Catawiki International Comic Art Auction offers rare British cowboy comic art, Robot Archie page, and more

By John Freeman on April 4, 2022

This week’s Catawiki International Comic Art Auction closes on Thursday 7th April 2022, offering more British comic art among its worldwide offer.

A promotional Doctor Strange illustration by Eduardo Alpuente for the Spanish market

A warplane illustration by Arno (Arnaud Dombre), who became a comic artist despite being forbidden to read comics as a child

Character designs for the Dutch SF series “Stef Ardoba” for Eppo, by Bus Bert, an artist well known for his “Robot Archie” stories for the Dutch market

An illustration by Rene Follet, for the story entitled ‘L’aile rouge contre étoile Betelgeuse’ published by Journal Spirou in 1966-1967

A page from “Robot Archie and the Mystery of the Giant Bats” by Ted Kearon, first published in Lion in 1967

A page from the “Trigan Empire” story “City Without Memory”, for Look and Learn, published in 1969, by Don Lawrence

The cover to the collected Axa, Number 17 (“The Escapist”) by Enrique Badia Romero

The cover Black Diamond Western No. 1, said to have been published in the 1960s, a British reprint of the US title published in the 1950s, with a new cover, signed by “Walt” and attributed to Walter “Walt” Taylor

However, downthetubes contributor Richard Sheaf wonders if the artist might in fact be Walt Howarth, here

• Bidding on lots in this auction closes at 7.00pm on Thursday 7th April 2022 – check out the full catalogue here

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.