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Ultra-Rare First Superman Comic Found Hidden in Wall of Abandoned House

Superman
Superman

Comic book collectors, be prepared to go Hulk-green with envy.

David Gonzalez stumbled across one Super-sized bonus check when he discovered a copy of "Action Comics" #1 in the wall of his house in Elbow Lake, Minnesota, according to UPI.com.

The remodeler -- and now one of the luckiest men alive -- found the extremely rare comic book amongst old newspapers that had been used to insulate the wall of the abandoned home that was built in 1938 (the year Superman made his first appearance in print). Gonzalez bought the house for $10,100; the comic is worth at least ten times that much.

"Action Comics" #1 was published 75 years ago last month and featured the first appearance of several superhero characters, most notably Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. "Action Comics" is today dedicated almost exclusively to Superman stories, but in its early days as a predecessor of DC Comics it was an anthology book -- and is considered the publication that gave birth to the "superhero" genre in general.

The first "Superman" comic book adventure was 13 pages long, detailing the story of baby Superman being sent to Earth by his scientist father from a distant planet that was "destroyed by old age" through the discovery of his super-powers while at an orphanage and finally coming to maturity as a man named "Clark" who uses his abilities to fight criminals.

Siegel & Shuster were paid $10 per page for this story, for a total of $130. Today, a copy of "Action Comics" #1 graded 9 out of 10 recently sold for over $2 million.

Gonzalez said he wasn't quite as careful with the discovery as he should've been and accidentally tore the cover, which downgraded its condition from a 3 to a 1.5 out of 10. Nevertheless, the bid on auction site ComicConnect.com for this particular copy is up to over $113,000 as of Wednesday.

The auction ends on Tuesday, June 11, three days before Superman returns to the big screen in Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel."