The rare issue of Action Comics No. 1 was released in 1938 and previously belonged to Nicolas Cage
Someone’s 10-cent investment in a copy of Action Comics No. 1 in 1938 has turned into a $15 million payday for a later owner of the now-rare comic book that first introduced Superman. An anonymous buyer has purchased the well-preserved copy for a record-breaking amount from a seller who also wished to remain anonymous, according to Associated Press.
“This is among the Holy Grail of comic books,” said Vincent Zurzolo, president of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, the company through which the sale was negotiated. “Without Superman and his popularity, there would be no Batman or other superhero comic book legends. It’s importance in the comic book community shows with his deal, as it obliterates the previous record.”
The previous record for the sale of a comic book was set when an original copy of Superman No. 1 sold at auction for $9.12 million in November 2025. Both values are much higher than the original 10-cent value of each, equal to about $2.25 today. They’re also higher than what this particular copy of Action Comics No. 1, believed to be one of 100, originally sold for when actor Nicolas Cage purchased it in 1996.
Cage secured the issue for $150,000 at the time. He kept it in his possession for four years before it was stolen from his home in Los Angeles in 2000. More than a decade later, in 2011, it resurfaced. The pivotal printing was buried in a storage locker that a man in Southern California purchased. When Action Comics No. 1 was returned to Cage, he only held onto it for six months before selling it at auction. He made $2.2 million from the sale and later named his son after Superman’s birth name, Kal-El.
Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect CEO Stephen Fishler believes the theft boosted the value of the comic, but its original value was already immense: it was ground-zero for the superhero genre. The other characters, like Tex Thomson and Zatara, are less exciting than Superman, but essential to the development of the Action Comics series.
