Nicolas Cage’s Stolen 1938 Superman Comic Sells for $15 Million to Anonymous Collector
Rare Action Comics No. 1, once stolen from Cage’s collection, fetches record breaking price thanks to pristine condition and Hollywood provenance.
Mumbai, Jan 11 : A piece of comic history has just made headlines: a rare copy of Action Comics No. 1, the 1938 comic that introduced Superman to the world, has been sold to an anonymous collector for an astounding $15 million (₹135 crore). What once sold for just 10 cents has now reached stratospheric heights in the collectibles market.
The comic comes with a Hollywood twist. It was previously owned by actor Nicolas Cage, known for Con Air and National Treasure. Cage purchased the iconic issue in 1996 for $150,000, a significant sum at the time for a single comic. In 2000, the comic was stolen during a party at Cage’s home and remained missing for over a decade.
The long-lost comic resurfaced in 2011 in a California storage unit. By then, its value had skyrocketed, fueled by the mystery of its theft and its celebrity connection. Stephen Fishler, CEO of Metropolis Collectibles/ComicConnect the New York-based broker handling the latest sale remarked, “During that 11-year period, it skyrocketed in value. The thief made Nicolas Cage a lot of money by stealing it.”
This particular copy is one of the finest ever found, graded 9/10 by the Certified Guaranty Company, a leading authority on collectible authenticity. With fewer than 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to exist today, its pristine condition combined with Cage’s ownership made it a collector’s holy grail.
After being reunited with Cage in 2011, the actor sold the comic at auction for $2.2 million, which was already a record-breaking price at the time. The latest private sale has shattered previous records, surpassing even a $9.12 million sale of another pristine copy just last November.
From a 10-cent comic to a $15 million treasure, Superman has truly soared into the stratosphere of the collectibles world.
