Comic books go under the hammer
AN amazing collection of vintage US and UK comics went under the hammer in Newcastle this week - and piqued the interest of collectors far and wide.
Among the 600 lots were issues from the Golden Age (1938 to 1956), Silver Age (1956 to 1970), Bronze Age (1970 to 1984) and Modern Age (1984 to present day) of comics and horror magazines by Marvel, DC, Dell, Gold Key, Charlton, Warren and other publishers – many in high grade and cents-only copies.
Also up for sale was a singleowner collection of Beano, Dandy, Beezer, Topper and L. Miller British re-print comics from the 1940s to the 1970s, plus other comics-related publications and annuals.
The comics with the highest expected sale price were those of the Silver Surfer and a Fantastic Four – The Coming of Galactus, both published by Marvel. Both had a pre-auction estimate of £200 to £400, but went for £380 and £700 respectively.
The items went under the hammer at Anderson & Garland on Thursday, in a sale which also saw a Moon Girl No 5 comic dating from 1948 go for £420 way above its initial estimate of £25 to £45.
British comics proved a big hit with buyers, with many selling for hundreds of pounds more than expected.
A selection of Beanos from 1951 with a pre-sale estimate of £60 to £100 sold for an amazing £1,400. Meanwhile another collection of Beanos, this time dating from 1952, 1958 and 1959 which had a pre-sale estimate of £55 to £95 went for £1,100.
Other lots of the popular British publications went for £450 to £900, again way above their estimates of between £60 and £140.
A selection of Beezer comics from 1965, 1966 and 1967 also greatly exceeded their expected return of £80 to £120, as they went for £650 in total.
Auctioneer John Anderson said the vast majority of comics came from two sources. “The US comics have come from a dealer who has retired and is selling off his whole stock.
“The other section of the sell-off is from the son of a man who kept all the comics he got in the 1950s and 1960s.”
Mr Anderson said they had expected interest in the sale from the US as well as the UK, and described how the nature of collectors either side of the Atlantic have changed over the years.
“British collectors like the concept of the key comic by and large, they fill in the gaps of their collection, like a stamp collector,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to Mr Anderson, the typical US collector views comics almost like ‘stocks and shares’ as an investment and a reason to speculate.
Sometimes comics worth very little can suddenly leap in value when a character within them suddenly becomes well known.
This is why a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 in pristine condition
dating from 1962 can sell for $1 million as a certain Spider-Man made his first appearance in it.
A very recent example is Agatha Harkness, a previously little known Marvel character who has become prominent recently in the Disney series WandaVision.
She first appeared in the Fantastic Four #94 edition published in 1970, the value of which has now quadrupled.
And, with the continuing success of DC comic and Marvel movies there is always a chance that another obscure character will become famous, with many collectors subscribing to Hollywood gossip website to keep up with the latest film rumours that can also affect prices.
Mr Anderson said they were given so many comics they are to stage a second auction in the near future.