Rare Roy of the Rovers art, Dan Dare toys go under the hammer

Roy Of The Rovers original artwork (1993) drawn and signed by Barrie Mitchell.
From the last issue of Roy Of The Rovers

Comic Book Postal Auctions Summer 2013 auction has another wide range of British comics lots, from the first issue of Comic Cuts published in 1890 (one of only eight known copies to exist), Radio Fun Number One from 1938,  a fine run of early Dandy comics and Desperate Dan’s fourth appearance original artwork by Dudley Watkins , from the Dandy No 4 Christmas issue 1937 – Dan’s first use of the famous blow-torch for shaving!

Desperate Dan art by Dudley Watkins from The Dandy Number 4, published in 1937

The auction closes on Tuesday 11th June, so nip over and take a look at the catalogue, which also includes a number of US comics.

In ComPal's March catalogue a number of Beano printer’s proof covers sold strongly and their vendor has decided to offer eight more covers - this time Dandy proofs. all signed by legendary editor Albert Barnes, whose granite jaw was copied by Dudley Watkins when creating Desperate Dan.

The Beano is also well represented with bound volumes of the complete years of 1945, 1953 and 1955. There’s also a copy of The Beano Number 1 but it is in dull, brittle condition and offered at No Reserve.

For only the second time in 20 years ComPal have unearthed a Broons At The Seaside Jigsaw from 1944. This one is missing 14 out of its 400 pieces and is estimated at £350-400. One for Sunday Post readers, perhaps.

The company has never featured Thomas The Tank Engine before and a run of his first print books along with the rarer Isle of Sodor Railway Map are also in the auction.

Of interest to Eagle and Dan Dare fans will be a number of scarce Dan Dare toys and games feature so now is the time to consider your skills at Dominoes, Draughts and Rocket projection -- plenty to write home about using the Eagle Stationery Set and Dan Dare postcards.

There’s also a high grade run of Girl comics and some rare TV Century 21 gifts and spin-offs including issue 90 with Thunderbirds Cap (yes, I do remember wearing mine to destruction), Thunderbirds Are Go original film poster and a Stingray-inspired space pistol.

The 1970s offer key runs of Buster, Cor, Shiver And Shake and Valiant with the rarer Summer Specials including Beano, Dandy, Victor, Krazy and Tammy.

2000AD 1-3 are also up for grabs with their free gifts and there’s cover art by Colin MacNeill from Classic 2000AD #1, artwork from The Trigan Empire, Frankie Stein, Rupert and an exceptional Roy Of The Rovers board to complete the UK line-up by ace artist Barrie Mitchell.

The US section highlights a third tranche of 1950s pre-code horror, science fiction and EC titles with key issues of Astonishing, Beware, Vault Of Horror, Weird Science/Fantasy and the classic bondage/headlights favourite, Phantom Lady #17. The Silver Age offers Avengers #1, Hulk #1, Journey Into Mystery #83 and Tales Of Suspense #39 – all in affordable low grades.

• The Summer 2013 auction bidding ends on Tuesday 11 June at 8.00pm UK time.

• More info: www.compalcomics.com

• Receive an email before auctions open and closes: Click here to join their mailing list

ComPal auction offers Dan Dare, Spider and Kelly's Eye art

The Spring 2013 Comic Book Postal Auction closes next week - and they have some fantastic British comic lots on offer, as usual, including original art from strips such as Dan Dare, The Spider and Kelly's Eye as well as complete runs of comics such as New Eagle

Sure to attract top bidding are artworks such as Keith Watson's Dan Dare art for The Eagle Vol 15: No 46, published in 1964, in which the evil Mekon has begun a systematic destruction of London from an immense metal mushroom growing in the heart of the ciy (Lot 107).

Lot 117 is a great piece of Spider art by Reg Bunn, published in 1966, in which The Crook From Outer Space becomes the Spider's evil twin, while Lot 148 is a page from Kelly's Eye published in 1972 by Solano Lopez, in which, coincidentally, Tom Kelly, owner of the life preserving 'Eye Of Zoltec' travels back in time to battle Ragnar his other world evil self.

Also offered, among others, is cover art from humour comic Shiver and Shake by Robert NiXon (Lot 159); art by Eric Parker for the cover of an issue of the Sexton Blake Library (Lot 53); a smashing piece of Desperate Dan art drawn and signed by Dudley D. Watkins, published in 1952 (Lot 65), and a 1956 Topper cover by the same artist (Lot 72). There are several Picture Library and Rupert the Bear artworks also in the auction, as well as a page from Saber, published in a 1969 edition of Tiger and Hurricane by Denis McLoughlin (Lot 96).

One of the stalwarts of British comics illustration, Denis McLoughlin (1915-2002) is best known for his work for TV Boardman where he drew Roy Carson, Swift Morgan, Blackhawk, The Spirit and Buffalo Bill. His 'hard-boiled detective' comic style won him legions of fans in the 40s and 50s and his work on Okay, Adventure, Buffalo Bill, Super Coloured and New Spaceways Annuals further enhanced his position. In 1967 he went to work for IPC where 'Saber', illustrated above, was his first project.

Later employed by D C Thomson, he drew stories and covers for Buddy, Bullit, Crunch, Victor and Wizard and his last work was illustrating Commando War Stories in pictures.
Tragically, he took his life with a Colt revolver a week after his 84th birthday. His work is rarely seen at auction.

A promo copy of the short-lived Tornado - absorbed into 2000AD after just 22 issues - is among the comic rarities. The title featured artist Dave Gibbons as super-hero Big E on the cover of the first issue, posing inside with Tharg. Also on offer is a promotional issue of Whoopee, as well as other rare and sometimes elements of unpublished comics, such as Viking, a DC Thomson title that is being offered along with a authenticated script for the Scottish company's Starblazer title (Lot 165).

New Eagle fans may also be interested in a 93 issue unbroken run of the title, offered in five bound volumes starring Dan Dare and The Mekon by Gerry Embleton, The Fist Of Danny Pike by John Burns, The Tower King, House Of Daemon and Fifth Horseman all by Jose Ortiz. Included in the lot are free gifts Action Force Mini Comic 1-5, an Eagle Convention Programme 1980, Mekon poster and Bubbly World Cup Chart poster, a Matchbox Toys poster and several other toy posters and leaflets, plus a Boys And Girls Exhibition programme from 1962, a Radio Luxembourg 50 Pop Years magazine, Christie's Dan Dare artwork catalogue (1993), Eagle Days Remembered supplement (1994), Dan Dare At 50 (2000), a BT Dan Dare phone card and several other 1990s pieces.

One of the star items in this catalogue is a Dandy Comic No 1 (Lot 30). Its grade is [gd+] and with the demise of the weekly print Dandy late last year ComPal know there will be strong interest in this scarce first issue. Several early Dandy comics from 1938 are also on offer.
When the printers at DC Thomson checked the registration and colour of a comic before a print run the ‘printers' proof’ was signed off by the editor or his sub prior to printing. These unique pieces of DC Thomson history have never been seen at auction before and there are five Beano covers available at Lot 37.

There are plenty more comics on offer too, including runs of Magnet and many more.

• Bidding will close at 8.00pm UK time Tuesday 5 March More info: www.compalcomics.com

• Receive an email before auctions open and closes: Click here to join their mailing list

Rare first issue of Victorian 'Comic Cuts' goes under the hammer

A rare piece of British comics history goes under the hammer on Tuesday, when the online bidding for Comic Cuts Issue 1 closes over at Compal closes.

We covered the auction in general earlier in the month, but this lot deserves closer attention given its importance to our industry.

Only nine copies of the first issue of the UK's third longest running comic, started in 1890 by reporter Alfred Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe, founder of the Daily Mail) are known to exist, one of them in the British Library. This item is expected to sell for around £350 - 400 by the auction organisers.

Comic Cuts was not the first British comic: that privilege is accorded by many to Funny Folks, first published in December 1874, published by James Henderson as a free supplement to The Weekly Budget Christmas Triple Number for 1874, a successor to satirical cartoon sheets like Everybody’s Album, an eight-page tabloid with initially a roughly 50/50 mix of text and pictures, though picture strips would soon come to dominate the title.

As you can see from the pages below, sourced via the public domain only comics site ComicBookPlus, which states it only publishes out of copyright items, the first edition of the 'comic', also eight pages in extent, is far from being anything we would recognise today as such.

Some of its pages are text driven (as were most comics, including The Dandy when it launched in 1937), but its cartoon pages earn it attention as one of the first picture weeklies and it quickly began to publish more strips. By the First World War it is recognisably a comic, albeit with text to supplement word ballons on its strip pages.

Copies of Issue 2 and 3 of the comic are also on offer, along with a rare militaQry band-themed promotional poster for the comic, published, it's believed in 1914.

Comic Cuts was one of Britain's earliest weekly comic papers, published from 17th May 1890. The early issues contained reprinted cartoons from American magazines and reprinted from a previous title, Scraps. But after advertising for artists the reprints gave way to original material by creators such as Roland Hill, the first professional artist to work on the comic; Ken Reid, Albert Pease, Oliver Veal, Tom Browne and Jack Butler Yeats.

Published by Amalgamated Press (later Fleetway Editions) its success in its early days inspired other publishers to produce rival comics, and held the record for the most issues of a British weekly comic for 46 years, until The Dandy overtook it in 1999.

Lasting 3006 issues, down the years Comic Cuts absorbed Golden Penny Comic in 1928, Jolly Comic and Larks in 1939 and 1940 respectively before finally ceasing as a title when it was was merged into the original Knockout on 12th September 1953, that title running until February 1963, when it was merged with Valiant.

• Bidding closes on Tuesday 27th November at 8.00pm GMT. Full catalogue at www.compalcomics.com/catalogue/index.htm. If you have a question about any of the items in the catalogue, please send an email to Compalcomics director Malcolm Phillips at comicbook@compalcomics.com

• Broken Frontier carries a fascinating feature on early British picture weeklies here

 

Keith Watson Dan Dare art up for auction, first Joe 90 and more

Dan Dare art by Keith Watson

Art from Trigan Empire by Don Lawrence, Dan Dare by Keith Watson and Nellyphant by Leo Baxendale are just some of the lots in the current ComPal Auction, which closes soon.

Also up for grabs are first issues of titles as diverse as Comic Cuts, published in 1890, Mystic, published by L. Miller in 1960 and a first issue of Joe 90 comic - with free gift.

Comic Cuts is widely regarded as the first comic and the Number One on offer is one of very few known to have survived. "It’s a bit grubby and dog-eared," note ComPal, "but one might be after 122 years." Not so The Hotspur with some ultra high grade complete years of 1935 and 1938 on offer.

 

The first Rupert annual was published in 1936 and there’s a copy available with rare dust jacket followed by annual 2 with its original despatch box.

 

A Beano Book 1 is also in the auction.


There are more Eagle rarities in the current auction with, Keith Watson’s original artwork of a darkly threatening Mekon and another Dan Dare Walkie-Talkie Set (released early 1950s) produced by J & L Randall – a lot that includes one Jeff Arnold and two Dan Dare badges, Eagle Passport with all four inserts, Eagle Club Membership Card, Eagle Pocket Chess And Draughts Set in card (no pieces), three Eagle Annual and book flyers with Junior Shipmate of The Cutty Sark Eagle Certificate and six Dan Dare plastic figures.

One other fun item has to be a set of Dan Dare knitting patterns published by Sirdar in 1991, offered with some Dan Dare model figures set hand-painted metal and boxed, produced by Good Soldiers in the 1990s.

One of ComPal's long standing customers mainly collected Christmas and Fireworks issues of Beano and Dandy and he has consigned his entire collection of war years issues right through to the 1970s.

One non-comic offering is a 1939 run of Picture Post with brilliantly evocative covers and photo-stories of Britain preparing for war.

A rare TV Century 21 special is also on offer, along with Fleetway’s Super Library, all 26 issues, and a fine Trigan Empire artwork by Don Lawrence.

The US section highlights 1950s pre-code Horror comics with long runs of Dark Mysteries, Web Of Mystery and Marvel Tales. There are most issues of Superboy #3-75, Superman #102-300, J L A #1-164 and a Hulk #1 cents copy.


• Bidding closes on Tuesday 27th November at 8.00pm GMT. Full catalogue at www.compalcomics.com/catalogue/index.htm. If you have a question about any of the items in the catalogue, please send an email to Compalcomics director Malcolm Phillips at comicbook@compalcomics.com

Trigan Empire by Don Lawrence

 

Compal offers TV21, Eagle rarities in latest auction

Trigan Empire art by Don Lawrence

Early issues of TV Century 21, Thunderbirds sweet cigarette cards, copies of Tornado, artwork by Don Lawrence, Ken Reid, John Bolton, Dudley Watkins and others are just some of the auction lots in the latest Compalcomics auction.

The previous summer auction saw the sale of a lot of Eagle-related mechandise, including the sale of a Dan Dare bust from an edition of 20 for £550, while Dan’s tie-pin, Eagle penknife and Membership Card sold for £330.

Other March catalogue highlights were Davy Law’s Beryl The Peril artwork from The Topper which sold £1222 and a copy of Tiger Number 1 with free gift Space Gun and Flying Saucers, published in 1954, selling for an interplanetary £935.

There are more Eagle rarities in the latest auction including an Eagle promotional Number 1, Keith Watson’s original artwork of a darkly threatening Mekon and Desmond Walduck’s double pager of Anastasia sinking into the Venusian quicksands from Eagle Volume 9, Number 10.

Early Dandy and Beano issues published during the second world war - considered very rare - are also up for grabs, along with titles such as Topper, Judy, Hurricane and Express Weekly and a copy of the first issue of Playhour Number 1, complete with free gift Red Indian Head-dress. (Make your reservation).

10 individual issues of TV Century 21 are on offer, too, the first issue complete with the all-important Top Secret Decoder free gift.

Artwork on offer include a page of The Trigan Empire by Don Lawrence; Faceache by Ken Reid; The Bionic Woman by John Bolton, published in Look-In; and Terry Wakefield’s five-page artwork of Morecambe And Wise from Eric And Ernie’s TV Fun Book.

There are US comics on sale too, including DC Comics Showcase #22 and 23, Green Lantern #1-137 and Jimmy Olsen #1-163 along with Marvel Comics Avengers #1, X-Men #94 and Giant Size #1.

• View the auction here. Bidding closes on Tuesday 4th September at 8.00pm UK time.

Dan Dare art, Marvel UK collections up for auction

The Summer 2012 auction at Compalcomics is open, with nearly 200 British comic-related lots up for biding, including Dan Dare art by Frank Hampson, a limited edition Dan Dare bust and collections of 1980s Marvel UK titles such as Captain America and Forces in Combat.

Compalcomics last auction in March saw Dan Dare and Eagle powered into the stratosphere with £555 pad for The Eagle Club letter and Membership Card, £565 for Dan’s interplanetary figures boxed set by Crescent Toys and £390 for the Horlicks Eagle Rocket Cup and badge.

In their latest catalogue they highlight the second part of a collection with a Frank Hampson Dan Dare artwork, one of his earliest boards, from Eagle Volume 1 No 33, pubishd in 1950, in which Dan's memory is restored by Volstar the Theron. Hampson's artistic devotion to detail is perfectly illustrated from Volstar's Venusian habitat down to Daniel McGregor Dare's argyle socks!

Also on offer are high grade bound volumes of Eagle from 1951-1959. There’s a super Super-sonic Space Pilot Gun, brilliantly boxed, a rare Dan Dare bust – one of only 20 cast, and an affordable double-page artwork by Carlos Cruz from 1987 featuring the Mekon and Dan in battle at London’s Natural History Museum.

There’s further original art of Beryl The Peril by Davy Law. David 'Davy' Law (1907-1971) found international fame by introducing Dennis The Menace to unsuspecting Beano readers in March 1951. He also penned Beryl The Peril, Captain Hound and the accident prone nitwit, Corporal Clott. Law's artwork rarely comes to market, so this lot, a page from The Topper, will attract plenty of attention.

There's also art from Look and Learn's The Trigan Empire by Don Lawrence, Grendel by Ron Embleton, Oor Wullie by Dudley Watkins and a six board complete Bionic Woman story by John Bolton pubished in Look-In, in which Jaime Sommers is bequeathed an ancient key – but faces mortal danger as she encounters the evil clan of Uncle Ebeneezer in The House of Six Locks!

This aucton's rare British comics selection includes The Dick Turpin/Spring-Heeled Jack Library from 1902, The Beano Comic No 1, The Beano Book No 1 and Beano and Dandy bound volumes from 1949 and 1950, Lion 1-45, Misty 1-23 - and Tiger No 1, pubished in 1954, with free gift Space Gun and 6 press-out Flying Saucers, all in their original bag.

The US section offers Classics Illustrated #43-74, mainly first editions, and the first tranche of our DC Comics one-owner collection spanning one hundred lots including Superman from 1948-1955, Action, Adventure and Superboy from 1959-1970s, Showcase #9 and #10 and Lois Lane #1-6.

Our favourite item - which may attract interest from beyond the comics community given his now international status as a fine artist - is a Rolf Harris self portrait, dedicated to a fan in the 1960s. Oh, and the DC Superheroes Pen Set from 1977!

• Bidding closes on Tuesday 5th June at 8.00pm UK time. Catalogue at: www.compalcomics.com/catalogue/index.htm. There are 316 lots in this catalogue.

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

Rare Dan Dare merchandise, Comic Cuts Number 1, up for auction

The Spring 2012 auction at Compalcomics is open and includes some terrific Dan Dare artwork and toys, an issue of Eagle signed by Dan Dare co-creator Frank Hampson, Trigan Empire art by Don Lawrence and the first issue of Comic Cuts - published in 1890.

There are 203 lots in this catalogue and Dan Dare rules the interplanetary airwaves with a wonderful collection of comics, artwork and toys.

Offered are two magnificent Eagle artworks from "Operation Saturn", copies of Eagle No 1 and No 52 signed by Frank Hampson, the impossibly rare Dan Dare Figures Set in original box by Crescent Toys and the Horlicks Dan Dare Spaceship Cup and lid which you could only get if you sent off 6d and a jar label in the early 1950s. It’s in mint condition.

A Space Pistol, and Eagle and Girl Table tennis Set (surely proof of the popularity of the tites in the 1950s), interplanetary Stamp Folder, Eagle Membership Card and letters are some of the other lots from this high grade collection featured in lots 74-93.

Other key artwork boards on offer showcase The Trigan Empire by Don Lawrence, full of action, Thunderbirds by Frank Bellamy, Oor Wullie in a terrible tangle with his pet mouse, Wee Jeemy and a Kit Carson cover from Cowboy Picture Library in 1958.

For those intrigued by the origins of British comics there's the first issue of Comic Cuts, publishd in 1890, alongside a 1901 Sherlock Holmes’ Hound Of The Baskervilles, all episodes collected from Strand Magazine in a bound volume.

Also offered is a very battered Beano No 1 at No Reserve, Beano Books 1 and 2, the first Beezer with free gift Whizz Bang, plenty of early Cowboy Comics to ride the range and Playhour 1 with free gift Red Indian Head-dress to fight them off.

Meet the Saint features in number one of Super-Detective Library and Robin Hood, Black Arrow, Battler Britton and Spy 13 in Thriller Picture Library.

If it's rarities you're after, then Lot 128 has the original printer’s dummy copy of Buster No 1 along with the actual first issue

There's also a bound set of the first 250 issues of 2000AD,  Bionic Woman art by John Bolton from Look-In, Faceache art by Ken Reid and much more, but the Dan Dare items realy need to be checked out by fans.

 
The US section offers an early run of 1940s Classic Comics from #1-42 including key first editions along with Fantastic Four #1 and a good run of Silver Age DC comics.

• Bidding closes on Tuesday 13th March at 8.00pm UK time. To go directly to the main page for this catalogue click here: www.compalcomics.com/catalogue/index.htm

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

Frank Hampson Dan Dare art in latest Compal Auction

Dan Dare original colour artwork by Frank Hampson for Eagle Vol. 7 No. 41 1956. Rogue Planet story. Like many Dan Dare cover artworks from the Hampson studio this board had some panels re-configurated to fit the format for publication of later Eagle overseas issues.

Early issues of Mickey Mouse Weekly and The Dandy, Commando art, 'Dan Dare' art by Frank Hampson, Thunderbirds art by Frank Bellamy and some stunning covers from IPC's Thrilling Picture Library and other titles by Giorgio De Gaspari are just some of the lots in the Summer 2011 auction at Compalcomics.

Compalcomics tell us their recent March catalogue was a complete sell-out highlighted by £441 for the first Beezer comic with free gift Whizz Bang, £330 each for Kit Carson, Dick Daring and Spy 13 front cover artworks from Cowboy and Thriller Picture Library, £2200 for Frank Bellamy's action-packed Thunderbirds artwork and an average price of £80 each for our 'one owner from new' war years Dandy comics.

The first Doctor Who And The Daleks jigsaw
'In The Tardis' (later withdrawn by the BBC)

More examples of all of these form just part of the massive British section of the new auction, which also includes Doctor Who jigsaws, copies of DC Thomson's early comic Magic and as a 1926 book featuring the original 'Invisible Dick' - who was reinvented for Sparky comic in 1965 as well as appearing in the original Dandy.

Early comic art from Film Fun's war years includes strips featuring George Formby and Laurel and Hardy by George Wakefield. The Magic comics offered include Easter and Christmas editions, along with penultimate Issue 79 which features the editor's apology for the forthcoming demise of the title due to wartime paper shortages.

Denis Gifford's run of G G Swan annuals also comes to an end with runs of Fairies and Funnies albums but of special interest is Gifford's own Giant Monster Comic Book; 92 pages of original artwork in a mock-up annual that never made publication and a unique piece of British comics history.

The 1956 Frank Hampson board of Dan Dare artwork is sure to excite strong interest with its estimate of £800-1000. A similar board from 1951 was sold in France recently for 3000 euros.

Send For Spitfires - an original 63 page complete story artworks for Commando War Stories In Pictures No 83 (1961). By Julio 'Chiche' Medrano.

But the star lot this catalogue concerns the ever popular Commando - the complete illustrated 63 page artwork from Commando 83 'Send For Spitfires', a stunning set from the pen of Julio Medrano. Rarities also include  six Thunderbirds giveaways only redeemable with Dutch margarine wrappers.

Also up for grabs are early issues of Mickey Mouse Weekly - sure to appeal to Disney fans, as will the early British Donald Duck annuals offered. With two (if faded) Frank Bellamy Thunderbirds boards, rare TV Century 21 Holiday Specials, a smashing Frankie Stein piece by Robert Nixon for Monster Fun Annual 1980 and even a 2000AD Issue 1 - complete with free space spinner! - there's plenty here for British comics fans to savour.

• Bids for the Summer 2011 auction at Compalcomicswill be accepted until Tuesday 7 June at 8 PM UK time. Web: www.compalcomics.com/catalogue/index.htm

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