(AP) – A rare copy of the comic book that introduced the world to Superman, once stolen from actor Nicolas Cage’s home, has sold for a record $15 million.
The private deal for “Action Comics No. 1” was announced Friday. It surpasses the previous record price for a comic book, set last November when a copy of “Superman No. 1” sold at auction for $9.12 million.
The sale of Action Comics was negotiated by Manhattan-based Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, which said the comic book owner and buyer wished to remain anonymous.
The comic strip – which sold for 10 cents when it came out in 1938 – was an anthology of stories about largely now little-known characters. But a few panels told the origin story of Superman’s birth on a dying planet, his journey to Earth, and his decision as an adult to “channel his gargantuan power into channels that would benefit humanity.”
Its publication marked the beginning 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.
“This is one of the Holy Grails of comic books. Without Superman and his popularity, there would be no Batman or other superhero comic book legends,” Zurzolo said. “It is important in the comics community to show his deal because it destroys 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 safe in Southern California. It was eventually returned to Cage, who purchased it for $150,000 in 1996. 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 ultimately played a big role in increasing the comic’s value.
“During that 11-year period (it was lost), its value skyrocketed,” 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 noted. “The restoration of the painting transformed the Mona Lisa from a great Da Vinci painting into a global icon – and that is what Action No. 1 is – an icon of American pop culture.”
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