Eye-catching cover art and more on offer in this week’s Catawiki International Comic Art Auction

By John Freeman on September 10, 2021

The latest Catawiki International Comic Art Auction not only includes more “Modesty Blaise” and “Robot Archie” artwork, by Enrique Badia Romero and Ted Kearon respectively, but some superb cover paintings by acclaimed Spanish artists such as José González and Manfred Sommer, too – as well as manga art and more.

Also up for sale are some rare pencils of a 1930s strip, published in Funny Wonder – “Marmaduke and His Ma”, drawn by Wally Robertson.

Of the cover art offered in the auction closing next Thursday, Fernando Fernández art for the first issue of the Spanish edition of Isaac Asimov SF magazine, published by Agostini in 1986, is one the most striking items offered. Intriguingly, the art was “flipped” when published, as you can see here.

“The Deadly Side of the Square” is a painting by José González seems full of hidden menace, although there isn’t any detail as to where it was published …

Of the manga art on offer, two Tenchi Muyo pages by Nishina Kaoru, published by “Simulation” in 1994, are pretty eye catching!

If you’re a Robot Archie fan, you’ll already have your eye on these auctions, and you won’t be disappointed by another page offered from the 1968 Lion comic story, “The Superons”, drawn by the brilliant Ted Kearon. Every time I see pages from this story I can’t help but wonder if the unknown writer had been watching Doctor Who stories of the day – or at least, told to echo the style of the popular TV series.

The episode of Modesty Blaise (No. 3068) on offer this week is again by Enrique Badia Romero, with the international action woman in dramatic action, as ever. This art was first published in 1973, the strip syndicated around the world.

A definite rarity in this auction is a set of pencils for the long-running Funny Wonder strip “Marmaduke and His Ma”, created by Freddie Crompton, these roughs drawn by Wally Robertson (1892-1983), a Glaswegian artist who attended Glasgow School of Art. Robertson initially drew illustrations for magazines such as Passing Show and London Opinion, before moving into comics in the 1930s, working on Funny Wonder, Jester, Crackers, Comic Cuts, Larks, Joker, Jolly and Jingles.

Also on offer is a 1970 cowboy painting by Manfred Sommer, a Spanish comics artist best known for his work on the investigative reporter comics series “Frank Cappa”, published in the comics magazine Cimoc in the 1980s. He also drew both war and romance comics for the British market, commissioned through the Selecciones Illustradas art agency.

Finally, Colin Wilson is an artist who will be familiar to many downthetubes readers, particularly for his work on the western series Blueberry, as well as his sadly short run on “Rogue Trooper” for 2000AD. This auction includes a page from the seventh volume of La Jeunesse de Blueberry (“The Youth of Blueberry”), drawn in 1990 and first published in 1992.

• Bidding on items in this Catawiki International Comic Art Auction closes at 7.00pm on Thursday 16th September 2021

Do note that the UK’s departure from the European Union may mean additional import duties on sales. Catawiki highlights items offered from the continent that will incur additional fees. 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.

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

• 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. Lots of 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

WEB LINKS

• Lambiek: Manfred Sommer

• UK Comics Wiki – Wally Robertson

• Buy La Jeunesse de Blueberry Tome 7 (2003 edition) from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

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.