Amsterdam, XX January 2020 – The online platform for special objects Catawiki has claimed the leading title as the largest and strongest online platform for buying and selling comics in Europe - fetching a whopping 9 million in winning bids in the category of comics alone in 2019. More than 75,000 lots were auctioned in 2019 on the platform last year, and a single lot often contains several comics. The comic book market is growing rapidly, and Catawiki sees a rise in the demand for US Comics, Italian fumetti, and erotic comics. Not only for collecting purposes, but also in a matter of asset and investment. Trends in comic collection Patrick Vranken, comics expert at Catawiki: “Last year has showed us that the collection of comics is more than just a passion now. All vintage Golden Age (1938-1955) and Silver Age (1956-1970) comics that are in excellent condition, be it in any language, are fast gaining value. Some collectors had clearly realised the worth of comics long back and this can be observed in the ways in which some of the comics have been carefully preserved over decades. Others are realising the same now and we hope to keep this trend going over the years to come.” Experts at Catawiki have been observing the growing popularity of the perception of rare comics as assets and investments. Catawiki specialises in dedicated weekly auctions for comics. Catawiki’s offering for comics is expanding in France and Italy after they discovered the benefits of the platform about two years ago. The special weekly auctions now include French comics with top lots by Tardi, Moebius, Franquin and others, all curated by experts. The weekly themed auctions such as Hergé/Tintin – offered directly from the artist's archives are particularly successful, and there is a rapid rise in the demand for US Comics, Italian fumetti, and erotic comics. Top lots auctioned in 2019 Catawiki repeatedly made headlines in 2019, thanks to the sale of rare comics that fetched record amounts in bids. The top lots auctioned in 2019 were:
Featured in the list of the ‘Top 3 Most Wanted Comics in the World’ – ‘Amazing Fantasy #15’ is one the world’s most wanted comics. This was the very first comic to contain the full appearance of Spider-Man. The comic was sold on Catawiki for 10,000 Euros.
A rare copy of the first edition of one of the most iconic scripts of Suske and Wiske – ‘Op het Eiland Amoras’ (1947) was sold for a record amount of 12,200 Euros.
The year ended with an original 1930 first edition of ‘Tintin au Pays des Soviets’, which was sold for a record amount of €50,000 in November. The comic belonged to the first 500 copies ever printed and traces back to the year 1930. What made this edition even more unique is that it was numbered and signed by Hergé (signing as "Tintin") and his wife (signing as "Milou"). To celebrate this breakthrough, Catawiki is kicking off the Year of Comics in France (BD2020) at the Festival d’Angoulème, with a selection of exclusive original comic art. Catawiki can be found in the Espace Para BD at Festival d’ Angoulème from 31st of January - 1st of February, 2020. |
