*Marvel: Although they’re beyond the range of issues shown in our online catalogue, fans of our Marvel ‘downstairs’ stock located in our basement will be keen to hear of our restock of Thor. A significant number of issues from #251 to the early #400’s are fresh in, including virtually all of the ground-breaking run by Walt Simonson that started with #337.
Yearly Archives: 2015
American Update: Iron Fist #14 & #15 VF/NM
*Marvel: Marvel’s ‘other’ Kung Fu phenomenon, Iron Fist, enjoyed an upswing in quality when taken over by the then-team supreme of the X-Men, Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Towards the end of Iron Fist’s first run, two issues occurred that still command fan-attention, and concomitantly raised prices, decades later. Issue #15 guest-starred the ‘classic’ Uncanny X-Men, in a highly commercial move which everyone expected, but the previous issue, #14, featured the first appearance of a villain called Sabre-Tooth, whose popularity exploded in subsequent years. Both these highly sought-after issues are new in, and in high grade (VF/NM) cents copies; #14 £160, #15 £50. We could say more – but why give you the hard sell? They’re not going to be in stock long! SORRY, THESE ARE NOW SOLD
British Update: June is busting out all over
*Girls’ Comics: A plethora of June this update – a pair from ’67, a straggler from ’71, and then many from the final years of 1973 & 1974, including the final issue! By 1973, the former queen of Fleetway’s girls’ line was struggling, losing readers to the more street-level Tammy. In June’s final year of 1974, the signs were plain; new strips like “The Twin She Couldn’t Trust” and “Tilly’s Magic Tranny” (a transistor radio, in those more innocent times) having failed to grab an audience, there was a greater reliance on reprints. A temporary drop in frequency to fortnightly, and a permanent drop in page count to 32 meant the writing was on the wall. Without even the traditional, ‘Great news, chums!” on the cover, June for for the 15th June 1974 (pictured) was the last, with only “Bessie Bunter” jumping ship to Tammy – even the popular and decade-running “Lucky’s Living Doll” failed to make the cut! Still, despite her sad end, there’s much lovely work in these latter-day Junes, and the lower print runs means that they’re less common, and more highly-sought, than their earlier sisters, so get your requests in now!
American Update: DC/Marvel Treasuries
*DC: Although the ‘first’ official Marvel/DC crossover had come out slightly earlier – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – that was just a litigation-saving compromise as both companies had been developing the same property simultaneously, by purest coincidence. But it started the respective head honchos thinking, and in 1976, comics readers were thrilled by the publication of Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, a giant-sized, 92-page, all-new adventure in which the two greatest heroes of their respective companies teamed up against their direst enemies, Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus! Gerry Conway, Ross Andru and Dick Giordano were the creators, and the precedent-shattering book led to sequels: Marvel Treasury Edition #28 paired Superman and Spider-Man again, this time versus the Parasite and Doctor Doom, by Shooter, Wolfman and John Buscema, and throwing guests Wonder Woman and Hulk into the mix. The follow-up was DC Special Series #27, which offered Batman Vs. the Incredible Hulk, by Wein and Garcia-Lopez, featuring the Joker and the Shaper of Worlds. There were several subsequent DC/Marvel collaborations, but none carrying the impact, both emotional and physical, of these treasury-sized tabloids, in which the artists’ work was displayed to best advantage. We have copies of all three, and two copies, in slightly differing grades, of the first Superman/Spider-Man meeting. Seldom seen and keenly hunted, these will not be with us long, so look sharp if you’re going to get them! For your comfort and convenience, you’ll find them listed in our DC section under ‘DC & Marvel Present’, for as long as they’re with us, that is!
American Update: Quirky Corner: the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine
*Gold Key/Whitman: Back when we were fab in Quirky Corner this week with a real classic — the extremely rare and sought-after Gold Key adaptation of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine animated feature film; 64 pages of psychedelic wonder! Originally issued with a giant poster, this copy is missing that and in addition has suffered some water damage and has a small tear at upper right corner, hence the grade and price of FA/GD £20. But it’s the only copy we’ve ever come across in 20 years. John, Paul, George, Ringo, the Blue Meanies and the eponymous undersea craft — it’s an ever-lovin’ SUB-in! All you need is love…. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Planet Comics #7
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: “Weird Adventures on Other Worlds!” was the strapline on early issues of Fiction Houses’ Planet Comics, and by Cracky they delivered in the early issues, a thick 64-page format bursting with derring-do in distant galaxies! New in this update, #7, from 1940, with, yes, tape on the spine, centrefold and cover edge, but lovely clean interior pages featuring endless variations on the Flash Gordon tag – ‘Flint Baker’, ‘Buzz Crandall, ‘Spurt Hammond’ – yes, we know – as well as more imaginative fare such as the Red Comet, Fero Interplanetary Detective, and Auro Lord of Jupiter! Fiction House was originally a pulp magazine publisher, and their roots are still very present here, with mighty-thewed heroes, wilting damsels in distress, and dastardly aliens galore! #7 FA/GD £150.
British Update: Super Detective Picture Library – a Random selection
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: a half-dozen new entries in Super Detective Picture Library, an exclusively Rick Random update between #123 & #143. With exquisite art by Ron Turner, the science-fiction space sleuth is one of the most popular and enduring recurring characters in this classic series.
American Update: High grade Dr. Strange (1st series), including Uncle Stan Collection copies plus 2nd series #1
*Marvel: Dr. Strange is the magician of the moment, and we’ve got ‘im! By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, we present for your delight many high grade (VF or better) copies of his first series from 1968, including three copies from the Uncle Stan Collection. These are comics sent by Stan Lee at the time of publication to his nephew in the UK and come with a photocopied letter of authenticity signed by Stan himself. We also have a nice FN+ copy of #1 of the second series. Keep your Shield of Seraphim polished and your Crimson Bands of Cyttorak (or however you spell it) tight around you as you venture forth into the marketplace to do battle for the Master Of The Mystic Arts…
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:
*Girls’ Comics (titles beginning with A-L; M-Z to follow shortly)
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.
American Update: Adventure Comics
*DC: A chunky update to one of our favourite titles here at 30th Century: Adventure Comics from the Silver Age. This significant update focuses on issues from #276 up to the Legion series debut in #300, taking in all of the tales Of The Bizarro World series. Although, like the #300 itself, there are quite a lot of low to mid-grade copies (which are thus very affordable), there are also some nicer copies, including for example a FN copy of #282, the debut of Star Boy at £79 (pictured). Legion appearances (and related, such as the first Dev-Em) abound and we edge into the Legion series proper with some of the earlier issues in the 300’s, before detouring beyond the Legion with a handful of the issues featuring Supergirl.
British Update: 2000 AD #1-150
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: That great survivor of the British comics industry, 2000 AD, is featured this week in a near complete run from #1-150 and a couple of specials, including the first Summer Special from 1977. All the significant issues are present; #1 is Poor only at £20, #2 (1st Judge Dredd) Fair at £30, but then the grades zoom up, with very many Fines and even a good showing of Very Fines, rare in this paper quality. Other highlights include plenty of Brian Bolland art (inc his 1st Judge Dredd strip), 1st Robo-Hunter, 1st Rick Random by Ron Turner, 1st ABC Warriors, 1st VCs and 1st Stainless Steel Rat, as well as the first issues after mergers with Starlord and then Tornado. Most particularly, there are really nice FN copies of the two Burger Wars issues (#71 & #72) and the two Jolly Green Giant issues (#77 & #78), each at £25 and much sought after by collectors due to the nature of the material which prevents them being reprinted.
American Update: Savage Tales
*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: This week’s magazine update features a complete run (barring #1) of #2-11 of Marvel’s Savage Tales from 1973-1975, the anthology classic starring at various times Conan and Ka-Zar and featuring the art of a galaxy of illustration stars, including Barry Smith, Frank Brunner, Gray Morrow, Al Williamson, Bernie Wrightson, Jim Steranko, Gil Kane and Neal Adams. With a line-up like that, the standard was high!
British Update: Big run of Starblazer
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: New into stock, several dozen issues of Starblazer: ‘Space Fiction Adventure In Pictures’ that lasted a very respectable 12 years from 1979-1991 and ran for 281 issues. This new batch is in two distinct batches: issues between #8 & #25, and then very many from #140 upwards, culminating in the very final issue, #281, itself.
American Update: Amazing Spider-Man #7, 8 & 9
*Marvel: A trio of early Spider-Man appearances in mid-grades, making them very affordable. Issue #7 features the second appearance of the Vulture, whom some enterprising soul has bestowed with a Roy Orbison-cut on the cover in biro. That’s the only significant defect in this otherwise decent copy with unmarked interior pages, GD- p at £75. Issue #8, the “Tribute to Teen-Agers”, guest-stars the Human Torch and sports a beautiful unmarked yellow cover with only very faint and fine corner and edge wear, VG p £115. And rounding out the trio, issue #9 features the debut and origin of one of Spidey’s most persistent villains, Electro, in GD p at £75.
American Update: New Mutants #98 (1st Deadpool) VF+ £150
*Marvel: A title we seldom mention in our catalogue is New Mutants, but there are a couple of significant issues which are exceptions, and one of them is #98, the debut of not only the probability-manipulating assassin Domino, but also – and more significantly, in view of his imminent movie stardom, everyone’s favourite Merc-With-A-Mouth, Deadpool. Although very different in tone from his later more popular appearances, this is where it all began for Deadpool, and this copy, a pence printed edition, is offered in VF+ at £150, with only a very light stress mark around the issue number bringing the grade slightly down. Chances to get this item unslabbed are getting scarcer as people join in with the speculator bandwagon, so grab your copy now – competition will be keen! SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: Victor Summer Specials 1968/69
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A dynamic double act of Victor Summer Specials from 1968 and 1969, mid-low grades but complete, with oversized adventures of ‘The Tough of the Track’, ‘Cecil the Stone-Age Scrapper’, ‘Morgyn the Mighty’, and all the usual soccer-playing, Hun-smashing gang.
American Update: Mags & Books About Vintage US Comics (and Aus comics, this time!)
*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: Small but significant updates to this popular section with new stock for both DC and Marvel’s in-house prozines – Amazing World of DC Comics and FOOM, respectively – and the acclaimed publication of the Comics Creators’ Guild, Comics Forum. We also have a very unusual item entitled Bonzer: Australian Comics 1900’s to 1990’s, a 1998 softcover edited by Anette Shiell and published by the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University. It casts a spotlight on a little-known area of comics history, and can’t be a commonplace item (and yes, we know it’s not quite correctly listed here, but we don’t have an Australian Comics section – yet – and it’s more US than UK-related!).
American Update: 1950’s-70’s Romance inc Marvel’s My Love #1
*Romance: “Tales of Love that Could be Yours!” promised Marvel’s My Love #1, which we welcome back into stock this update, together with a couple of its companion title, Our Love Story. As we’ve mentioned many times in the past, these two late-60’s titles feature little-seen work by some of the biggest names in Marvel art – Buscema, Romita, Colan, Everett – and are always popular purchases. Backing up the Marvel titles are a scattering of minor publishers from the 1950’s: All-True Romance (with a very stylish Morisi cover on #12), Sweethearts #39 (Danger! Warning! Sal Mineo photo cover!), and Premier’s True Love Confessions.
American Update: We’re just wild about Millie!
*Teen Humour/Funny Girls: More from Marvel’s longest-running heroine, Millie the Model! This latest segment of our Mammoth Millie update runs from #114 to #153, when Millie metamorphosed from a ‘funny gal’ to a soap-opera heroine, with romantic confusion being the focus of the title rather than the previous comedy. Stan Lee and Stan Goldberg presented Mil with a slightly dated Hollywood glamour, but by the mid-60’s, when Denny O’Neil and Gary Friedrich took over the scripts (something they don’t usually list on their cv’s!), a more Mod sensibility crept in. Millie’s biggest change was still to come – but that’s for a future update! In the meantime, join Millie, Chili, the groovy Gears and the rest of the gang for visits to Carnaby Street and the rest of Swingin’ London! A few Fairs and Goods dot this selection, but mostly it consists of very attractive Fine condition copies, with some achieving higher grades.
American/British Update: early UK Mad
*Mad & Other Parody: A plethora of new and early Mad Magazine British Editions from lucky number 13 up to the early 100’s (with a handful of later stragglers). The UK series of Mad debuted in the mid 1950’s, and reprinted selections from the American edition, but usually in a different sequence than the US originals. All of the Mad mainstays – Wood, Rickard, Martin, Jaffee, Drucker – will be found here, plus, as time went on, many original UK-generated covers appeared, and occasional UK originated interior material. This selection of 50+ issues includes issue #100 with Free Gift, as well as a couple of other Special editions with Free Gifts, and the average condition is Fine.
American Update: EC’s Shock Suspenstories
*EC: While EC was mostly, and justly, famous for its horror titles, a personal favourite here at 30th Century Towers is Shock SuspenStories, the ‘sampler’ title which presented a ‘taster platter’ of crime, sci-fi, and horror, as well as occasional ‘issue’ stories which pushed the boundaries of the powers-that-be’s comfort zone by challenging then-popular positions as to race, poverty, and social injustice. We have an even half-dozen of Shock SuspenStories new in, #’s 13-18, in affordable mid-grades, averaging Good. #13 features Frank Frazetta’s only solo story at EC, the famous “Squeeze Play”, but the remainder of the series is no artistic wasteland, as Wood, Crandall, Kamen, Evans, and Ingalls, among others, are all present and at their creative peaks. Due credit must also be given to Marie Severin, EC’s colourist, who created the evocative palette in the relatively primitive four-colour process which makes these covers among the most striking of the EC line – and that’s saying a lot! #17 shown.
American Update: A brace of strange bedfellows in DC Treasuries
*DC: A contrasting duo from DC’s tabloid-sized Limited Collector’s Edition series of the 1970s: C-23, starring ghosts, ghouls and creatures in the House of Mystery; and, turning from the dark to the light, The Bible, all-new stories by Joe Kubert and Nestor Redondo. Any of the DC LCEd. series are scarce, particularly in the UK, but these two are among the most popular.
British Update: Eagle Classics
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A quartet of classics from the pages of Eagle: the Eagle Classics series from Hawk books re-presented some of the best-loved strips from the iconic boys’ weekly. Offered this update are the volumes starring Harris Tweed, PC49, Riders of the Range, and Fraser of Africa, the latter in full colour and illustrated by the legendary Frank Bellamy.
American Update: Early 1960’s Dells
*Dell: One of the more diverse and esoteric publishers, Dell ran from the 1930’s to the 1970’s producing thousands of comics, most of which, hard though it is to imagine these days, had nothing to do with the panties & capes superhero crowd. Many were media adaptations, of movie cartoons, films, tv shows, or occasionally even newspaper strips, but a lot of them were original, and frankly, somewhat bizarre. We have around 30 new Dell listings this update, with a wide range of titles; Brain Boy (Gil Kane art, and the first appearance of one of Dell’s few super-beings), the Detectives, Dr. Kildare, Dracula, 87th Precinct, King of Diamonds, Lion of Sparta, the Lost World, On Stage (if not Leonard Starr, then a very creditable imitation), Peter Gunn, Ripcord, Tom & Jerry, Troubleshooters, Tubby (from ‘Little Lulu’), and Walt Disney Presents.
American Update: Silver Age Green Lantern #1-14
*DC: The first fourteen of Green Lantern’s own series, in grades ranging from frankly poor (but complete) to an attractive VG, with the debuts of some of Hal Jordan’s classic friends and foes, such as the origin of Sinestro, the first appearance of Hector Hammond, the premier of Pieface (oh dear; never mind, we don’t call him that any more), and lots more, including Tomar-Re, Sonar, the Weaponers of Qward, the Guardians of the Universe, the first Flash & Green Lantern team-up, and a plethora of space & time-spanning adventures, as John Broome and Gil Kane push their creative imaginations ever higher. The #1 is a FA+, with heavy tape at the spine and one taped cover tear, but sound and clean interiors. Ignore the naff Rhino Reynolds movie – this is what the Emerald Guardian should be all about!
American Update: Horror/Mystery 1960-1980’s from a variety of publishers
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980’s: Substantial restocks to all five major publishers in this category, with around 250 items newly listed! ACG replenished with its three long-running titles, Adventures into The Unknown, Unknown Worlds, and Forbidden Worlds, along with the short-run Midnight Mystery. ACG featured much fine art from the likes of Ogden Whitney and Kurt Schaffenberger, as well as what can only be called ‘cuddly’ horror; eerie sentimentality often with a strong romantic component. Included in this update are also their super-hero characters Nemesis and Magicman (the latter’s first appearance), and the indescribable Herbie Popnecker. Charlton hits with its old reliables Ghost Manor, Ghostly Haunts, Ghostly Tales, Haunted and Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves. Launching in the mid-late 1960’s, these gave talents such as Aparo, Ditko, Boyette, Sutton, and later Newton and Staton, free rein to produce vivid and imaginative work. One of their later titles, Monster Hunters, is also restocked. Gold Key steps forward with Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, Grimm’s Ghost Stories, Occult Files of Dr. Spektor, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and Mystery Comics Digest; these feature work by Celardo, Bolle, and Mortimer, among others, and have beautifully eerie painted covers. DC brings us Black Magic, Ghosts, Unexpected, Weird Mystery Tales and Witching Hour as ‘opening acts’ to its two pillars, House of Mystery and House of Secrets. Several high-grade issues of HoM and HoS are new in from the start of those series’ horror revival, with art by Wrightson, Wood, Orlando, Toth, Kane, Adams, and some of the most evocative covers produced. Finally, Marvel offers us Beware, Chamber of Darkness, Creatures on the Loose, Fear, Frankenstein, Journey Into Mystery, Man-Thing, Monsters on the Prowl, Tomb of Darkness, Vault of Evil, Werewolf By Night, and the first (and only) issue of Giant-Size Creatures, with the first appearance of Tigra the Were-Woman. Phew!
British Update: Jag & Tornado
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Small selections of sought-after short runs this update. We have a trio of Jag from 1968, the tabloid-sized paper which failed largely because newsagents found it to awkward to display! It made a rapid transition to standard size, but too late to save it from a merger with Tiger, with Jag’s most popular feature, “Football Family Robinson” by Joe Colquhon, enduring for years in its second home. These three are all from the early oversized era. Tornado whizzed past in 22 issues in 1979, bringing us, among others, “The Mind of Wolfie Smith”, “Blackhawk” and blundering superhero “Captain Klep” by Kevin O’Neill, as well as Dave Gibbons’ short-lived super-heroic career as fumetti star “The Big E”. No, really. Eight of the 22 back in stock, from #2 to the final issue, #22, after which Wolfie, Blackhawk (no, not that Blackhawk) and the Captain all passed over to 2000 AD, but Big E was summarily discarded.
British Update: Debbie 1974-1982 inc. ‘and Spellbound’ issues
*Girls’ Comics: Approximately 100 issues of Debbie new in to our stock this week, from 1974 to 1982, including many from the “Debbie & Spellbound” amalgam period, with extra spookiness injected into the usual tales of plucky schoolgirls and orphan equestriennes. Featuring “Maid of the Temple Dogs”, “Big Blue”, “Springheeled Jill”, “Lisa, Lonely Ballerina” and the photo-soap “Randall Road Girls” among scores more , join us for almost a decade’s worth of this popular DC Thomson weekly!
British Update: A splendid new range of Thriller Comics/Picture Library
*Boy’s Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Dozens of issues new in of the venerated Thriller Comics/Picture Library title, with beautifully illustrated tales of derring-do. This new range is between #48 & #410, and features the adventures of Hopalong Cassidy, Captain Blood, Captain Kidd, Claude Duval, Buffalo Bill, Billy The Kid, Dick Turpin, Dick Daring, Battler Britton, Spy 13, Robin Hood, Dogfight Dixon, John Steel, Jet Ace Logan and many others.
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:
*Romance
and from the following in our American/British section:
*Classics Illustrated
*Undergrounds
and from the following in our British section:
*Annuals
*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics
and from the following in our Books section:
*Mad Books
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
American Update: What A Hulk!
*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: In this week’s vintage magazine update, we’ve added a complete run of the Rampaging Hulk, morphing into the Hulk, from #1 to #27. The exceptional high grades range from FN to NM.
Books Update: Mad And Madder
*Mad Books: We’ve added a sextet of titles to the Mad Books section. These include the two shown and Inside Mad, Madvertising, The Endangered Mad and Three Ring Mad.
American Update: Captain Marvel #1 VF/NM
*Marvel: An extraordinary condition copy of Captain Marvel’s debut issue. Fresh from his try-outs in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 & #13, Marvel’s Kree-born warrior took off in fine style in his own series, under the auspices of Stan Lee and Gene Colan, and this beautiful cents copy, with no UK price or overstamp, is the most attractive copy we’ve seen in years. Deep, vivid cover colour, excellent gloss, and lovely interior page quality, with only the most minute stress mark at spine visible under close examination. We’ve graded it VF/NM, and offer it at £150. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD.
British Update: Infamously, UK Scream!
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: This short-lived horror anthology, with stories and art by top British talent, (including Alan Moore in the first issue) showed great promise, but was sadly stifled by a combination of a barrage of parental complaints about the violence, and a printer’s strike which threatened to stop the presses for several weeks. After issue # 15, and without so much as even the traditional “Great News, Chums!”, Scream vanished, and two of its most popular strips, ‘Monster’ and ‘ The 13th Floor’ (about a homicidal computerised elevator dispensing harsh justice in a tower block – no, really) continued into the second iteration of Eagle. We have an almost complete run new in, lacking only the final issue, averaging Fine, as well as the 1985 Holiday Special in VG/FN.
American Update: Chilling Adventures In/Red Circle Sorcery
*Horror 1960-1980’s: We’re very pleased to welcome back into stock more issues of Sorcery, the short-lived horror series from Archie Comics under their Red Circle imprint. Taking over with #3 from a bizarre title narrated by Sabrina the Teenage Witch, the series fell under the artistic directorship of Gray Morrow, who provided all of the covers and much of the interior art, alongside such luminaries as Chaykin, Alcazar, McWilliams, and Thorne, for a quality series equalling if not surpassing DC’s mystery line of the time. Sadly, the series didn’t get good distribution, and was over with #11, but those few issues are outstanding, and one of the best-kept secrets in comics. Listed variously under Chilling Adventures in Sorcery and Red Circle Sorcery, we have half-a-dozen new copies to tempt and terrify!
British Update: New Alan Class certificated stock
*Alan Class Reprints: As the official representatives for the private collection of publisher Alan Class, we are pleased to offer in excess of 100 new items from Alan’s own publishing archive, high grade copies, each of which is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Alan Class himself, and is therefore a unique purchase! FN/VF is the average grade on these additions, and there are many NM copies which were never distributed or sold, and have been unread since printing. The classic ‘Big 6’ – Astounding Stories, Creepy Worlds, Secrets of the Unknown, Sinister Tales, Suspense, and Uncanny Tales – are all well-represented, as well as some of the more oddball, short-run series such as Blazing Trails, Just Dennis, Outer Space, and Tales of the Underworld.
American Update: The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine!
*Marvel: Back in 1961, impressed with the success of DC’s Justice League Of America, Marvel charged Stan Lee to come up with something to emulate it. He didn’t (that would happen a little later with Avengers); what Stan Lee did instead was to create a new super-hero team book with a very different feel, because they were a family. Okay, so the basic premise of the brainy leader, his strong but dim best friend, his girl-friend and her younger brother had been done before (particularly at DC — Rip Hunter, Sea Devils, anyone?), but never with such resounding success as with the Fantastic Four. This week, a major update to Marvel’s First Family! Commencing with #16, guest-starring the Astonishing Ant-Man, and featuring a number of issues with significant Silver Age crossovers: #25, with the definitive Hulk/Thing battle; #28, co-featuring the X-Men; #39 & #40, the classic ‘Battle of the Baxter Building’, co-starring Daredevil; and #55 and #75 with the Silver Surfer. But not content with those milestones, we have also the debuts of the Frightful Four, the delightful Dragon Man, and mysterious beldame Agatha Harkness, and a more than thirty other issues in which our gang of four (sometimes five!) clash with the great, good and grotty of the Marvel Universe, culminating with the 100th edition, a Lee & Kirby free-for-all starring the FF’s entire Rogue’s Gallery! Many of these new issues are in excellent grade, and are cents copies, without the British price stamp or overprint. Selected scans below: #16 VF- £310, #28 VF p £225, #39 FN+ £59, #40 FN+ £59, #55 FN+ p £50.
Books Update: I Didn’t Work For Five Years To Be Called Mr Fu Manchu!
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Two paperback editions of Sax Rohmer’s classics join our existing Hardcover (The Return of Dr Fu-Manchu). The dastardly and sinister mastermind crosses swords once again with Nayland Smith, in Tibet (Emperor Fu Manchu) and in war-torn London, New York and Haiti (all in The Island Of Fu Manchu).
American Update: The Return Of Marvel Masterworks
*Modern Reprints: We’re delighted to re-introduce the Marvel Masterworks series to our stock, commencing with a range of the softcover editions from the Golden Age and the Atlas Era at £22.50 each. Thrill to the forerunners of the Marvel Universe as we know it, with these quality reprints from the 1940’s and 1950’s: All-Winners, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner and more.
American Update: Silver/Bronze Age Batman
*DC: A nice update to our stocks of the Caped Crusader, from the wacky ‘alien monster/Batman family’ years of the early 1960’s, through to the subsequent ‘new look’ of the second half of the 1960’s and beyond into the grimmer and grittier Bronze Age. All cents, nice clean copies in well above average grade. Four examples of what we mean from the earlier part of this Batman batch are shown below: #134 VG+ £64, #135 VG/FN £70, #137 FN+ £110, #143 FN £85.
American Update: A Mixed Bag of Mags!
*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: A very mixed bag indeed this week in this very popular category, including Marvel’s Bizarre Adventures, a couple of Epics, the three Warriors of the Shadow Realm Marvel Super Specials and Unknown Worlds Of Science Fiction; a Psycho from Skywald, a Blazing Combat, an Eerie and a 1994 from Warren, a scarce Castle Of Frankenstein Monster Annual 1967 film mag from Gothic castle and finally two of the UK editions of Stark Terror from 1980.
British Update: Lion 1964-1972
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A chunky update to a classic title, with dozens of issues of Lion new in, filling many gaps in our existing stock between the years 1964 and 1972. Included in this batch are the Christmas issues for 1965 and 1967, plus the first Spider appearance in 26/6/65 (VG £20).
American Update: Gold Key titles
*Gold Key/Whitman: In the mid-1960’s Gold Key (later Whitman) virtually took over from Dell in publishing both titles derived from TV and Film, as well as their own line of super-heroes, even inheriting some titles from Dell. This update touches both bases, with the Invaders, Magnus Robot Fighter, the Man From UNCLE, MARS Patrol, Mighty Samson, the Owl, Lost In Space (Space Family Robinson) and Turok, Son Of Stone.
American Update: Quirky Corner: Complete run of Archie’s Shadow
*Archie: Definitely a title for our Quirky Corner is Jerry Siegel’s & Paul Reinman’s re-imagining of the pulp hero the Shadow for Archie Comics in 1964. Here, not only does the Shadow know what evil lurks in the hearts of men, he dons a super-hero costume and cape to set about putting everything to right. His rogues gallery, apart from the ubiquitous Shiwan Khan, includes Dr Demon, the Radiation Rogue, Attila the Hunter, the Brute, Elasto and the Diabolical Dimensionoid. Wackiness ensues for all eight issues, now in stock in nice grade.
British Update: Bunty 1989-1991
*Girls’ Comics: New in, nearly every issue of Bunty from May 1989 to September 1991, including the 1st New Look issue from 1989 and an April 1991 Free Gift issue with gift (Barbie Sticker Album). Nearly all in FN grade.
British Update: Captain Britain milestones
*Marvel UK: Several landmark issues in the career of Brian Braddock’s alter-ego, new in this week: the premier issue of his first series, excruciatingly rendered by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe; Marvel Super-Heroes #377, in which the Alan Davis-designed new version appears for the first time; and choice issues of The Daredevils and the second series of Mighty World of Marvel, in which Moore, Davis, and later Delano created the groundbreaking adventures for which the series is so fondly remembered.
British Update: A whole lot of Judy from 1960 till 1989
*Girls’ Comics: Approximately 50 of the long-running D.C. Thomson girl’s weekly new in; a select batch from the first year of publication, 1960; then a dash of the mid-70’s; and a long swathe of issues between 1983 to 1989, in the latter days of which Judy encompassed the defunct Tracy. In very affordable low-mid grades, the early issues are particularly bargainacious!
American Update: Flash Archives from Volume 1
*Modern Reprints: With the classic hero, the Flash, being very much in the public eye at the moment, we’re pleased to have in stock three out-of-print volumes of DC’s handsome Archive series. Flash Archives Volumes 1, 2, and 5 reprint the first adventures of Barry Allen, the Fastest Man Alive, by John Broome, Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson, with Infantino’s haunting retro-futuristic design of Central City and of other worlds adding a strong kinetic influence on the stories, a vital ingredient in ‘selling’ the super-speed adventures. Yes, we’re biased witnesses, but they’re still great! All these volumes are Near Mint, having been read and stored carefully.
British Update: Humour Annuals in High Grade: Shiver & Shake, Topper, Whizzer & Chips, Whoopee
*Annuals: Twenty-Five new Annuals listed in our Humour subdivision, from four enduringly popular titles: Shiver & Shake (1979-1984), Topper (1977-1988); Whizzer & Chips (1975-1991), and Whoopee (1983-1986). This selection is in very nice condition, mostly with prices unclipped and no interior markings even on the “This Book Belongs To” page; they average VF, with only a handful falling to Fine. Join ‘Sweeny Toddler’, ‘Moana Lisa’, ‘Beryl the Peril’, and company for more laughs and frolics!
British Update: Super Detective Picture Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: It’s been far too long since we’ve added an update to Super Detective Library, one of the most popular titles in this category, but here we have a (mostly) nicely graded selection of about 20 issues new in between #48 and #188, featuring all the usual suspects: Blackshirt, Rip Kirby, Rick Random, Vic Terry, John Steel, Buck Ryan and others.