Fought over by 3 major artwork collectors, Frank Bellamy’s stunning Dan Dare artwork of spaceship, Anastasia touching down after a dangerous mission was finally knocked down for £4150, a new Eagle record for this brilliant artist. The second of his pieces showed Dan grimly staring out at the reader in almost three-dimensional isolation, another facet of Bellamy’s exceptional talent. This board went for £2,650, 50% above its upper estimate.

This lower grade copy of The Hulk’s first appearance was relatively well-worn but it had no major defects. Having been extracted from its CGC case by the previous owner who, amazingly, just wanted to read it, the comic retained its original CGC header, selling for an impressive £6,500.

Further treasures from The Woodard Archive of British Comics included the complete 1946 year of Knockout selling for nearly five times its upper estimate at £600. (I will leave the punch-line to you, dear reader…)

Australian reprints of key US issues are gaining further traction and this good run of 10 Batman comics made £28 each.

The strong evidence of the Batman lot highlighted the attraction of Australian Superman No 18, reprinting in colour the original US #53 version: ‘The Origin of Superman’. We estimated this [vg] copy at a punchy £100-150, but this was dismissed out of hand with a final winning bid of £360.

An unabridged run of 40 1959 Beanos included the first series of The Three Bears by Leo Baxendale and the final series of Jimmy and his Magic Patch by Paddy Brennan and they reached just over £10 each.

The key lot from the Woodard Archive was the first fifty Beezers from 1956 in a bound volume starring Ginger, Pop, Dick and Harry along with the Banana Bunch, Calamity Jane and The Kings of Castaway Island. With most issues ranging from Fine to Near Mint grades they sold for £1120.

With Black Magic Comics No 1 selling a few lots earlier at £85 followed by a near complete run of Nos 2-16 at £260, the stand out Black Magic Album No 1 from Arnold Book Co. from 1954 with Simon & Kirby cover made a very healthy £145, especially as Album No 2 was advertised on the back cover but never actually published.

Any Broons artwork that comes up for auction is hotly contested and this Family Portraits artwork was illustrated as the end papers in the Broons Book for 1954 and the Sunday Post Fun Section. Estimated at £500-600, Maw, Paw, Granpaw, Hen, Joe, Horace, Daphne, Maggie, the Twins and the Bairn were truly ‘Scotland’s Happy Family’ with £1620.

Bunty 1-50 from the Woodard Archive with the elusive free gift Girl of the Islands souvenir booklet  took £410 with the following lot 51-102 at £220

A complete year of 1955 Dandy comics , mostly in Fine grades, took £300.

10 more Oz reprints of Jumbo, Jungle and Kaanga comics which fought their way to £21 each.

R & L Locker’s 1951 Planet comics 2, 3 and 4 starred Tiger Girl, Gale Allen, Reef Ryan and Auro Lord of Jupiter. They were in mid / low grades but sold for an outstanding £410.

 

Another key issue form the Woodard Archive was The Beano No 1242. This was the comic that featured on the front of John Mayall and Eric Clapton’s Bluesbreakers LP in 1966 (known as the Beano album) which was included in the lot. The comic graded Very Fine, as was the £320 winning bid.

D C Thomson’s Cherie No 1 from 1960 included its free gift Cliff Richard Lucky Love Locket. Although you practically needed a microscope to see Cliff, the comic went for a full-size £220.

No 1 was followed by this further run of 19 early issues and pop-star photo free gifts, the comics selling for just over £25 each. My Cherie Amour…

The New Big Dandy from 1960 was here in 10 consecutive issues. In VG grades they sold for £260. Big Strong Dandy.

Cartoon Art Productions Two-Fisted Tales from the early 50s reprinted the US originals #22 and #21 at a huge £410.

Another scarce complete run from the Woodard Archive is Poppet 1-41. The collection also included the free gifts from No 1: Lucky Clover Leaf Bracelet and No 3: Poppet Birthday Book. Starring Highwaywoman Black Velvet and The House of Mystery, half of the issues had file holes to their spines so £210 filed them away.

The 1972 Doctor Who original artwork by Jim Baikie  from Countdown Annual No 1 had some fading to its colours  but there was no fading in bidding as it took £1020

Four original artworks by Joe Colquhoun for Battle-Action 280 (1980) showed a Zeppelin armada crossing the English coast and attacking London and the Midlands with bombing raids. £1980 took them away.

This Dr. Voodoo original artwork from Whiz Comics  #11 (1940) by Mac Raboy made £1060

In [gd/vg] Batman 92 (1955) had the first appearance of the Bat-Hound lapping up £400.

Cave-Girl, Jo-Jo, Lorna - Jungle Girl, Zoot, Ramar and a worn Terrors of the Jungle were all here for £165

Rangers #24 and 44 were both [vg-] and Fiction (House) turned to reality with £165

We offered a good selection of EC comics, here showing Shock SuspenStories #7 and Weird Fantasy #15 selling at £125 and £210 respectively.

Wings #47, 66 82 and 90 in [gd/vg+] grades flew to £190

Our Amazing Spider-Man #1 cents copy had a detached cover, worn spine and owner’s name to cover but was still pursued to a firm £3350

Amazing Spider-Man #3, a [vg] cents copy took £1000, whilst #4 in [gd/vg] sold at £490

Amazing Spider-Man #7 was a [vg] £230 seller and the #158 cents copy [vg/fn] produced £370.

With general wear and no significant defects our Avengers #1 [vg] assembled £1280 whilst #2 was a cents copy in the same grade at £250

Fantastic Four #5 is always hotly contested and this low grade copy had its cover re-attached with clear tape and replacement staples. With its full page ad for Hulk #1, Dr Doom would not be defeated at £1320. #12’s iconic cover is another FF favourite and this [vg-] copy did not disappoint with £470.

We reported on the outstanding £6500 price that Hulk #1 achieved at the top of our Market Report and here was #2 in [gd] at £620 and #6 PGX enclosed at £350

We featured 3 original Master of Kung-Fu artworks from 1980 by Mike Zeck and Gene Day and here’s the pick of the bunch selling for £320.

Here’s a fresh looking [vg] X-Men #2 at £480 with a [vfn] #9 attracting £340.

 

 

 

 

Last May I went to The Cartoon Museum’s new blockbuster show entitled ‘Heroes – The British Invasion of America’.

 

A life-size model of Superman introduced us to 130 years of comics, artwork and cartoons from the ‘The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flat’ published in the UK in 1897, and acknowledging itself as the first ‘comic book’, through ‘The Funnies’ - back page US comic strips printed at the turn of the century to Superman, first reprinted in Triumph comic in 1939, and Captain America leading The Allies in 1940s wartime propaganda. Then all the way from Sixties Super-Heroes to Judge Dredd, also resident here and glowering over the exhibits whilst Spider-Man, high up on the other side of the wall, decides what to do about him.

 

Once U.S comics started to regularly be available in Britain through distributers, Thorpe and Porter, British artists and writers work began to infiltrate across the Pond exploding in to the 1980s when hugely talented UK illustrators and story writers, Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman, Kevin O’Neill, Simon Bisley, Alan Grant and many more indelibly stamped their prodigious talent on the comics universe. All their work is illustrated at this finely curated, must-see exhibition, both in original art and printed comic format at The Cartoon Museum, 63 Wells Street, London W1A 3AE. www.cartoonmuseum.org

 

If ever there was something to enjoy for kids of all ages, then this is it.