Rare 'Action Comics No. 1' Featuring First Superman Fetches Record $2.16M

The first issue of Action Comics, which came out in 1938, cost 10 cents and featured the first appearance of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s superhero Superman, sold at auction today for $2.16 million. That’s a record for a single comic book, breaking the mark of $1.5 million set in 2010 by another Action Comics No. 1 copy, which wasn’t in as pristine shape. The record-breaking issue sold today went for $86,000 in 1992 and $150,000 in 1997, when it was reportedly purchased by Nicolas Cage. But it was stolen in 2000 and assumed lost until it turned up among the contents of a storage shed purchased by an unidentified buyer in April. Only about 100 copies of the issue are believed to exist. Neither the new buyer or the seller were identified.