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.