DALLAS, TX.- An investment partnership has paid a record price of $850,000 for a 1940 copy of the Batman #1 comic book, according to officials of Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas who arranged the private transaction between the investors and a collector. The comic book originally cost 10 cents when it was published 72 years ago.

"The collector paid $315,000 for it about two years ago, and that was the record at the time for a copy of Batman #1, one of the most important comic books in the hobby. The market for high-quality, classic comic books has really skyrocketed over the past few years," said Ed Jaster, Vice President of Heritage Auctions.

A two-day public auction of comics and comic art being conducted by Heritage Auctions in Dallas and online, May 10 and 11, is expected to generate more than $4 million in winning bids, according to Jaster.

The identities of the seller and the investors who purchased the comic book for $850,000 were not revealed.

"The Batman character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, and was so popular he got his own comic book series the following year. This particular copy of Batman #1 is the finest known surviving example, graded near-mint condition 9.2 on a scale of one to ten by Certified Guaranty Company (CGCcomics.com)," said Jaster.

Batman #1 introduced the first appearance of two other familiar comic book characters, the Joker and Catwoman.