A rare copy of the first issue of The Beano, published in 1938, has sold for a whopping £17,300 in the latest Compalcomics auction – and other issues of the weekly humour comic also sold at good prices.
“Bought for £3850 in our September 2009 auction our canny buyer re-submitted his purchase six years later having noted the strong performance of early Beano issues over our last few catalogues,” reveals latest Compalcomics director Malcolm Phillips.
“To say he was amazed was an understatement as the new record price for a Beano comic at auction was achieved by two very determined bidders going head to head on the day, the eventual winner bidding from his iPhone in Italy.”
A run of early Beano issues from Numbers 7 – 51 continued to outstrip their estimates generally ranging between £250-600 each with the notable exception ofNumber 10, which sold for £660, Number 41 – the first Xmas issue – at £1040 and Number 36 with free gift Big-Bang Fun-Gun at £940, while a fresh copy of the 1942 Beano Book took a heady £3050, Big Eggo and the vendor both in a spin.
A fresh copy of the first Mickey Mouse Weekly – also the first comic printed by the photogravure process where bleach was added to the paper stock to preserve its whiteness – sold for £170, and a bound volume of the first year of Eagle comic sold for a record price of £2150.
Away from comics, a last selection of Dalek Swapits, including the rare gold/black colour combination and £180 delighted Davros.
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: Auctions, British Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News