Dan Dare Sale

By John Freeman on 5 March 2008

Steve Holland reports on the recent collection of the late Bob Rothwell, a major Dan Dare fan and collector, over on Bear Alley. “A huge number of collectable Dan Dare items went under the hammer—so to speak—and some were fetching silly amounts of money,” he recounts. Read his full report…

A few highlights from the auction included a Dan Dare bust, only the third ever made by John Fowler and originally sculpted for Southport’s celebration of Dan Dare back in 2000. This went for £120, although all prices also had a 15% buyers premium plus VAT where applicable, while a Dan Dare spaceship (boxed) went for £150, a presentation belt (Crafton) and tie (Theros) in original box went for £70.

Steve has a number of pictures of lots from the auction which are sure to be of interest to Dan Dare fans but as he says, it’s sad to think that Bob’s collection, which he spent a lifetime collecting, was sold in under 30 minutes…

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.