A rare collection of a comic launched after The Beano and The Dandy is to be sold at auction.

The Magic Comic was first published on July 22 1939 and ran for only 80 issues until January 25 1941.

Publishers DC Thomson, who launched it after The Beano and The Dandy, stopped its production because of paper rationing following the outbreak of the Second World War.

The bound collection of The Magic Comic 1939 is to be sold by Curr & Dewar Auctioneers of Dundee on January 20.

It features the first 24 issues of the Magic Comic numbered 1 to 24 and it is thought it could fetch more than £2,000.

Characters include Peter Piper, who looks very like DC Thomson comic character Oor Wullie, Koko the Pup and Sooty Snowball.

Auctioneer Steven Dewar said: "It was geared up for a slightly younger age group than The Beano and The Dandy.

"One of the characters is Peter Piper who is the absolute spit of Oor Wullie. He has the same face and hair but is wearing shorts instead of dungarees.

"Another character is typical of the period. It is quite a racist story called Sooty Snowball which uses derogatory words and phrases."

The auction house said that there are thought to be only eight to 10 known copies of The Magic Comic No. 1 in existence.

In 2004 and 2005 No.1 issues were sold at auction for £1,331 and £1,925 respectively, while a No.2 issue sold for £558 in 2004.

Mr Dewar is expecting quite a lot of interest in the lot.

He said: "The collection is bound into almost an annual and the binding has preserved it very well in the main, the condition is quite good."

"Comics and childhood do carry a premium, especially with the rarity of this comic."

The collection is being sold by a woman who had been clearing out an elderly relative's house.