*Marvel: In 1964, the adventures of Iron Man were enlivened by the appearance of the lovely but lethal Natasha Romanoff, code-named the Black Widow, one of the Kremlin’s deadliest operatives. Originally an appealing but unoriginal femme fatale in civvies, inspired by Caniff’s Dragon Lady and other Mata Hari wannabes, Natasha proved surprisingly adaptable, allying herself first with the second Crimson Dynamo (also premiering in this issue) and later Hawkeye, and trading her cocktail dress and veil for the first of many costumed ‘looks’ as she switch-backed from villainess to heroine. Tales of Suspense #52 is where ‘Tasha’s comic career kicked off. This is a structurally solid copy, pence printed, with good firm staples and minimal wear. 2 cm upper spine split. Pages are off-white, turning creamy at the margin edges. Cover colours are good. There is a suspicion of an imprint or pressure mark of some sort centre cover, but this is so faint, it’s impossible to tell what it is. Inside covers are tanning, but not brittle at the edges and the right side of front cover has a narrow dust or sun shadow line. Nevertheless a presentable lower to mid-graded copy of this key classic.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE #52 VG- p £275