LOS ANGELES: 1940 comic marking Marvel superhero Captain America's first appearance has been sold at an auction today for USD 3.1 million.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the price is just short of the record of USD 3.6 million, set in 2014 for Spider-Man's first comic appearance.
The "Captain America Comics No 1" was sold as part of Heritage Auctions' comics and comic art events.
The comic was released in December 1940, a year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that would push the United States into World War II, and features one of the comics medium's most iconic covers: the hero punching Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Comic legends Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Captain America for Timely Comics, the predecessor to Marvel Comics.
Captain America aka Steve Rogers made his debut in Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2011 with "Captain America: The First Avenger".
Hollywood star Chris Evans essayed the role of the superhero. He reprised the part in standalone projects "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", and "Captain America: Civil War" as well as the ensemble films "The Avengers", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame".