*Girls’ Comics: Two consecutive 1969 issues of Bunty with Free Gifts, in one of the perennial attempts to revitalise the readership. Issue #615 is in Fine condition, clean and flat, with the ‘Book of Me and My Friends’ gift in generally excellent shape but with sadly rusty staples, so we’ve compromised on FN. Issue #616 is VG – there’s a bit of cover distortion from the Free Gift – the frankly creepy ‘Jolly Dolly’ – having been stored inside its pages for decades – but the gift itself is VF, still in original polythene envelope.
PICTURED: BUNTY
#615 FN WITH FREE GIFT FN £40 SOLD
#616 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £40 SOLD
Category Archives: What’s New
British Update: Tina from #1 – Pan-European Girl Power Unleashed
*Girls’ Comics: From 1967, Tina, launched in multiple language editions across Europe, was so heavily pre-sold prior to its launch that it could legitimately claim, even on the front of its debut issue, ‘More copies sold than any other girl’s paper in the world!’ With a strong adventure-oriented line-up, curvaceous secret agent ‘Jane Bond’ illustrated by Michael Hubbard, was the lead, and the ‘Space Girls’ (in colour, by Dan Dare illustrator Keith Watson) added a sci-fi touch. Other features which debuted here were ‘Moira – Slave Girl of Rome’, exotic island drama with Brenda Burn and ‘My Chum Yum-Yum’, peripatetic pop group ‘Jackie and the Wild Boys’, western adventuress ‘Glory Gold’ and ‘Barbie’. Yep, that Barbie. After thirty issues, Tina merged with Princess and lived a long and happy life as Princess Tina, but the issues prior to Tina’s ‘coronation’ remain scarce. Our newest copy of the premier issue is an attractive VG, tight staples, unfaded colour, and is backed up by four more pre-Princess numbers – #6, #16, #22 and #23.
PICTURED: TINA #1 VG £30
Books Update: Excelsior! – Stan Lee Presents Comic Strip Books
*Comic Strip Books: We’re very pleased to offer three books collecting classic Stan Lee Marvel stories. Doctor Strange has a Frank Brunner cover and Steve Ditko interior art, reprinting the first 18 original Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales. The Amazing Spider-Man has Ditko art throughout and reprints the Web-slinger’s debut from Amazing Fantasy #15 and stories from Amazing Spider-Man #1 – 6. Finally, The Fantastic Four has Jack Kirby interior art and reprints Fantastic Four #1 – 6. All three have introductions from Stan Lee and are in VG/FN condition; full colour throughout.
PICTURED:
DOCTOR STRANGE VG/FN £18 SOLD
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VG/FN £10 SOLD
THE FANTASTIC FOUR VG/FN £10 SOLD
Housekeeping Update
On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following file in our American section:
*Marvel M – S
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards
*Horror 1940-1959
*Romance
*Teen Humour/Funny Girls
*War
*Western
and in our Books section:
*Comic Strip Books
As of the time of writing, these files are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Books Update: A Collection Of SF Collections
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Short story collections are always popular, so we’ve added more than a dozen examples of collections by some of the best SF authors. James Blish contributes Galactic Cluster, James Gunn Future Imperfect and Clifford Simak provides Aliens For Neighbours. Thera are three from John Brunner (No Future In It, Now Then and Out Of My Mind), four from Keith Laumer (Nine By Laumer, Galactic Diplomat, Retief: Emissary To The Stars and Retief Of The CDT) and six from Robert Silverberg (Born With The Dead, Earth’s Other Shadow, Needle In A Timestack, The Best Of Robert Silverberg, To Worlds Beyond and Unfamiliar Territory). With reviews including ‘Blish’s starkly realistic stories mirror the perils of the world of the future .. – where scientists can master the intricacies of space travel … yet cannot control man’s worst instincts’ (Galactic Cluster), ‘9 dazzling short stories’ (Nine By Laumer), ‘rich in that engaging ingenuity which Simak’s innumerable fans know so well’ (Aliens For Neighbours) and a brilliantly grudging endorsement of Robert Silverberg from Isaac Asimov (To Worlds Beyond), these all come highly recommended.
PICTURED:
JOHN BRUNNER NOW THEN VG £4
KEITH LAUMER RETIEF: EMISSARY TO THE STARS VG £5
ROBERT SILVERBERG TO WORLDS BEYOND VG/FN £7
CLIFFORD D SIMAK ALIENS FOR NEIGHBOURS VG £7
Books Update: Lester Del Rey – Four Books And A Magabook Double Novel
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Here we are with three novels (Pstalemate, The Eleventh Commandment and The Sky Is Falling) and a collection of short stories (Mortals And Monsters), by the highly regarded author Lester Del Rey (in real life the less fanciful Leonard Knapp). In addition we have the first Magabook published by Galaxy, consisting of The Sky Is Falling and Badge Of Infamy, with Virgil Finlay cover art.
PICTURED:
THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT VG/FN £6
THE SKY IS FALLING / BADGE OF INFAMY GD £5 SOLD
THE SQUARE MILE COLLECTION
This is an early Silver Age Collection from an original owner notable for the freshness and vibrancy of the cover colours and page quality; even those with minor reading and handling wear are vastly superior to the majority of comics that have been in circulation since the 1960s. The average grade is well above Fine, with many much nicer.
We’ll be adding selections from this collection for sale here each week across the range of titles represented. These will be over a range of prices each week to suit most budgets, so that all interested collectors have an opportunity to purchase something from this special collection. Each comic will come branded with a special label and certificate of authenticity verifying it as part of the Square Mile Collection. Here’s this week’s:
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts/Slab Happy: Tales of Suspense #39 – the First Appearance of Iron Man CGC 6.0
*Marvel: The premier appearance of one of Marvel’s iconic heroes and one of the gems from the Square Mile Collection: in the pages of Tales of Suspense #39, millionaire genius Tony Stark was abducted by Reds behind the Bamboo Curtain (it was a different time…) and forced to manufacture advanced weapons to crush capitalism. Our intrepid hero turned the tables on his captors by devising a cybernetic suit of armour which transformed him into an unstoppable juggernaut of justice – but at the cost of a near-fatal injury to his heart, which required constant contact with his robotic armour to keep beating! Under the artistic talents of (usually) Don Heck (who devoted special attention, bless him, to the many shapely ladies Tony Stark romanced), the sophisticated world of Tony Stark vied with the action-adventure of his Iron Man persona for the readers’ attention. Following the blockbuster success of the Iron Man movie franchise, demand for this issue has never been higher. This is a CGC 6.0 Blue Label (no restoration), a Fine equivalent.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 CGC 6.0 FN £6000 SOLD
More from the Square Mile Collection next week!
American Update: Spider-Mania Max: Amazing #103-120 complete
*Marvel: A nice consecutive run of Spidey this update from Amazing Spider-Man #103 to #120. THis run starts off with an adventure with Kraven the Hunter in the Hidden Land (#103-104), and amongst others takes in a guest shot by Dr. Strange (#109), the debut of the Gibbon (#110), the Hammerhead/Doc Ock gang war (#113-115) and finishes up with a two-part tussle with the Hulk in #119-120. Many high grade copies (VF or better) included; full details as always in our catalogue.
American Update: Batmania: Mad Love For Sale! Batman Adventures Mad Love, First and Second Printings
*DC: The Joker’s former lover, Harley Quinn, became the breakout DC character of the late 20th Century, in large part owing to this exquisite one-shot, written by her creator Paul Dini and illustrated by Bruce Timm. Harley’s second comic-book appearance, following her debut in Batman Adventures #12, Mad Love was a huge hit, defining the Harley/Joker relationship, establishing her origin and backstory for myriad subsequent appearances, (including the recent ‘Birds of Prey’ film) and consolidating her stardom. It’s also a cracking read, even for those of us who think Harl’s become a bit overplayed in later years. We have the first and second printings in stock; the first printing, released as a ‘thick comic’, is VF-, having entirely avoided the spine ticks and splits that the fragile cover stock tends to acquire over time; the second printing, in sturdier squarebound Prestige Format, is NM.
PICTURED: BATMAN ADVENTURES MAD LOVE
1ST PRINTING VF- p £50
2ND PRINTING (PRESTIGE FORMAT) NM £75
American Update: Catalogue Expansion: The Books Of Magic! 1990 Four Part Prestige Format Series by Neil Gaiman, John Bolton, Charles Vess and others
*DC: When DC decided to spotlight their magical characters in a four issue Prestige Format mini-series, negotiations with the original writer, J.M. DeMatteis, happily fell through. We say ‘happily’ because then-newcomer Neil Gaiman got the gig, and created an everyman character, young Timothy Hunter, who over the course of four successive volumes, each drawn by an A List artist – John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess and Paul Johnson) was mentored by, in succession, the Phantom Stranger, John Constantine, Doctor Occult and Mister E. Along the way, multiple other magic-based characters appeared, and the result was a dense and richly layered fantasy, as Tim decides whether to embrace or defy his destiny to be the world’s greatest magician. This is available as a complete set, in VF/NM condition.
PICTURED: BOOKS OF MAGIC #1 VF/NM; COMPLETE SET #1-4 AV. VF/NM £30 SOLD
American Update: All In Colour For A Dime: DC Dateline 1960: Star Hawkins, Space Ranger, Adam Strange and more
*DC: A selection of around 30 battered Silver Age beauties all dating from between January and June 1960, virtually all of which were not previously represented in our lists. These, shall we say, well-read copies range from Poor to Very Good, but all are complete, readable and eminently affordable vintage items. Titles restocked include Action Comics (from #263, origin of the Bizarro World!), Adventure from #271, Blackhawk from #144, Detective from #277, House of Mystery from #94, House of Secrets (with supernatural crusader Mark Merlin) from #30, My Greatest Adventure from #41, Mystery In Space (with the superlative Adam Strange) from #58, Sgt. Bilko’s Private Doberman (pardon?), Showcase #25 (early Rip Hunter with glorious Kubert art), Strange Adventures from #114 (First Star Hawkins!), Superboy from #80 (Supergirl team-up!), Tales of the Unexpected (starring Space Ranger) from #46, and World’s Finest from #108. Grab yourselves some cheap and easy slices of nostalgia from the earliest days of distribution in the UK!
American Update: Various DC/Marvel co-productions
*DC/Marvel: A light top-up to our stocks of DC/Marvel co-produced material, featuring the two Spider-Boy Amalgam issues ands a complete 4 issue run of DC/Marvel All Access plus issues from JLA/Avengers and Unlimited Access.
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Slab Happy/Mighty Marvel Firsts – Premiere of Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, in Amazing Spider-Man #194 9.4
*Marvel: Many folks say – with justification – that Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, was a Suspiciously Similar Substitute for DC’s Catwoman, created to give Spider-Man a ‘beloved enemy’ vibe and increase the romantic tension in the series. Probably true; but nevertheless, the Black Cat rapidly stepped away from her derivative roots, primarily owing to her low level probability manipulation – subconsciously causing ‘bad luck’ for people who opposed her – and the fact that although she’s frequently done heroic and noble things, she’s never completely shed her criminal ways. This copy of the Black Cat’s debut in Amazing Spider-Man #194 comes from the non-distributed ‘wilderness years’, so there are no pence variants of this issue. This is a CGC Blue Label (no restoration) graded 9.4 NM; comes complete with Mark Jeweler’s Insert.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #194 CGC 9.4 NM £300 SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania Max: Amazing #39 & #40 with Romita debut two parter, classic Spidey/Goblin Clash
*Marvel: While we yield to no one in our regard for Steve Ditko as the ‘proper’ Spider-Man artist, we have to concede that John Romita did a cracking job when he took over, redefining the character for the Swingin’ Sixties – and Jazzy Johnny’s background as a romance artist certainly didn’t hurt when it came to drawing Peter Parker’s own ‘Betty & Veronica’, Gwen and Mary Jane! Issue #39 marked Romita’s first as illustrator, and he dove right in, making the character his own, and creating a cover scene which is almost as often ‘homaged’ as his famous Spidey #50 cover! #39 and #40 constituted a two-part confrontation with the Green Goblin and firmly established Romita’s tenure on the title. Both parts of this epic are back in stock; #39 is a VG+ copy, with excellent cover colour and minimal edge wear, only prevented from a higher grade by a Book Centre Stamp on the cover background, just above our trussed-up hero. #40 is VG+ p, light corner and edge wear and a pen slash through the cover price box, but again unmarred cover scene with vivid colour.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER_MAN
#39 VG+ £90
#40 VG+ p £70
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Mighty Marvel Firsts! Debut of Carnage in Amazing Spider-Man #361
*Marvel: So, what do you do when one cuddly brain-sucking symbiote just isn’t enough? Well, the House of Recycled Ideas came up with letting it spawn (not ‘Spawn’!) and thus was born Carnage, offspring of Venom, who rapidly metastasised into one of the MU’s most popular villains. Following the huge success of the recent Venom movie, Carnage has been set up as the Big Bad of the forthcoming ‘Venom 2’, so jump in now for this bright & shiny VF/NM pence copy!
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 VF/NM p £65
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – ‘Hither THEY Came…’ Double Debuts of Conan the Barbarian and Red Sonja
*Marvel: In 1970, Marvel tried something risky and different, quite aside from their familiar super-hero stable; at the urging of writer Roy Thomas, they put out a sword & sorcery title adapting the Robert E. Howard stories of Conan the Barbarian, and, bucking the trend, it was a smash hit – thanks in no small part to the illustration of Barry (not-yet-Windsor) Smith, a talented young British artist who gave the most famous Cimmerian of all grace and feral power, filling Conan’s world with mystery, menace and beauty as monsters and maidens competed for our hero’s attentions. Another fantasy comics star made her debut in Conan #23 (Feb 1973), when Conan encountered Red Sonja, a female brigand and adventurer who was every bit his equal – even though Marvel missed a step by not cover-featuring her! Sonja rapidly caught the public’s imagination and spun off into her own series. More than four decades later, both continue their comic book careers today, Conan back in the Bullpen after a long sojourn at Dark Horse, and Sonja currently published by Dynamite Comics. Our newest Conan #1 is a FN cents copy, vivid unbroken cover colour, superior interior pages, and only very minor wear at spine and corners, not affecting the cover image. Conan #23 is a FN/VF pence copy, with light creasing at upper and lower right cover corners.
PICTURED: CONAN
#1 FN £150
#23 FN/VF p £55
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – The Man Who Lived Twice! First Appearance of Brother Voodoo from Strange Tales #169
*Marvel: Okay, this is an oddity; the 1970s revival of Strange Tales restarted with the ‘classic’ numbering of #169, and featured Brother Voodoo, a peculiar attempt at a heroic practitioner of, duh, voodoo, intended to tap into both the ‘blaxploitation’ and horror crazes of the time. Len Wein and Gene Colan were the creators, so it was competently done, but a fundamental misunderstanding of the religion of voodoo, combined with objections to the depiction of non-Christian religion and severe criticism about the portrayal of non-white characters, meant that the heroic sojourn of Jericho Drumm, intermittently possessed by the ghost of his deceased twin Daniel, stuttered to a halt within five issues, to be replaced by the hastily thrown-together Golem. That might have been it for this Bronze Age update of Quality’s old Captain Triumph (look it up if you don’t get the reference), but for the zeal of fan-turned pro writers, who brought the character back from oblivion. He’s been a Skrull. he’s been the Scarlet Witch (kind of) and now he’s Doctor Voodoo, Sorcerer Supreme (well, one of them) of the Marvel Universe! This VG copy of an origin issue never distributed in the UK has very slight ‘chipping’ at upper right and left cover corners, but is otherwise very sound and presentable.
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES #169 VG £65 SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – Journey Into Mystery #114, Debut of the Absorbing Man
*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 classy Fine, pence stamp in upper corner, minimal edge wear, unfaded red background, tight corners.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #114 FN p £75
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – ‘New’ X-Men #96, with Machine-Gun Moira MacTaggert
*Marvel: Following the debut of the ‘New’ X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1, the revamped international team took over the moribund reprint series with #94 and galvanized a whole new generation of readers. #96 was the first new issue released in the UK, and it caused us all in the Old Country to sit up and pay attention, not least because it featured the cuddliest demon ever, and the premier of long-running supporting character (and love interest for Professor X) Moira MacTaggert, a brilliant scientist who also happened to be a dab hand with firearms.
PICTURED: X-MEN #96 VF- p £45
American Update: Back To Infinity! Jim Starlin’s Infinity Crusade, complete 6 issue set
*Marvel: One of the phenomena of the last decade of the 20th Century was Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet, which spawned many crossovers and two direct sequels. This is the second such sequel, third series in the ‘Infinity Trinity’, Infinity Crusade, in which ‘The Goddess’ separated the more devout of the Marvel Heroes into a super-powered jihad, a move surely calculated to offend both the pious and the pagan alike!. The ‘Infinity’ series have been hugely popular ever since their inception, but with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet at the centre of the Avengers/Guardians of the Galaxy cinematic franchise, demand for them is at its height.
PICTURED: INFINITY CRUSADE #4 NM; COMPLETE SET OF #1-6 NM £35 SOLD
American Update: The Force Is With Us: Star Wars #2-6
*Marvel: Early issues of the original Star Wars series this week available in high grade, issues #2-6 (mostly pence copies). Always popular, the passion for Star Wars never seems to diminish! Full details in our catalogue.
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Eerie #8 to #13 – Avon’s Cult Series with art by Joe Kubert, Everett Kinstler and Dracula Spotlight Issue
*Horror 1940-1959: More from Avon’s much sought after horror title, this time an unbroken run from #8 through to #13, featuring artwork by E. Everett Kinstler, Harry Lazarus, Gene Fawcette, Sid Check, Alvin Hollingsworth and a promising youngster named Joe Kubert! Of particular interest is issue #12, which breaks away from the short-story anthology format to offer a book-length adaptation of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ – the first appearance, we believe, of the Lord of the Vampires in comics form! With the exception of #12, which is a very presentable GD+, these are mid to low grade copies, averaging FA+, suffering from various combinations of browning, tears, and watermarking, but all complete, eminently readable and reasonably affordable copies of a hotly sought pioneering series.
PICTURED: EERIE
#8 FA £90 Piece out of upper back cover, front cover top edge staining and wear SOLD
#9 FA £90 Off top staple, watermarked at top edge
#10 FA+ £75 Two long taped back cover tears SOLD
#11 FA £70 3″ diagonal front cover tear from upper left, smaller tear at upper staple area
#12 GD+ £120
#13 FA/GD £90 Lower right front cover corner off, long lower spine split
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – 1st Kull the Conqueror and Conan ‘pilot’ story in Marvel’s Horror Titles
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Two key issues for the fantasy/barbarian sub-genre at Marvel appeared not in their mainstream super-hero titles, but in their horror/mystery line: Chamber of Darkness #4 featured a Roy Thomas/Barry Smith created story – unheralded on the cover – featuring ‘Starr the Slayer’, a barbarian adventurer who was Conan in all but name; this is the story which reputedly persuaded Stan Lee to green-light the ongoing Conan series, as it showed how the hero could be presented. A little over a year later, Marvel followed up with another Robert E. Howard barbarian hero, Kull the Conqueror, who premiered in a short story in Creatures On The Loose #10 before spinning off into his own ongoing series. Both of these ‘pilot episodes’ are now back in stock, cents copies, in attractive VF grade, with bright, lustrous cover colour and tight firm staples.
PICTURED:
CHAMBER OF DARKNESS #4 VF £55 SOLD
CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #10 VF £55 SOLD
American/British Update: A Miscellany of Classics Illustrated
*Classics Illustrated: It’s the turn of the British version of Classics Illustrated this update, with 50 additions to our stocks, ranging from #8 (the Odyssey) to #144 (The Queen’s Necklace). Along the way, less common issues include a first printing of #13 (Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde), #32 (Lorna Doone with Matt Baker art), #40 (Benjamin Franklin), #73 (The Black Tulip with original British cover), #124 (The War Of The Worlds), #128 (Wuthering Heights — one of the very few written by a woman!) & #130 (The Woman In White). Also included are a number of World Illustrated, including the UK original #529 (Great Escapes). Full publication data is as always given in our catalogue.
American/British Update: Spider-Mania Max /Quirky Corner: ‘Spider-Merch’ from the 1970s and 1990s
*Memorabilia & Esoterica: Two oddities straying into the shop here, with a 1975 Power Records ‘mini LP’, pitting Spider-Man against the ‘Bells of Doom!’ While the Power Record and Comic sets are not unfamiliar, this is just the vinyl record, and appears to have been released without an accompanying comic. It’s NM-, still in its original shrinkwrap, but with light creasing to the sleeve at the corners. Backing that up, we have a ‘Spider-Man Keepsake Collection’ of oversized trading cards, including a full colour mini-press sheet and a ‘Prism’ card – whatever that means! We’d give you more details of this set (featuring Venom and Carnage as well as our hero), but it’s still sealed, NM in its original envelope, so we’re unable to oblige.
PICTURED:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BELLS OF DOOM VINYL RECORD NM- £10
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN KEEPSAKE COLLECTION CARD SET NM £10
British Update: Free Gift Farrago! Smash #108 and #109 (1968) with ‘Swing-Wing’ and ‘Secret Coder’
*Power Comics: The earlier run of Odhams’ Smash, before it got taken over by IPC/Fleetway, is always in demand, with its eclectic line-up – traditional humour strips such as ‘The Swots and the Blots’, home-grown adventure strips like ‘Brian’s Brain’ and ‘Rubberman’, Marvel super-hero reprints such as ‘Daredevil’, and the front-billed ‘Batman’ newspaper strip. But the Free Gifts, generally requiring some assembly, almost never survive in good shape, so this pair from 1968 are genuine rarities; #108 has a ‘Swing-Wing Fighter’ VF, bundled in its original rubber band (exercise caution when handling!), while #109 has a ‘Secret Coder’ FN/VF, not punched out of its original supporting card. Comics are an exceptional Fine.
PICTURED: SMASH
#108 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £60 SOLD
#109 FN WITH FREE GIFT FN/VF £60 SOLD
British Update: Thrill-Power Recharge! 2000 AD – Most of the first 100 Progs, including Future-Shocks and Robo-Hunter Debuts, First ‘Starlord’ Merger
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: This significant update, from #4 onward, refreshes our depleted stocks of 2000 AD’s first couple of years. Running from #4 to #100, with only a handful of gaps, this selection encompasses the debuts of long-running series ‘Tharg’s Future-Shocks’ and ‘Robo-Hunter’, as well as the first amalgamated issue of 2000 AD and Star-Lord, in which ‘Ro-Busters’ and ‘Strontium Dog’ joined the lineup, for much lengthier careers than in their original home. The finest British comics talents on display – Ian Gibson, Dave Gibbons, Kevin O’Neill, and a Bonanza of Brian Bolland, including his work on the epic ‘Cursed Earth’ saga! Tharg says, ‘Spend Your Galactic Groats now, Earthlets!’
PICTURED: 2000 AD #4 FN £15 SOLD
British Update: Free Gift Farrago! Beezer #457 (1964) with ‘Bubble and Squeak’
*Humour Comics: The large format semi-tabloid Beezer (home to ‘Ginger’, ‘Baby Crockett’ and ‘Pop, Dick & Harry’ among scores of others) doesn’t tend to wear well over time, so we’re particularly chuffed to have a Free Gift issue from 1964 in good shape; #457 17/10/1964 is VG, with the Free Gift – an inflatable noisemaker dubbed the ‘Bubble & Squeak’ – in FN. The gift actually looks VF, but we suspect the rubber/plastic in the inflatable component has long since ‘perished’, so in an excess of caution, we’re calling it Fine.
PICTURED: BEEZER #457 VG WITH FREE GIFT FN £35 SOLD
British Update: Free Gift Farrago! Princess from 1964 & 1965, including the first Girl merger issue
*Girls’ Comics: From 1960 to 1967, Princess weekly delighted a generation of proper young ladies, with its pretention to being a ‘magazine’ – photo-covers and lots of educational, historical and how-to features. But the comic strips kept the readers coming back for more, including ‘Alona the Wild One’, ‘The Happy Days’ and – in this selection – the very peculiar ‘Alice In Spaceland’. We have three Free Gift issues newly stocked. 10th October 1964 is the first ‘merger’ issue with the fallen Girl, the distaff Eagle which bequeathed ‘Belle and Mamie’ and ‘Lettice’ among others, to the combo title. This bribed new readers with a ‘Sparkling Princess Ring’, which is still sealed in its original envelope. When it rebranded the following year as ‘The New Princess Magazine’, the October 16th issue offered a ‘Princess Hair Band’; sadly, though the envelope is intact, the gift itself has broken into three pieces through careless handling over time. But we’re back on happier ground with the following issue, 23rd October, with the ‘Aurora Ring’ pristine in original envelope.
PICTURED: PRINCESS
10/10/64 VG/FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £60 SOLD
16/10/65 VG WITH FREE GIFT PR £15 SOLD
23/10/65 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £40 SOLD
British Update: True Life Library – 50+ from the first 100, commencing with #2
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: While the 1954 launched True Life Library is generally categorized as a romance title, things ran a little deeper than that. Certainly, romantic complications abounded, but said complications frequently included fraud, blackmail, robbery, abduction, infidelity, accusations of murder or the unwelcome popping-up of discarded spouses or offspring, to give readers a film noir frisson alongside their moonlight & roses. Titles such as ‘The Man She Feared’, ‘Gaol Girl’, ‘Beautiful Schemer’ and ‘Her Sister’s Man’ were advertised by lurid painted covers that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a movie marquee. We have 53 issues of True Life added to our stock, commencing with the second issue, and all within the first 100 numbers. Condition averages Good – sadly, staple rust does generally preclude a higher grade, though all are otherwise clean and sound.
PICTURED: TRUE LIFE LIBRARY
#2 GD £12
#17 VG £9
British Update: Bellamy, Hampson, Embleton, Lawrence and More – a Cavalcade of Classic Creators in Books and Fanzines
*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics: We don’t get to update this section as often as we’d like, and seldom with this many diverse items. In terms of books, we open with ‘Doctor Who: Timeview’, a paperback collection of Frank Bellamy’s illustrations of the famous Time Lord. The hardcover ‘Golden Years of Adventure Stories’ hearkens back to the story papers of the past such as Rover and Wizard, but nudges forward to take in Victor also. ‘The Man Who Drew Tomorrow’ details how Frank Hampson conceived and executed the legendary strip Dan Dare, with a font of information about Eagle and its stablemates. ‘Masters of Fun and Thrills’ is a paperback celebration of classic UK comic artists and ‘True Brit’, in the wake of the 2000 AD phenomenon, spotlights 21 of the field’s greatest artists, vintage and modern. In magazines, we open with The Illustrated Comic Journal (no relation to the similarly-named American publication) from 1976, devoted to all things British and panelological. Comics 101, also from 1976, is the souvenir programme from a convention devoted to UK comics; among many contributing artists are otherwise unseen pieces from Raymond Briggs, Jim Baikie, Geoff Campion, Ron Embleton, The Silent Three artist Evelyn Flinders, and other legendary names. We have a set of four issues of the Association of Comic Enthusiast’s newsletter, from circa 1980, and 1970’s Ultima Thule, with Embleton and Hampson artwork.
PICTURED: TRUE BRIT NM £25
Housekeeping Update
On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following file in our British section
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics V – Z
As of the time of writing, this file is bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Books Update: Miss Marple, Monsieur Poirot and Tommy & Tuppence
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Just the heading should be enough for you to deduce that the author concerned is Agatha Christie with her most famous detectives. A Murder Is Announced is a Miss Marple novel, and Miss Marple’s Final Cases is, as you might expect, a collection of short stories. The Mystery Of The Blue Train puts Poirot’s little grey cells to work, and The Secret Adversary introduces Tommy and Tuppence to sleuthing.
PICTURED:
A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED GD/VG £5
Books Update: The Name’s Flandry, Dominic Flandry
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Poul Anderson may well have been inspired by Ian Fleming’s James Bond, but even Bond’s foray into space in Moonraker wouldn’t have prepared him for the adventures of Dominic Flandry, interstellar trouble-shooter. We’ve got four books, two collections, Agent Of The Terran Empire and Flandry Of Terra, both with wraparound covers by Bob Fowke and two novels, A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows and Ensign Flandry.
PICTURED:
AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE VG £3.50
Housekeeping Update
On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following file in our American section:
*Marvel D – L
As of the time of writing, this file is bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Books Update: TV and Film Books
*TV/Film Tie-Ins: Here’s a haul of novelisations from the 1960s to 1980s, starting with the US side there’s Get Smart Once Again!, Knight Rider and two from the Mod Squad, Home Is Where The Quick Is and The-Sock-It-To-Em-Murders. On the UK side we have Gangsters, Sapphire And Steel and Strange Report. The final addition is the full script of West Side Story. Replete with TV, movie and stage covers, these are guaranteed to awaken fond memories.
PICTURED:
GET SMART ONCE AGAIN! GD £5
MOD SQUAD THE-SOCK-IT-TO-EM-MURDERS VG/FN £6
SAPPHIRE AND STEEL VG £20
The Bookshop Crawl: Friday 21st/Saturday 22nd February
Once again, we’re delighted to be participating in the Bookshop Crawl event this year. Participants visiting our shop on Friday 21st or Saturday 22nd February will be entitled to claim 10% discount on any purchases (from our book department only) on production of their Bookshop Crawl ID. To find out more about this event, please visit the Bookshop Crawl website.
Last Call for Clearance Corner: 30 issues of Schoolgirls’ Own Library (first and second series) for £25
*Clearance Corner: As you may realise, the purpose of our Clearance Corner lots is to clear space in our shop by discontinuing titles we’re no longer carrying to make way for new and incoming stuff. As such, they will only be offered for a short time. This Clearance Corner lot, listed on 25th January, has not been snapped up and is nearing the end of its time with us. If not purchased within the next few days, we will have to dispose of it. Here are the details from our original listing:
‘Who was ‘The Mystery Girl From the East’? What was ‘The Threat to Miss Fontaine’s Romance’? Why were ‘Pets On Trial at St. Kilda’s’? The answer to all these and oh, so many more questions can be found in our latest Clearance Corner! The venerable Schoolgirls’ Own Library of text stories featuring plucky young misses ran for two separate series, the first from 1922 until 1940, and the second from 1946 to 1963. We are offering 2 of the first series and 28 of the second, a total of 30 tales of daring and justice in boarding schools at home and abroad. The earliest two, from 1937, are Poor, but complete, though one is missing its back cover – not affecting the story content. The second series, number between #127 and #245 (publication dates from 1951 to 1957) average VG, generally sound and clean with occasional rusty staples. Just to spell it out once again: these are text stories with illustrations, not comics. This cornucopia of prototypical Girl Power is yours for a mere £25 – UK postage, if required, a further £5.’ SOLD
THE SQUARE MILE COLLECTION
This is an early Silver Age Collection from an original owner notable for the freshness and vibrancy of the cover colours and page quality; even those with minor reading and handling wear are vastly superior to the majority of comics that have been in circulation since the 1960s. The average grade is well above Fine, with many much nicer.
We’ll be adding selections from this collection for sale here each week across the range of titles represented. These will be over a range of prices each week to suit most budgets, so that all interested collectors have an opportunity to purchase something from this special collection. Each comic will come branded with a special label and certificate of authenticity verifying it as part of the Square Mile Collection. Here’s this week’s:
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – Fantastic Four #15, with the debuts of the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android
*Marvel: This early Lee & Kirby classic saw the introduction of one of the Fantastic Four’s nemeses, the malevolent Mad Thinker! A strategic genius, criminal mastermind and brilliant scientist in multiple fields, the Thinker’s intellect is believed to be the equal of Reed Richards himself. Despite being a thorn in the collective sides of the FF and multiple other Marvel heroes, the Thinker’s background and origin remained entirely unexplored for more than half a century. Also premiering here, the Thinker’s Awesome Android, initially just a near-mindless artificial henchperson, who over the years blossomed into an endearing supprting character as a co-worker of the She-Hulk in her later series. No, really. This is a beautiful Fine copy, minor wear at cover corners, but a lovely bright yellow cover background colour completely unmarred, firm staples, tiny trace of Marvel chipping at upper right cover edge not harming the main cover image at all.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #15 FN p £150 SOLD
American Update: Strange Tales #116 – Torch & Thing ‘pilot’ issue
*Marvel: By the time of Strange Tales #116, the Torch’s series was faltering, bogged down by C-list villains and creators who couldn’t decide on a direction for the strip. This was resolved, for a time, in this issue, when Johnny’s frenemy from the FF, Ben Grimm aka the Thing, co-starred, and the strip gained a new synergy. But what could make Ben turn against Johnny? Well, no spoilers, but it rhymes with ‘Muppet Pasta’! Be that as it may, the Ben/Johnny dynamic livened things up enough that Johnny’s solo strip became a double act, at least until Nick Fury and his Agents of SHIELD rolled up a few years later. In the back, of course, is Dr. Strange by Lee & Ditko, ‘Return to the Nightmare World!’, a thing of true beauty. This is an exceptional Fine copy, clean and bright with only a tiny amount of fine creasing at the lower cover corner, not impeding the cover scene.
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES #116 FN p £70
American Update: Tales of Suspense #34 & #37 – a Double Bill of Lee, Ditko & Kirby
*Marvel: Two prime Pre-Hero Marvel anthologies of shocks and twist endings, from the fertile mind of Stan Lee, with artistic collaborators Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and okay, Paul Reinman, but never mind. Issue #34 brings us ‘Inside the Blue Glass Bottle!’, ‘The Forbidden World!’, ‘The Coming of the Giants!’ and ‘Who Am I?’, while #37 introduces us to ‘Hagg, Hunter of Helpless Humans!’, ‘Behold The Monster!’ and ‘A Voice In The Dark!’. Both are beautiful bright crisp copies, with sharp corners and only very fine wear at edges, unmarred cover scenes with vivid unfaded colour.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE
#34 FN p £80
#37 FN+ p £110
American Update: Atom #2 by Fox, Kane and Anderson
*DC: In his second solo issue, following his successful Showcase try-outs, the Tiny Titan faced a challenge to the laws of probability in ‘The Oddest Man On Earth!’, and a selection of disappearing miscreants in ‘The Prisoners Who Vanished!’, both clever puzzle-box tales by Gardner Fox at his finest, superbly illustrated by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson, an A-List team! This early outing for the World’s Smallest Super-Hero is VG+, vibrant cover colour, good gloss, excellent interior page quality, but light to moderate lower left & right corner creasing.
PICTURED: ATOM #2 VG+ p £50
More from the Square Mile Collection next week!
American Update: DC Debuts: Justice League of America #1, with the first appearance of Despero
*DC: Heralded at the time of its release with the house ad: ‘Just Imagine… the mightiest heroes of our time have banded together to stamp out the forces of evil’, and by Cracky, the original line-up – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and the Martian Manhunter – gave it a good shot, devoting themselves not just to America – or even Earth – but to other worlds, galaxies and dimensions, thwarting the bad guys on a universal scale, as imaginatively portrayed by writer Gardner Fox and artists Sekowsky and Sachs! Following a three-issue tryout in Brave & Bold, the team was awarded its own title, and faced off for the first time against Despero, the alien warlord who was to menace them on many occasions. You can see why Marvel publisher Martin Goodman asked Stan Lee to come up with something as good; Stan’s response? The Fantastic Four! But for our money, as great as the FF were, the JLA were first and best! This GD/VG copy is cents, no UK price or overstamp, with clean flexible interior pages and firm staples at centrefold, although the bottom staple (only) has become detached from the cover. There is light wear at spine and a tiny shallow tear at lower cover corner, in the shadows behind the Flash’s chair. Generally an extremely well-presenting copy for its grade.
PICTURED: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 GD/VG £475
American Update: Catalogue Expansion: Black Orchid – Prestige Format mini-series by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
*DC: Introduced in 1973’s Adventure Comics #428, the Black Orchid had fallen into such obscurity fifteen years later that reportedly, when writer Neil Gaiman pitched this mini to DC executives, he was met with blank looks and a hesitant question: ‘Blackhawk Kid? Was he in the Legion of Super-Heroes?’ Despite this, Gaiman took a bog standard super-hero and turned her into a tragic and fascinating figure, revealing the Orchid’s true origins for the first time. He was aided considerably in this by the compelling artwork of Dave McKean, whose vision proved so integral that, when McKean was unavailable for a sequel, Gaiman refused to produce the mooted ‘Black Orchard’ without McKean’s input. One of the cornerstones of the 1980s evolution of comics, deserving of greater acclaim and recognition. This complete 3 part Prestige Format mini-series is offered as a set in Near Mint condition.
PICTURED: BLACK ORCHID #1 NM; COMPLETE SET #1-3 NM £20 SOLD
American Update: Batmania: the early 1960s ‘old look’
*DC: Before Julius Schwartz took over the editorlal helm of the Batman titles in 1964, it was a time of strange transformations, bizarre aliens, the Batman family and, occasionally, the famous villains. Eight issues new in this time from this period between #116 and #163, including Bat-Mite and Bat-Girl in #144, Bat-Baby in #147, the classic ‘Robin Dies At Dawn’ in #156, Ace ‘The Super Bat-Hound’ in #158, the Joker in #163 and more.
American Update: Miscellaneous early 1960s DCs inc. key issues
*DC: A small batch of early 1960s DC in this week, mostly in low grade but with some significant issues: Atom #1, Green Lantern #9 (2nd Sinestro) & #15, Lois Lane #13, Showcase #33 with Aquaman & Superboy #89, the first appearance of Mon-El. Full details as always in our catalogue.
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Slab Happy/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Punisher in Amazing Spider-Man #129 9.4
*Marvel: One of the later breakout characters of Marvel, Frank Castle, aka bereaved urban vigilante the Punisher, became one of the company’s super-stars in the 1990s, but had spent most of the previous two decades ‘bubbling under’ as a guest-starring anti-hero. His media presence – and commercial appeal – has been heightened by numerous film and TV appearances. The Punisher’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129, February 1974, is particularly rare in the UK, where, owing to the presence of Spider-Man Comics Weekly, the US title was embargoed for distribution for several years. This is a cents copy (there are no pence copies, of course), CGC certified Blue Label (no restoration) graded 9.4 (NM equivalent).
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129 CGC 9.4 NM £2500
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Six Of The Best: Green Goblin, Iceman, Spider-Slayer and more
*Marvel: This selection of our Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man’s adventures may seem random, but it is characterised by high grades, all a minimum of VF, with some VF+, shiny, vibrant copies which will enhance any collector’s den. Issue #58 features the second Spider-Slayer, as JJJ decides to take matters into his own (virtual) handsl #59 has the first cover appearance by the sultry and scintillating Mary Jane Watson; #75’s ‘Death Without Warning’ is a stunning and often-homaged cover image; #92 features a guest appearance by the X-Men’s Iceman, during the merry mutants’ years in exile and #96 and #97 are the Comics Code-challenging issues which addressed, for the first time since the 1950s in mainstream comics, the problem of drug addiction.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#58 VF p £57
#59 VF p £60 SOLD
#75 VF+ £65 SOLD
#92 VF+ £65 SOLD
#96 VF £55 SOLD
#97 VF+ £80 SOLD