$15 Million Superman Action Comics #1 Shatters Old Record
The comic book that introduced the world to Superman just set a new comic book record when it sold for $15 million on Friday, January 9, 2026. The prior record sale took place not even two months ago, when a CGC 9.0 Superman #1 (DC, 1939) sold for $9.12 million on November 20, 2025.
The record-setting comic was a CGC 9 Action Comics #1, which sold in private through Metropolis Collectibles. No public information is available about the buyer or seller, as both wish to remain anonymous.
RELATED: Very rare Superman #1 sets a new record at auction
Low pop, incredibly high demand
According to grading company CGC, there are fewer than 100 graded copies of Action Comics #1 in their database. Only two have the CGC 9.0 grade with none graded higher. Prices for high grade copies continue to climb. The prior record for an Action Comics #1 was a CGC 8.5 copy that sold for $6 million in 2024.
A long, strange trip
This particular comic book has a wild backstory and a unique provenance, which likely impacted the record price.
This CGC 9.0 Action Comics#1 is no stranger to the record books. It first made headlines in 1992 when Sotheby's sold it for $82K, the highest sale ever recorded for a comic book at the time.
Four years later Nicolas Cage purchased the comic for $150,000, setting a new record. In 2000, all of Cage's comic books were stolen, including this one, after he hosted a house party. The comic book's whereabouts were unknown until 2011 when some were pulled from a California storage unit and returned to Cage. The actor sold this comic through auction just six months after getting it back, again setting a new record with a $2.16 million sale.
Among Cage's stolen collection was a Detective Comics #27, considered by many to be another comic book grail since it's the first appearance of Batman. In 2022, the actor posted on Twitter that he just wants to get his comic books back.
RELATED: Batman rookie card set new record amid hot market
The only thing more MASSIVE than the a$$hole who stole Nick's comics is our excitement for #MassiveTalent April 22. Get your ticket now: https://t.co/24Ew36xJnt pic.twitter.com/sXwJUnJGdj
— Massive Talent (@NickCageMovie) April 14, 2022
Cage's Superman Connections
Cage has actually played Superman not once, but twice. His first appearance as Superman was a voiceover role for the 2018 animated Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. Five years later he appeared in the 2023 film The Flash, where he had a brief Superman cameo.
Cage was originally intended to play Superman in Tim Burton's 1998 film Superman Lives, which was ultimately cancelled. Warner Bros pulled the plug on the film after the Batman & Robin film underperformed at the box office the prior year.
Comics take collectibles crown from cards
In the battle for collectibles superiority, comic books have now overtaken cards as the priciest slabbed collectible. Before Friday's record-setting comic sale, no comic had topped $10 million. Meanwhile, sports cards have seen three cards sell for $10 million or more, including two basketball card sales in 2025.
Who knows when cards will reclaim the throne, but it looks like 2026 is already shaping out to be a marquee year for comic book collectors.
Conor is a life long sports card enthusiast who started collecting in the early ’90s, inspired by hometown heroes like Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Tom Brady, and David Ortiz. Like many ’90s hoops fans, he also started building (and continues to build) a modest Michael Jordan collection.