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

Detective Comics #27 flies for £28,200 in British comics auction

Multiple bidding in the room from their live internet feed and three transatlantic telephones led to some impressive results from the Dominic Winter/ Comic Book Auctions on Thursday night, including the headline sale of a copy of Detective Comics #27 for £28,200 - the comic in which 'Bat Man' (sic) debuted.

Aside from Detective Comics #27, the big sellers were a restored copy of Superman #1 for £10,500 and Batman #1  for £9,600. A copy of Marvel's X-Men #1 sold for £3,877.00.

Some other key results were Amazing Spider-Man #1 CGC 6.5 at £3,350; Amazing Spider-Man #14 CGC 9.2 at £2,700 and Amazing Spider-Man #25 CGC 9.4 at £1233.

A copy of Avengers #1 CGC 7.5 sold for £4,112 and Avengers #2 CGC 8.5 at £1175. Even an issue Avengers #11 sold at a good price - £870.

All prices include 17.5% buyer's premium.

'The sale was largely successful with all eyes on the Detective #27 at an impressive £28,200 including 17.5% buyer's premium," notes Comic Book Auction's Malcolm Phillips.


"The Avengers did particularly well in advance of the upcoming movie, as did the ever-popular webslinger and Professor X's Militant Mutants. Superman #1 and Batman #1 were both CGC restored copies, just meeting their reserves.

"Given this was our our debut live auction of a one-owner collection of 2,500 US comics, the biggest inventory ever offered outside the USA, both ourselves and the vendor were absolutely delighted with the overall results."

• For more UK comics auctions visit the Comic Book Auctions web site

Detective Comics 27 goes under a UK hammer

Rare and much sought-after US comics, including Detective Comics #27, featuring the first appearance of Batman, will go under the hammer in Gloucestershire next week.

The auction of US comics from a ‘one owner’ collection will take place on Thursday 16th December 2010 at Dominic Winter’s UK auction rooms in association with Comic Book Auctions.

Over 2,500 comics in 200 lots are on offer, perhaps the most important collection of American comics ever offered outside the US.

Included in the auction is Detective Comics #27, dated May 1939 (which recently sold for $1 million in New York). The first appearance of 'Bat-Man' is listed as CGC Apparent 4.5 [vg+], restored, cream to off-white pages. Notes on the lot indicate it has had professional restoration that includes: colour touch, pieces added, tear seals, cleaned, re-inforced, re-glossed.

Also on offer among the many comic lots are Batman #1, Superman #1, Superboy #1 and #2, issues of Marvel's Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Journey Into Mystery, Iron Man and X-Men #1 - plus Mile High copies of Crime And Punishment #1-5. Many of the comics offered are with CGC grading.

Full details of the lots can be found here on the Dominic Winter Auction Room web site.

A 2001 figurine of Walt Disney
and Mickey Mouse. More info here

The US comics on offer are part of a much larger auction that also includes rare antiquarian and juvenile books, bygone toys (including Disney toys), Louis Wain postcards, a huge collection of the works of crime writer Edgar Wallace (who was also the co-creator of King Kong), first edition books, including many James Bond hardcovers, film posters (including 2001: A Space Odyssey and Goldfinger), plus many Disney figurines and serigraphs.

• US Comics Section: www.dominicwinter.co.uk/catcal/S290/P15.html

• Bidding can be done online, via telephone or in the auction rom. For full details please check the website www.dominicwinter.co.uk or call on 01285 860006

• Dominic Winter Auction Rooms is at Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Nr Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5UQ. Email: info@dominicwinter.co.uk