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.<\/b>
\nA 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 \u201cAction Comics No. 1\u201d was announced Friday. It eclipses the previous record price for a comic book, set last November when a copy of \u201cSuperman No. 1\u2033 was at sold at auction for $9.12 million.
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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 \u2014 which sold for 10 cents when it came out in 1938 \u2014 was an anthology of tales about mostly now little-known characters. But 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 \u201cturn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind.\u201d
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.
\u201cThis 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,\u201d Zurzolo said.
The comic book was stolen from Cage\u2019s 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 eventually was returned to Cage, who had bought it in 1996 for $150,000. 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 eventually played a big role in boosting the comic’s value.
\u201cDuring that 11-year period (it was missing), it skyrocketed in value.,\u201d Fishler said «The thief made Nicolas Cage a lot of money by stealing it.\u201d
Fishler compared it to the theft of Mona Lisa, which was stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris in 1911.
«It was kept under the thief\u2019s bed for two years,\u201d Fishler noted. \u201cThe recovery of the painting made the Mona Lisa go from being just a great Da Vinci painting to a world icon \u2014 and that\u2019s what Action No. 1 is \u2014 an icon of American pop culture.\u201d<\/p>\n