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

Creator-owned strip Numbercruncher launches in Megazine in New Year

A quick Friday plug for Numbercruncher which starts in the New Year in the Judge Dredd Megazine.

Created by Si Spurrier and PJ Holden, it's a creator owned series and we reckon that it deserves support since it is, for publishers Rebellion, a bit of an experiment.

PJ Holden tells us Numbercruncher will be 8 page chunks and will run for 10 episodes, along with the usual "bunch of cool stuff" in the Meg.

Here’s the cover fr the opening episode (logo designed in house by Simon Parr).

You can buy the Megazine in all good newsagents and, if you’re in the US or elsewhere, you should be able to buy the Meg online at Clickwheel (www.clickwheel.net/features/229) and the 2000AD online shop.

Glasgow's Hope Street Studios looking for intern

Hope Street Studios in Glasgow are looking for any illustration students interested in a paid internship, who would mainly be doing comic book work but possible storyboarding and design.

Top artist Gary Erskine, who is heading up the hunt, tells downthetubes they're looking for someone from Glasgow and Edinburgh (or within nearby area) as some work involves being on hand at the studio.

Sequential art experience is preferred but not essential.

To apply, please send a link to your Deviant Art site or similar and provide a contact email address.

• Email Gary at garyerskineonlineATbtinternet.com He will follow up with interested parties as soon as possible.

Comics in education: SANE Journal launched

The first issue of the academic SANE journal: (which stands for Sequential Art narrative in Education) is out now, with its first issue focusing on "comics in the contact zone."

SANE publishes research- and practioner-based articles covering all intersections of comics and education, from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary studies, from a variety of disciplines.

Articles in this first issue include articles examining how graphica engages what Mary Louis Pratt has called the 'contact zone' - social spaces in education and life where entities meet, clash and grapple with various conflicts and constructions. Articles may include the amusingly titled 'Everything I Learned About Teaching in the Contact Zone I Learned from Charles Xavier and the Uncanny X-Men' and 'This is Not Your Forefather's Thor: Using Comics to Make Mythology Meaningful' but they're meant as serious study of the medium and its uses.

The second issue will focus on teaching the works of Alan Moore, and the editors are still accepting submissions for it.

• Visit www.sanejournal.net to read articles, a review, rationales, and more.