Action Comics #1, which features the first appearance of Superman, once again set the new record for the most expensive public sale of a comic book. This issue, graded 9.0 Near Mint by CGC, sold for a whopping $2,161,000, shattering the old record of $1.5 million set in March 2010 by a CGC 8.5 copy.
This issue is not only one of the highest graded, but has a history that's worthy of a Hollywood movie. It came into prominence when it sold in 1992 by Sotheby's for $82,500, which was a record at that time. Actor Nicolas Cage later bought the comic in 1997 for around $150,000. He kept the prized issue mounted on a wall in his home in a high security frame. Around January of 2000, however, Cage noticed that the issue was missing, along with 2 other issues also in security frames, Marvel Mystery #71 and a high grade Detective Comics #27. In April of 2011 an unidentified man claims he discovered the Action Comics #1 after he purchased the contents of an abandoned San Fernando Valley, California storage locker. The book was authenticated and then handed over as evidence to the Los Angeles Police Department while they investigated further. It is unknown whether the comic was later returned to Cage and if he was the recent seller. As for the Mystery #71, it resurfaced a few months after it was stolen, but the Detective Comics #27 has never been found.
