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Tuesday Runaround – Helping Gene, Remembering Carl, Supporting Charity

eBayWatch: There's a Gene Colan appeal auction to help pay the man's heathcare costs. Pop by see what you can afford.

RoboWatch: Carl Macek, the man behind the success of Robotech in the nineteen eighties passed away of a heart attack last weekend. Anime News Network and Cartoon Brew remember Carl.

KickWatch: Download a podcast on Kick-Ass, help autism charities. One click away.

BloomWatch: Limited signed editions of Bloom County available for the non-convention goer...

WongaWatch: The Guardian looks at the price of comics in your attic -and how a whistle can add thousands to the price of one.

During the war, the only American comics that made it to the UK were brought by US sailors docking at Southampton, who would swap them for sweets and cigarettes. Sadly, that means the chances of finding a comic in your attic to rival the 1938 issue of Action Comics No 1 (the first Superman cartoon), which sold recently for a record-breaking $1.5m, is remote. Nonetheless, says comic expert and auctioneer Malcolm Phillips: "Any British comics from the war years are very collectable. There would be a lot of propaganda in them aimed at children, which was very interesting. You'd get a picture of Hitler hanging by a rope, dead."

Phillips is well placed to judge. In 2004, he sold a copy of the first Dandy from 1937 for £20,350. "What was rare about it was it came with its original free gift – a whistle," says Phillips.

A Beano from the early 40s could go for up to £40, and special issues can be double or treble that. In a pile of 50s comics, Malcolm always looks for issue 452 – the comic in which Dennis the Menace makes his first appearance.

It isn't just comics either. Phillips recently auctioned an almost complete year of Melody Makers from 1963, which includes its first Beatles cover."We are inundated with people wanting to sell stuff, but we turn a lot of it away," he says. Most comics from the 70s onwards, in good condition, are still only worth a few pounds.

FranchiseWatch: Will Billy Zane be in Batman or Superman? Mr Freeze or Lex Luthor?

FranchiseWatch2: Look for Two-Face to be prominent in the new Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 game.

FranchiseWatch3: Stan Lee appears in Thor as a soldier trying to drive Thor's hammer away.

TrademarkWatch: Indie film starring Samuel Jackson will, sadly, no longer be called Fury, renamed Deathgames. You can probably guess why.

BondWatch: Issues over MGM Studio's performance in the current economny has doomed the next Bond movie. All Bond movie projects are now on hold – or cancelled. Looks like the Daniel Craig Is Not Bond haterz will be rejoicing.

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