A man's comic book collection with first issues of Superman, Batman and the Flash has fetched $1.5 million in an online auction.

John Wise, of Paducah, Kentucky, collected the valuable superhero comics over 30 years.

A comic from 1940 with the first appearance of Flash claimed the top individual price of $182,000. First issues of Superman and Batman from the same era sold for $172,000 and $137,000 in the offerings. His issue of the first-ever comic from Marvel sold for $95,000.

Mr Wise said the exploding popularity of superheroes in films and TV made it a good time to sell. He now plans to buy a house and send his grandchildren to college with the profits.

The comic books were sold on Comicconnect.com.

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