It’s a job for the likes of Superman.

Los Angeles authorities are searching for the thief who stole an original copy of the valuable first Superman comic book more than a decade ago from actor Nicholas Cage. The comic was taken from Cage’s Los Angeles home in 2000 and resurfaced last week in a storage locker in the San Fernando Valley after the contents of the locker were purchased in auction.

Action Comics No.1, first published in 1938, is the comic in which Superman first appeared. It cost a mere $0.10 in 1938. Today it could fetch as much as $1.5 million.

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The comic is in possession of the LAPD as they try to track down the thief or thieves.

“We have it protected in a safe and it isn't going anywhere until we finish our investigation,” Det. Donald Hrycyk told the Los Angeles Times.

Cage, who collects vintage comics and says he has a soft spot for the Man of Steel, was slated to play Superman in a Tim Burton movie in the ‘90s, around the time his first-edition Superman comic was stolen.

The cover of that comic depicts Superman coming to the rescue of Lois Lane in a newsroom kidnapping at the Daily Planet. The Man of Steel, suited up in his trademark red cape, is hoisting a green car high in the air as people flee in fear. The storyline explains how Superman was sent as an infant from another planet to grow up on earth.

Time to check your attic for old comic books. A comic similar to the one stolen from Cage sold in February 2010 for $1 million, at that time, the highest price ever garnered for a comic book. Another copy of Action Comics No. 1, which was purchased for $0.35, sold for $317,200. And Detective Comics No.27, which featured the first appearance of Batman, broke all records when it sold for $1,075,500 in late February 2010.

“It is divine providence that the comic was found and I am hopeful that the heirloom will be returned to my family,” Cage said in a statement.

Regrettably, he didn’t offer a public plea of help to Superman.

Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.

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