Rare comics from one of the biggest collections are for sale for £30,000.
They were collected by Ian Rakoff who amassed around 50,000 of them.
Some of them are around 80-years-old.
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Mr Rakoff had a distinguished career as a screenwriter, film editor, author.
He worked on the 1972 Hollywood thriller Deliverance starring Burt Reynolds and the cult 1960s TV series The Prisoner.
But his greatest passion was Action comics and he built up an unrivalled collection over more than 70 years.
Now a significant part is up for sale.
Tom Francis-Duma, of auctioneer Ewbank’s said some of the comics on offer date back 80 years and are so rare that their existence was previously unknown.
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“Ian Rakoff has collected around 50,000 US comics alone over the years,” he said.
“I have been collecting all my life and I have managed to collect about 3,000.
“A lot of comics from 1920 to around 1945 got pulped in WW2 as they were used for ballast.
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“It’s only now with the emergence of the rarities from Ian Rakoff’s collection that they have come to light again.
“I’ve been in comics for 22 years and I have never seen this before.”
Now aged 85 Mr Rakoff has not only donated a significant proportion of his collection to the Victoria & Albert Museum, as reported by What’s The Jam.
But he has also lectured there and writes a blog on comics for the V&A.
The blog reveals that his early collection started while a boy in South Africa included comics from the 1940s and 50s.
Living in London in the 1960s he found imported comics in shops such as Dark They Were and Golden-Eyed in Berwick Street, Soho.
Ian also frequented Forbidden Planet in Denmark Street and the comic stall in Camden Market.
His love of 1960s popular culture even led him to write a book on The Prisoner, the TV series on which he worked as a writer: Inside The Prisoner: Radical Film and Television in the 60s (1998).
“It’s astonishing to think that these comics, with their incredible artwork, were created over 70 years ago – in some cases more than 80 years.
“You can see how the storylines and dynamic action then helped shape what was to come over the following half a century and more,” added Tom Francis-Duma.
“In some ways Ian Rakoff is as much a superhero as the stars of the comics he has collected down the years.
“This is an historic collection from an extraordinary individual and it has allowed us to put together a unique catalogue for comics fans.”
Highlights in the upcoming sale include: – Thrilling Crime Cases No. 49, a golden-age issue with classic L. B. Cole Femme Fatale cover art dating to 1952.
It has an estimate of up to £1,000.
Startling Comics No. 35, a golden-age Superhero issue dating to 1945 featuring the Fighting Yank story and a Captain Future story in which a scientific super-criminal tries to gain control of the whole United States.
The estimate is about £600.
Wonder Comics No. 12, another golden-age Superhero issue featuring Graham Ingels’ Good-girl cover art and dating to 1947.
The estimate is up to £500. – Thrilling Comics No. 65, from the pre-code golden age and dating to 1948. Estimate £400.
The Black Terror No. 8, a golden-age Superhero issue featuring Alex Schomburg WWII cover art and dating to 1944. Estimate £300.
The sale at Ewbank’s, in Woking, Surrey takes place tomorrow (29 Apr).
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