More Trigan Empire treats by Don Lawrence offered in this week’s Catawiki International Original Comics Art Auction

By John Freeman on November 22, 2022

Two smashing “Trigan Empire” pages are on offer in this week’s Catawiki International Original Comics Art Auction, closing Thursday 24th November 2022.

Of course, this weekly online event wouldn’t be the same without a “Robot Archie” page too, another fine board by Ted Kearon for the 1973 story from Lion, “The Lost World”. We can only assume the seller, Dutch antiquarian store Stripwinkel Antiquariaat Barabas, must have bought a job lot of art from a Dutch publisher of British strips. Quite why these boards weren’t returned to IPC after use is a mystery, but given that much art ended up in a furnace, thank goodness they weren’t.

Robot Archie - The Lost World (1973) - art by Ted Kearon

The two “Trigan Empire” boards on offer, both by Don Lawrence, are a page from the story “The Mission of Lukaz Rann“, also known as “The Rocketeer”, published in Look and Learn in 1975; and a striking, framed image that was used, among other things, as a cover for the Belgian magazine, Pandarve (the copy of the magazine featured is not included in the lot).

As ever, bidding is fierce on both items, already at over €700 on both.

The Catawiki International Original Comics Art Auction also includes art by European artists such as Jordi Bernet, Milo Manara, Leonardo di Matteo, Marc-Renier, and many others.

Talking of Don Lawrence, if you’re a fan of his lesser known adult work for Mayfair magazine, then you may want to check out a French collection of the strip, “Carrie”, published as Les Malheurs de Sophie (“The Misfortunes of Sophie”), here on Catawiki; be warned, this is adult material, with all the sensibilities of its time. (That is to say, not many). Some sample images feature in the lot details that I couldn’t possibly feature here, and yes, this cover image has been lightly censored,

Don Lawrence was the initial artist on this adult humour strip, retitled “Sophie” in France, “Virginia” in Germany and “Cathy” in Holland. Later episodes were drawn by Mario Capaldi and Steve Kingston, and a few issues published in 1981 featured “Connie”, drawn by Brian Forbes.

• This week’s Catawiki International Original Comics Art Auction, closing at 7.00pm on Thursday 24th November 2022 – view the full catalogue here

Potential Additional International Auction Costs

This advice box was last updated on Friday 6th May 2022

The UK’s departure from the European Union means there may be additional import duties on sales.

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.

The Guardian previously reported that 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.

While buying from European sellers carries the sting of larger costs, the auction house Catawiki does now endeavour to provide an estimate of those in its lot descriptions.

Unfortunately, many 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. It has also meant that some British sellers will no longer export to Europe.

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

• Don’t forget Catawiki runs several regular auctions, including a dedicated US Comics auction, too – check out all the current lots on offer here

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.