Action Comics No. 1, featuring Superman’s debut in 1938, is considered the Holy Grail of comic books. And David Gonzales found a copy mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.
Gonzales did some research that confirmed the comic with a cover showing the “Man of Steel” was valuable, though it is not worth as much as it could have been.
For over 70 years, the book sat undisturbed in the ceiling of the house in Hoffman. But a few days after he found it, Gonzales said, he got into a heated discussion with his wife’s aunt about its value, and she demanded a cut of the money. He said he also grew irritated because every time she turned one of the comic’s pages, crumbs of paper fell out.
Finally, Gonzales said, he grabbed the copy and tossed it aside, accidentally tearing the back cover. “I don’t care about the money,” he recalled telling the aunt. “I don’t care. It’s my comic book. I can burn it if I want to.”
Gonzales said the aunt backed down when his wife warned her he was serious.