Nicolas Cage's Comic Book Heist: The Story Behind the $15 Million Record Sale

A rare Superman comic book just sold for a staggering $15 million, and its history is even more wild than its price tag. This specific copy of Action Comics #1—famous for being Superman's first-ever appearance—has a bizarre backstory involving Nicolas Cage, a high-stakes heist, and even a reality TV star. 

The comic first made waves in the early 90s when it sold for a then-record $82,000. By 1996, it found a high-profile owner in Nicolas Cage, who purchased it for $150,000. However, the actor's luck took a turn during a New Year's Eve party in 1999 when the comic was stolen from his home. It appeared to be a professional inside job, as the thief managed to bypass locks and alarms without any signs of forced entry. 

Stolen Nicolas Cage's Comic

For over a decade, the book vanished. Experts in the comic world told Nicolas Cage that eventually, someone would try to sell it. That prediction came true in 2011 when a seller reached out with a photo of the book. Detectives and comic book experts set up a sting operation at an industrial park in California to recover it.

Image Courtesy: People

Interestingly, one of the people representing the seller turned out to be Mark Balelo, a personality known from the show Storage Wars. The sellers claimed the comic had been discovered inside a storage unit and were hoping for a million-dollar payday, only to be crushed when they realised they were holding stolen property.

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Value of Stolen Comic

Once the comic was returned to him, Nicolas Cage sold it at auction for $2.1 million. That same book has continued to skyrocket in value, recently reaching the historic $15 million mark in a private deal, making it the first comic book in history to sell for eight figures.

Even though he no longer owns the record-breaking book, Cage's obsession with the Man of Steel remains a huge part of his life. He even named his son Kal-El after the superhero. While his own Superman movie from the 90s was famously cancelled, he finally got to suit up for a brief cameo as the character in the 2023 film 'The Flash.' 

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