*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 – being heightened by the recent Netflix TV series. The Punisher’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129, February 1974, is rare in the UK, where, owing to the presence of Spider-Man Comics Weekly, the US title was embargoed for several years. This is a cents copy (there are no pence copies, of course), in remarkable condition; unmarred cover scene with bright, unfaded colour and excellent gloss. Staples are firm at cover and centrefold, interior pages off-white, flexible with no hint of brittleness or browning. A small hint of wear at the upper left cover corner and extremely faint blunting at the lower right corner are the only items precluding a still higher grade for this exceptional copy of a key issue, on sale in VF at £850. Front and rear covers and splash page are shown here; high resolution images are available on request.