$1 million Batman beats Superman in comic price war

A 1939 COMIC book in which Batman made his debut sold at auction for more than $1 million.

The Batman sale broke a record set just three days earlier by a Superman comic, Heritage Auction Galleries said.

The Dallas-based auction house said the rare copy of Detective Comics No. 27 sold for a total of $1,075,500 (£705,376) to an anonymous buyer. The seller also wanted to remain anonymous.

“It pretty much blew away all of our expectations and now it’s the highest price ever raised for a comic book,” said Barry Sandoval, director of operations of Heritage comics’ division.

“We can really say Batman has nosed out Superman, at least for now.”

With a yellow background, the cover features Batman swinging on a rope above city rooftops.

“That cover is just one of the most famous of all comic book covers,” Mr Sandoval said.

J.C. Vaughn, associate publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, said most people predicted the comics with the first appearance of Superman and Batman that broke the £1m barrier.

The Superman and Batman comics that sold this week were in great condition, he said.