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A comic showing the debut of superhero Batman has been sold for more than $1m (£655,000) at an auction in Dallas.
The rare 1939 copy of Detective Comic No 27 was bought by an anonymous bidder from a seller who also wished to keep their identity secret.
The sale comes just days after an early edition of a Superman comic sold for $1m - only to be outdone by Batman.
Barry Sandoval, of auction house Heritage, claimed it was the biggest price on record for a comic book.
"It pretty much blew away all of our expectations," he said of the $1.075m winning bid.
"We can really say that Batman has nosed out Superman, at least for now."
Mr Sandoval added that the cover of the comic - which was bought by the seller in the 1960s for $100 (£65) - is one of the most famous in comic book history.
According to experts, the debuts of Batman and Superman were always likely to be the first to break the $1m barrier, with both examples in excellent condition.
Shirrel Rhoades, former publisher and executive vice president of Marvel Comics, added that the two sales were likely to keep prices buoyant.
"We're probably seeing a little bit of a feeding frenzy," he said, adding that comic books are seen as a sound investment.
