This rare Superman comic was once stolen from Nicolas Cage. It was sold for only 15 million dollars

A rare comic book that introduced the world to Superman and was stolen from actor Nicolas Cage’s home has sold for a record $15 million.

Personal agreement b Action Comics #1Created by Toronto-born cartoonist Joe Schuster and American comics writer Jerry Siegel, it was announced Friday. He broke the previous record for a comic book set last November. Superman number 1 It was sold at auction for $9.12 million.

of Action comedy The sale was brokered by Manhattan-based Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, which said the comic book’s owner and buyer wished to remain anonymous.

Company president Vincent Zurzolo said the comic, which sold for 10 cents when it came out in 1938, marked the beginning of the superhero genre and is one of the most valuable comic books in the world, estimating that about 100 copies still exist.

Shuster, who moved to Cleveland at the age of 9, and his school friend Siegel came up with the idea for Superman five years earlier in 1933. Actions funny number 1.

In that version, Superman’s mild-mannered alter ego worked as a reporter for the Daily Star (later renamed The Daily Planet). Inspired by Shuster’s hometown every day – The Toronto Daily Star (now known as the Toronto Star). He was born as a child.

“This is among the holy grails of comic books. Without Superman and his popularity, there would be no Batman or any other superhero comic book mythos,” Zurzolo said.

“His importance in the comic book shows with the agreement that it destroys the previous record,” he said.

The comic book was stolen from Cage’s West Los Angeles home in 2000. It was discovered in 2011 by someone who bought the contents of an old storage locker in Southern California. He eventually returned to Cage, who bought it in 1996 for $150,000.

Six months after returning to it, it sold at auction for $2.2 million.

Stephen Fischler, CEO of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connector, said the theft ultimately played a big role in boosting the comic’s value.

“During that 11-year period, (it) went up in value,” Fischler said. “The thief made a lot of money by stealing Nicolas Cage.”

Fischler likened it to the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

“It was kept under the thief’s bed for two years,” Fischler said. “The restoration of the painting has taken the Mona Lisa from a great Da Vinci painting to a world icon – and that’s Step number 1 is an American pop culture icon.

See | Watch How Superman Came from the CBC Archives:

Co-created by Canadian artist Joe Schuster, the iconic Man of Steel first appeared on comic shelves across the country.