Original comic art from the 1980s!

In this week's eBay auction I'm offering two items of my original artwork from the early days of my career. The first one is a really early strip; the second episode of Snailman, a character I created for Marvel UK's Spider-Man comic in 1985. Snailman was the first ongoing character I created for a mainstream comic. I'm holding onto the first episode for sentimental reasons so this is the earliest one you'll be able to buy. Bidding ends on Monday 7th April.

Here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205388955922?itmmeta=01JQXQQ7R2PWSQ7D5C5CX7W4FX&hash=item2fd222c112:g:dhcAAOSwAA9n6ogg

The other page is a unique Pete and his Pimple story I did for Oink! No.52 back in 1988. Know Your Spot is a special feature I did that only appeared in that issue. "A helpful guide to identifying your acne affliction"! Impress your house guests by having this mounted on your wall! Bidding ends on Sunday 6th April.

Here's the link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205391170004?itmmeta=01JQXQQ7R24FPSM6YFVDCJ0A0N&hash=item2fd24489d4:g:iD0AAOSwvzln7A46

And for any Thunderbirds fans, I'm also selling this Thunderbirds Sticker Book from the 1960s... Bidding ends on Sunday 6th April.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205391220320?itmmeta=01JQXQQ7R2J7GXQB7GCPK7ZX67&hash=item2fd2454e60:g:V8oAAOSwKBFn7Bko

All bids appreciated as always. Good luck!

Original artwork up for sale!

I've just put more of my original art pages up for auction if anyone wants ro take a look. Two Tom Thug pages from Buster (1992 and 1996), a Snail-Man strip from Spider-Man (1985) and a Daft Dimension from Doctor Who Magazine (2023). Bidding ends on Sunday 5th January.
Here's the link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47

 

 

 

 

 

 

More ORIGINAL COMIC ART for sale this week

I've listed six items of my original comic artwork on eBay and the auction runs until Sunday 17th March. 

All of these pages were produced for comics ranging from 1985 to more recent times. In chronological order they are...

SNAIL MAN from Marvel UK's Spider-Man comic No.645 (1985). One of my earliest professional comic strips...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204687967571

 

MACHO MAN from Marvel UK's Secret Wars comic (1986). A character that only appeared ocassionally. I only did 11 episodes and this is episode three. Bid on this rarity at this link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204688163723

 

Even rarer is DICE MANIC from IPC's OINK! comic (1987). A very short lived character I created who only appeared twice. This is his second and last appearance and the only one in colour. The plastic overlay with the dialogue balloons is also included:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204687984181

 

A TOM THUG page I did for the April Fool issue of Buster in 1992. An unusual 'meta' episode:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204687971761

 

A DAFT DIMENSION strip. This one from Doctor Who Magazine No.589 featuring the First Doctor and Susan (2023)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204687974344

Another DAFT DIMENSION strip from Doctor Who Magazine No.599 featuring various Doctor Who 'monsters' (2024)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204687977885

All bids very much appreciated! Good luck!

 

 

 

 

More 1980s comic artwork up for sale

I'm selling a few more pages of my original comic art from the 1980s and early 1990s. This week there's the Pete's Pimple page from the Oink! Computer Special (1987), two very early strips of mine from Marvel UK's Spider-Man Comic (1985) and a Tom Thug page from Buster (1991).

You'll find the listings at the following link. Good luck with your bids!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47 

Auctions end on Sunday 25th February.

 

 

Original CHRISTMAS comic art and MORE in this week's auction!

 This week's auction of my original comic art includes Christmas strips, a Viz page, a Robo-Capers strip, a Snail-Man strip and an action illustration. Here we go... click on each link to see the description and more photos of each item...

My original art for the Christmas with Tom Thug page from Buster (1991)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555767550?hash=item2fa0794efe:g:LPAAAOSwp5llY3v3

 

The art for the festive Pete and His Pimple page from the first Christmas issue of Oink! (1986)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555824659?hash=item2fa07a2e13:g:Xt8AAOSwWallY4mL

 

The original art for the Christmas Vampire Brats page from Buster (1990)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555776415?hash=item2fa079719f:g:eNgAAOSwAUFlY36N

A page of original art from Viz No.66 (1994) featuring my one off creation Streetcorner Sid "Three Lighters For A Quid"... (Mature readers only.)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555784945?hash=item2fa07992f1:g:VAsAAOSwZo9lY4BL

 

One of my earliest strips, original art of Snail-Man from Marvel UK's Spider-Man Comic (1985)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555790808?hash=item2fa079a9d8:g:ZrsAAOSwTnplY4IQ

 

One of the remaining few Robo-Capers that I have left to sell. This page is from Marvel UK's Transformers (1987)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555886736?hash=item2fa07b2090:g:dSUAAOSwxyBlY5a4

 

Original artwork for something different. A James Bond style action scene created as a colouring spread for Egmont's Know How! magazine in 2003...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204555816505?hash=item2fa07a0e39:g:V18AAOSwQjhlY4fH

 

Bidding on these pages ends on Sunday 3rd December! Best of luck!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47

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MAY DAY SALE!

I've put some of my original art up as Buy It Now items today for a Mayday Sale! So if you missed out on the recent auctions, now's your chance to snap up one or two! Thanks in advance!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47

ROBO-CAPERS (1987)

 

Another ROBO-CAPERS (1987)

 

 

SNAIL-MAN (1985) Auction or Buy It Now on this one.

 

 Prices include postage.

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More art and comics up for sale

I have two more pieces of my original artwork up for auction at the moment. There's one of my favourite Snailman strips from Marvel UK's Spider-Man comic from 1985...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204299650730?hash=item2f913546aa:g:nfEAAOSwX-lkMtL6

...and a Robo-Capers strip from Marvel UK's Transfomers from 1987...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204299648968?hash=item2f91353fc8:g:spkAAOSwWbVkMtI9

...and if you collect old Marvel comics there are two key issues up for sale too. The first appearance of Giant-Man from Tales to Astonish No.49 from 1963...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204299609893?hash=item2f9134a725:g:U58AAOSw64pkMr3k

...and Jim Starlin's first Warlock issue of Strange Tales, No.178 (1975)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204299623969?hash=item2f9134de21:g:RHcAAOSwIyJkMsUH

Auctions end this coming Sunday, 16th April. Good luck and thanks for your bids!

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Original art from VIZ, OINK!, BUSTER, and MARVEL UK and more up for sale!

 I've listed more items for sale on my eBay page. This time there are original pages of mine from Viz and other titles....

An original Suicidal Syd page from Viz that I drew back in 2004. (Adults only.)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204249317826

 

One of my earliest professional strips, Snail-Man from Marvel UK's Spider-Man Comic (1985)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204249336044 

 

 

Another very early strip of mine, and I think my first Christmas strip, a Robo-Capers from Marvel UK's Transformers (1985)... 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204249327417

 

A Tom Thug page from Buster comic (1990)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204248774118

 

A Pete and his Pimple page from Oink! (1988)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204249322928 

 

and a brand new full colour Brickman sketch plus the 2005 Brickman Begins book...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204249467504

The auctions for the above items run until next Sunday (25th February). 

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The other items I listed last week are still for sale too, with the following ending this coming Wednesday (22nd February)...

Brickman and Captain America artwork from Jack Kirby Quarterly (1997)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204245177839

 

Combat Colin from Transformers (1989)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204245170657 

 

A Daft Dimension strip from Doctor Who Magazine (2017)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204245166848 

 

Another early work of mine, Captain Wally from Marvel UK's Spider-Man comic (1985)...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204245161376 

 

Good luck with your bids!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=203554298786&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562&_ssn=graphite47

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Captain Wally and Snail-Man (Marvel UK, 1985)

Back in 1985 sales of the British Spider-Man weekly were in need of a boost. The solution, Marvel UK decided, was to pitch it at a younger readership as sales of other comics were strong in that area.

The result was that with issue 634, dated 4th May 1985, the comic changed its title to The Spider-Man Comic, a 32 page weekly with half its pages in full colour, featuring reprints of Spider-Man stories from Spidey Super Stories, an early-learner comic that Marvel US had been publishing. Other reprints included Fraggle Rock and Willy the Wizard (which had been called Wally the Wizard in the USA, but Marvel UK changed it to 'Willy' avoid unexpected laughter. Erm... right.) Reprints of The Dukes of Hazard from TV Comic also started running a few weeks later.

The editor was Sheila Cranna, whom I'd worked for on my very first regular strip, Robo-Capers, for Transformers. Sheila asked me to come up with some ideas for the comic's revamp and I submitted two superhero-spoof characters, Captain Wally and Snail-Man. Happily Sheila liked both and I was commissioned to produce a full page Captain Wally every week along with a half page Snail-Man.

As you can see, both characters were set in a very English suburban environment. This formula had worked well for children's comics for years, usually with Dennis the Menace style strips, so I thought it'd make superheroes look even more ludicrous than they are by placing them in that setting. Adding to that, neither characters had any independence in their lives. Wally lived with his parents whilst Snail-Man lived with his brutally domineering Aunt Maim, thus further emasculating the concept of the strong super-hero.

Sheila Cranna was a pleasure to work for and I thoroughly enjoyed producing these strips every week. I was still fairly new to the business and certainly learning the ropes (some of the artwork here is a considerably rough and wonky) but I was very pleased to be working on a comic that I used to buy as a kid. (Even though it had changed considerably they retained the numbering so it was still the same comic that had launched as Spider-Man Comics Weekly in 1973.)

During its run Captain Wally introduced Macho-Man, who I'd later revamp a bit for his own series in Marvel UK's Secret Wars comic. Here's his first appearance from The Spider-Man Comic No.649...

For issue 650 I wanted to do something a bit different and, somehow, mention the comic's impressive long run. Sheila was happy to allow me two pages that week and I had Captain Wally and Snail-Man having a Marvel team-up...

Sadly, all things come to an end, some earlier than expected. With issue 651 the comic was tweaked again, becoming Spidey Comic. Jenny O'Connor became the editor and was instructed to make cuts in the budget, and Captain Wally and Snail-Man made their final appearances in issue 653. This was quite a blow at the time as it was my first experience of losing work. (Fortunately things soon picked up thanks to other Marvel UK strips and IPC's Oink!)

Although the strips only ran for 20 weeks they were very important to me as they were amongst my first regular professionally-published strips and helped me gain more confidence in my work. Sheila Cranna pretty much allowed me to do what I wanted with the pages, and as what Marvel UK were looking for were traditional UK kids strips with a daft edge I was more than happy to oblige.

Marvel still own the rights to these strips so, who knows, maybe Captain Wally and Snail-Man will turn up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe one day? Hey, if Howard the Duck could make a cameo, why not? I can but dream...

I'll be showing more strips from my 37 years in comics soon!

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