Westerhope-based auction house Anderson & Garland are hosting a massive Comic Auction next week from their premises in Newcastle upon Tyne, which includes some of the rare British comic art currently owned by comics archivist and collector Peter Hansen, who previously sought to secure his huge collection for the nation for many years, sadly without success – but not for want of trying.

Included in the auction is a huge range of American and British Silver Age, Bronze Age and modern comics published by Marvel, DC, and a variety of Independent Publishers; and British comic lots that include copies of The Beano, The Dandy, Alan Class and Marvel UK titles; original comics artwork; trading cards, and more.

Most of the US early Marvel comics in the auction on offer are “Pence”, not “Cents” editions.

Among the auction highlights must surely be copies of early Marvel Comics, such as Fantastic Four #1, expected to sell for between £5000 – £8000; and many other early issues of the groundbreaking superhero title, including #5, featuring the first appearance of Doctor Doom, and #12, featuring the Fantastic Four’s first encounter with The Hulk; the first appearance of Thor, in Journey into Mystery #83 (estimate: £2000 – £3000); The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (est. £400 – 700); Daredevil #1 (£est. £800 – £1000); The Avengers #1 (est. £800 – £1200); Green Lantern No. 1 (1960, est. £150 – £250); a fantastic range of Warren comics, including Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella; many Marvel graphic novels; Deadly Hands of Kung Fu; DC War Comics; Marvel and DC Collectors Editions; job lots of early Marvel UK titles such as The Titans; a job lot of DC Thomson’s Victor and Warlord; a large lot of mixed British comics that includes Star Wars Weekly No.1; and much more.

British comic rarities – and there are plenty – include a first issue of the girls comic, Cherie, cover dated 10th October 1960, and two lots of the brilliant Ken Reid‘s Fudge the Elf books, here and here, collections of the strips he drew for The Manchester Evening News from 1938 onwards, and other stories. These have a surprisingly low estimate – expect them to sell for much more.

A copy of Star Wars Weekly No. 1, published in 1978, is being sold separately with its X-Wing free gift, as are copies of Nos 1-3 with the free TIE Fighter gift given away with No. 2.

British comic archivists may also be interested in a job lot from The Ian Penman Archive of comics fanzines, early amateur-produced comics, news magazines, and comics-related ephemera, which looks like an absolute treasure trove of reference material from the imagery presented. It’s estimated to sell for anything from £300 – £400.

But it’s the British comic original art that is surely going to command plenty of bidding, lots that include “Worzel Gummidge” by Mike Noble from Look-In, “Captain Hurricane” for Valiant, art from Princess and Princess Tina, and a number of cover artworks for Battle Picture Library and War Picture Library. This art is all from Peter Hansen’s collection.

(Please note, the captions below are as presented by the auctioneers and I will update these with artist and full date information when/if supplied)

There’s plenty to savour, so check out the auction items here on the Anderson & Garland web site. Their next comic auction takes place in February 2022 – so it may be an idea to sign up for their newsletter, as more rarities may well be on offer then!

Established in 1840, Anderson & Garland are the leading firm of Auctioneers and Valuers in the North of England and Scottish Borders and one of the largest independent auction houses in the UK.

• The December 2021 Anderson & Garland Comic Auction runs over two days and you must register on the web site to bid: Lots 701 to 1105 will be offered on Wednesday 15th December 2021 from 10.00am; and Lots 1106 to 1486 on Thursday 16th December 2021 from 10.00am

• Viewing of lots is taking place on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th December from 10.00 – 3.00pm at Anderson House, Crispin Court, Newbiggin Lane, Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne NE5 1BF

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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.

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Categories: Art and Illustration, Auctions, British Comics, Comic Art, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Other Worlds

Tags: Anderson & Garland, Auction News, Battle Picture Library, Captain Hurricane, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Fudge the Elf, Ken Reid, Look-In, Marvel UK, Pino Dell’Orco, Princess, Princess Tina, Spider-Man, Stefa's Heart of Stone, Sue Day, War Picture Library, Worzel Gummidge