Comic Book Auctions celebrates 20th birthday with mammoth catalogue

The Autumn 2011 auction at British auction house Comic Book Auctions opened for bidding today (12th August) and closes on Tuesday 6th September and includes the original file copies of the first volume of Eagle and a copy of TV Century 21 Number One - complete with free gift.

There are 301 lots in this catalogue -- and with the publication of this catalogue Comic Book Auctions is 20 years old. Blimey!

CBA's recent June auction sold all 363 lots on offer and was highlighted by £1155 for a Magic-Beano Book from 1945, £242 for The Dandy comic Christmas number for 1940 and an interplanetary £3025 for a Dan Dare Eagle cover artwork by Frank Hampson.

Their ‘one owner from new’ Dandy comics from the war years collection averaged £110 each and the final issues of this magnificent run are in this auction.

Eagle Volume 1

Also included in the auction is a a bound copy of the first year of Eagle (Vol 1 Nos 1-26) in rare high grades, Hulton Press file copies originally owned by comics historian, Denis Gifford. Eagle Volumes 7 and 8 are also offered in the same condition.

Fine copies of Super-Detective Library between 1-100 are well represented, along with Cowboy Picture Library and Thriller Comics Library, this last title including three front cover original artworks: Robin Hood, Rob Roy and Dick Turpin by Royal Academician artist, Septimus E Scott.

Lion Issue 1 and 2, Boys’ World 1 and TV Century 21 No 1, all with elusive free gifts are highlights along with a superb run of Commando, including most of the issues between 1-40 offered separately.

Diving back into the past, there's also the complete 66-issue run of the 1920s title Picture Show, starring Charlie Chaplin, William S Hart, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Marie Duro, May Allison, Lillian Gish and Buck Jones. All come with artplate supplement centrefolds.

Individual comics on offer include Dandy Comic No 2 from 1937; a 1994 Dandy Monster Comic; a 1947 Magic-Beano Book; along with issues of titles such as Champion and Film Fun.

Thunderbirds art from TV Century 21 by Frank Bellamy

Bionic Woman art by John Bolton for Look-In

Trigan Empire by Don Lawrence

The artwork selection is strong with Frank Bellamy to the fore with another two TV Century 21 boards, a Garth strip and The Southerner, a true life sea disaster dramatised for Look-in. There’s also a wonderful Don Lawrence Trigan Empire piece, a Bionic Woman spread by John Bolton, George Wakefield’s Laurel & Hardy and Ken Reid’s Faceache to complete the picture.

The US section is headlined by a fresh copy of Fantastic Four #1 in Fine Plus grade – which is rare in this condition.

• Catalogue: www.compalcomics.com/catalogue/index.htm

• If you have a question about any of the items in the catalogue, send an email to Compalcomics director Malcolm Phillips at comicbookATcompalcomics.com