The Brave and The Bold

Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. – Superman, What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way? 

In its near ninety-year history DC has given its audience plenty of dreams (as well as nightmares), creating some of the most iconic superheroes and villains of all time, many of whom still entertain us today; their output also displays an incredible variety from sci-fi to horror, romance to westerns.  It is this vast landscape of storytelling that the present collection encapsulates, often focusing on the niche titles as well as highlighting key figures such as Batman, Superman and Green Lantern. 

Peppered throughout are surprisingly complete and well-presented runs of lesser-known heroes and teams from the Silver Age who hold their own cult following such as The Atom, Metamorpho, Metal Men and Sea Devils.  Such series are rarely seen in the UK and indeed many were collected on buying trips to the USA resulting in the vast majority being US price variants and so that much more desirable with collectors. 

In addition, we also see an excellent selection of sci-fi and horror series which are growth areas in the comic collecting world as competition for the blue-chip names only increases.  Titles such as Mystery in Space (Adam Strange) and Challengers of the Unknown offer classic sci-fi art and storytelling while good and often complete runs of The Phantom Stranger, Secrets of the Haunted House appeal to a growing horror fanbase; a complete run of Swamp Thing may well satisfy collectors in both camps. 

Westerns have also seen a resurgence and we are pleased to offer a complete series of All-Star Western which includes the sought-after #10 featuring the first appearance of Jonah Hex, complimented by further runs of Jonah Hex and Weird Western Tales. 

One of the best groups of a major title in this collection is The Brave & The Bold with some attractive key issues including #25 first team appearance of the Suicide Squad and #54 with that of the Teen Titans.  Team appearances are another theme with a full run of Doom Patrol accompanied in the same lot by their appearances in the precursor series My Greatest Adventure. 

While modern comics don’t rival the Silver Age in value they are a good way to enter the collecting world and this particular collection offers ample opportunity with often pristine and complete runs of major modern series from the 1980s to near present day as well as myriad miniseries, single issues and graphic novels. 

A major plus point of this collection is that while none are graded by the likes of CGC almost all are bagged and boarded and so have been preserved in the exact condition in which they were purchased and are ready for the grading process – many of those included will surely rise in value once this work is done, meaning this is a collection worth investing in for collectors with an eye to future returns. 

Assembling such an extensive and varied collection was a labour of love and there will surely be something for every DC comic collector who shares the passion (or obsession…), the catalogue can be found here and we look forward to welcoming bidders for the live and online sale 1pm, Tuesday 4 July. 

For a complimentary, no-obligation valuation, visit our Glasgow Galleries or contact a specialist on 0141 810 2880 or auction@mctears.co.uk.