British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Number One (and Two) with a Bullet
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: From 1976, the first two issues of D.C.Thomson’s Bullet, the action weekly which debuted the same week as rival IPC’s eponymous Action, and rather got overshadowed by the notorious opposition. Starring a moustachioed medallion man who had a mysterious connection to the star of Warlord, Fireball fought crime and did daring deeds all over the world, frequently – and unusually, for this time in Boys’ weeklies – squaring off with the glamourous villainess, the Cat. Other stars of the Bullet line-up were giant robot “The Smasher”, avenging-gangland-victims’ saga “Vic’s Vengeance”, desert exile “Survivour”, and the inevitable football strip “Twisty”. Unusually, Bullet gave 4-6 page segments to all its serials (with Fireball himself getting a luxurious 8 or 9!), as opposed to the 2-4 pages that were the industry standard. #1 and #2 are both Fine, with VF free gifts; #1 (£60) brings us a ‘Secret Sign Ring’, with an untouched sheet of stick-on symbols, and #2 (£40) provides a guide to Survival – the Fireball Way!, plus plastic storage wallet.