*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: An unusual attempt at a villainous protagonist was the Yellow Claw, an Oriental scientist whose relentless attempts to conquer the world were thwarted by the vigilance of FBI Agent Jimmy Woo – the company’s first Asian-American hero, historians please note. Resemblance to Sax Rohmer’s legendary Doctor Fu Manchu is entirely coincidental, ahem ahem. In this fourth and final issue of the Claw’s series, he launches four separate attacks upon democracy: the Living Shadows, solidified thought-projections, the unnerving bird-human hybrids the Skreemies, and his most fiendish plot yet – brainwashing by television! All four tales are illustrated by Jack Kirby and John Severin (behind a solo Sev cover), and the combination of the two artists gives a compelling air of palpable menace, highly appropriate to the narrative. The Yellow Claw returned to the Marvel Universe in the 1970s as an antagonist of Captain America, and Jimmy Woo became one of the Agents of SHIELD (and then Atlas), so both hero and villain are still very active today. This copy of Yellow Claw #4 is an attractive GD+, with tight staples and superior inside pages. The only significant flaw is a patch of wear approx. 1″, at the Claw’s left shoulder, which does erode the spine in that region. GD+ £135.