BRITISH FREE GIFTS

Unlike American comics, British comics often came with a free gift. For the most part these were booklets of toys made of card to assemble and novelties. In later years these gifts became more extravagant, often packets of sweets, and would be taped to the cover.

If the tape has been left on the cover, it can very often be yellowed and stained. Sometimes the removing of the gift has resulted in a hole in the cover or a substantial patch of cover art torn away. These are quite serious defects and should be noted. Hasty gift removal may result in downgrading by at least two grades.

It must also be said, however, that collecting British comics free gifts is a hobby in itself. These were designed to be used and thrown away so most have not survived. An unused free gift, particularly an early or very popular one, can add a huge amount to the value of the comic.

Throughout the Guide, there are hundreds of pictures of free gifts, many that are seldom seen and very hard to come by.