ComicPal Auction features Beano rarity

The Autumn 2006 auction at Compalcomics (www.compalcomics.com) closes soon. One of four auctions held annually, this one features 273 lots in our Autumn catalogue including what the company describes as two particularly "exceptional" items; a Beano Comic No 1 and a Dandy Monster Comic No 1.

The Beano is one of the three highest graded copies to be offered at auction and the Dandy book, kept in a brown paper wrapper for most of its life, is Very Fine Plus, by far and away the highest graded example ever seen for sale.

The company's offerings of bound volume collections continues with further choice UK titles on offer, including John Bull, Comic Life, Jungle Jinks, Sexton Blake and Tiger Tim’s Tales 1-24 and The Wonder. On the artwork front, this auction features a wonderful piece of Dudley Watkins artwork starring those loveable mischief-makers, Lord Snooty And His Pals.

There's also is a near complete run of Eagle for sale and a very high grade collection of TV Century 21 as well.

Bids will be accepted until Tuesday 5 September at 8 PM UK time.

Bear Alley

Over on Bear Alley, comics expert Steve Holland reports that the Look and Learn web site, with which he is heavily involved, officially launches in a matter of days. This is run by a company which now owns the publishing rights to much of the Magazine (except for some strips like Trigan Empire) and the site includes a fantastic searchable database of many of the illustrations that appeared in the title down the years by the likes of Don Lawrence and many others.

Lancaster Comics Festival plugged

Three cheers for local journalist James Griffiths, who got in touch with me via virtual-lancaster, another site I work on that has nothing to do with comics, asking about upcoming events in the Lancaster area. Thanks to him the Lancaster Comics Festival got a plug in this Saturday's national Guardian. Nice one.