Superheroes beat the evil inflation

Holy lucrative nostalgia, Batman! The earliest comic book exploits of the caped crusader now fetch as much as £500,000. And with The Dark Knight a big hit at cinemas this summer, investor interest in comic strip stars is soaring. The first hero to wear pants on the outside - Superman - is the most collectable of all. Discover a mint-condition copy of the 1938 issue one of Action Comics, in which Superman was born, and you could have a £1m investment. Darryl Jones, 42, a comic collector and owner of Silver Acre Comics in Chester, says: 'With talk of a recession you might think that old comics would suffer, but we are seeing a boom in demand from collectors who have lost faith in shares and property. 'Those who invest wisely and are willing to sit on investments for five years might have the last laugh on those who think comics... [read full story]