After an absence of much British comic art in Catawiki’s recent weekly International Original Comics Art Auction, good news – there’s plenty on offer, including a “Rogue Trooper” page by José Ortiz, Modesty Blaise art, and more.
Andy Capp on Air Pollution, written and drawn by Reg Smythe (1992)
A superb example of the brilliant and “Carol Day” strip, this board published in 1964, art by David Wright. Expect bidding to escalate on this one!
David Wright became famous in Britain during the 1940s and 1950s as a pin-up artist working for The Sketch, and went on to create “Carol Day” for the Daily Mail for many years. Print collections of some of the stories from this fantastic strip are, apparently, in the works…
A recent sketch by Glenn Fabry, featuring Death from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series, running around on a skateboard…
A smashing Modesty Blaise strip by original artist Jim Holdaway (#650), plus Uncle Happy book. First published on 2nd June 1965, this strip was given to artist John M Burns, along with a handful of others, by the publisher in order to learn the intimate details of the main characters when he took over drawing the strip in 1978. The strip has been handled by both artists, possibly explaining a few of the marching marks.
Modesty Blaise #5874 (1983), art by Neville Colvin, from the story “Sweet Caroline”, written by Peter O’Donnell. Modesty’s companion, Willie has been hiding undercover with his current girlfriend Sandra.
Another original strip Modesty Blaise strip, this one – #8429A – by Enrique Badia Romero, offered by the artist himself
The opening page of “Rogue Trooper – Nort by NorthWest” art by José Ortiz, first published in the 1987 2000AD annual, written by Peter Milligan, lettered by Steve Potter
The opening page of “The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire” story, known variously as “Terror from Tarron” or “Evil from Outer Space“, and published in the Netherlands as “Mysterious forces on Electron”. Art by Don Lawrence, first published in Look and Learn in 1973.
As ever, the auction includes a wide variety of European comic art and illustrations, and manga art, too, including work by Serrat Bernat, Hermann, Daniel Koller, Felix Meynet, Carlos Pacheco, and more. Well worth a look!
Potential Additional International Auction Costs
This advice box was last updated on Friday 6th May 2022
The UK’s departure from the European Union means there may be additional import duties on sales.
Prior to Brexit, the effective rate of UK tax on imports of art was 5%, which is lower than most other European countries. An owner could previously import an artwork to the UK from outside the EU and was then free to transport it to other EU countries, where the import tax rates may be higher, without incurring any further import-related tax charges. If the owner then wished to bring the artwork back to the UK, there would also have been no further tax charge.
The Guardian previously reported that online orders up to £135 are now supposed to have the UK’s prevailing VAT rate added at the point of sale by the EU retailer, which has to have registered with HM Revenue & Customs.
While buying from European sellers carries the sting of larger costs, the auction house Catawiki does now endeavour to provide an estimate of those in its lot descriptions.
Unfortunately, many smaller EU-based retailers have decided that the paperwork of collecting UK VAT is not worth the hassle and as a result will no longer supply UK consumers. It has also meant that some British sellers will no longer export to Europe.
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “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.
Categories: Art and Illustration, Auctions, British Comics, British Comics - Newspaper Strips, Comic Art, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Other Worlds
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