*Marvel: One of the most frustrating and enigmatic Bronze Age the 1970s was 1976’s Omega the Unknown, by Steve Gerber (then ‘hot’ author of Howard the Duck) and co-author Mary Skrenes. A young boy, James-Michael, is hospitalised after the discovery that his parents are robots, and becomes linked with a mysterious and mute super-powered man who appears from nowhere whenever James-Michael is in danger. James-Michael, rather than Omega , is the focal character, and Gerber and Skrenes’ deployment of common adolescent psychological tropes (isolation, the feeling that one is the only ‘real’ person, desire for rescue) proved a little… challenging for the readership, who were baffled and frustrated by the series, even if occasionally intrigued. The illustrations by veteran artist Jim Mooney also subverted reader expectations; associated more with traditional super-heroics, his art seemed at odds with the gritty, everyday horrors of James-Michael’s schooldays. The series ended abruptly with issue #10 and the hero’s seeming death: Gerber’s dismissal from Marvel shortly thereafter seemed to put paid to any resolution, though a two-part wrap-up was bodged together in Defenders by Steven Grant. Now, it’s regarded as one of the more intriguing cul-de-sacs of the Marvel Universe, and one of the very few Marvel properties not yet optioned for Film or TV (but give it five minutes…)! We have the complete 10-issue original series in stock, all cents copies, averaging NM, on sale for £50 the set – more than a third off the individual retail. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD