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27 March 2021

Ron Smith original art up for auction

Ron Smith art doesn't seem to come up for auction very often but right now there are 3 pages up for auction on ebay. I'm not the seller.

The first page is here - at the time of writing this is at £108 - from 2000AD prog #263


a Daily Star Judge Dredd strip is here - currently this has been bid up to £620
I remember seeing a couple of boxes of these outside a London comics shop years ago - they were priced at £30 each and at the time that was out of my price range. My loss.

No bids yet on this other Daily Star Judge Dredd strip - for sale here

You can check out all my other Ron Smith postings on the blog here

26 March 2021

Max Overload issue 2

Previously I've looked at Max Overload (1994, from the relatively short-lived publisher imprint Dark Horse International) - the 2nd issues, dated April 1994, has now arrived. There is no 3rd issue - due, according to this link, to Dark Horse International going bust in 1994.

Anyway, good luck tracking down this rare comic & gaming magazine mash-up...it's got 32 pages of comics content in a 64 page magazine so that's a pretty good ratio as far as I'm concerned.

Woodrow Phoenix draws the cover

Lemmings - art by Graham Manley, script by Dick Hansom [8 pages]

Toejam & Earl - art by Woodrow Phoenix, script by Anne Caulfield [8 pages]

Chuck rock - art by David Lyttleton, script by Cefn Ridout [8 pages]

Greendog - jaws, claws and dinosaurs - art by Ilya, script by Ian Carney [8 pages]

And here's the day when a camera crew turned up for filming...Anne Caulfield and Woodrow Phoenix looking very relaxed there...


Here's the back page advert for issue #3 - cover at by David Lyttleton


25 March 2021

latest Catawiki auction - British comic art highlighted

These auctions all close today - don't forget!

The latest Catawiki auction is up and running and here's what on offer for fans of British comic art...

This Annie Oakley cover by Ron Embleton (from World of Wonder #43, 1971)

This Robot Archie half-page by Edward Kearon (from Lion, 1965)

This double page spread by Carlos Cruz from the pages of the 1972 Smash! annual

This full page of Robot Archie by Edward Kearon (from the story 'The amazing Robot Archie' in Lion, 1968)

This Jean Sidobre page from Princess Tina - the story 'My chum Yum Yum'

A further Jean Sidobre page from Princess Tina

This Joe Colquhoun page of Paddy Payne art from Lion

This page of 'Olac the Gladiator' by Ruggero Giovannini from Tiger/Hurricane 4th Jan 1969

This Modesty Blaise strip by Jim Holdaway

24 March 2021

Asterix presents Kryptix magazine

Here's a title I know almost nothing about...

...from London Editions magazine. Described in the October 1982 edition (volume 5, #7; issue 49) of Denis Gifford's Association of comic enthusiasts newsletter thus...
Scheduled for launch next Tuesday (September 14 1982) is "Kryptix puzzle magazine", a 50p quarterly produced and distributed by London Editions magazines, of Heaton Lane, Stockport, Cheshire. On full sale or return, it will be supported by advertisements in The Sunday Times colour supplement. The 48-page title offers "puzzles and brain-teasers for all the family", featuring the widely-popular cartoon character, Asterix the Gaul. Each issues will carry a competition with £250 in cash prizes"

The image above is the cover from #2 - but I've also found the image below which is un-numbered for some reason

The Comics Price Guide (here) has it lasting 16 issues - if the magazine was quarterly then 6 issues would have it lasting until 1986. I don't think that can have been the case because in issue 62 of Denis Gifford's Association of comic enthusiasts newsletter (volume 7, #1; March/April 1984) has a note that the February 1984 issue (priced at 60p) is the last issue. Unfortunately no issue number or date is given. 

If it was indeed published quarterly then the schedule would have been something like:
Oct 1982
Jan 1983
April 1983
July 1983
Oct 1983
Jan 1984
April 1984
so that's not 16 issues. Hmmm, intriguing.

Any further clues anyone? Thanks

23 March 2021

Fun & Games comic

This is not to be confused with Tesco fun 'n games (which I looked at here and here) but instead is a comic I know very little about. The comic is described thus by Comics International...New two-in-one comic: Fun reprints Fleetway's Frankiestein, Sweeny Toddler etc. Games is a 24 page cover-mounted supplement, 99p

This is the only image I can find of it online

Cover art clearly by Tom Paterson. It's published by Nexus Media

The first mention of Fun and Games in Comics International #79 (March 1997) where issues 3&4 are highlighted. The last mention in Comics International #93 - where issues 29 & 30 are highlighted. There may have been further issues but Comics International never mentions Fun and Games again.

22 March 2021

UPDATED: Price guide updates

Updates in red, below

I've looked before (here) at British versions of comic price guides. My previous post looked at the earliest guides that were published, today it's a look at two comic price 'magazines'.

Both were published by Duncan McAlpine as 'interim' publications in between his annual price guides.

I've known about the first update magazine (below) for a long time but I'd never even seen a copy until one popped up on ebay the other day.
Cover art is by David Braysher (coloured by Bryan Marks) - A4 sized, full colour cover but black & white interior pages. For your £1.50 you get 64 pages of updated price for comics, 20 pages of adverts, commentary from comic shop owners on the state of the market and a long list of first appearances. From the peak of the comic speculator boom you can re-visit such titles as Harbinger #1 and ask yourself why is was worth £65 at the time (having been worth £3 the year before).

The 2nd (and final) version of the price guide update looks like this...
Cover art is by Dave Dorman. Same sort of format as before but a few pages of colour art inside, a guide to grading comics and a Comic Speculator News section.

There's also an interesting advert on page 118...

...for signed & hand-stamped plus numbered editions of the price guides. I've never seen any of these before - can anyone share any images etc. of what these editions look like?  

UPDATE: Here's what one of the 'signed and hand-stamped' editions actually looked like...

It's currently for sale on ebay here

21 March 2021

UPDATED: Pocket chiller library

Following on from my post yesterday about Dave Gibbons contribution to the Pocket Chiller Library series (here) - his first paid work no less - I thought I'd have a go at building on the work that John Freeman has done (here) and see what issues of PCL I could find.

Right then, a quick search has revealed these nasties / beauties (delete as applicable)...there's plenty more out there so I'll add to this post as I go along.

Pocket Chiller library #2 - The jewels

Pocket Chiller library #6 - The evil eye

Pocket Chiller library #11 - To kill for kicks

Pocket Chiller library #15 - The potholer

Pocket Chiller library #19 - Billy the kid

Pocket Chiller library #20 - The statue

Pocket Chiller library #22 - The body snatcher

Pocket Chiller library #23 - followers of Satan

Pocket Chiller library #24 - Hands of evil

Pocket Chiller library #25 - The bloody flowers

Pocket Chiller library #27 - The secret in the cellar

Pocket Chiller library #35 - The mutant

Pocket Chiller library #38 - The children of the damned

Pocket Chiller library #41 - Nightmare curse


Pocket Chiller library #44 - The unquiet grave

Pocket Chiller library #45 - Fury


Pocket Chiller library #46 - The mummies

Pocket Chiller library #47 - The cupboard

Pocket Chiller library #49 - The finger


Pocket Chiller library #50 - The snake woman

Pocket Chiller library #51 - Epitaph to a madman

Pocket Chiller library #53 - The Devil-Worshippers

Pocket Chiller library #54 - Shadow on the mind

Pocket Chiller library #56 - The rope


Pocket Chiller library #60 - The bat

Pocket Chiller library #61 - The skull

Pocket Chiller library #62 - Face in the fog
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #63 - The hangman
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #64 - The night of the cactus
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me


Pocket Chiller library #65 - Unseen master
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #66 - Dark vengeance
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #67 - Trip fantastic
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #68 - The spider
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #69 - Bornto be evil

Pocket Chiller library #71 - Return from the dead
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #72 - The Kolby curse
cover art looks like Rex 'Crowe Street Comp' Archer to me

Pocket Chiller library #74 - Fear of night
cover art looks like Mick Austin to me

Pocket Chiller library #76 - Tomb of the vampire

Pocket Chiller library #77 - Dead man's eyes

Pocket Chiller library #78 - Immortal armour