of Superman No. 1 was sold at auction for US$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.
Photo Andrew Wilson/Metropolis Collectibles Inc via AP
The comic — which sold for US$0.10 when it came out in 1938 — was an anthology of tales about mostly now little-known characters. 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. About 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist, Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect president Vincent Zurzolo said.
“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.”
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 a storage locker in southern California.
It was eventually returned to Cage, who had bought it in 1996 for US$150,000. Six months after it was returned to him, he sold it at auction for US$2.2 million.
Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect CEO Stephen Fishler 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 in Paris in 1911.
“It was kept under the thief’s bed for two years,” Fishler said. “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.”
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