Lost Newspaper Strips: Enric Badia Romero’s “Kathy and Wendy”

By John Freeman on September 18, 2025 • ( 0 )

A current Catawiki Comic Artworks Auction, which also features “Trigan Empire” art for Look and Learn by Gerry Wood, includes something of a rarity – one of just ten completed “Kathy and Wendy” strips for a proposed strip by Axa creator Enric Badia Romero, who also drew Modesty Blaise.

Bidding ends later today , Thursday 18th September 2025 at 7.00pm

On offer is the third strip in the proposed series, described as “a sought after fragment from a little-known newspaper run” although there’s no information or indication that it was ever published, one tribute published last year on his passing for BDZoom asking, hopefully, for information.

Kathy and Wendy newspaper strip no. 3 by Enric Badia Romero (1985) — *Kathy and Wendy No. 3, by Enric Badia Romero*

Created in 1985, “Kathy and Wendy”, a daily strip, centring on two girls out for adventure while on holiday, lasted just ten episodes. The lot description states that “unfortunately, due to economic problems of the newspaper, not many strips were published,” and over on the Origin of Comics Gallery, which offers a number of Romero works for sale, including “Kathy and Wendy” No. 8 and two unfinished strips, states Romero had begun pencilling Nos 11 and 12 when he was told it was being cancelled and he no longer inked it. The newspaper is not identified.

Measuring 44 x 16 cm, the art is offered for auction here on Catawiki.

Above: The Origin of Comics Gallery offers a number of Romero works for sale

Enric Badia Romero (24th April 1930 – 15th February 2024) was a veteran artist, with more than 70 years dedicated to this art. He created thousands of drawings, comic pages, covers, and illustrations, best known for his runs drawing “Modesty Blaise” and his own creation, the newspaper strip, “Axa”. He mastered of many genres – spy-fi, science fiction, horror, fantasy, science fiction and romance.

Alongside a cross section of comic art by creators from across Europe such as Giancarlo Caracuzzo, Fernando Fernández and Gérald Forton, the auction also includes an example of Romero’s take on “Modesty Blaise“, an episode of the story “Walkabout“, published in 1990.

Also on offer as one lot are two pages of “The Trigan Empire” for Look and Learn, cover dated 29th March 1980, drawn by Gerry Wood, for the story known as “Trigan’s Deadly Peril” in which Salvia, daughter of Peric, the greatest living architect on Elekton, is captured by aliens…

• Check out the full auction catalogue here on Catawiki – bidding ends later today , Thursday 18th September 2025 at 7.00pm

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.