It’s the holy grail among comic fans, and only a select few can afford one, but the first issue of Action Comics, featuring the debut of Superman, just went up at auction, and sold for a record $2.1 million.
You may have heard it was Nicholas Cage’s copy, and that the comic was stolen from his house in 2000, and was finally recovered this April.
As the Hollywood Reporter notes, it was found in a storage locker, and as we’ve seen on recent reality shows, people buy abandoned storage lockers like this that can hold all kinds of goodies.
Apparently this guy hit the motherlode, because the comic was graded at 9.0. As the Reporter confirms, there are about 100 copies of the first Action Comics still around, but only five that weigh in at this level of quality.
Cage’s copy was first sold at Sotheby’s in 1992 for $82,500, and Cage got it in 1997 for $150,000. As you may recall, Cage is a huge Superman freak, and was going to play the man of steel in Superman Lives when Tim Burton was going to direct it in 1996.
In addition to the Superman comic getting robbed from his house, Detective Comics #27, which features the debut of Batman, also got ripped off. Unfortunately, it was never recovered.
Like a ’59 Les Paul, which can set you back $3-5,000,000 if you’ve absolutely gotta have one, the first Superman in pristine condition is indeed a geek holy relic that most of us can only dream of owning, although the Reporter also mentions if you want a “fair” condition copy of the first Action Comics, you can get one for $300.
Last year, the previous record holder for most paid for a comic was for Detective Comics #27, which according to Comic Book Resources sold at auction for $1.7 million.
