Gnash it! Derek’s ‘rare’ copy of Beano is reprint

DEREK Frame thought he had hit the jackpot when he came across a Beano comic he believed to be a first edition worth thousands.

But the 68-year-old from Stobswell was bitterly disappointed to be told that his 1938 edition was in fact a reproduction printed in the 1990s.

The first edition — which is almost 80 years old — is extremely rare and only 25 copies are known to be in existence.

The last copy to sell at auction went under the hammer for a world record price of £17,300.

Derek thought he had struck gold when he came across a copy of the first edition in his house.

He said: “It was just sitting in a box.

“When I saw it I thought it was incredible — it’s in great condition and it looks like a first edition. It has the date July 30 1938 stamped on the front.

“I thought it was a first edition for certain.”

The retired kitchen porter said he had been a huge fan of the Beano the past but hadn’t picked up the comic in several years.

He said: “When I was a wee laddie I read them all the time.

“I was rather amazed to find it just lying around my house — I would have thought I’d have known if I had a first edition!

“But I had been given some of a late relative’s possessions and wondered if it had come from there.

“It’s pretty disappointing to find out it’s not what I thought it was.

“I didn’t know if it was worth anything but there’s always that hope.

“I know the Beano is a big comic all over the world and so I thought finding a first edition was a real win.

“It might be different if I’d spent a lot of money on it thinking it was a first edition.

“I’m just a little disappointed — I think I’d already mentally spent the money!”

It’s not the first time someone has come forward with a copy which has turned out to be one of the reproductions. The archive department at DC Thomson is regularly contacted by people who think they have found a coveted first edition.

Archive technician and Beano expert Duncan Laird said the frequency of calls often increases during the Christmas period.

He said: “I guess people get their Christmas decorations out and come across things hidden in the back of cupboards.

“I do understand their disappointment when we have to tell them it’s probably a reproduction. It’s an exciting moment to think you’ve found something so rare.”

Duncan said that if the copy has staples, glossy print and has 24-pages it’s probably not a first edition, but a 1990s reprint.

The Sunday Post issued these reprints free during the 1990s.

Derek thought he had come across a rare first edition when he found this copy of the Beano in his home.