This Beano No. 1 with free gift ‘Whoopee Mask’ was originally sold by Comic Book Auctions at our live auction at Chelsea Town Hall in February 1999 for £6200. Then, as now, the Whoopee Mask was the only surviving free gift and it was accompanied by the promotional leaflet for Beano 1 and 2, The Times newspaper featuring the sale on its front page and our original auction catalogue. Three determined bidders then took the 1938 first issue to a winning bid of £26,000, a world record price for a British comic at auction. A hugely exciting moment in our company’s 33 year history.

Our [gd+] graded pence copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 had a cover with light pencil outline around the Spidey figure and a few lower scuff marks along with overall back cover wear and margin tears. It still created a Silver Age sensation with a hammer price of £9300. ‘Spider-Man, Spider-Man sells as only a Spider can.’

Returning to The Beano, No 3 was the highest graded copy we had ever offered and its [fn] grade took a huge £4850.00. Big Eggo is fast becoming Big Ego.

A [vg] Australian copy of Batman No. 1 from 1950 sold in our July 2020 auction for a record breaking £3050.00. Now, the second copy of No 1  to be auctioned had a ‘reasonable’ estimate of £1500-2000. There was no interest until after the auction’s close when one of our canny customers snapped it up for £1350. When contacted, ‘Yes, please’ was his timely response.

The full year of The Beezer from 1959 included The Beezer Bingo Banger and the annual for that year. Calamity Jane, Ginger and The Kings of Castaway Island could not cast away £370.

The Eagle’s Dan Dare front cover artwork, drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy in 1959 reached its lower estimate of £1400.

The first 45 issues of Express Weekly starred Jeff Hawke by Sydney Jordan, Rex Keene by Harry Bishop and the first appearance of Wulf the Briton by Charles Chilton, later to become immortalised by the magical pen of Ron Embleton. From the wonderful Woodard Archive of British comics, £230, or a fiver each, expressed them away.

Here are two real rarities – original newsagents’ tinplate display signs, the first  advertising Film Fun starring Laurel & Hardy from 1951, the second for Radio Fun with comic stalwarts, Jewell & Warris, Cardew the Cad and Arthur Askey. Bought by the same bidder, they realised £350 and £500. ‘Hello, Playmates!’

Introducing the Oz version of Super Adventure Comic No.1, bought for £290, and Superman 5 for £48.00. Bonzer.

The Beano No. 954 from 1960 was offered wfg Little Plum Clickety-Clicker. The free gift was ‘as new’, the comic was [vg], the price was £320. It clicked all the boxes.

The Woodard Archive produced another winner with a Buster bound volume of the first 32 issues from 1960 then taking a £780 block-Buster.

More Woodard Archive wonders with 61 issues of D C Thomson’s early Sixties pop and romance comic ‘Cherie’. Free gifts included an Elvis Super-Size Colour Photo and The Beatles Colour Wall Panel. A steal at £310 - but the best Cherie headline had to be from Sally’s Fashion and Beauty page which exclaimed: “Glamour Chicks Use Off-beat Tricks”

The Hornet included issues 1-68 along wfgs Catapult Skimmer and five Football related photo albums and photo cards, all complete. There was no sting in the tail with 68 Hornets for £680.

 

The complete run of 63 Hurricanes were here with No 2’s Hurricane Howler.  £490 swept them away.

‘June 16th 1916 and British troops are moved up to the front whilst vast ammo dumps were prepared for the coming battle of The Somme – but Lucky has other ideas…’ The vivid reality of Joe Colquhoun’s artwork allied with Pat Mills’s script produced a £560 winning bid.

Another Woodard Archive must-have: the 74 issue complete run of TV Action+ Countdown with the 1972 Holiday Special - all illustrated by some of the finest artists of their day: Doctor Who by Gerry Haylock, Thunderbirds by Don Harley, Countdown by John Burns, Stingray by Ron Embleton and The Persuaders by Harry Lindfield. Great value at £5.50 a copy.

The Bash Street Kids original double-page artwork by David Sunderland was accompanied by the 1985 Beano where they dominated the centre-page spread (and poor old teacher). Selling for an unabashed £540 suggested a wise future investment.

‘The Joker Announces Danger’ in Batman #97 but all was Fine Minus £260.

Our Canadian ‘whites’ collection started with Double ‘A’ comics Freelance #31-33 in mid grades at £135.00

We just had to show our AF #15 pence copy once more in [gd+] at its £9,300 record price in this grade.

Hulk #181 continues to be a hot Seventies book at a [fn] £1680

Silver Surfer #4 is one of my favourite Silver Age covers and £390 matched its current Overstreet valuation.

In the UK it is difficult to find unslabbed copies of cents key issues but here was Tony Stark’s first outing, just encased in iron, without a plastic laminate. In raw [fn-] grade Tales of Suspense #39 made £6,200.

 This cents copy of X-Men #1 had its cover off the upper staple and its centrefold off the lower one justifying a [gd/vg] grade and a £2,650 winning bid.

 

 

 

 

Earlier this year the funniest joke in the playground was revealed by The Beano. The comic received entries from schools all over the UK after appealing for jokes. The Beano’s top gagwriters condensed the wittiest submissions down to their favourite 10 which went out to a public vote. Northside Primary School in North Finchley, London won with 42% of the overall vote. The joke was: “What’s the hottest area in the classroom?

 

The corner...because it’s 90 degrees.”

 

As a reward the school’s Year 6 class was included in a Bash Street Kids comic strip.

 

When I was at school (with gruel the lunch-time treat) the most memorable prank was balancing the teacher’s chair on one broken leg before he came in for Geography. During the lesson he sat on it several times getting up to point to countries on the wall map as anticipation round the room reached fever pitch each time he returned to his seat. Finally, when the bell rang, he got up for the last time and just as he was rolling up the map, the chair collapsed on its own. The whole class erupted in mass hysteria, the biggest laugh coming from the teacher, himself.