A collector, Todd McDevitt, bought a near-mint copy of Detective Comics No. 27, a pre-World War II comic featuring Batman's debut, found recently in an attic.

McDevitt would not say how much he paid for the comic or who he bought it from but believes the issue to be worth around $250,000.

According to the Associated Press (AP), McDevitt told the Beaver County Times "It was a typical story of someone cleaning up junk in their attic and finding an old comic book and wondering if this was one of those ones that was worth a lot of money."

McDevitt, who has been saving money since 1986 so that he could buy a valuable comic when it surfaced, owns Pittsburgh region's five New Dimension Comics stores.

The comic, which can fetch upto $500,000, is the second most valuable amongst die-hard fans. According to AP, "the only comic considered more valuable is Action Comics No. 1, in which Superman makes his first appearance."

According to experts the number of copies of Batman debut ranges from between 20 to a few hundred.

McDevitt's copy is safely tucked away in a bank vault. He hasn't read it yet, saying he wants to "savor" it.