Hardcover edition of Footrot Flats comic strip to sell for more than $1000

It was a fixture in the daily papers in the 1980s and 1990s, spawning a movie, a musical and a theme park. Now a collection of comic strips about a Kiwi farmer and his border collie is set to provide a big cash bonus for its owner.

At the height of its popularity it spawned a feature-length movie, a theme park and a musical and now this beloved comic strip could pocket fans a nice cash bonus.

A hardcover edition of Murray Ball’s famous comic strip, Footrot Flats, is being listed for more than $1000 online, even surprising some local comic book experts.

The cartoon strip – which appeared in The Sunday Mail, The Courier-Mail and other daily newspapers throughout Queensland in the 1980s and 1990s – centred around a border collie named ‘Dog’, his owner Wal Footrot and their antics on a farm near the fictional New Zealand town of Raupo.

Originally published in 2007 and reprinted twice in 2008, the 500 page ‘Footrot Flats – The Dog Strips: The Ultimate Collector’s edition’ is now being sold on Amazon for $US1116.80 ($A1,556.48) and its subsidiary, AbeBooks, for $A1162.53. Picture: Supplied

The characters endeared themselves to millions after the comic was published in more than 200 daily newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and some European countries from 1976 to 1994, though unpublished panels continued to appear until 2000.

Originally published in 2007 and reprinted twice in 2008, the 500 page ‘Footrot Flats – The Dog Strips: The Ultimate Collector’s edition’ is now being sold on Amazon for $US1116.80 ($A1556.48).

The cheapest second hand copy available on eBay Australia is listed for $400 with a second one priced at $600.

The collector’s edition - which was only printed 15,000 times - includes 1500 cartoon strips selected by author and illustrator Murray Ball, who passed away in 2017 at 78 following a battle with dementia.

Limited copies of the book were also sold in some Queensland bookstores when it was first released.

Karen Bardell, manager of Fats Comics at Annerley, said any of the smaller Footrot Flats books sell quickly once they arrive in store.

She said anyone who managed to snag the Footrot Flats collector edition for about $350-$400 was lucky.

Footrot Flats was written and illustrated by Murray Ball. Picture: AAP Image/John Cowpland

“I think $350 is a great price with the fact it’s a rare edition, it has all of his stuff in one place and people are willing to pay that much for it.”

Miss Bardell said for a comic book to reach a high price tag it “must be in excellent condition and be something that was quite rare to come across.”

“For example, our Green Lantern Number one, golden age book is $42,000.

“The golden age means it comes from the 1930s or 40s.|

“I’ve got a Superman with the first appearance of Supergirl, from just at the end of the golden age, that’s about $1600 and a Batman with the first appearance of Poison Ivy for $3000 from the silver age.

“Footrot Flats is from the bronze age.”

The ‘bronze age’ comprises comics published between 1970 and 1985.

The success of Footrot Flats resulted in 27 numbered comic books featuring the weekday newspaper strips and additional material, as well as eight books that collated the Sunday newspaper strips.

The Footrot Flats comic ran in Queensland papers in the 1980s and 1990s.

A series of other special edition or ‘pocket’ books of original cartoon panels were also produced, with the series selling millions of copies in Australia and New Zealand alone.

A complete set of the 27 books was sold on eBay on November 19 for $580.

The popularity of the series also led to an amusement park called Footrot Flats Leisure Park opening in Auckland in the early 1980s before closing in 1991.

In 1986, a movie titled Footrot Flats: The Dogs Tale was released in cinemas.

It made history as New Zealand’s first ever animated feature film and became one of the country’s highest grossing movies of all time.

The film remains a favourite among fans and was even screened at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art last Saturday.

Footrot Flats movie. Picture: Supplied

The University of Queensland’s rare book convener, Anne Mullins, said sometimes a book becomes valuable because of a niche or target audience.

“Especially with comics, as often they just tend to get thrown away after being in the cupboard … then you have people who are collectors who go after a full set.

“Some are highly sought after in that niche market, whether you’re talking about comic books or books that were published in the 1700s.”

Mrs Mullins, 73, said a ‘cookery’ book published in 1747 and recently donated to UQ was expected to fetch about $1000 at the UQ Alumni Book Fair and Rare Book Auction next year.

Although the rare book auction is held biennially, the regular annual UQ Alumni book fair is scheduled for April 29 to May 2 at the UQ Centre on Union Rd, St Lucia.

More than 50,000 books, DVDS, records and videos will be for sale, with funds raised going to support student scholarships, UQ researchers and educators.

Originally published as Hardcover edition of Footrot Flats comic strip to sell for more than $1000