Two publisher’s bound volumes of Thriller from 1938-39 had stories by Leslie Charteris and Maxwell Grant. The Saint went marching in with £310.

 

With good boards, complete spine and worn hinges, this well-loved Beano Book No 1 sold on its reserve of £1260.

Illustrated here The Beano’s 1939 Xmas Number at £320 and strong propaganda New Year issue from 1942 (‘Waste Littler – Paste Hitler!’) with £290.

£410 is a big price for an Xmas Beano from 1948 but its incredibly high grade [vfn] near doubled its upper estimate.

Early Dandy issues between Nos 7–14 were offered in lower [gd] grades averaging £80-160 each but the pick of the bunch was this fresh No 17 at £185 alongside the first ‘snow-capped’ Xmas cover at £150.

Dandy No 70 is the second April Fool issue, here in [fn-] at £220. Squinting over, Keyhole Kate made her one and only front cover appearance in issue 295 fetching a key £200.

The scarce complete year of 1949 Dandy comprised 38 issues, some published fortnightly and a stonking £1020 took away this bound volume.

The Beano was not going to be outdone and the full year of 1950, in mostly high grades, was taken even further than Jimmy’s Magic Patch to a record £2100.

The appetite for Batman reprints continues hungrily as 10 issues and two annuals reach £240.

Buster Crabbe lasted for only these two issues and these high grade copies soared to a heady £130.

Captain Valiant and his rare Space Omnibus (containing Nos 55-60) was in strong demand with £145

A good Crime mix of 16 UK and Australian reprints was sent down for £260.

Publisher, Cartoon Art of Glasgow has a strong following and there were several US Fiction House covers in their ‘Indians’ title. Chief bid £210.

Will Eisner’s The Spirit was reprinted by Transport Publications of Australia. These scarce first two issues took £155.

Here were 10 WDL UK reprints showing that crime does pay (to the tune of £25 apiece)

Pa Broon gets all dressed up in his Sunday best, a bit unnecessary fer tattie-pickin’ but Dudley Watkins original artwork took a not so tatty £460.

 

Required reading for teenage girls in the 60s and 70s, Jackie magazine had an enormous following and here were 15 consecutive copies that sold for a groovy £135

These two Charley’s War pages previewed the battle of the Somme as 16-year- old Charley Bourne goes out on a night raid to flush out a Jerry sniper. Joe Colquhoun’s atmospheric WW1 artwork was taken to £1820.

Our US section started with a fresh copy of All-American Comics #55 starring Green Lantern and £240.

Our extensive Batman collection started with issue 5 in low grade at £410

This fresh looking #6 from 1941 had a previous owner name stamp to the cover and sold for £900 (hope the previous owner’s not watching…)

Multiple visible faults did not stop this key issue detailing Batman’s origin at £310

Here are low grade issues 48, 49 and 50, now respectable at £360.

Another Batman key with multiple faults, #59 heralded the first Deadshot, a bullseye for £410.

Catwoman got the cream with £250

With early covers to dream about, here was anniversary issue #100 in [vg+] taken away at £480. 

More of a basket case than a Showcase, this well-worn #8 still flashed at £240

Rumoured to star as the latest villain in the next Spidey movie, The Scorpion stung at £120.

The first 10 Spider-Man annuals in mixed grades sold here at £260.

Fantastic Four #46 and #48 in mid grades totalled £220

A good early run of Hulk #102-110 tipped the scales with £130

Perhaps the most interesting lot in our Silver Age section, this Hulk #181 cents copy had its Marvel Stamp cut out from an interior page, not affecting the story. We graded the book ‘[qualified grade: nm]’ meaning that the rest of the book was near mint without the obvious defect. Consequently a winning bid of £580 was tendered.

 

 

 

Here’s Iron Man #1 CGC 7.0 selling at £290, some £60 less than its book value.

 

 

 

With a CBCS grade of 5.0, Journey Into Mystery #85 went for £460. At the current exchange rate of £1=$1.39, almost exactly the Overstreet book price as if it were not slabbed.

 

 

 

Here’s a nice combo of Ghost Riders, burning up the tarmac with £165

 

 

 

12 issues of Batman from the early 70s contained several keys with origins retold and this hotly contested group hammered £410.

 

Talking of early origins, my girl-friend, Sali, has decided to write the closing chapter of this Spring’s Market Report. Here is her story:

 

Thursday, 1st March was World Book day. A day anticipated with glee by primary school children, but which strikes fear into the hearts of most teachers. What can I wear that is easy to put together, comfortable to wear and won’t make me look a complete idiot on the London Overground? This year the day happened to coincide with a weather front from Siberia and Storm Emma, threatening blizzard conditions and sub-zero temperatures. There was much discussion about cancelling or postponing in anticipation of non-weather proof outfits and princess slippers in 5 inches of snow, but eventually we decided to go ahead.

The following day, our fears were confirmed. Children arrived in unsuitable attire and sat, wet and shivering, in the classroom amid cries of “Don’t you have a cardigan?” (No, Miss) and “Where are your proper shoes?” (At home, Miss) But there was one group of children perfectly attired – the Super-Heroes. In they came with their all-in-one costumes (carefully disguising their thermal vests) and their welly boots. Here were Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and The Hulk striding confidently through the snow. Heroes indeed! Now, there are some people who feel that these characters should not be part of World Book Day, but I disagree. I have seen many a reluctant reader pick up a comic and start their journey into the fictional world that books can offer. After all, they are called comic books.

As for me? Well, I was going to be Thing 1 from The Cat in the Hat but sadly my blue wig failed to arrive because of the snow, so I dressed as a teacher, the less well-known superhero…

 

Enjoy your ‘books’
Sali Douglas-Watson