*Girls’ Picture Libraries: The early issues of Princess Picture Library alternated between Sally (heroine of the ballet) and Sue (wacky adventuress). Almost all of the issues in this update (between #6 and #30) are even-numbered and thus feature Sally and ballet – On TV, The Golden Cockerel, The Ice Ballet, Christmas Ballet, Ballet in the Big Top, At The Rose Chateau, Highland Dancer, In Venice, Fiesta Ballet, In Switzerland… you get the picture.
PICTURED: PRINCESS PICTURE LIBRARY #14 GD/VG £8
Category Archives: What’s New
Books Update: Another Sett of Badgers
*Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror: A satisfyingly large addition to our range of the Badger Science Fiction series of novels, mainly turned out at a furious pace by R L Fanthorpe (with some assistance from his wife Patricia). With their distinctive style of cover art, mainly created by Henry Fox, and over-the-top plotlines these are eminently collectable, especially as some very early examples are present. In addition to the novels pictured we have added The Alien Ones (Leo Brett, SF94), Hyperspace (R L Fanthorpe, SF17), No Dawn And No Horizon (A J Merak, SF16), Crimson Planet, Day Of The Beasts and The Man From Beyond (John E Muller, SF60, SF51, SF111), Time-Echo (Lionel Roberts, SF23), Force 97X (Pel Torro, SF110) and Zero Minus X (Karl Zeigfreid, SF81).
PICTURED:
JAMES ELTON (W H FEAR): THE QUEST OF THE SEEKER (SF10) GD £15
A J MERAK: HYDROSPHERE (SF36) GD £15
JOHN E MULLER: BEYOND TIME (SF71) VG £15
LIONEL ROBERTS: CYCLOPS IN THE SKY (SF26) GD £15
PEL TORRO: FROZEN PLANET (SF42) VG £10
American Update: DC Debuts: John Constantine, Hellblazer in Swamp Thing #25 & #37
*DC: Although it seems like only yesterday, John Constantine aka Hellblazer, occult troubleshooter, has ‘haunted’ the DCU for about 35 years now, star of multiple ongoing titles of his own and numerous guest appearances. It all started here, in the pages of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing in 1984 and 1985. JC first made a cameo appearance in Swamp Thing #25, followed up by his first full appearance a year later in #37. #25 is VF+, with just minor handling wear at top and bottom edges; #37 is a sensational NM-, flat, glossy, fresh, tight staples, great pages and just the most minute stress marks very occasionally at the spine.
PICTURED: SWAMP THING
#25 VF+ £35
#37 NM- £225 SOLD
American Update: Batmania/DC Debuts: Batman #313, 1st Tim Fox, Future State Batman
*DC: It’s a funny old game, this hobby. You can have a perfectly good issue of Batman, featuring a tussle with one of his major foes (Two-Face) which has been around for 40 years and only accumulated a modest value, then suddenly, overnight, DC announce that a hitherto minor character incidentally introduced in that very issue is to become the new Batman in their current Future State storyline, and the collectors and speculators go wild. So, we offer a chance to get a decent copy of the first appearance of Tim Fox in above average grade (just minor edge and handling wear) at the current market value. Is it a good investment? This jury’s out on that one…
PICTURED: BATMAN #313 FN/VF p £100 SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: The Ghost Rider: Johnny Blaze’s debut in Marvel Spotlight #5
*Marvel: It’s not every day we get the first appearance of a major Marvel hero! Ghost Rider had been the title of a short-lived Western series of the 1960s, and in 1972, writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog reinterpreted the cowboy trope with the nearest modern equivalent – a motorbike rider! In the wake of ‘Easy Rider’ and adding in lashings of the then-popular Satanic possession movies, they came up with Johnny Blaze, stunt-rider turned emissary of Satan, having sacrificed his soul to save his loved ones. But this being a Code Approved Marvel comic, Johnny’s battle of wills with his demonic master usually led to his actions coming down on the side of good, despite Old Nick’s best efforts. Ghost Rider went on to 80+ issues of his original series after a successful run in Marvel Spotlight, and despite two truly execrable Nicolas Cage movies, remains a mainstay of the Marvel Universe today. This copy of Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider’s very first appearance in tryout title Marvel Spotlight #5 is a beautiful FN copy with great colour cover and gloss, tight and flat with firmly attached staples and lovely white to off-white pages. The corners have a minimum of blunting, with a tiny crease of less than 1 cm to the top right which just breaks colour. There are a few minor stress marks along the spine, with only a suspicion of the colour being broken and a small 1 cm tear at the base of the spine; these prevent a higher grade. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5 FN £775
American Update: Spider-Mania: Platinum Spider-Man #1
*Marvel: Following Todd McFarlane’s highly successful tenure on Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel decided to launch a new Spider-Man title with the Toddster at the artistic helm. Spider-Man #1 (1990), was at that time the most successful comic in history. To celebrate its success, Marvel issued a Platinum Variant retailer reward issue at one copy per retailer, and we have a copy of this foil cover rarity available in our Spider-Mania slot this week. If you’re considering adding this beauty to your collection, make no mistake — this is not a pristine Mint copy. There is about 0.75 cm of wear at the top of the spine, a half-fingernail size dink to the left edge of the back cover and a shallow non-colour breaking crease along the top of the back cover, where a previous owner had stored it in one of those stiff plastic holders where the flap will mark the comic if stored under pressure. Difficult to spot at first is a further crease, also non-colour breaking and quite slight which extends from the masthead box to the UPC box on the front cover and is a little to the right of that area. Having said that, the comic still presents very well and is a chance to get this highly sought after collectable at a relatively bargain price. It comes complete with Marvel’s thank you letter to retailers.
PICTURED: SPIDER-MAN #1 PLATINUM EDITION FN/VF £135
American Update: What’s Old: Amazing Adult Fantasy #14
*Marvel: What’s Old is our feature where we highlight stuff from our catalogue that you may have missed. During the lean years of the mid-1950s to early 1960s, the company that would become Marvel ran a moderately successful sci-fi/suspense line built around two tropes: one, the famous ‘Big Panty Monsters’ by Lee & Kirby lauded in many previous updates, and the other, quieter, but even more chilling, twist-ending tales reminiscent of (and often ripped off by) TV shows such as ‘The Outer Limits’ and ‘The Twilight Zone’. The latter proved so popular that the fledgling Marvel devoted an entire series just to them, Amazing Adult Fantasy, taking over the numbering of Amazing Adventures from #7 and rebranding as ‘The Magazine That Respects Your Intelligence!’, with wall-to-wall Ditko art. Lovely though they were, it didn’t catch the mass market’s eye, and the series finished with #14 (with #15, of course, it became simply ‘Amazing Fantasy’ and featured an upstart hero called Spider-Man). These low-circulation, high-quality issues are now greatly in demand, and we have #14, the final ‘Adult’ issue, a pence printed copy featuring a Professor X/Marvel mutant prototype, with slight chipping at right cover edge.
PICTURED: AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #14 VG p £110 SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Mr. Sinister in X-Men #221
*Marvel: Adventures in Retailing: Back in the early days of 30th Century, we of course attracted the local groups of youths on their way home from school, cajoling each other to ‘buy this one, it’s fick!’, or asking ‘You got any Versus?’. The name of the X-Men arch-foe debuting in X-Men #221 was a little difficult for them, so he was duly dubbed ‘Mr Sister‘. A manipulative scientist who usually prefers to work through agents, Mr. Sinister has become a regular in the Marvel Universe, with a predilection for genetic engineering. After a couple of references and shadowy half-appearances in earlier issues, it was here in #221 that he was first fully revealed. This is a lovely high grade copy, flat, tight and glossy with just very minor stress marks at the spine.
PICTURED: X-MEN #221 VF+ £60
American Update: Walt Simonson Thor
*Marvel: Walt Simonson revitalized the Thor series with his epic take on heroic storytelling from 1983 onwards. Calling on the richness of Norse myth, but with a subversive humour element, his stories were fresh and exciting, his art vibrant and dynamic. He also added many new characters to the mythos, such as Lorelei, Malekith and Beta-Ray Bill. A classic run of one of Marvel’s oldest, most iconic characters, with many issues new in from #339 (third Simonson issue) onwards; see our catalogue for details.
American Update: It’s A Jungle Out There: Jungle Comics #137
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: I’ll let you into a secret… I started collecting Golden Age comics in the early 90s. Apart from the obvious famous Super-heroes, I knew little about the period, but I immersed myself in the wonderful Gerber Photo Journal Guides, which reproduce all the best Golden Age covers. My eyes were drawn to the work of Matt Baker, L B Cole and Maurice Whitman. It was the latter I turned to to dip my toes into the water of Golden Age collecting. The colours and luminosity of Whitman’s covers were gorgeous, and nowhere more so than on Fiction House’s Jungle Comics #137, my first purchase in the genre and the period. I’ve been happy to see that this cover has grown in stature and fame in recent years due to the depiction of the humbly-named Ann, mate of K’a’anga, jungle lord. Finally, after all this time, I’ve upgraded that copy I bought almost 30 years ago, so the copy for sale here is that very same copy (no, don’t worry, I’m not signing it…). A low grade with a crease across the top right corner, a faint book shop stamp over the logo and several pieces of tape along the spine and top edge, none of which detract from the superb cover image. Speaking from personal experience, this is a great issue to have in your collection!
PICTURED: JUNGLE COMICS #137 GD- £42 SOLD
American Update: A Superior Pre-Code Horror Fest: Journey Into Fear
*Horror 1940-1959: Superior was a Canadian publisher active from 1945-1956 who mostly reprinted American comics from the same time period. They also published a number of original series that were distributed in the United States. Among these were three horror titles famous for their hallucinogenic covers and accomplished Fiction House style interior art. When you see a lot of these together, they have an almost hypnotic and uncomfortable effect. This week we feature Journey Into Fear #4-6, three of the nicest copies we have in the run, all mid-grade without specific defects other than general wear.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO FEAR ALL SOLD
#4 VG+ £255
#5 VG+ £220
#6 VG £195
British Update: Alan Class Suspense
*Alan Class Reprints: A nice update to our regular stocks of the Alan Class title Suspense, which for a while now has been underrepresented in our catalogue. 16 new issues in between #40 & #190.
British Update: 4 Faux US comics, including Space Comics with Captain Valiant
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: In the 1950s, as well as reprinting US comics, several British companies produced original comics in the US size and style, and we have four such examples this week. Captain Vigour (1952) was an olympic strongman turned adventurer with an emphasis on body image and fitness; Charles Rand (a later entry from 1966) appeared in just one comic, with Mick Anglo art — he was the man from S.U.N.D.A.Y. (Special United Nations Defence Agents, Y section — you could tell it was the sixties!); Space Comics (1958) featured the science fiction hero Captain Valiant of the Interplanetary Police Patrol (also with Mick Anglo art); Miller’s TV Heroes (1959), did exactly what it said on the tin: ‘picture stories of historical characters who have become TV Heroes’. Full details of all in our catalogue as always.
PICTURED: SPACE COMICS #77 VG/FN £25 SOLD
British Update: Pearson’s Air War & Sea War Libraries
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Small updates to Pearson’s less often seen Air War Picture Stories and Sea War Picture Library this week. Seven issues of Air War between #41 & #52 (great painted covers on these), and just two for Sea War, but including #1; full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
AIR WAR PICTURE STORIES #52 GD £4
SEA WAR PICTURE LIBRARY #1 FA £15 SOLD
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Diana 1969 x 3
*Girls’ Comics: Three excellent Free Gifts with 1969 issues of Diana this week; all three comics are in FN condition, with all gifts in almost as new VF. #310 has the ‘Sunshine Bracelet’ in its sealed transparent bag (originally, this was glued to the margin of page 5, so the margin and the bag edge each have a tiny hole where it was removed); #360 has a ‘Dainty Wrist Purse’, presented in its original unsealed brown envelope, but sealed inside it in plastic and in pristine unused condition; #361 has the ‘Pretty Pearly Mermaid Ring’ still sealed in its original brown envelope. Competition for these gifted issues is usually very fierce and they get snapped up very quickly.
PICTURED: DIANA ALL SOLD
#310 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £40
#360 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £40
#361 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £40
British Update: True Life Library
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Aimed at the adult female reader (or older adolescent), these often beautifully drawn romance comics from Amalgamated Press (later Fleetway) dealt with slightly more mature themes such as infidelity, divorce, or marital discord — though always discreetly alluded to, and with the inevitable happy ending! We have 14 new issues this week, from 1957’s #101 up to #150. While these are overall in a remarkable state of preservation for their age, with mostly glossy covers and bright interior pages; staple rust has unfortunately affected most of them to some degree, and we have adjusted the grades accordingly. In general, they’re averaging VG, with several FN and a few dropping to GD, though it must be observed that, staple rust aside, most of them would achieve a full grade higher.
PICTURED: TRUE LIFE LIBRARY #121 GD £5
Books Update: Mike Shayne Mysteries by Brett Halliday
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Mike Shayne was a hard-boiled private detective in the vein of Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade etc. He was created by writer Brett Halliday in the 1930s, and starred in 77 novels and over 300 short stories. As well as the character having a magazine in his name for over 30 years, a dozen films of Mike Shayne were made in the 1940s and 1950s, plus a radio series and a TV series in the 1960s; he was a popular chap back then! From 1958 onwards, Shayne’s adventures were ghost-written. Our selection of Dell paperbacks new in this week features some written by Halliday in later printings, as well as many of the later ones by other hands. What is really nice about them is that they all feature covers by the famous artist Robert McGinnis, known for his film poster work on Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Barbarella and several James Bond films, among many others. At 94, McGinnis is still around and has illustrated over 1200 paperback books with his distinctive style featuring sexy women. Several examples from this update are pictured here — our catalogue lists the entire 15 books in this update.
PICTURED: (all by Brett Halliday)
GUILTY AS HELL 1st US PB 1967 FN £5
MURDER BY PROXY 1st US PB 1963 FN/VF £5
SO LUSH, SO DEADLY 1st US PB 1968 VG/FN £5
THE HOMICIDAL VIRGIN 1st New Edition US PB VG/FN £6
American Update: DC Debuts: A Triptych of New Teen Titans’ First Appearances
*DC: The first three appearances of the New Teen Titans are featured in this update: DC Comics Presents #26, not only the debut of the team, but also the first appearances of Cyborg, Starfire & Raven; New Teen Titans #1, the first issue of their ongoing series; and New Teen Titans #2, in which Deathstroke the Terminator makes his debut. DCCP #26 is a nice pence printed copy with just a little back cover creasing, NTT #1 is a decent mid-grade pence printed copy and NTT #2 is also a nice copy with minor edge and handling wear, mostly on the rear cover; unusually for a comic of this period, it is a pence stamped copy.
PICTURED:
DC COMICS PRESENTS #26 FN+ p £50 SOLD
NEW TEEN TITANS #1 FN p £25 SOLD
NEW TEEN TITANS #2 FN+ p £70 SOLD
American Update: DC Debuts: Morpheus, Master of Dreams – Neil Gaiman’s Sandman #1
*DC: In 1989, Neil Gaiman, not yet the superstar author he would later become, took the venerable DC superhero the Sandman and completely refurbished the concept – revamping the titular hero as an immortal embodiment of the Dreamworld, Gaiman opened the door to a myriad of adventurous possibilities, modernising the concept without invalidating or discarding either previous Sandman series (the 1940s and 1970s strips), but instead enfolding them into a larger meta-narrative. The Neil Gaiman Sandman series ran for 75 issues and a Special, and won an insane array of awards. This is where it all began, in this instance a lovely high grade copy with miniscule handling wear, a very tiny dink at the base of the spine and a ‘dot’ of label scuff close to the ‘N’ in the title. Excellent pages, tight staples.
PICTURED: SANDMAN #1 VF £85 SOLD
American Update: Batmania Bonanza! Bats #257-425 plus Annuals
*DC: A huge stack of Batman added to our catalogue this week, with most issues from #257 -300 in nice grades including Joker cover stories in #286 & #294, plus a smattering from the early 400’s, and a couple of annuals, including the Alan Moore Penguin story in Annual #11. Most of Batman’s most famous foes will be found within these pages!
American Update: DC ‘E’ List: 80 Page Giant
*DC: We reach the letter ‘E’ in our alphabetical round-up of the DCU this week. Just one title: 80 Page Giant. The history of publication of DC Annuals and Giants in the Silver Age can be a confusing one. Originally in the early 1960s, DC published a once a year Annual of their most popular characters: Superman, Batman, Flash etc, reprinting many of their earlier classic adventures. Since these proved very popular, they started upping the frequency, until in 1964, they integrated these into a regular series called 80 Page Giant, which is what concerns us here. (Subsequently, with even more popularity for this format, they ended this series after 15 issues and started running the Giants in the regular numbering of the characters’ series, which led to even great frequency.) We’ve topped up all 15 issues of 80 Page Giant in our listing (except #7, peculiarly), so that they’re all available in a choice of grades and prices: Superman, Batman, Flash, World’s Finest, Secret Origins, Superboy, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. These fondly remembered volumes represent great reading value and entertainment. Back when they were published, when I were a lad, with no comic shops or back issue market, this was the only way to read these lovely old stories.
American Update: Classic McFarlane Hulk/Wolverine clash in Hulk #340
*Marvel: Fan favourite Todd McFarlane’s run on Hulk peaked at issue #340, featuring the classic cover design of the Hulk reflected in Wolverine’s claws and an ensuing battle royale within. Peter David’s intelligent script meant that this was more than a simple slugfest. Our latest copy is very high grade, with just the most minimal handling wear preventing a perfect grade.
PICTURED: HULK #340 NM- £90 SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Rocked by the Shocker in Spidey #46
*Marvel: A Lee/Romita co-creation, the Shocker – a.k.a. Herman Schultz, career criminal and part-time scientist – created a special insulated suit which generated electrical waves that could open safes and incapacitate the police. Outsmarted by Spider-Man on their first clash, he has returned many times to battle the Web-Slinger and many other Marvel heroes, making his big screen debut in ‘Spider-Man Homecoming’ in 2017. This is a decent copy of his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #46, pence printed with a clean cover image, good staples and reasonable pages. There is some corner blunting, edge and handling wear and a 1 cm spine split at the top of the spine, but not at all bad.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #46 GD/VG p £60
American Update: Gambit #1-4 in Marvel’s Greatest Collector’s Pack (Sealed)
*Marvel: I remember these Marvel’s Greatest Collector’s Packs, four comics in a shrink-wrapped sealed cardboard case. They came out in 1993/94 just as 30th Century was starting up, and a lot of them passed through our hands in our early days. It’s been a long time now since we’ve seen one, however, so we’re particularly pleased to have one in stock this week, featuring the initial Gambit mini-series, all four issues, including #1 with its distinctive gold foil stamped cover. This example is just as pristine as when it was issued, still sealed and undamaged.
PICTURED: MARVEL’S GREATEST COLLECTOR’S PACK: GAMBIT #1-4 MINT £50 SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Absorbing Man in Journey Into Mystery #114
*Marvel: One of Marvel’s long-running and more beloved villains, Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, premiered in this issue, with his ability to absorb and replicate the properties of any person, object or substance causing quite a headache for our favourite Thunder God! Despite his surly mien, many folks feel that Crusher Creel is, to quote the Shangri-Las, ‘Good-bad, but not evil‘, and he has quite the fan-base, especially in latter decades since he married Titania. This first appearance of an enduring villain is a decent pence stamped copy with strong, deep colours and some cover gloss; there is some corner blunting and minor edge wear with a couple of colour-breaking creases across the bottom right corner; nice off-white pages and good staples.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #114 VG+ p £70 SOLD
American Update: The Force is (just about) with us — small Star Wars update
*Marvel: Just four additions to our Star Wars original series stock: #3-5 and #55; the first three are pence copies but low grade with some cover staining. See our catalogue for details.
American Update: Marvel ‘D’ List: Daredevil & Defenders
*Marvel: Carrying on with our alphabetical tour of the Marvel Universe, the letter ‘D’ yields just two titles with new stock: Daredevil and Defenders, the former between #17 & #177, the latter between #16 & #92. Significant chunks of both titles now added to our catalogue.
American Update: What’s Old: Slab Happy! Catman #32, Final Issue of Cult Series with L.B. Cole Cover
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: What’s Old is our feature where we highlight stuff from our catalogue that you may have missed. Raised in Burma by a tigress after his parents were killed, young David Merryweather developed superhuman strength, reflexes, agility and heightened senses from… living with tigers? Because of course you would. Oh, and the traditionally feline nine lives. Eventually returning to the US, David became a Private Eye, then joined the US Army while stopping criminals preying on the innocent, as… the Catman! Eventually picking up a random orphan, Katie Conn, who without any powers or training decided to join Catman as ‘The Kitten’, a distaff Boy Wonder. Catman’s adventures, from 1941 to 1946, started out as routine superheroics, but rapidly developed a horrific edge and more mature tone, becoming notorious for gore and the way his young sidekick, ahem, matured really really fast. Now keenly sought-after by collectors, they are vanishingly rare in any condition — in 30 years, no other copy of any issue of this title has passed through our hands. This is a copy of Catman’s final issue, #32, from August 1946, with a famous and visually stunning L. B. Cole ‘shark-fight’ cover. A CGC Blue label 2.5 (GD+), acknowledging the presence of three tape strips on the spine, but with no restoration.
PICTURED: CATMAN #32 CGC 2.5 GD+ £635
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Journey Into Unknown Worlds
*Horror 1940-1959: Atlas’s Journey Into Unknown Worlds started out, as you might imagine from its title, as a series which featured horrific science-fiction stories, in much the same mode as some of the work of writers such as C L Moore and Clark Ashton Smith, for example. In this update, we have two such early issues. #6 features the work of Colan & Heath among others and is a lovely FN+ copy, with great cover colour and gloss, tight, firm staples and really nice off-white pages. Edge wear is at a minimum but for a small 1 cm tear to the right cover edge. #7 is an Apparent VG/FN and features Colan, Maneeley (an electric chair story) and the Wolverton story ‘The Planet Of Terror’; a decent copy with good cover colour and gloss, nice staples and pages and a few nicks at the edges; the Maneeley story has one panel cut out due to a coupon on the reverse, but included are a high quality photo-copy of the complete affected story page as well as a small black and white copy of the affected panel (double-sided). Due to this defect, the comic is half the price it otherwise would be in this grade. Our third new listing is for one of the last pre-code issues of this title, #31 GD- £27, by which time it had mutated into more ‘traditional’ Atlas horror fare.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS
#6 FN+ £165
#7 App. VG/FN £95
American Update: The Big Western Round-Up: DC titles
*Western: This week, the 30th Century cowpunchers have rustled up a whole herd of DC titles for your consideration, including the 1970 series of All-Star Western (from #1 with Pow Wow Smith, El Diablo and more), the excellent Bat Lash (from #1 with art by Nick Cardy), Jonah Hex (inc. #92, the final issue), Tomahawk (inc a couple of issues with Neal Adams covers), Weird Western Tales (with Jonah Hex, El Diablo and Scalphunter, inc. #70, the final issue), and Western Comics. We’ll visit the old West again very soon for more gunslingin’ goodness!
British Update: Vintage DC & Fawcett Reprints
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: Some classic DC & Fawcett material in this category this week: From K. G. Murray (Aus), two issues of Batman (#45 & #71) one Super-Adventure (#59, featuring Superman & Batman) and one Superboy (#94 in full colour throughout); plus a large format Marvel Family #64 from Miller. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: BATMAN #45 VG+ £45
British Update: Football Free Gift Farrago: Hotspur & Victor
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Two 1970s’ issues with football-themed Free Gifts this week. From 1972, Hotspur #675 complete with ‘Super-Duper Football Poster’; from 1976, Victor #818 complete with a sheet of 12 stand-up colour photos of famous footballers (NB the comic here is only GD due to a heavy dust shadow across the top edge). Both gifts are excellent VF unused condition.
PICTURED:
HOTSPUR #675 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £20 SOLD
VICTOR #818 GD WITH FREE GIFT VF £20 SOLD
British Update: Thriller Comics (later Thriller Picture Library) #1
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Just one item in this category this week, but a great one: Thriller Comics # 1 from 1951. This digest-sized comics series, most famous under its later title of Thriller Picture Library, ran for 450 issues until 1963, and while it featured a plethora of characters during its lengthy run, the trend for the early years was for historical swashbucklers based on fictional (but serendipitously copyright-free) characters such as Robin Hood, Rob Roy, and so on. One such was the Three Musketeers, who were chosen to lead off the series in this volume. The artists were all accomplished Fleetway professionals, and readers thrived on these beautifully-illustrated pocket adventures. This copy of #1 is FA/GD, structurally sound but with considerable spine wear, including long splits at top and bottom and the habitual rusty staples, which haven’t bled too badly; interior pages clean and flexible.
PICTURED: THRILLER COMICS #1 FA/GD £60
British Update: 1950s Mickey Mouse Weekly
*TV & Film Related Comics: The long-running Mickey Mouse Weekly was a delightful title and we have several dozen fresh in this week from 1951-1957. As well as the rather fun and exciting adventures of Mickey & Donald (often just as full of mystery and adventure as humour), many other Disney favourites were also featured, such as Peter Pan, Dumbo and Alice In Wonderland. In addition, there were many strips which would have more than graced Boys’ Adventure comics of the time, such as Robin Hood, the Pied Piper, Davy Crockett, Strongbow the Mighty, Don Conquest and the Visitor from Space, Pecos Bill and Nemo and the Nautilus. As if this wasn’t enough, there were also schoolboy (and girl) adventures with the likes of Billy Brave, Monty Carstairs and Malcolm Savile’s Lone Pine Five. The comic was printed on superior paper and the glorious colour used for the covers and centrefold rivalled the technicolour of Disney’s films. Truly a classic, and at £2.25 for a GD copy up to £4 for a FN, wonderful value.
PICTURED: MICKEY MOUSE WEEKLY 3/5/52 VG £3
British Update: Best of Misty plus Souvenir Special
*Girls’ Comics: Misty is today just about the top-selling Girls’ title. The original run of 101 issues is keenly collected, but are not rare. Much less common is the Best of Misty revival from 1986, 8 bumper issues compiling complete stories from the original run. We have 7 of these new in this week (missing just #3) and whilst not in tip-top shape (cover creases and edge wear), they’re priced to reflect that and are not torn or defaced. Fabulous Shirley Bellwood covers on each. Accompanying them is the one-off Souvenir issue from 2009. Misty may be gone, but not forgotten, and she always seems to find her way back through the mists…
PICTURED: BEST OF MISTY
#1 GD £25 SOLD
#2 GD/VG £25 SOLD
#4 GD/VG £25 SOLD
#5 GD £20 SOLD
#6 GD/VG £25 SOLD
#7 VG £30 SOLD
#8 GD/VG £25 SOLD
SPECIAL SOUVENIR ISSUE 2009 VG £15
British Update: Girls’ Picture Libraries: Waifs & Strays
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Some odds and ends added this week, left over from collections we’ve recently bought in. Many favourite titles included such as June & School Friend (inc 2 Holiday Specials), Princess, Schoolgirls’ Adventure Library and Star Love Stories. See our catalogue listings for full details.
PICTURED: JUNE & SCHOOL FRIEND PICTURE LIBRARY HOLIDAY SPECIAL 1969 VG £15
Books Update: Thunderbirds Are Go!
*TV/Film Tie-Ins: Just one book this week, but it’s a cult favourite: Thunderbirds Are Go, the novelization of the Thunderbirds film from 1966. Cover credited to Gerry & Sylvia Anderson, inside it is credited as ‘Story by Angus P Allan, based on the film by Gerry & Sylvia Anderson,’ this Armada 1966 first edition paperback is also from 1966 and has illustrations by James Watson. All the usuals are involved in this thrilling space adventure — all five Tracy Brothers, Lady Penelope and Parker, Brains and the Hood. A nice glossy cover, if a little worn, with a short back cover tear; the spine is a little sunned and split by about 2 cm at bottom front.
PICTURED: THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO 1st UK PB GD £7.50 SOLD
American Update: Superman Death & Rebirth poly-bagged issues including Platinum Edition
*DC: Here’s a nice set of poly-bagged Collector’s Editions telling the story of the Death & Rebirth of Superman, all sealed in their original bags. Headlined by the Superman #75 Platinum Edition, numbered 6982 in NM condition. The Platinum Edtions were distributed one per retailer and are keenly sought after when they come up for sale. It is accompanied here by the black poly-bagged Superman #75 Collectors’ Edition in NM- (due to a small patch of label residue on the poly-bag); both Platinum & Collector’s Editions come complete with the same extras: comic with fold out splash back cover, memorial poster, commemorative stamps, Daily Planet obituary, black mourning armband and trading card. Finally, Superman is back in Adventures of Superman #500 (NM) in its white poly-bag, complete with 64 page comic with removable translucent cover, 8 extra story pages and trading card. These were hugely hyped and popular when they were published — I can remember Superman #75 selling out in no time flat in every London comic shop the day it came out in 1993.
PICTURED:
SUPERMAN #75 PLATINUM EDITION NM £135 SOLD
SUPERMAN #75 COLLECTOR’S EDITION NM- £30 SOLD
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 COLLECTOR’S EDITION #500 NM £25 SOLD
American Update: Teen Titans #1
*DC: After try-out issues in Brave & Bold and Showcase, the ‘Junior Justice League’ graduated to their own title in 1966, which lasted a very respectable 53 issues into the 1970s, with the estimable Nick Cardy often at the artistic helm, as here in Teen Titans #1. This copy is a solid mid-grade pence stamped example, with bright colours, tight staples and minimal edge wear and corner blunting; nice page quality. There is a very small colour-breaking crease across the bottom right corner and a tiny score mark top right cover with is replicated on the first few pages, but overall a glossy, nice copy.
PICTURED: TEEN TITANS #1 FN p £100
American Update: Batmania: Watching The Detectives: ‘Old Look’
*DC: We start a long series of updates to the comic that gave DC its name, with a dozen issues of Detective Comics between #303 & #326, the last years before the ‘new look’ was launched with #327. As well as the regulation aliens and monsters, villains featured include Dr. Double X, Cat-Man, Dr. No Face, the Terrible Trio & the Zodiac Master. And J’Onn J’Onzz back-ups, of course — mostly mid-grade and higher. More Detectives soon.
American Update: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Carnage in Amazing #361 NM
*Marvel: How do you follow up the introduction of an enormously popular brain-sucking symbiote? Well, a few years after Venom, the House of Ideas came up with the spawn of Venom, and thus Carnage was created in Amazing Spider-Man #361. Our latest issue of this modern classic is a delightful NM, as good as new with no flaws or defects, and is accompanied by #362, the second Carnage appearance in the same condition (NM £35).
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 NM £140 SOLD
American Update: Superman Vs Spider-Man – Ground-Breaking Tabloid Crossover from 1976
*DC/Marvel: In 1976, after some delicate negotiations, the two major publishers decided to pool their talents and create a team-up between their two iconic characters which proved too big for a regular-sized comic – so the tabloid-sized format, as seen in Marvel’s Treasury Editions and DC’s Limited Collectors’ Editions, was co-opted for this epic event! While Wizard of Oz is technically the first Marvel/DC co-production, that’s really just DC piggybacking onto a project Marvel had already produced, to avoid litigation (long story, Google it if you’re bothered). This was the first true collaboration between the titans of the comics industry, and it’s a tribute to the organisation involved that Superman and Spider-Man (as well as guest villains Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus) are note perfect in this mega-sized saga. This pence printed copy is for the budget conscious; the spine is okay apart from a small split at the bottom, but there are multiple creases to front and back covers; the pages are okay except for one tear and a paint stain in one page margin, and the cover image largely unspoilt. The most affordable copy we’ve had in many a year.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN GD+ p £35
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of the Unicorn in Tales Of Suspense #56
*Marvel: One of Iron Man’s perhaps less famous Rogues’ Gallery members is the Unicorn, another menace from behind the Iron Curtain and somewhat of a protege of the Crimson Dynamo. Chief among the many weapons built into his armour was his Power Horn, but you knew that, didn’t you? Iron Man takes him on in this epic encounter from Tales Of Suspense #56. This is a lovely pence printed copy, with great cover colour and gloss, clean and bright, with only a couple of minor spine stress marks and tiny edge and corner wear; tight and flat with excellent staples and off-white pages; presents very well indeed.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE #56 VF p £140
American Update: What’s Old: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Marvel Premiere #47 – ‘Scott Lang, Scott Lang, Does Whatever an Ant-Man Can’
*Marvel: What’s Old is our feature where we highlight stuff from our catalogue that you may have missed. When the Ant-Man name was unclaimed in the late 1970s, a brainier-than-average sneak-thief, Scott Lang, stole Hank Pym’s old apparatus and became the second bearer of that title! But it’s okay – he did bad things for good reasons, specifically to find a cure for his dying daughter, as was revealed in Marvel Premiere #47, the tale which (after a non-costumed cameo in Avengers #181) was Scott’s first full appearance. John Byrne and David Michelinie created this different take on the hero, and since then, Scott has had his ups and downs – been in jail a few times, been dead a few more, been a love-slave of the Purple Man (No, really. Google it. Better yet, don’t) – but he’s fought his way back to respectability, and has achieved cinematic stardom in two eponymous movie hits, plus pivotal roles in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’. This lovely high grade pence printed copy has just very tiny stress marks at spine, but is otherwise as good as new.
PICTURED: MARVEL PREMIERE #47 VF/NM p £90
American Update: Avengers #40: Hercules & Sub-Mariner
*Marvel: From 1967, an excellent issue of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! With Captain America temporarily absent, the Avengers ranks had been bolstered by the addition of Hercules, and in this stirring adventure featuring the Cosmic Cube, they encountered the hero-villain Sub-Mariner. A superb high-grade pence printed copy with great cover colour and gloss, flat and tight with great staples and off-white to white pages.
PICTURED: AVENGERS #40 VF+ p £54
American Update: X-Men in Minor Keys
*Marvel: Three significant issues of X-Men from the 1980s this week. We have the two-part encounter between Wolverine and Sabretooth from #212 & #213, the latter drawn by Alan Davies, and #256, drawn by Jim Lee, featuring the debut of Psylocke as a Ninja warrior. All are high grade copies.
PICTURED: X-MEN
#212 VF/NM £30
#213 NM- £35
#256 NM £25
American Update: Marvel ‘B’ & ‘C’ list
*Marvel: We continue through the Marvel alphabet with titles beginning with the letters ‘B’ and ‘C’, featuring additions to Battlestar Galactica, Black Goliath, Captain America (Jack Kirby issues), Captain Marvel, Champions (from #1), Conan and King Conan.
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Iconic Witchcraft #2 with skull cover
*Horror 1940-1959: Witchcraft is a classic 6 issue pre-code horror series from Avon in 1952/53, and issue #2 has a classic skull cover much coveted by pre-code horror collectors. Interior art and inside front cover preview by Sid Check, Joe Kubert, Norman Nodel and others. But it is the cover art (by artist unknown) that draws the eye to this issue. It presents well here, with an unmarked cover, remarkably retaining some gloss after all these years, with nice colours, unmarked but for a small pencil arrival date below the logo. There is a tiny chip out top cover edge, a tiny split at the bottom of the spine, and some spine wear with the staples off at the front cover only (see splash photo), firmly attached at the rear and centrefold. This issue doesn’t come cheap, but it is one of the iconic pre-code horror covers. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: WITCHCRAFT #2 VG- £630 SOLD
American Update: The Big Western Round-Up: Dell & Gold Key A-Z
*Western: We’ve lassoed a few more tales of the old west for you this week from Dell & Gold Key: Annie Oakley, Bat Masterson, Gene Autrey (the singing cowboy), Roy Rogers (didn’t he sing too?), Sugarfoot & Zorro. Many of these Western stars shared their billing with their horses; can you match these equine companions to the above: Tagg, Champion & Trigger?
American Update: Marvel Masterworks: Dr. Strange Vol 4
*Modern Reprints: Long out of print and difficult to get, we’re very pleased to have a nice copy of Volume 4 of the Dr. Strange Marvel Masterworks fresh into stock. This reprints the last few issues of the Doctor’s original series, a couple of guest shots, the solo story from Marvel Feature #1 and the earliest stories from Marvel Premiere #3-8. Featuring the work of Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Gardner Fox, Stan Lee, Barry Windsor-Smith and many others, this lovely copy has only the slightest signs of having been read.
PICTURED: MARVEL MASTERWORKS DR. STRANGE VOL 4 VF/NM £60 SOLD