Rare Superman Comic Stolen from Nicolas Cage Sells for $15 Million

Record Sale for a Historic Comic

A rare copy of the 1938 comic that introduced Superman to the world has been sold to an anonymous collector for the sum of $15 million (£11.2 million). The private sale of Action Comics No. 1, which was stolen from actor Nicolas Cage’s house and returned to him over a decade later, was announced on Friday.

The previous record for the sale of a comic was set in November when a pristine Superman No. 1 was auctioned for $9.12 million. Both sales far exceed the original price of 10 cents, which is about $2.25 in today’s money.

The debut of Superman is one of several stories included in Action Comics No. 1, which is widely credited with defining the superhero genre as we know it today. It is estimated that there are fewer than 100 copies in existence worldwide. Friday's sale was negotiated by Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect of New York, which stated that both the comic's owner and the buyer wished to remain anonymous.

The broker mentioned that the copy was rated nine out of a maximum ten by the Certified Guaranty Company, which specializes in authenticating collectible items - making it one of the highest-graded examples ever.

The comic's value was further enhanced due to its association with Hollywood star Nicolas Cage. The actor, known for films like Con Air and National Treasure, purchased this copy in 1996 for $150,000 - a record at the time. However, the comic was stolen during a party at Cage's home in 2000 and was only found in 2011 in a storage unit in California.

“In that 11-year period, its value skyrocketed. The thief made Nicolas Cage a lot of money through the theft,” said Stephen Fishler, CEO of Metropolis/ComicConnect. Cage was reunited with the comic and, six months later, sold it at auction for $2.2 million.

Fishler compared the comic's history to the bold theft of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911, which transformed a relatively unknown work into the most famous painting in the world. “The recovery of the painting made the Mona Lisa an international symbol - and this is the role that Action No. 1 has. A symbol of American pop culture.”