The latest weekly Catawiki International Comic Art Auction feels a bit like “Groundhog Day” in terms of British comic art on offer, but they should definitely interest Modesty Blaise and, of course, Robot Archie fans.

Of wider interest to collectors, and well worth checking out, and not just in this auction on the site, are items from the Chris Mouton (1965-2020), whose art and comic collection is being through the Catawiki Collection Service in the coming months. Mouton had a reputation of tracking down unknown drawings by Belgian comic artists in often obscure and forgotten publications.

Items on offer at present from his collection on Catawiki include a gorgeous Thorgal 40th Anniversary Art Book, and many graphic albums, and art by Bob Mau and Buth.

Mouton’s efforts helped fill in blind spots in the oeuvre of important Belgian comic artists. Comic books, magazines, puppets, figurines, stickers, key rings, original drawings and even paintings from his collection now find their way to a general auction that offers a sampling of his searches and finds.

Much more will be included in various auctions later on, which can be followed with the search term #chrismouton.

Other items in the auction include a homage to Hergé and Tintin by Gürcan Gürsel; and more art by Dino Attanasio, René Follett, Hermann, Dick Matena, Guillaume Sorel and many more, including two fantastic original ink pages by Alfonso Font, drawn for an adaptation of the classic Jules Verne book ‘Michael Strogoff’, Courier of the Czar, written in 1876.

British comic and British newspaper strip-related items…

• Another “Axa” pin-up by Enrique Badia Romero, this one highlighted as “explicit”

• More “Billy Bunter” by Reg Parlett, first published in 1968

• A page of “The Maze Master” by Bill Lacey, first published in Look and Learn

• Modesty Blaise art and related designs by Neville Colvin, art from the story “Sweet Caroline” first published in 1983.

The sequence shows Modesty captured by the Sweet Caroline group. The sketches of ‘Dexter and Tanner’ give a rare insight into the artist’s working technique and are directly from the artist’s portfolio. 

• A page from the 1961 story, “Robot Archie in the Wild West”, first published in Lion, by Ted Kearon

• A “Trigan Empire” page by Don Lawrence, from the 1968 story, “The Invisible Ray”

• Art from the Look and Learn story, “Warlock”, drawn by José Jiminez, first published in 1971.

The adventure follows Simon Darwin, a Warlock who takes an apprentice under his wing. Together, they travel to Egypt and seek tests of magic, power and the supernatural.

In the pages offered, the Warlock is trapped outside the temple and his apprentice has to destroy either his good or evil self before being sent back to his own world where a death cloud is growing.

• Check out items offered by Catawiki in their International Comic Art category – ends at 7.00pm Thursday 23rd December 2021

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.

This apolitical guide outlines what you should be aware of when buying or selling art internationally but is a work in progress

• Don’t forget Catawiki runs several regular auctions, including a dedicated US Comics auction, too – check out all the current lots on offer here

John Freeman

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, Comic Art, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Other Worlds

Tags: Alonson Font, Axa, Bill Lacey, Billy Bunter, Bob Mau, Buth, Catawiki International Comic Art Auction, Chris Mouton, Don Lawrence, Enrique Badia Romero, Guillaume Sorel, Gürcan Gürsel, José Jiminez, Lion, Look and Learn, Maze Master, Modesty Blaise, Neville Colvin, Reg Parlett, Robot Archie, Ted Kearon, Thorgal, Trigan Empire