Our copy of The Dandy No 1 was in [vg-] grade selling just under its upper estimate at £3450. Only around 25 copies are known to exist. The Daily Mirror’s headline on 5 March said ‘FIRST DANDY FOR 4 GRANDY’, which was Handy.

Mick Anglo’s first super-hero, Wonderman appeared in 1948 and this lot included issue No 4 with cover art and story by Bob Monkhouse. We auctioned the exact same lot in 2018 for £380 and it has tripled in value in that short time to £1,120, going to one of our regular US collectors who remembered losing out on it the first time around.

If you watched telly in the 1970s, you were glued to On The Buses, Please, Sir! and The Avengers, all brilliantly reproduced in LOOK-in, the magazine that encapsulated that decade. Here were the first 51 issues from 1971 with early free gifts although nine later issues had their back covers missing via competition cut-outs and send-away offers. Our excited bidders didn’t care one jot as the lot was knocked down for a sensational £1460. The second year will be in our May/June auction. LOOK-out.

The complete 131 issue run of Pilot from 1933 was offered in six publisher’s bound volumes with early free gifts and Sexton Blake, Harry Houdini, Will Hay and Tarzan carried off £480

Only a handful of copies of Beano No 6 survive and this neat example found £560

The Beano year of 1948 (issued fortnightly) heralded the first appearance of Biffo the Bear by Dudley Watkins. It was offered in a bound volume, reaching a mid-estimate £1000.

Magic Comics are hotly contested of late and the low grade copies of Nos 2-7 with facsimile No 1 made £600

There were only two Magic Fun Books published and this second one from 1942 in fresh [fn] grade starred Peter Piper and Gulliver by Dudley Watkins with Dick Turpentine – The Hopeless Highway-Man who stood and delivered £480

Here’s The Dandy complete year of 1951 in Very Fine / Neat Mint grades which included the 500th Birthday Number. £1320 - Happy Birthday.

This Beano Year of 1954 was missing two issues but not issue 604 which released the first Bash Street Kids episode on an unsuspecting world. £1520 was a reward they probably didn’t deserve.

Cortez Conqueror of Mexico was a true adventure story adapted for the Eagle in 1950 and drawn by William Stobbs, head of design at the London College of Printing. Illustrating over 100 books including 20 of his own, This was Stobbs only comic strip artwork. Knocked down for £660.

A near complete year of Beezer from 1965 missed only one issue but didn’t stop Ginger and The Banana Bunch getting a fruity £490

The Buster complete year for 1962 was in very high grade and included Buster’s Boomerang and other hard-to-find free gifts. Starring Maxwell Hawke, Buck Rogers, The Black Axe and Charlie Drake, it hammered £780. Hello-my-darlings.

 

Diana 1-249 was missing seven issues but included the complete Avengers series from nos. 199-224. Emma Peeled away with £620

Frank Bellamy’s wonderful artwork for Heros The Spartan was rewarded here with £4150.

48 issues of early sixties Topper comics sold for just over £10 each.

Gerry Anderson’s TV Century 21 was featured here with issues 1-89 and The Thunderbirds and Fireball XL5 flew to £900.

Four TV 21 Specials in [vg-/vg] grades took £220.

TV Tornado No 1 was presented with its free gift Batchute at £160

The first ten WHAM! comics from 1964 had Leo Baxendale letting rip with Biff, General Nitt and His Barmy Army, The Wacks, George’s Germs and the first Frankie Stein by Ken Reid. A £270 out of body experience.

 

Two original artworks of Garth’s Wolfman of Ausensee adventures by Frank Bellamy devoured £700

Four Charley’s War artworks by Joe Colquhoun detailed the horrors of WW1 and the battle for Verdun. Sold at £900.

Richard Fisher drew some original preparatory sketches and notes for Optimus Prime, Megatron, Soundwave and Shockwave, otherwise known as The Transformers. Accompanied by No1 and several detailed warrior and Marvel Comics Ltd letters, this lot from Richard’s archive reached £520

There were some very strong prices in our US section as the market for American comics shows little sign of slowing down.

Matt Baker’s South Sea Girl cover brought £290 into the headlights.

This lower grade 1950s horror mix realised £240

Amazing Spider-Man #2 in [gd] grade went way over the Overstreet Price Guide at £820

Amazing Spider-Man #44, 48, 49, 51-55 is from the ‘Uncle Stan’ collection (sold here in December 2000 for £236) where a range of Silver Age comics was sent to the UK by Marvel creator, Stan Lee, to his nephew, John. In [fn+/vfn+] grades with original Letter of Authenticity they were knocked down for £1020.

Also from The Uncle Stan collection, Spidey 56-67 (which sold for £253 in Dec 2000) realised £740 here.

 

Uncle Stan’s Amazing Spider-Man 68-79 (also sold for £253 in Dec 2000) was fought to a massive £1320 in this auction.

 

Avengers #3 CGC VF+ 8.5 subbed Mariner with £980

 

Issue #9 CGC VF- 7.5 was not The End Of The Fantastic Four at £740

 

This FF #48 had a faded cover and tanned interior covers and its [vg] grade did not stop its value soaring to £1120

 

Silver Surfer and Galactus fought their way to £880

 

In [fn/vfn] grade, The Black Panther pounced on £620

 

From The Uncle Stan Collection in Dec 2000 with certificate of authenticity, Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1 made £270

 

This final lot from ‘Uncle Stan’ comprised Tales of Suspense 92-99 [vfn/vfn+] tipped the scales at £540

 

Tomb of Dracula #10 sharpened the Blade with £480

 

Here is X-Men #28 with high cover reflectivity in [vfn/nm] at £390

 

And exceeding all expectations, Giant-Size X-Men #1 in [vfn-] took a giant sized £4050.

 

 

Our favourite wire-haired Abyssinian wolf-hound isn’t so menacing these days.

 

Dennis’s carnivorous side-kick, Gnasher, is usually renowned for tucking into juicy steaks, big dog’s dinners and the occasional adult lower leg, but in the latest Beano Annual, Dennis is told: “Your dog ate all our vegan sausages.” Shocked Gnasher is then seen thinking: “Vegan?” and then, “I guess I like vegan sausages, now. What else might I like? I’ll draw the line at cats.”

 

All this as The Beano, in its 84th year, becomes comically p.c and even changing the names of the Bash Street Kids, Fatty and Freddy to Fred and Scotty. Unless you’re from north of the border, where offence is somethin’ ye sit on.