Action comic - the 'grail' issue

What happened to the banned issue of Action that was for sale recently?

Action - the banned issue - for sale (yet) again

Previously (here) I reported on the sale in October 2016 of the final issue of Action comic (dated 23rd October 1976). That was sold for £4110.75 (here)

This beat the hammer price of the previous copy (sold in May 2016) for £2555 here

Then another copy turned up, it was originally listed at £2,500...here but failed to sell - on 21st January 2017 for (bids from) £2,500;

It was then listed again ending 27th Feb 2017 for the reduced price of (bids from) £2,250 here

But again failed to sell.

It was then listed yet again, for bids starting from "just" £2,250 here but again failed to sell.

It was then listed again (bidding ending 16th April) - bids were again from £2,250 here and again it failed to sell.

Well now it's been listed AGAIN (ending 8th May 2017) but this time with a price reduction (of £250) so head over here and see if you have £2,000 burning a hole in your pocket.

Will it be a case of 5th time lucky? Watch this space.



UPDATE - the answer is no, it won't be 5th time lucky as it again failed to sell. Further price reductions to come before someone bids on it? We'll keep an eye on this one for you.


Note, this issue was actually just withdrawn from sale it wasn't banned.
Note also, those ebay links might only last 3 months so might not lead you anywhere - I've left them in for completeness.

Psst, wanna buy some Charley's War art?

It's over a decade since Comic Book Postal Auctions were able to offer us an opportunity to acquire some pages of Joe Colquhoun's stunning Charley's War art, but that opportunity has final arrived.

The latest auction is now open, you can bid here and you can also browse the catalogue here. As ever there are many gems to choose from but for me the standout items are lots 137 (below) and 136 (far below).

Lot 136 has an opening bid of £230 and an estimate of £250-300; and lot 138 has an opening bid of £600 and an estimate of £650-750. Based on prices realised by COMPAL a decade ago, I'd suggest these estimate are going to woefully understated given a top price of £909 (including 10% buyers premium) was paid for a single page in the Spring 2006 sale.

The other star lot for many collectors is likely to be lot 131 - a complete set of the Scottish editions of Vulcan - this is estimated at £400-500.

Again, I'd expect to see this go for big money - especially when you consider that COMPAL sold a complete set of the English series (so 28 comics) for £820 in their last auction - that's nearly £30 an issue!

There are also some extremely early copies of Beano and Dandy amongst the other lots.

Judge Dredd TV show is coming (hopefully!)

For anyone who missed the news yesterday (no, not the stuff with Trump & Comey), I mean the news about a Judge Dredd / Mega City One TV series being in development then look no further than here

Or watch it here on that youtube. Writers are on board but beyond that much work remains to be done to get the show off the ground, as Entertainment Weekly says "...the potential show is set in a future where the East Coast of the U.S. has become a crowded and crime-ridden megalopolis. The plan is to make the series an ensemble drama about a team of Judges — futuristic cops invested with the power to be judge, jury, and executioner — as they deal with the challenges the future-shocked 22nd century throws at them.
The character of Dredd — who is known for his incorruptibility, harsh attitude towards law-breaking “perps,” and upper face-concealing helmet — was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra in 1977 and first appeared in the British science fiction anthology comic 2000 AD, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Judge Dredd has twice been adapted for the big screen. Sylvester Stallone played the titular character in 1995’s Judge Dredd, while Karl Urban portrayed the role in 2012’s Dredd. Although the latter was a box office disappointment, the Alex Garland-scripted film has garnered a substantial cult following of fans thanks in large part to its faithful representation of the original material. While the show is still in the early stages of development, and no talent or network affiliation has yet been announced, Wednesday’s news will be music to the ears of many who were left wanting more onscreen Dredd after the release of the 2012 film".

The story was also picked up by the BBC here and here. All sounds very exciting, if some way awat.

Enid Blyton's adventure magazine cover gallery (2)

Issue 5-8 of this title - which itself will subtly change its title when we arrive at issue 8 (the halfway point in the life of this title)

issue 5 adapted by Gail Renard and Les Lilley; illustrated by Barrie Mitchell

issue 6 adapted by Gail Renard and Les Lilley; illustrated by John Ridgway

issue 7 adapted by Gail Renard and Les Lilley; illustrated by Bert Hill

issue 8 adapted by Gail Renard and Les Lilley; illustrated by Phil Gascoine

Lost Reginald Heade comic strip discovered? Can you help?

Telos (here) recently published the fantastic 'The art of Reginald Heade' volume, which while, naturally, focusing on Heade's paperback covers also delves a little into his rarely seen comic strip artwork. There's a review of the book here (written by me it has to be said).

Stephen Walker also published a sort of 'companion' article on Down the Tubes (here) digging a little more deeply into the comic artwork that Heade had produced. Stephen's sources were from well-respected publications, but in most cases more research was required to define precise start date, end date & even titles.

As Stephen notes in the article "...Alan Clark's Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors (British Library, 1998) noted Heade's work appeared in the 1940s and early 1950 in Knockout and Sun weeklies". He is able to identify strips that appeared in Knockout but as he says later in the article "...I have been unable to find any evidence of Heade having contributed to Sun, the other comic mentioned by Clark".

However, the Illustrated Comic Journal (#30, Winter 1995)

contains a long article by David Ashford on the many distinguished artists who have drawn Robin Hood over the years. He includes in his selection this excerpt from Sun comic dated 6th November 1956, drawn, he says, by Reginald Heade.

So the challenge is - do you have any copies of Sun magazine from that time that could be passed to Stephen for review to see if he can confirm that this is the missing Robin Hood strip he has been searching for for many years?

Leave a comment here or over on the Facebook page.

Enid Blyton's adventure magazine cover gallery (1)

From 1985 we have some early work by a variety of British creators on this London Editions title. 27-29 page adaptation of a Famous 5 story per issue.

Issue 1 adapted by Gail Bernard & Les Lilley; illustrated by John Ridgway

Issue 2 adapted by Gail Bernard & Les Lilley; illustrated by Bert Hill [who was he? Not come across the name before]

Issue 3 adapted by Gail Bernard & Les Lilley; illustrated by Phil Gascoine

Issue 3 adapted by Gail Bernard & Les Lilley; illustrated by Mike Dorey

Earthworm Jim comic

ok, so I'm just trying to establish if there were any subsequent issue of Earthworm Jim comic? This I issue 1 and is dated October 1996. Do you remember this? Are there other issue to collect? Who knows? Leave a comment if you can help.

if you want to get hold of your own copy, there are plenty for sale on ebay here

The Dreamstone comic

London Editions magazine from 1991, The Dreamstone, put together (issue 1 at least) by own very own Glenn B Fleming & Brian M. Clarke. I don't have a full set sadly and think this title only ran to 6 issues. Interior art by Tim Perkins in issue 2+4. Issue 1 is just screen-grabs for the titular cartoon series.

Comic busts

This caught my eye the other day...

For those that are interested in acquiring a bust of Modesty Blaise, look no further than here

It then got me thinking about which other comic heroes had been immortalised in a bust (as distinct from, say, a sculpture), two came to mind immediately...

First up is John Fowler's bust of Dan Dare...the bronze version was initially situated at the entrance to a shopping arcade in Southport (but was subsequently moved to protect it). Painted versions were also available - limited edition of 30 I think.

Second (and final one for me) was this bust of the detective Sexton Blake - who started out as a star of text stories but finished up having his adventures illustrated in comics

Who have I missed though? Let me know.

Rok of the Reds issue 6 - coming very soon

Rok of the Reds issue 6 is now available for pre-order from Dan Cornwell (find him on facebook here). This is the final issue of this great series, Dan Cornwell, Alan Grant & John Wagner are attending the Enniskillen comic festival (more details here) this weekend and it sounds like the first copies will be available there. The rest of us will have to wait until next week to get the mailed out to us :(

Don't forget you can also get yourself a Radford Reds t-shirt...

You can also still buy prints from Dan...

And if you are quick there's still time to bid on Dan's rejected (by himself) cover for issue 6, it can be found here

More details about published BHP comic can be found here

My review of issue 4 of Rok can be found here

My review of issue 3 of Rok can be found here

My review of issue 2 of Rok can be found here

My review of issue 1 of Rok can be found here

Next stop for Dan is drawing Judge Dredd, can't wait for that...

The "banned" issue of Action - for sale again - now with a price reduction

What happened to the banned issue of Action that was for sale recently?

Action - the banned issue - for sale (yet) again

Previously (here) I reported on the sale in October 2016 of the final issue of Action comic (dated 23rd October 1976). That was sold for £4110.75 (here)

This beat the hammer price of the previous copy (sold in May 2016) for £2555 here

Then another copy turned up, it was originally listed at £2,500...here but failed to sell - on 21st January 2017 for (bids from) £2,500;

It was then listed again ending 27th Feb 2017 for the reduced price of (bids from) £2,250 here

But again failed to sell.

It was then listed yet again, for bids starting from "just" £2,250 here but again failed to sell.

It was then listed again (bidding ending 16th April) - bids were again from £2,250 here and again it failed to sell.

Well now it's been listed AGAIN (ending 8th May 2017) but this time with a price reduction (of £250) so head over here and see if you have £2,000 burning a hole in your pocket.

Will it be a case of 5th time lucky? Watch this space.

Note, this issue was actually just withdrawn from sale it wasn't banned.
Note also, those ebay links might only last 3 months so might not lead you anywhere - I've left them in for completeness.

Eagle Times - new issue out now

A quick (albeit belated) shout out for the current issue of Eagle Times, the quarterly journal of the Eagle Society. The latest issue is now available.
More details are available here

Franke Bellamy front cover...

'The Shepherd King': part 1 of a three-part examination of Clifford Makins' and Frank Bellamy's strip about the biblical King David, comparing the strip with biblical accounts of his life. The strip began on Eagle's back page in September 1958.

'Alan Stranks under closer investigation': some other facets of the rare life of the writer who created PC49 for radio, then brought him to Eagle, and wrote the 'Dan Dare' adventure 'Prisoners of Space' for Eagle in 1954

'Blunderbirds are Go!': continuing a look at Eagle strips of the 1960s with this send-up, drawn by Brian Lewis, of the TV series Thunderbirds

The Original ‘Rider of the Range’: an examination of the life of Cal McCord, who starred in the first three Riders of the Range radio serials

Dan Dare: The 2000AD Years, Volume 2: a review of the second volume of reprints of 'Dan Dare' from 2000AD comic 

'He Tried to Stop You Reading Eagle', part 2: an adjunct to the series, 'They Helped to Bring You Eagle', this continues the story of Leonard Matthews, General Managing Editor of Fleetway 

'Martin Aitchison (1919-2016)': a personal recollection the artist Martin Aitchison, particularly the Eagle years, written by Nick, his only son; illustrated with some of Martin's non-Eagle work 

'In and Out of the Eagle': a further instalment in the series presenting collections of Eagle-related snippets

'Harris Tweed, Eagle and 1950s Coffee Culture': an exploit of Extra Special Agent Harris Tweed in  an espresso bar inspires a look at this lost social scene of the1950s  

'Space Fiction Movies in Eagle's Times', part 1:  a look at films about space exploration and alien visitations to the earth, the bread-and-butter of the Eagle's Dan Dare's adventures between 1950 and 1969. This part covers 1950-1953, from Rocketship X-M to War of the Worlds

'Hulton's Boys & Girls Exhibition, 1958': a look at the programme of the third Hulton's Boys and Girls Exhibition, held at London's Olympia in 1958.  

'Yet More Eagle Miscellany' - a further collection of notes on Eagle history

'In Defence of Comics 1953' - reviewing an article that appeared in the Daily Express in 1953 defending comics as a route to the love of reading. The original article was authored by Lady Pakenham who did much to promote literacy in the young

'They Helped to Bring You Eagle: No 3 Brian Blake' - the resident artist and art restoration specialist who worked on Eagle in the 1960s

Membership of THE EAGLE SOCIETY is via Annual Subscription to EAGLE TIMES magazine, which is published four times annually.

The Subscription rate for 2017 is:

UK £27
Overseas £38
(in £s Sterling, please)

Postal applications to:

Keith Howard
25A Station Road
Harrow Middlesex
HA1 2UA
United Kingdom

If you wish to pay by Paypal (from your Paypal account to the eagle-times hotmail address given below) we request an additional payment of £1.50

Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

Inking Women @ the Cartoon Museum

Here are some photos from the opening night of the 'Inking Women' exhibition at the Cartoon Museum.

More details from the Museum website can be found here

View from the first floor gallery looking down onto some of the many attendees, it was rammed! Felt like there were lots more people there than there were for the opening of the 2000ad exhibition

Sandi Toksvig officially opening the exhibition

Some Laura Howell artwork (more details of Laura's artwork here)

Just some of the women cartoonists highlighted by the exhibition

Posy Simmonds (wearing hat) chats to friends

 Very reasonably priced (£2.95) guide to the exhibition - full review coming soon!

Bank holiday reading sorted - part 3

And last but not least I present a rather battered copy (by which I mean the cover isn't attached to the rest of the summer special any more) of the 2nd (of) 8 Frankie Stein summer specials - this is 1976 edition.
Cover is by Robert 'Bob' Nixon but (and with apologies to him) the real reason I got it was for the Ken Reid strips inside.

You get 7 Ken Reid illustrated strips (most single page; some double page and one in colour (the back page)), here's a few examples to wet your appetite for all things Ken Reid...

Plus an adventure strip called Crabbe's Crusaders which was new to me - anyone able to enlighten me?

Bank holiday reading sorted - part 2

Oh, I got more than just those 4 comics shown yesterday, I also got...

New issue of Tales from the Tardis is now out, I find this impossible to get anywhere apart from WH Smith's, and I don't live near any branches of WH Smith's, so I was delighted that the Forbidden Planet megastore seemed to have a few copies in early....

Reading Asterix and Tintin books from the library was one of my earliest comics reading experiences, I've slowly (by which I mean acquiring copies only when I seem them for sale, I'm not trawling the net for copies - where would the fun be in that?) been collecting  this series by Rene Goscinny for a while now. The books have been published in English before but I'm focussing on this set by Phaidon. There are hardback and softback versions available. There are 5 volumes in all - Nicholas; Nicholas again; Nicholas on holiday; Nicholas and the gang; Nicholas in trouble.

And just popped through the letterbox today - review in full coming soon, in the meantime just enjoy that Ian Kennedy cover