Brits urged to hunt for old comic books as collection sells for £100,000 – with single magazine going for £15,000

BRITS are being urged to hunt for old comic books after a collection of rare Japanese manga magazines sold for a whopping £100,000 sum. Thomas Carter, of Carter Rare Books in Glasgow, said he was inundated with offers from wealthy British and American collectors within minutes of launching the catalogue. This One Piece Manga magazine sold as part of the collection for £8,500 Credit: BNPS Fans are being urged to check their homes to see if they have rare comics as they could be worth a fortune Credit: BNPS The entire collection of 30 magazines sold within an hour for more than £100,000. One rare magazine from 1984, featuring the first appearance of Dragon Ball, had a price tag of £15,000. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Manga is the name for Japanese comics published between 1968 and 2019, which were printed on cheap telephone directory paper as they tended to be quickly disposed of. They helped to bring Japanese comic book culture to the West by introducing characters including Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Akira, One Piece, Naruto and Berserk. Thomas believes they are the next big thing after the recent success of Pokemon cards, which have sold for millions of pounds. He said wealthy collectors see rare first appearance Japanese comics as an “untapped market” and are buying them up as an investment. They have also become more popular after famous influencers including the American personality Logan Paul started bidding on them. Mr Carter urged manga fans to search their homes for landmark old editions as they could be worth thousands of pounds. Most read in Money This Dragon Ball comic book was part of the collection and sold for a whopping £15,000 Credit: BNPS The rare Sailor Moon comic that sold for £6,500 Credit: BNPS He said: “It’s a bizarre area of collecting but it has really exploded in the last year. “We sold the catalogue on behalf of a long-term American client but we hadn’t appreciated quite the demand for them. “There were four people waiting to buy the full catalogue the moment it launched. “We have seen the success of Pokemon cards, VHS and video game cartridges, and manga is the next untapped market. “They are getting the comics graded to increase their value, like you would with famous Western comics like Spiderman. “The Western market is reevaluating the worth of Japanese comics which feature important first appearances. “It is very important that people realise that things in their wardrobe could be worth a lot of money, so please don’t throw them away if you are having a clear out or moving house.” It comes after a Pokemon card of Pickachu owned by Logan Paul sold for a record £12m ($16.5m) in New Jersey, US, in February. Comment now