Marvel at the art of the comic-book superhero

He's the $10bn man: comic-book writer Stan Lee's superhero creations have created some of the world's biggest box-office takings. Now, for the first time, his creations in their original form are to be sold as fine art.

The celebrated Marvel editor, now 90, has been dreaming up superheroes – Spider-Man, the Avengers and the Incredible Hulk – since the 1940s, but this is the first time Lee has made his creations available as full-size art at $1,000 each, in a run of 195 prints which he has selected and signed.

Six covers, entitled Superheroes, feature many of the most recognisable Marvel characters including X‑Men and the Silver Surfer.

Lee started his career as an assistant at Timely Comics in 1939 and saw it evolve into Marvel Comics in the 1960s. The combined box-office takings from films based on his creations topped $10.9bn (£7.1bn) with the release of The Amazing Spider Man and The Avengers last year.

Robert Downey Jnr's return as Tony Stark in Iron Man 3 this summer is expected to generate more than $6bn combined with The Wolverine and Thor: The Dark World.

The works can be bought online at castlegalleries.com starting at £695.