Doctor Syntax – not to be confused with the hip hop rapper – was a hybrid character of caricature and comic verse, and one of the first illustrated characters to have his own merchandise in England, the work of political… Read More ›
Comic Art
Comic Book Postal Auctions latest offering launched, includes original Beano, Dandy art
Comic Book Postal Auctions has just launched their August / September auction – and there are some great British comics offerings, including original art from the Beano, and The Dandy – and rare copies of early appearances of Dick Boss,… Read More ›
In Review: Illustrators Special 2 – War Is Hell
For those of you that are aware of the Book Palace, you will hopefully also be aware of their in-house imprint which publishes Illustrators, a beautiful produced quarterly magazine dedicated to enhancing our knowledge of all things dealing with comics. … Read More ›
Rare Frank Hampson Dan Dare painting fetches a pretty penny at auction
A Dan Dare watercolour by his creator Frank Hampson recently sold on eBay for £650, complete with a letter of provenance from the artist himself. An earlier ink sketch of Dan by Frank with a similar pose that will feature in… Read More ›
Look Alive, London! Here’s some rare dinosaur invasion art by Don Lawrence
Regular readers of downthetubes will recall we previously covered the short-lived replacement to Look and Learn, Look Alive, highlighting an early appearance of the Alan Grant penned story “The Chronicles of Genghis Grimtoad”, drawn for the title by Angus McBride,… Read More ›
WebFind: Gene Colan: Visions of a Man Without Fear
If you’re a fan of artist Gene Colan like me, then this 48-page exhibition catalogue on offer from the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum is a bit of a gem. Gene Colan: Visions of a Man Without Fear features high-quality… Read More ›
“Charley’s War” Battle cover on offer on eBay
More “Charley’s War” art from the weekly war comic Battle – this time a striking cover by Joe Colquhoun for an issue published back in 1981 – is on offer on eBay. On offer is the original cover art to Battle… Read More ›
Original Tintin art by Hergé may sell for over £500,000 in Heritage’s First European Comic Art Auction
An extraordinary, 12-panel page of original Tintin art by Belgian cartoonist Hergé may sell for as much as $720,000 (over £533,400) in Heritage Auctions’ first European Comic Art Auction next month. The sale offers nearly 300 lots, including vintage artworks by… Read More ›
Frank Frazetta painting sale for $1.79 million sets all-time auction record for any piece of comic art
Run by Heritage Auctions, Chicago’s largest public auction dedicated to vintage comic books and original comic art fetched $12,201,974 – setting the world record for the most valuable sale of its kind. The top lot claimed its own record when… Read More ›
Two Beano screenprint exhibitions announced as part of 80th anniversary celebrations
Britain’s favourite comic, The Beano, celebrates its eightieth birthday this summer and Comic Art, run by screen printer John Patrick Reynolds, will be marking the event with two major exhibitions of Beano screenprints. The Beano‘s first edition was published on… Read More ›
Horace Panter’s Beano Pop Art exhibition heads to York
After its debut at the Beano Studios in London last month, Beano-inspired pop art created by The Specials’ bassist Horace Panter is heading to York, and will be on display at the According To McGee gallery in Tower Street from 19th May… Read More ›
Classic British Comic Covers: 2000AD Prog 62, featuring the comic’s first heroine
“Death Planet” was a short-lived series written by Alan Hebden with art by Lopez which began in 2000AD 62 and ran through to Prog 70, back in 1978. Commander Lorna Varn, the captain of a colony ship from Earth which… Read More ›
Lakes International Comic Art Festival art auction announced, includes Walking Dead, Batman originals
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is running another amazing original art auction, and advance viewing has just opened. The online auction itself begins on 1st May 2018. Aiming to raise funds for LICAF and the charity OCD Action, the… Read More ›
More Frank Hampson Ladybird Book art for sale, Southport anniversary exhibition announced
The official Frank Hampson web site run by the Dan Dare creator’s son, Peter, has a lot of his art for sale, and some new Ladybird Books art boards ohave just been added. Hampson was first commissioned by Ladybird Books… Read More ›
Charley’s War art offered on eBay, bids reach over £600
A smashing item of “Charley’s War” art by Joe Colquhoun, created for the cover of a 1980 issue of weekly war comic Battle is being offered on eBay. Bidding, which closes this evening, is currently at £650. “Charley’s War”, created by… Read More ›
Modesty Blaise fan? A Jim Holdaway original is up for sale
Heritage Auctions is offering this lovely “Modesty Blaise” original by the strip’s first artist, Jim Holdaway, in one of its latest auctions. An episode from “The Long Lever”, written by Peter O’Donnell, the art is described as being #194, published… Read More ›
Beano goes pop with Art & Hue!
As part of the ongoing celebrations throughout 2018 to mark 80 years of Beano, Art & Hue has created a new collection of stylish pop art prints inspired by the iconic British comic. Art & Hue has delved into vintage… Read More ›
Doug Braithwaite “Paradise X” art, and other British artists, feature in latest ComicLink auction list
Auction house Comic Link have some interesting art coming up for auction soon that includes a number of British artists, some noted below. Fellow artist David Roach spotted this mightily impressive spread from Marvel’s Paradise X by Doug Braithwaite, inked with… Read More ›
Beano characters go Pop! New artworks by Horace Panter revealed
A new collaboration between the Beano and The Specials’ bassist Horace Panter is about launch the likes of Dennis, Gnasher, Minnie the Minx and Billy Whizz into the worlds of Warhol, Lichtenstein and Hockney. After yesterday’s news that Dennis was… Read More ›
British comics galore and Frankie Stein art, too – in this month’s Phil Comics online auction
There’s some great lots in this latest batch of comics-related auction items from British online comic auctioneers Phil Comics – including a near full set of the 1970s TV-inspired title Countdown and TV ACTION and Frankie Stein art by Robert… Read More ›