Terrific #43 - pay copy

A recent ebay sale was a pay copy of issue 43 of Terrific - I've featured pay copies of comics in the past because they're so rare. Anyway, one for you Marvel fans out there...

UPDATED: Asterix calendars

A well overdue update to my guide to collecting Asterix calendars - hope you managed to get one of these to hang on your wall, I didn't!

now updated with calendars for 2026 - highlighted thus

Asterix calendar 2026

Asterix calendar 2025

Asterix calendar 2024

Asterix calendar 2023

A chance find at a bookshop in December 2019 has meant that, happily, an Asterix calendar has been hanging on my wall this year. 

2022 appears looks set to be a bumper year for Asterix calendars with these two calendars currently available on Amazon...

Working out a gift list for last Christmas inspired me to see if a calendar has been produced for...and, good news, it has been...and it's been on my wall all year

 

the calendar previously on my wall...

...I then started wondering if there had been calendars for other years...so far I've found just this one

A quick bit of googling brings up plenty of 'kalendars' for the German market but few others - or maybe they've just dropped the word 'kalendar' from the title (so that it can be sold more widely).

Anyway if you know of any other Asterix calendars do let me know - thanks.

Asterix calendar 1991

Asterix calendar 1996

If you're interested in comic calendars then you can check out my previous posts on the subject...

1). Beano & Dandy calendars are here
2). Commando calendars are here
3). Judge Dredd calendars are here
4). Broons calendars are here, here and here
5). Oor Wullie is here
6). Dan Dare calendar is here
7). Miscellaneous calendars are here

8). Viz calendars are here

Get Along Gang - collected comics

One day there's a cover gallery to be done for Marvel UK's Get Along Gang comics. Today is not that day. There are 93 issues of the regular comic to collect and, the reason we're here today, at least 1 issue of "collected comics". Not sure which issues were collected or if there were further issues. Any assistance gratefully received.

The special must have quite a few pages - compared to the regular comics it looks pretty chunky. Perfect bound rather than stapled.

Lawless 2025 - the signatures

Here - for posterity - are the signatures that I got at Lawless 2025 convention. Hopefully you can read / understand them all...

...if not then here's my guide to artist signatures...

left hand page (from top to bottom) has...

John Wagner

Ben Willsher

Alan Davis

Johh Higgins

Brian Bolland

Dylan Teague

Cliny Langley

D'Israeli

Patrick Goddard

Simon Bisley

Sally Jane Hurst

Colin MacNeil

Ally Fell

Henry Flint

Ant Williams

Glenn Fabry

Dave Kendall

Ant Williams

Boo Cook

...and the right hand page...

Doug Braithwaite

Deborah Tate

Dan Cornwell

Robbie Morrisson

Hunt Emerson

David Roach

Steve MacManus

Ian Edgington

Steve Austin

Andy Ewington

Neil Roberts

Lee Carter

Cheeky weekly - the dummy issue

At the time of typing there's a rare opportunity here to acquire a rare copy of the dummy issue of Cheeky weekly. 

I've saved the images here for posterity.

Here's one version...

and here's another version...

As the seller notes...

This dummy copy of the first issue of Cheeky Weekly reveals whole page changes and the total redo of the 2 page chilling adventure story Fangs of Fear.

Jim Baikie - Orkney exhibition, part 4

For approximately the umpteenth time I'm indebted to Norman Boyd for his help with this blog. This time he was kind enough to send me some of his holiday photos from a recent trip to the Orkneys. 

Whilst there he was able to visit the exhibition all about the local artist that was on (from 03/05/25 - 21/09/25) at the Orkney museum in Kirkwall. Comics artist Jim Baikie was the focus of the exhibition. Norman took a lot of photos so I'll spread them over a number of posts, enjoy!   

Part 1 was here

Part 2 was here

Part 3 was here

UPDATED: Swift comic merchandise

For those who aren't aware Swift was a companion title to the original Eagle - it was a 'feeder' title if you will - and in fact it eventually merged with Eagle. Launched on 20th March 1954 it ran until 2nd March 1963

UPDATED TEXT IS IN RED...

more new finds c/o ace ebay seller philcomics - first up is this...

editorial letter from art editor Charles Pocklington

...presumed to be a promotional items for newsagents

and also this free gift from issue cover date 10/02/62 (volume 9, #6)

a couple of lovely new finds to record today (all care of ace ebay seller philcomics)

First is this free gift from 09/10/54 (volume 1, #30)

and secondly, this 'book of pets' given away with issues dated 30/06/56 (volume 3, #26)

Here's a recent bargain for someone on ebay (at £7.99) - an incomplete Swift jigsaw. In fact this is the 'companion' jigsaw to the very first Swift jigsaw I featured in this blog post. In lovely condition. 

and here's a new item...it's a Swift birthday postcard. I've also included the backs of the 2 examples of this postcard so that you can see that one was sent to a 13 year old and one to an 11 year old. I'd have thought the target age for Swift was younger than that but there you go.

All images taken from ace ebay seller The Lewes Bookshelf who are well worth following as they seem to turn up all sorts of interesting comic stuff. 

You can just see in the top left corner of this image some text which says "presented free with SWIFT 3 2 62" - so 3rd February 1962. 

Thanks to friend of the blog Adam Teitge I can now who this bus ticket used to advertise Swift - this was a new one on me, not seen this before.

I've included this image because it contains a picture of a Swift diary - I knew these existed but I've never seen one before

A close-up of the diary - no idea how many of these were produced, they're pretty hard to come by these days!

I've also looked at Swift picture books here

This was a recent spot on eBay - described by the seller as being a piece of promotional merchandise for a newsagent

This was a recent spot on eBay - from issue 31/10/59 (volume 6, issue #38) according to the seller, 16 pages (all blank) to be filled with images cut (!) from weekly issues of Swift

and here's a lovely cardboard boomerang featuring the character Smiley! From issue dated 20/09/58 (volume 5, number 38) 

I look at Swift spin-off annuals here

These are from friend of the blog Doug Brain...

Swift comic 25 February 1961 (volume 8, issue 8) - I like the look of this scrapbook and would love to get hold of a copy)

I looked at the Quester's book here

...and more about the 3rd book here

and there were some pin badges to be acquired too by the looks of it...

Swift paintbox! 

Previously seen images...

Swift club membership card...

...and here are the club details...

...and details of a particular exhibition

All images taken from this eBay listing. I'd heard of these but not seen them before - unfortunately, I can't even tell you how many 'issues' of the Swift birthday book there were. So I swiped these from the seller and if I ever find out any more I'll add it in...

The second Swift Birthday Book

the seller noted...

This is A RARE VINTAGE 1957 RELATED TO SWIFT YOUNG CHILDREN'S COMIC - THE SECOND SWIFT BIRTHDAY BOOK OF PUZZLES COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL ENVELOPE SENT TO RECIPIENT FROM BINN'S ROAD LIVERPOOL.

Apart from rusty staples in fabulous clean and unused condition for a 63 year old booklet as it has been kept in a drawer in it's original envelope since receiving on 09.07.1957.

Compalcomics (part illustrated lot 107 in their Summer 2013 sale (British comics section)) with birthday book 3 & 4 (plus other items) for £181 (incl. buyers premium)

and then (lot 101, part illustrated) in their Autumn 2012 auction (British section) this lot went for £150

And then I thought I'd stay on the Compal website and look at what other interesting Swift items they might ever have sold...From the auction in Summer 2012 (British section, lot 88) there were Girl / Swift / Robin Birthday and Membership Cards & Badges (early 1950s) Girl; 2 Birthday Cards Club Membership Card Badge and Compliments slip Swift; 6 Birthday Cards Club Membership Card Club Badge and six envelopes Robin: 4 Birthday Cards Birthday Club card Club Badge and Happy Birthday postcard Birthday cards and Club cards [vfn] (26) Winning bid incl. 10 Buyer's Premium: £143

Over on 'Dan Dare info' (here) I've spotted an extra Swift birthday card

Lot 101 in the Spring 2010 (British section) is described thus...Swift (1954-56) Vol 1: 1-41 Full year missing issues 11 15 22 and 26; Vol 2: 1-53 complete year and Vol 3: 1-18. With 28pg Swift Quester's Books 1 2 and 3. Vol 1 issues 1-29 front/back cover split [fr/gd] balance 79 issues [vg/fn-] (111) Winning bid incl. 10% Buyer's Premium: £121. The lot is unillustrated so I can't tell you what the Swift Quester books are, but they sound intriguing.

And a Tarna the jungle boy birthday card

There are some Swift comic free gifts shown here

Swift jigsaws

There were a LOT of Dan Dare / Eagle pieces of merchandise, especially jigsaws so I figured there must be some Swift jigsaws out there - here's the only one I've found so far...