Rare Comic Collection Under The Hammer

IMAGE: © D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd

A rare collection of a pre-World War II comic launched to run alongside The Beano and The Dandy is set to fetch thousands of pounds at auction, sellers said.

A bound collection of issues one to 24 of The Magic Comic is set to go under the hammer at Curr and Dewar Auctioneers in Dundee.

The comic was first published in 1939 - but was pulled by publishers DC Thomson after just 80 issues in 1941 thanks to paper rationing during World War II.

It is thought some of the characters in the comic were precursors to some that survive today - with one, Peter Piper, bearing a striking resemblance to Oor Wullie.

But while some of the characters may have stood the test of time parts of the comic would be unlikely to make it into print today as it would be deemed highly racist.

There are thought to be only between six and ten copies of the comic's rare first issue in existence.

In 2005 one copy of the first issue was sold for £1925, while a "very fine" copy was sold in 1997 for a whopping £2975.

Auctioneers believe the collection - thought to be the only of it's kind in the world - could fetch more than £2000.

Steven Dewar, of Curr and Dewar Auctioneers, said the books would go under the hammer at their Dundee sale room on Tuesday January 20.

He said: "It's a 1939 The Magic Comic, a bound collection of the first 24 issues.

"It only ran for 80 issues until January 1941 but due to paper rationing it was cut from production.

"Back in 2004 and 2005 issue number one of the comic was sold for £1300 and £1900 respectively, and issue two fetched £500.

"They are quite rare and valuable items - there are maybe only eight to 10 issue one in existence.

"Some of the characters are interesting - one is the spit of Oor Wullie and it may be that he was a precursor to him.

"They call him Peter Piper - everything about him is Oor Wullie.

"There's also a character called Sooty Snowball who's come over from Africa - some of it is quite racist but it's of the time really.

"This came out just after the Beano and the Dandy.

"The first one came out in July 1939.

"It was aimed at an age group slightly below it's sister comics but due to the rationing it just wasn't working and maybe some of the characters evolve into other

"It's all bound up - it's probably a one of a kind.

"I'm hoping for a couple of thousands pounds on it at the least - I've never found anything like this as a bound colletion.

"As it's been bound well the colours are still very bright - it's as if it was produced yesterday.

"The only question is whether it being bound like this reduces the value compared to the comic on its own.

"It's quite an exciting lot - we've already had collectors excited by it and I hope to have lots of interest.

"It's being sold by a lady who's dealing with her father's estate and she found this in the house.

"The woman brought it to an event we were doing in Broughty Ferry.

"I took it away and found out all this background and about it's potential rarity - it's very exciting."

Image: © D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd