Yippie-Ki-Yay, Western Comic Collectors!
Rare, Newly-Found Wild West Comics up for Auction
Move over, Superman and Batman—there are some new heroes in town. Instead of capes, they wear cowboy hats. Instead of superpowers, they have horses and guns. They belong to the comic world’s Western genre, and they’re proof that there’s still gold in them thar…storage lockers.
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Their discovery reads like a treasure hunter’s fantasy. Recently, roughly 10,000 largely Western-themed collectibles were unearthed in a Canadian storage unit, purchased by a savvy collectibles dealer.
Click here to view the entire Quick Draw auction!
Throughout November, more than 600 of the most coveted items—dubbed the Quick Draw Collection—will be auctioned at ComicConnect.com, the world’s premier online comic marketplace and auctioneer.
“The Western comic genre flourished from the late 1940s through the 1950s,” explains Vincent Zurzolo, co-owner of ComicConnect. “They’re set in the Wild West, and filled with fearless cowboys, gunfighters, lawmen, and outlaws.”
Some of the best-known comic series feature Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Red Ryder, Gene Autry, Wild Bill Elliott, and the Lone Ranger—just a sampling of those featured in the auction.
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“We’ve witnessed genres like pre-code horror and romance make big jumps in value, and westerns are due for a similar correction,” predicts Zurzolo.
“The fact that these comics have such an interesting history only adds to their appeal.”
The collection was brought to light by Alex Archbold, a collectibles dealer in Edmonton, Canada, whose shop, Curiosity, Inc., is filled with eclectic vintage finds. He documents his treasure-hunting expeditions on his YouTube channel, which has 250,000 subscribers.
In this case, the elderly owner of the storage locker called him out of the blue, inviting him to visit. Turns out, the owner was an actual cowboy—a quick-draw artist who, years ago, appeared in movies and rodeos in the Calgary area.
Archbold made the three-hour drive, only to find the storage unit filled with wall-to-wall boxes. He opened a single box, saw some Western Comics—and immediately bought the whole lot, sight unseen.
Comics that feature popular characters’ first appearances are typically the most valuable. After renting a trailer and bringing the boxes home, he was pleased to unearth a Gene Autry #1, Roy Rogers #1 and the #1 Canadian version of Roy Rogers—plus vintage lobby cards promoting John Wayne’s 1930’s movies and other rarities.
“The collection harkens back to the Wild West—a time when things were settled in the street with an old-fashioned gun fight,” says Archbold.
“In that spirit, I took a wild chance—and it paid off.”
The Quick Draw Auction began November 2 and ends on November 17-18. Bidding on ComicConnect starts at $1. Get ready to hear some Yeehaws!
Click here to view the entire Quick Draw auction!
The auction end-dates are as follows:
The ComicConnect auction gallery is headquartered in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. Contact us at (888) 779-7377 or email support@comicconnect.com for assistance with your collection.