Spider-Man originals fetch thousands at auction

Original copies of comic books belonging to Spider-Man creator Stan Lee have been sold for thousands of pounds at an auction in the United States.

The comic books, which the writer used for reference, went under the hammer in Chicago.

They included the very first issue of Amazing Spider-Man which sold for around £4,000 (€6,253) and the 15th edition of Amazing Fantasy in which Lee first introduced the comic character. That comic sold for around £3,600 (€5,628).

Lee's personal comic books from the 1960s and some of his original artwork were among material being sold by Heritage Comics Auctions at its Wizard World auction.

A first edition of the Fantastic Four sold for £2,500 (€3,908) while a first edition of The Incredible Hulk fetched £1,800 (€2,814).

All copies bear the designation "Stan Lee File Copy".

Lee, who created various characters including The Incredible Hulk and X-Men, had allowed HCA director John Petty to go through his collection and pick out articles to go up for sale.

Mr Petty explained: "He had mentioned at one point that he has got this storeroom full of stuff and he let me come out and look through it.

"He just figured it was time to do this."

He added: "The auction went fantastically well and we're incredibly thrilled."

He said Lee, who was unable to attend the sale as planned due to illness, was "very pleased" with the results.