Scotland's first superhero is to make his comeback 30 years after disappearing from the pages of a small comic book.

Captain Scotland appeared in the first issue of the comic strip Atomic in 1987.

Now the superhero is being brought back just in time for St Andrew's Day.

The new short story by Tom J Fraser will follow a young man who has lost almost three decade of his life.

Tom explains: "Captain Scotland was our first national Scottish hero, created in the mid-1980s.

"The story is a fabulous jumping on point for everyone, as all you thought you knew about the character is completely wrong.

"The story explores what it's like for a kid to lose 30 years of his life and return home in 2017. Captain Scotland's alter ego Scott Stewart meets his old friends who are now in their 50s."

Despite his age, he is still able to morph into the hero he was 30 years ago.

In the short story, Captain Scotland will also get to enjoy some of the sights and sounds of Scotland.

The story will launch on Thursday on the comic and film website ComicsFlix during Scottish Book Week.

Atomic comic was created by Anthony Foster, who wrote the original Captain Scotland.

The title lasted for 13 issues, was sold in speciality comic shops and covered in magazines such as NME in the late 80s and early 90s.

It helped launch the careers of several comic creators who went on to do work for 2000AD and US comics.

Captain Scotland was also recently featured in the book The British Superhero by Chris Murray at Dundee University.

Although launched in 1987, this version of Captain Scotland was not the first incarnation of the character.

He had appeared as Captain Britain, complete with saltire mask, in a few pre-versions of Atomic and Captain Scotland comics.

The back issues were lost in the mists of time but ComicsFlix found a rare front cover featuring Captain Scotland's original look.

Writer Tom says the revived story will feature contemporary humour for all ages.

"The story is so current we have even had to change the plot ever so slightly as real news overtook our fiction," he says.

"It's a superhero soap opera after all. We've tweaked the look of the character with some great artwork by fresh young artist Valentina Mozzo.

"We think the character can be a great brand ambassador for Scotland and that opportunity is reflected in this 21st century reinterpretation of our first national hero.

"It's a bit like getting the band back together, especially for Scottish Book Week. There are so many possibilities and great stories to tell. We'll see what happens next."

Earlier this year, Atomic and Captain Scotland creator Anthony hinted at the hero's possible comeback when asked if it was time for him to make a return.

At the time he said: "We've been asked about that a few times. Our version of Captain Scotland was visually unique.

"It would be interesting, in a Twin Peaks style twist, for Scott Stewart to appear disorientated on the new Queensferry bridge and experience a different Scotland to that of the late 80s."

He added: "It would be fascinating to explore how a 22-year-old frozen in time would relate to his 50-year-old friends and his poor parents after mysteriously disappearing into nowhere.

"I'd probably introduce some plot twist that he can get his powers from a nip of a good malt whisky from a hip flask as the merchandising possibilities would be endless."