Original artwork for the historic first ever Flash Gordon comic has sold for a world record price of $480,000 (£390,000).
The inaugural strip for the sci-fi epic featuring Alex Raymond's illustrations was published on January 7, 1934.
Raymond signed the 28ins by 23ins illustration board and wrote 'No 1' on it to signify its importance.
Almost 90 years later the pencil and ink artwork was sold by the widow of a life-long comic collector with US-based auctioneer Profiles in History.
They described it as the 'most important' piece of artwork from the Golden Age to go under the hammer.
It sparked a bidding war, beating the previous world record of (£415,000) £335,000 set for original 1971 Amazing Spiderman cover art in February 2018.
A Profiles in History spokesperson said: 'This extraordinary offering represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to obtain the artwork serving as the genesis of history's greatest science fiction hero.
'It is the most important piece of comic art from the Golden Age, acheiving a world record for comic strip art.'
The first Flash strip introduced Flash Gordon, a handsome graduate and polo player, and his companion Dale Arden.
They parachuted out of a crashing plane and were rescued by Dr Hans Zarkov aboard his rocket ship.
This had been launched to intercept the planet Mongo which was hurtling towards Earth.
By the late 1930s, Flash Gordon was published in 130 newspapers worldwide and read by over 50 million people.
It ran until 2003 and has spawned numerous films, as well as inspiring Star Trek and Star Wars.
The spokesperson added: 'The historical impact Flash Gordon had on science fiction and pop culture heroes of the 20th century cannot be overstated.
'The 'space western', emphasising space exploration as the final frontier, influenced Gene Roddenberry to create Star Trek.
'Also, George Lucas had originally wanted to adapt the Flash Gordon serials in the 1970s, yet was unable to secure the rights. His project evolved into Star Wars.'
US publishing company King Features Syndicate assigned Raymond to create a Sunday page to compete against the popular Buck Rogers strip that made its newspaper debut in 1929.
Flash Gordon quickly developed an audience far surpassing Buck Rogers, due to Raymond's artwork and ghostwriter Don Moore's engaging storylines.
In 1980, the cult film Flash Gordon was released, starring Sam Jones, Melody Anderson, Timothy Dalton and Brian Blessed. Its soundtrack was famously written and performed by the rock band Queen.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
