Rare copy of the comic book that introduced the world to Superman sells for $15 million
Published: 11 Jan. 2026, 12:46
![This photo shows Action Comics #1, a rare copy of the comic book that introduced the world to Superman, in New York on Jan. 7. The copy was sold for a record $15 million. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/11/1a3c43a5-7597-4042-ba87-f5d996b032f2.jpg)
This photo shows Action Comics #1, a rare copy of the comic book that introduced the world to Superman, in New York on Jan. 7. The copy was sold for a record $15 million. [AP/YONHAP]
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 $15 million.
The private deal for “Action Comics No. 1” was announced on Friday. It eclipses the previous record price for a comic book, set last November when a copy of “Superman No. 1” was auctioned off 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.
The comic — which sold for 10 cents when it came out in 1938 — is an anthology of tales about now mostly little-known characters. But over a few panels, it tells 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, according to Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect President Vincent Zurzolo.
“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. “Its 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 an old storage locker in Southern California. It was eventually returned to Cage, who had bought it in 1996 for $150,000. Six months after it was returned to him, he auctioned it off for $2.2 million.
Stephen Fishler, the CEO of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, 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.”
![Vincent Zurzolo, president of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect poses for a photo, Jan. 5, in New York, with Action Comics #1, a copy of a rare comic book that introduced the world to Superman and was sold for a record $15 million. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/11/7a5ca856-855b-4b18-a626-c5fd5641a5b3.jpg)
Vincent Zurzolo, president of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect poses for a photo, Jan. 5, in New York, with Action Comics #1, a copy of a rare comic book that introduced the world to Superman and was sold for a record $15 million. [AP/YONHAP]
Fishler compared it to the theft of the Mona Lisa, which was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911.
“It was kept under the thief’s bed for two years,” Fishler 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.”
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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