*DC: Along with Strange Adventures, Mystery In Space was DC’s premier science-fiction title founded in thr Atomic Age. Issue #1 dates from April/May 1951. Whitney Ellsworth was credited as editor, but, apparently, Julius Schwartz and Mort Weisinger were actual co-editors. The series really hit the ground running with the creative talent on display in the 52 pages of this first issue. Writers Bob Kanigher, Gardner Fox & John Broome, and artists Carmine Infantino, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth and sci-fi pulp great Virgil Finlay – what a line-up! The regular feature Knights of the Galaxy – space commandos of the 30th Century – took the cover and lead feature and appeared subsequently in many early issues of the title. Many other recurring characters would appear in later issues of this long running title.
This inaugural issue has a wonderful Carime Infantino cover, with a black starfield background, the sort of cover that shows every mark. There is minimal wear along the top edge, slight stress at the staples and small nicks out at the right edge front cover, spine bottom and top edge back cover. A very tiny corner is off front cover bottom right (see scan). Cover colours are strong and vibrant and the staples are firm at spine and centrefold. Page quality is a very nice and supple off-white, with two small pieces of tape sealing short tears on 2 interior pages with no loss. There are a couple of faint reading creases vertically just in from the spine, but these do not break colour. There are various marks that are hard to notice in the black cover background which we think are pressure or handling marks; we don’t think these are professional colour touches, but since as extensive examination under dark light has proven inconclusive, we have tried to take these into account in the grading and pricing of this gem. Visually, this is a very appealing comic which presents very well. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: MYSTERY IN SPACE #1 VG- £600
30CC
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Rip Hunter, Time Master
*DC: Four and a half years before a certain Time Lord debuted on the BBC, Rip Hunter appeared in Showcase #20 (1959), with his three companions and his Time Sphere, which travelled through time and space, with a mixture of historical and science-fiction settings. We have six issues of this favourite series featured this week.
IN THIS UPDATE: RIP HUNTER, TIME MASTER
#5 PR/FA p £4.50
#12 GD/VG p £7.50
#14 VG p £10 (PICTURED)
#16 VG+ p £10
#17 VG p £9
#21 FA/GD p £3.25 Restapled
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere #15
*Marvel: In the wake of the Kung Fu craze which swept the mass media in the 1970s, Marvel, having already scored big with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, tried to repeat the success with Iron Fist, an orphaned Caucasian boy who learned mystical martial arts in the hidden land of K’Un Lun. Danny Rand had a successful run in Marvel Premiere, then graduated into his own title, co-starred with Power Man for years, and remains an active part of the Marvel Universe to this date. New in, we have Marvel Premiere #15, his first appearance, in which Roy Thomas and Gil Kane kicked off his career. This is an awesome copy, glossy, reflective, tight and flat with firm staples and square corners. Pages are a supple off-white to white. Only a very tiny mark of two that shows it’s been handled, but in reality, as good as it was on the newstand in 1974. Marvel Value Stamp intact, of course. This is an outstanding copy from an original owner collection, bought new in 1974 in New York, and carefully preserved ever since.
PICTURED: MARVEL PREMIERE #15 NM- £335
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Spider-Mania: A Quartet of Amazing #69-72
*Marvel: Four consecutive issues of Amazing Spider-Man from the Good Doctor Collection this week, issues #69-72, featuring the art of John Romita more than ably assisted by John Buscema and Jim Mooney – a stylish team. The Kingpin, Quicksilver and the Shocker prominently feature.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#69 VG p £29 Pence stamped, glossy, white pages, firm staples; some wear along spine and right edge with small creases that break colour.
#70 FN £65 Glossy, white to off-white pages, firm staples. Tiny colour-breaking crease at top right corner, small dink at base of spine.
#71 VF+ p £110 Pence printed, great colour and reflectivity. White to off-white pages, firm staples. Only the most minor suggestions of reading/handling wear.
#72 VG+ p £45 Stylish cover. Glossy, white to off-white pages, firm staples. Stress marks at spine, dink to base and central reading wear do not break colour; minor wear at right edge does.
American Comics Update: Avengers Assemble: A batch from the early 1970s
*Marvel: Several issues of the Avengers between #103 & #118 plus Annual #3 new in this week. Storylines include an encounter with Magneto and the X-Men and chapters of the Avengers/Defenders war.
IN THIS UPDATE: AVENGERS
#103 VG+ p £6.75
#104 FN p £9
#106 VG+ p £6.75
#107 VF- p £17.50
#109 VF p £18.25
#111 VF p £31 Magneto & X-Men (PICTURED)
#113 VF p £17.50
#116 VF- p £23.50
#118 VF- p £23.50
Annual #3 FA p £2.50
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Plastic Man #1 (Quality Comics 1943)
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: A great offering from the Bute Collection this week, and a rare opportunity to obtain a Golden Age #1 of a major comics character. Plastic Man debuted of course in Police Comics #1 (1941) and was granted his own series in 1943. This premiere issue is wall to wall Jack Cole, Plastic Man’s creator, writer and artist, and features four stories of adventure, comedy and super-heroics. His adventures were known for their quirky, offbeat structure and surreal slapstick humour. All beneath a fabulous and iconic skull cover. NB: This comic is unnumbered but is the first in the series. This is a lowish graded copy that presents pretty well. The white background cover looks great with bright colours, despite a very faint book store stamp beneath the logo and a small piece of tape around the single staple (as printed and published). It looks like the staple would hold the comic together without the tape, despite being a little rusty at the centrefoid (with absolute minimum rust migration). There is a clean upper spine nsplit of 4.5 cm and a clean longer lower one of about 10 cm. Pages are a very decent off-white with some light blue ink staining to the last couple of page margins. All-in-all, a relatively affordable copy of a classic. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: PLASTIC MAN #1 FA/GD £650
American Comics Update: 1st Appearance Aliens in Comics – Dark Horse 1988
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: Disregarding, if we may, a magazine movie adaptation in 1979, the comic career of Aliens commenced with the six-issue mini-series from Dark Horse in 1988, launching the highly successful sequence of the not-so-cuddly xenomorphs in sequential art adventures. Fresh in we have the first issue of that series (and thus the first appearance of Aliens in comics) from May 1988, a first printing.
PICTURED: ALIENS #1 NM- £80 A brilliant copy, virtually fresh from the comic store, with just two or three tiny stress marks at the spine. Flat, tight and glossy with white pages and perfect staples. Hard to find as nice as this due to the black cover.
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: ACG’s Unknown Worlds
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Following Adventures Into The Unknown and Forbidden Worlds, which both started earlier, Unknown Worlds was ACG’s third venture into the horror/mystery/whimsy field of the 1960s, offering much the same fare by the same creators as its two elder siblings. Six examples fresh in this week.
IN THIS UPDATE: UNKNOWN WORLDS
#25 FN p £11
#28 GD p £4
#29 GD p £4
#31 VG p £7.50
#36 FN p £9.50 (PICTURED)
#47 VG p £7.50
British Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Captain Britain #8 – First Betsy Braddock (later the X-Men’s Psylocke)
*Marvel UK: In 1976, Marvel UK’s first attempt to generate a British-based super-hero was placed into the hands of Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, whose comic-opera interpretation of the UK has become a source of hilarity for generations. But after a shaky start, CB became inextricably linked with the mainstream Marvel Universe, not least because of his psychic sister, Betsy, who – years later and after many, many changes – turned Japanese and became the X-Men’s scantily-clad ninja mind-warrior Psylocke. As you do. This is Betsy’s first appearance in Captain Britain Weekly #8, one of the nicest copies we’ve ever seen. The paper quality of this series doesn’t lend itself well to high grade, but this one is a beauty, with sharp corners and sharp colours, white pages, flat with tight, firm staples. The puzzle pages are completely untouched (not done in pencil and rubbed out, as is often the case). Were it not for one or two very minor grubby marks on the back cover margins, we would not have hesitated to call this NM.
PICTURED: CAPTAIN BRITAIN #8 VF+ £250
British Comics Update: Thriller Comics/Picture Library #51-60
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: This digest-sized comics series, most famous under its later title of Thriller Picture Library, ran for 450 issues until 1963, and while it featured a plethora of characters during its lengthy run, the trend for the early years was for historical swashbucklers based on fictional (but serendipitously copyright-free) characters, but also featuring crime, war, western and science-fiction adventures and sometimes (almost) real people! The artists were all accomplished Fleetway professionals, and readers thrived on these beautifully-illustrated pocket adventures. Issues #51-60 featured this week, mostly lower to mid-grade.
IN THIS UPDATE: THRILLER COMICS/PICTURE LIBRARY
#51 VG £15 Kenilworth
#52 GD £10 Hereward The wake
#53 VG £15 Pride Of the Ring
#54 GD £10 The Red Badge Of Courage
#55 GD/VG £12.50 Hopalong Cassidy Rides In
#56 VG £15 To Sweep The Spanish Main. (PICTURED)
#57 GD £10 In The Reign Of Terror
#58 GD/VG £12.50 The Scottish Chiefs
#59 GD £10 The Talisman
#60 GD £10 The Prairie
Books Update: Re-Working Our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category: Bron Fane/R L Fanthorpe: A Badger Sett
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category. Badger Books was an imprint of the publisher John Spencer in the 1950s and 60s and produced books in all popular genres, although we are concerned here with their SF (Science Fiction) and SN (Supernatural) series. Most (but not all) of their novels were written by Lionel Fanthorpe, under his own name and a bewildering number of pseudonyms such as the examples by Bron Fane in this update. Fanthorpe is a priest (now retired), entertainer, TV presenter, author and all-round eccentric. If you have a love of the schlocky and pulpy side of science fiction and horror, here’s your man. At the height of his productivity, Fanthorpe is said to have written a book every 12 days. This update includes books from both the SF & SN series, including the numbered Supernatural Stories #49, six eerie stories allegedly all by Fanthorpe. Badger Books have grown over the decades to have something of a cult following. Some are rare, and, with only one printing of each (as far as we know) it’s difficult to complete a set(t) of them, but you collectors out there like a challenge, eh?
PICTURED:
BY BRON FANE (R L FANTHORPE)
NEMESIS Badger 1964 1st UK PB GD £10
SUSPENSION Badger 1964 1st UK PB GD £12
U.F.O. 517 Badger 1965 1st UK PB VG £15
UNKNOWN DESTINY Badger 1964 1st UK PB VG £15
BY R L FANTHORPE
HYPER SPACE Badger 1959 1st UK PB FA/GD £10
SUPERNATURAL STORIES 49 Badger 1960s 1st UK PB GD/VG £15
THE WATCHING WORLD Badger 1966 1st UK PB VG £5
Books Update: 3 Vintage Crime Mystery hardcovers with attractive dust jackets
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: This week, three hardcovers from the late 50s/early 60s, all with attractive dust jackets. The Body In The Basket involves a mysterious corpse turning up in Madrid for the author’s Inspector Schmidt. In Assignment To Vengeance, somewhere in Europe, 15 years after the end of WW2, the hunt for escaped Nazi leaders goes on. And Week-End With Maxwell is a murder mystery, where the suspects are the victim’s four ex-wives.
As always, our catalogue gives further information, including condition notes.
PICTURED:
GEORGE BAGBY: THE BODY IN THE BASKET Macdonald 1956 1st UK HC VG £12 With DJ (FA)
BRIAN CLEEVE: ASSIGNMENT TO VENGEANCE Thriller Book Club 1962 1st UK HC thus VG/FN £5 With DJ (VG/FN)
E G COUSINS: WEEK-END WITH MAXWELL Thriller Book Club 1961 1st UK HC VG £6 With DJ (VG)
Books Update: Six Of The Best: Children’s Classics
*Children’s Books: Six world famous books that need no introduction from me, all in attractive vintage paperback editions. More information, including condition notes, may as always be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT: THE SECRET GARDEN Puffin 1967 UK PB GD £5
SUSAN M COOLIDGE: WHAT KATY DID Armada 1963 1st UK PB thus GD £4
RUDYARD KIPLING: THE JUNGLE BOOK Macmillan 1961 1st UK PB thus GD £3
HUGH LOFTING: THE STORY OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE Puffin 1968 4th UK PB GD/VG £6
E NESBIT: THE RAILWAY CHILDREN Puffin 1983 UK PB VG/FN £4
DODIE SMITH: THE ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS Puffin 1968 UK PB GD £4
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Batmania: Batman #18 (1943) with Hitler cover
*DC: More Golden Age Batman from the Bute Collection this week. Issue #18 from 1943 features a cover evocative of its time, with not just Hitler, but also Mussolini and Hirohito fallen victim to 4th July fireworks. The cover blurb urges: ‘Insure the 4th July! Buy war bonds and stamps!’ Cover art by Kressy, Sprang & Kaye. Within, Batman & Robin encounter Tweedledum and Tweedledee (art by Jerry Robinson), Robin is forced to bone up on his schoolwork (art by Bob Kane), in ‘The Good Samaritan Cops’, the first story of a series, Batman and Robin meet and work with different agencies within the realm of the Police Department: in this story, it’s the Police Emergency Squad (art by Jack Burnley) and our heroes meet the Crime Surgeon and his Crime Clinic (art by Bob Kane).
This is a very decent copy, with a bright, unmarked cover. The staples are firmly attached at the front of the spine, but have pulled neatly through the back; the comic holds together firmly. There is an upper spine split of just over 3 cm. Pages are an excellent and supple off-white to white. Please note that this is a 60 page comic including covers, as published. DC cut down their pagecount from 68 by trimming ad pages. This gives the impression that there are pages missing, which is not the case. We have checked the content (including ads) with the data on the Grand Comics Database page by page and this is a complete copy. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: BATMAN #18 GD/VG £975 SOLD
American Comics Update: Their Name Is Legion: Adventure Comics #371-380 plus…
*DC: We round off this week our batch of the Legion of Super-Heroes in their inaugural run in Adventure Comics in the 1960s. The series ended in Adventure Comics #380. These are the comics after which we were named, taking place of course in the 30th Century. And this is a real rich stream, with the debuts of many major characters plus many Neal Adams covers. Featuring the last Curt Swan drawn issues before the artistic reins passed to the capable Win Mortimer with #373. Outstanding grades on all of these; all cents copies. And as a bonus, we have the Giant issue #403, reprinting the entire saga of the death and rebirth of Lightning Lad from earlier times.
IN THIS UPDATE: ADVENTURE COMICS
#371 VF+ £49 (PICTURED) 1st Chemical King
#372 VF+ £49 (PICTURED)
#373 VF+ £38 1st Tornado Twins
#374 VF £28
#375 VF- £26 1st Wanderers
#376 VF £28
#377 VF £28
#378 VF+ £38
#379 VF+ £38
#380 VF+ £38
#403 VF £30 Giant
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best Plus One: The Atom, the World’s Smallest Super-Hero
*DC: Seven quality issues of the Atom this week, from the mid-period of his Silver Age run, with highly imaginative stories by Gardner Fox and stylish artwork from Gil Kane and Sid Greene or Murphy Anderson. Covers feature the Atom in action and in dire predicaments (including being fixed to a hand grenade in #10, pictured here) and there are some delightful back-up stories including a Time Pool features, where the Atom travels back in time, plus some magical fantasies. These are all pence-stamped copies in a mix of grades.
IN THIS UPDATE: ATOM ALL SOLD
#9 VG/FN p £20
#10 VG+ p £18.25 (PICTURED)
#11 VG p £10.75
#12 FA/GD p £5.25 Bookshop stamps
#13 GD p £6.75
#14 GD- p £6.25 Bookshop stamp
#15 VG- p £11.50 Off top staple
American Comics Update: The Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Hobgoblin in Amazing #238
*Marvel: If you’re looking for really nice copies of Amazing Spider-Man for your collection, then look no further than the Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection. All high grade; even the few that fall below VF (and most are above) are really good-looking copies – no duds here, and nearly all cents copies. One very successful latter-day addition to the Web-Head’s Rogue’s Gallery was the Hobgoblin, who made his debut in 1983’s Amazing Spider-Man #238. The path of destruction, and mysterious identity, of this suspiciously familiar evil-doer kept readers entertained for more than a year before the Big Reveal, with several red herrings and false ‘revelations’ along the way. This copy of ASM #238 is a glorious NM, a grade we very rarely award. We can’t find a thing wrong with it (I’ve seen brand new comics more worn that this!). Even the Lakeside ‘Tattooz’ are present, still securely bound in. Although prices have levelled off or come down for comics from this period in the last year or two, this pristine copy is still investment grade.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #238 NM £350
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: X-Men #55-59: Neal Adams, Sentinel trilogy, 1st Havok in costume etc
*Marvel: A transitional period for the X-Men title, as Neal Adams took over the pencilling duties with #56, producing some of his best artwork as the series was revitalised under the authorship of Roy Thomas. Following a tussle with the Living Pharoah, the team had a return engagement with the Sentinels. Smack in the middle of this, Alex Summers developed into the costumed super-hero called Havok in #58. A range of favourite issues, mostly very nice copies from the Good Doctor.
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN
#55 FN £40 (PICTURED) Nice glossy copy with tight staples and nice white to off-white pages. Slight corner blunting; minor edge and handling wear. SOLD
#56 FN/VF £90 (PICTURED) 1st Neal Adams art on title. Bright copy with good gloss and colour. Tight staples and nice white to off-white pages. Small handling creases at top edge (one just breaking colour); soft horizontal crease across left side of cover 2 cm up from bottom, not colour-breaking. SOLD
#57 VF- £100 (PICTURED) Outstanding black background copy, flat, tight and glossy. Tight staples and nice white to off-white pages. Just faint signs of reading wear to middle of spine and right edge. SOLD
#58 FN- £100 (PICTURED) 1st Havok in costume. Glossy and bright with some wear at edges and narrow creasing at bottom staple and lower corners, with marginal colour breaks. A crease across the logo was induced during the printing process rather than by wear. Tight staples and nice white to off-white pages.
#59 GD £19 Arrival date in mast-head box; edge and corner wear involving two small nicks top and bottom edges.
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Legion of Monsters in Marvel Premiere #28
*Marvel: After a one-off black & white magazine in 1975, Legion of Monsters, used up a rag-bag of separate inventory stories starring Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, Manphibian and other horror heroes, someone at Marvel decided that the title was nifty enough to merit a further outing, and therefore the bizarre and otherwise inexplicable Marvel Premiere #28 came about. Unlike the Legion of Monsters one-shot, which featured unrelated stories, Marvel Premiere #28 brought Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf By Night and Morbius the Living Vampire together as an actual team, albeit one even more mismatched than the Champions! From the team of Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins, it’s… everything you might expect! For decades discarded in bargain boxes everywhere, this issue has acquired white-hot collector’s status in the last decade. Our latest copy is pence printed, glossy and mid-grade with some creasing at spine and edges breaking colour. There is a soft long diagonal crease across the logo that does not break colour and a short crease across the bottom right corner that does slightly break colour. Staples are tight and firm and page quality is a nice off-white.
PICTURED: MARVEL PREMIERE #28 VG+ p £50 SOLD
American Comics Update: Star Wars consecutive #19-26
*Marvel: I don’t need to tell you much about Star Wars, do I? Suffice it to say that after adapting the first film in Star Wars #1-6, Marvel went on to tell new stories of Han, Luke, Leia and the gang. Issues #19-26 featured here. Mostly lovely high grade cents copies, with two very small blemishes to #25 & #26.
IN THIS UPDATE: STAR WARS ALL SOLD
#19 VF £12.25
#20 FN/VF £10
#21 VF+ £11
#22 VF+ £11
#23 VF+ £11 (PICTURED)
#24 VF/NM £13
#25 FN/VF £7 Small patch of discolouration to left of logo, where label has been removed.
#26 FN/VF £7 Small patch of discolouration on logo, where label has been removed.
American Comics Update: Astonishing Tales with Ka-Zar (& Zabu)
*Marvel: By the time Astonishing Tales had got to #15, Ka-Zar (with his pussycat Zabu) had taken over the title that he had previously shared with Dr Doom. This update we have four consecutive issues from #15-18, where the Lord Of The Hidden Jungle faces up against Lord Plunder, Gemini, Gog and an adventure in the concrete jungle.
IN THIS UPDATE: ASTONISHING TALES ALL SOLD
#15 VG+ p £3.50
#16 VG/FN p £2.75
#17 FN/VF £5.25
#18 FN p £4.75 (PICTURED)
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Rangers and Wings from Fiction House
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Two Fiction House issues from the early 1950s in this week’s second update from the Bute Collection. Rangers was an anthology title, with a variety of stories in different genres: Western, War, Science Fiction. Wings had various stories with an emphasis on war aviation tales. High standards of art, with covers by the excellent Maurice Whitman.
PICTURED:
RANGERS #64 GD £16
WINGS #123 VG £35
American Comics Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Adventures Into The Unknown
*Horror 1940-1959: ACG’s Adventures Into The Unknown, starting in 1948, was the first on-going continuous horror comic. Readers of my generation, raised perhaps on ACG’s Silver Age output of rather charming fantasy and whimsy, may not be familiar with just how hard-hitting and horrific their pre-code material was, as well as being well-crafted both in terms of story and art. All the traditionals are here: vampires, zombies, phantoms, skeletons, things from the swamp, monsters… and a heap of dinosaurs as well. Without the reputation of some of their more notorious competition, Adventures Into The Unknown remains quality at a relative bargain price.
PICTURED: ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN
#13 GD £33 Pre-code. Starr, Whitney & others. Reasonable copy with spine roll and some cover creasing. Decent staples and page quality. SOLD
#14 VG+ £75 Pre-code. Whitney, Ely and others. Nice solid copy with only minimal wear, good staples and page quality. Narrow dust shadow along top edge front and top and left edge back cover.
British Comics Update: Marvellous Alan Class Reprints: Suspense #29 – presenting the debut of Loki from Journey Into Mystery #85
*Alan Class Reprints: We focus this week on Suspense #29, with probably the earliest reprint of Journey Into Mystery #85, the comic in which Thor met Loki, his adoptive brother and nemesis, for the first time. (Well, in the comics pages; obviously they’d met before in ‘real life’. Ahem.) This was also, of course, not just the third appearance of Thor, but also the first appearances of Balder, Heimdall, Asgard and 1st cameo of Odin. This is a lovely clean copy with just a tiny monogram above the logo. Edge wear is minor, with just tiny splits at top and base of spine. Very little glue puckering and nice, firmly attached pages. This is located in the regular stock section of this category.
PICTURED: SUSPENSE #29 VG/FN £175
British Comics Update: Gerry Anderson’s TV Century 21
*TV & Film Related Comics: The first series of TV Century 21 is augmented this week with 18 new issues, mostly high grade, as early as #33 and as late as #228. Star features Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, Stingray and Fireball XL5 are joined by a host of other favourites in this ground-breaking tabloid format series with its newspaper-type covers and high production values. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: TV CENTURY 21 #228 FN/VF £12.50 SOLD
Books Update: Gothic Horror/Romance
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A new sub-genre in this category this week. A lot of classic horror may well be termed ‘gothic’, such as Frankenstein and Dracula, for example, set in then contemporary times. But there’s always been a trend to evoke those now historic periods to tell supernatural tales with horror and romance overtones, a sub-genre that seemed to explode in the 1960s and 70s. You know the type of things, heroine often in diaphanous night attire, in the foreground runs towards the camera with a terrified expression while the backdrop is a night time looming gothic castle, mansion or some such. Gothic novels reek of mysterious figures, brooding landscapes, lurking menace, ancient mysteries and star-crossed lovers. We’re delighted to add some of these to our listings this week for the first time. More information, including condition notes, may be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
PATRICIA CAMPBELL: CEDARHAVEN Popular Library 1965 1st US PB GD/VG £10
DOROTHY EDEN: CAT’S PREY Ace 1970 1st US PB GD/VG £8
DOROTHY EDEN: THE DAUGHTERS OF ARDMORE HALL Ace 1972 4th US PB VG £8
MARGARET ERSKINE: SLEEP NO MORE Ace 1958 1st US PB GD/VG £12 An Inspector Finch Gothic
Books Update: Queens Of Crime: Agatha Christie
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was surely between the 1920s and the 1950s, and in this period several women dominated the genre. We refer to them collectively as the Queens of Crime, but of them all, Agatha Christie is surely the High Queen. The most read author in the English language, her works continue to populate our media, whether on TV, in films and theatre and, of course, books. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more books by her in circulation than anyone else. A diverse range of offerings from Ms Christie this week: one Miss Marple novel (The Body In The Library), and a book of short stories featuring Miss Marple (The Thirteen Problems), two Poirot book-length mysteries (Evil Under The Sun & Three Act Tragedy), and the distinctive The Hound Of Death, twelve mostly eerie stories of the supernatural, but with the famous story Witness For The Prosecution tucked in the middle.
PICTURED: ALL BY AGANTHA CHRITIE ALL SOLD
THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY Great Pan 1960 4th UK PB GD/VG £5 Miss Marple
EVIL UNDER THE SUN Pan 1963 1st UK PB thus GD/VG £5 Poirot
THE HOUND OF DEATH Great Pan 1960 1st UK PB thus VG £6
THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS Pan 1963 3rd UK PB GD/VG £5 Miss Marple short stories
THREE ACT TRAGEDY Pan 1964 1st UK PB thus GD £5 Poirot
Books Update: Re-Working Our Crime, Spies & Sleaze Category: Hank Janson including Heade cover Part 2
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies and Sleaze Category for the second part of our Hank Janson re-listing. This also features the famous cover artwork of Reginald Heade. The most famous name in the post-war boom in British gangster ‘pulps’ (curiously, mostly set in the both seedy and glamorous USA) was Hank Janson. Written by ‘Hank’ and telling his adventures as a journalist and later general adventurer, these were in reality written by Stephen D Frances. These racy, tough and often violent detective novels of the 40s and 50s, generally published on a monthly basis, filled the gap formed when American pulp fiction was banned from the UK, and were immensely popular. (In fact they were so racy that author, publishers and distributors were prosecuted for obscenity in 1954). The earliest Jansons were generally published by New Fiction, and were almost exclusively blessed with Heade covers. The 1950s Alexander Moring imprint, with red and yellow stripes across the top of the cover either featured art by Heade, or produced in his style. Interestingly, many Alexander Moring publications have Heade covers that have been modified, usually by the addition of just enough clothing on the young ladies to avoid another prosecution for obscenity. 1 New Fiction with Heade cover plus 4 Morings in this update. Further information, including condition notes, in our catalogue. More Hank soon!
PICTURED: ALL BY HANK JANSON
CORRUPTION New Fiction 1940s/50s UK PB PR/FA £12 Reginald Heade cover art
DEVIL’S HIGHWAY Alexander Moring circa 1958 1st UK PB thus VG/FN £8
DON’T CRY NOW Alexander Moring circa 1958 1st UK PB thus FN £12
DON’T SCARE EASY Alexander Moring 1958 1st UK PB thus GD £6
FLIGHT FROM FEAR Alexander Moring 1958 1st UK PB thus VG/FN £10
Clearance Corner: 6 Marvel Giant Classic Reprints for £25
*Clearance Corner: Very occasionally, a lot comes our way which either does not justify its place in our catalogue (but is too good to discard), or is superfluous to our requirements. These lots are offered here on our What’s New page, but are no longer listed in our catalogue. Lots listed under Clearance Corner will be available for a short time only, and are offered post free to UK buyers only. They are not bagged and boarded as our normal stock, but will be securely packaged for transit. If you order a Clearance Corner lot, it may not be combined with another order in the same package. This time we have six of those fondly-remembered Marvel giant reprint series that started in the mid-1960s and reprinted the earliest of Marvel’s Silver Age Adventures, such as The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Dr Strange, Hulk, Daredevil, Human Torch and more, as well as selected Golden Age reprints with Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch. These are all low-grade reading copies, but what reading! Included: Fantasy Masterpieces #8, Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics #1 (pictured) & #17, Marvel Super-Heroes #26 and Marvel Tales #7 & #8. £25 for the batch including free p&p (UK only). SOLD
Taking A Break
We’re taking a short break next week, after filling orders received up to 4 pm today (4th May) and posting them next Wednesday (8th). There will not be a Newsletter nor stock updates next Saturday, but they will be back on 18th May. After this coming Sunday 5th, we’ll next be filling orders on 19th May. You may of course continue to place orders at any time; we will acknowledge them and reserve items for you wherever possible.
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Comic Cavalcade #3 from 1943
*DC: A rare treat this week with a classic from DC from 1943 extracted from the Bute Collection: an early squarebound issue of the omnibus title Comic Cavalcade (which ran from 1942 to 1954). The cover stars, Wonder Woman, Flash & Green Lantern are the big names in solo stories, but there are many other strips as well, including Hop Harrigan and Sargon the Sorceror, 12 stories in all. This is a really nice copy with the squarebound spine intact except for a tiny nick at the top. The cover colours are bright and reflective. Slight corner blunting with only minor edge wear; there are a couple of small colour-breaking creases across the bottom right corner (1-2 cm each). The letter ‘L’ is in wax crayon or pencil to the left of the upper logo, and the name ‘Ray’ in the same execution above the Flash’s head. The stiff card covers are tanned on the interiors, but the pages are secured by the original single staple, and the supple off-white to cream pages are firmly held at the spine by the original glue.
PICTURED: COMIC CAVALCADE #3 VG/FN £400
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Justice League Of America
*DC: Six issues of the Silver/Bronze Age Justice League of America fresh in, including the 2 part JSA crossover in #46/47.
IN THIS UPDATE: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#46 GD- p £9 Off top staple
#47 GD- p £6.50 Spine splits
#49 GD p £5.25 Loose centrefold
#88 GD p £3.25
#89 GD p £3.25
#97 VG+ p £6.75 52 pages
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of New X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1
*Marvel: In the distant days of 1975, the X-Men, once mainstays of the Marvel Universe, were a spent force. Reduced to a bi-monthly reprint comic and occasional guest-appearances, the merry mutants were without a home to call their own. Then two of Marvel’s young turks of the time, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, changed all that. In Giant-Size X-Men #1, the original X-Men were captured, and Professor X assembled a team of international mutants, some known to the readers (Sunfire, Banshee, and Wein’s own creation, Wolverine, who had made his debut in Hulk #181) and some brand new (Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird), and sent them out to rescue their mutant brethren. The ‘New’ X-Men were an instant hit: the team was restored to all-new adventures, and on their way to becoming the multi-media stars they are today! We are delighted to have the first appearance of the ‘New’ X-Men back in stock – the Giant-Size issues never being distributed in the UK, GSXM #1’s already cult collector status is heightened by its scarcity on this side of the pond. This is an outstanding copy from an original owner collection, bought new in 1975 in New York, and carefully preserved ever since. Vibrant cover colour and gloss, square corners, totally intact squarebound spine, tight staples and off-white to cream pages. There is a soft 2 cm crease towards the lower spine that is difficult to see and does not break colour. If you run a finger along the front cover adjacent to the spine, you will feel an uneveness where the staples are below, a common aspect of the Marvel Giant-Size issues of the mid 1970s, where the pages were stapled and the spine glued. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 VF £2,250
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: The final four issues of Strange Tales starring Nick Fury & Dr Strange
*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week. By the time Strange Tales got to the end of its initial run, both Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD and Dr Strange series were in high gear, in preparation for the launch of both into their own titles. Steranko was at the helm in Nick Fury (witness his famous patriotic cover on #167), while Denny O’Neill and the stylish Dan Adkins were the creative mainstays on Dr Strange.
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES
#165 VF- £40 Excellent copy with just very minor edge wear and a small, faint arrival date in the bottom right corner.
#166 VF- £40 Excellent copy with just very minor edge wear and corner blunting.
#167 FN+ £60 Classic cover. Very minor edge wear. Off-white to cream pages. A little corner blunting. A couple of small, invisible creases bottom spine.
#168 VG/FN £25 Nice copy with impact dink at bottom spine and faint shallow crease up from bottom centre for a few cms; minor colour breaks in both cases. SOLD
American Comics Update: Some Silver Surfer Highlights
*Marvel: Extracts from three iterations of the Silver Surfer in his own title:
IN THIS UPDATE:
1968 SERIES
#14 GD/VG p £25 (PICTURED) With Spider-Man. Nice copy but has large felt tip price on cover.
#18 FN+ p £29 Final issue. Kirby art, with the Inhumans
1982 ONE-SHOT
#1 VG £5 John Byrne
1987 SERIES
#2 FN £3.25
#50 VF £25 (PICTURED) With Thanos. Gimmicky foil-enhanced cover (the first such?)
American Comics Update: Crime & Spies: 3 from the 1950s
*Miscellaneous 1940-59: Two of this week’s updates in this category promise true and authentic stories, you betcha… After Dark from Sterling (there were only three issues #6-8) features Mike Sekowsky art in stylish cops and robbers stories, the long-running Justice Traps The Guilty adapts true police and FBI cases and the one-shot Secret Missions features the ‘daring expolits of US foreign agents in the cold war vs Communism’ and has an excellent Joe Kubert cover.
PICTURED:
AFTER DARK #7 VG+ £22
JUSTICE TRAPS THE GUILTY #55 VG £19
SECRET MISSIONS #1 GD/VG £44
American Comics Update: A Miscellany of Wacky Super-Heroes
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: Yes, we’re mostly in the 1960s here for a disparate group of wacky super-heroes from various publishers, including the Captain Marvel who fights several super-villains at once by splitting his body into several parts, Fatman the Human Flying Saucer (!) vs the Awesome Foursome, Son Of Dracula, Wally Wood’s more esoteric creations Cannon, Dragonella and the Misfits in Heroes Inc and Mandrake the Magician who takes on aliens (as here) in full evening suit. They don’t make ’em like that anymore…
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
CAPTAIN MARVEL #2 GD+ £5.25 (PICTURED)
FATMAN THE HUMAN FLYING SAUCER #2 FA p £4 (PICTURED) Cover off both staples
FRIGHT FEAT. SON OF DRACULA #1 GD £2.75
HEROES INC #1 VF £11.50 (PICTURED) Art by Wood & Ditko
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN #5 VG+ £7.50 (PICTURED)
British Comics Update: Vintage Australian DC inc origin of Superman-Batman team
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: The Australian publisher K G Murray famously reprinted DC titles in the 1950s, many of which were distributed in the UK, in a time when the American originals were not. In this update we have Superadventure Comic #98, which reprints the origin of the Superman-Batman team from World’s Finest #94, backed up with three issues of Superman which reprint stories from the Superman family of titles.
IN THIS UPDATE:
SUPERADVENTURE COMICS #98 VG £25 (PICTURED)
SUPERMAN
#105 GD/VG £12.50
#109 GD £10
#114 FA £7.50
British Comics Update: Tales Of Terror Picture Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: In 1966, Famepress published a 14 issue picture library series Tales Of Terror with black and white interiors from European artists, with horror as the subject; in the case of the #8 we have for sale this week it was giant man-eating worms that were the focus. Only a Good copy, with a strip off the back cover edge and creases and wear to the right corners of the front cover. We seldom see copies of this rare series.
PICTURED: TALES OF TERROR #8 GD £12 SOLD
Books Update: Re-Working Our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category: Elton, Elwood, Evans
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror category for three very different volumes from the end of our ‘E’ authors. A 1950s novel from James Elton, one of the house names deployed by that most quirky of publishers, Badger Books; a 1970s anthology edited by Roger Elwood with stories from McCaffrey, Pangborn, Anderson, Farmer and more; and a 1960s anthology edited by I O Evans, with stories from Wells, Clarke, Asimov, Russell, Bradbury, Anderson and more.
PICTURED:
JAMES ELTON: THE QUEST OF THE SEEKER Badger 1958? 1st UK PB GD £8 SOLD
ROGER ELWOOD (Ed): CONTINUUM 1 Star 1977 1st UK PB VF £7
I O EVANS (Ed): SCIENCE FICTION THROUGH THE AGES 2 Panther 1966 1st UK PB VG/FN £6
Books Update: 4 Mystery Thrillers by James Hadley Chase
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: James Hadley Chase was one of several pen names used by René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, a highly successful English thriller author, writing more than 90 novels as Chase, and with more than 50 made into films, it’s no wonder he was dubbed the king of thriller writers in Europe. He started out in 1939 with No Orchids For Miss Blandish, an American gangster thriller of the type so popular in the UK during the 40s and 50s. After a lot of success in the sub-genre, Chase became a more mainstream crime/thriller writer. We have four of his novels fresh in this week, two in hardcovers (with dust jackets protected by removable archival film) and two in paperback. Great cover art by Taylor and Pollack. All 1950s vintage editions.
PICTURED: ALL BY JAMES HADLEY CHASE
THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE Thriller Book Club 1952 1st UK HC thus VG £12 With DJ FA/GD
SAFER DEAD Robert Hale 1954 1st UK HC VG £12 With DJ GD
STRICTLY FOR CASH Thriller Book Club 1951? UK PB VG £7
YOU’RE LONELY WHEN YOU’RE DEAD Robert Hale Pocket Book 1951 1st UK PB thus VG/FN £10
Books Update: The First Avengers Book with Steed and Mrs Gale
*TV/Film Tie-Ins: From 1963, the first ever novel from the classic TV series and the only one to feature John Steed partnered with Cathy Gale, as delightfully played by Honor Blackman. Mrs Gale very much laid the groundwork for her successor, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. This iconic novel by Douglas Enefer is uncommon and our copy new in is in excellent VG condition with square corners and very little wear apart from a few short creases at left edge of cover by spine; unblemished page quality and photo front and back covers.
PICTURED: THE AVENGERS by DOUGLAS ENEFER Consul 1963 1st UK PB VG £40 SOLD
Clearance Corner: Eagle Volume 11 #1-53 Complete – £60
*Clearance Corner: Very occasionally, a lot comes our way which either does not justify its place in our catalogue (but is too good to discard), or is superfluous to our requirements. These lots are offered here on our What’s New page, but are no longer listed in our catalogue. Lots listed under Clearance Corner will be available for a short time only, and are offered post free to UK buyers only. They are not bagged and boarded as our normal stock, but will be securely packaged for transit. If you order a Clearance Corner lot, it may not be combined with another order in the same package.
This time, we have a complete volume 11 of the famous Eagle comic from 1960, starring Dan Dare Pilot of the Future. All 53 issues, mostly in a very nice, superior condition.
EAGLE COMPLETE VOLUME 11 #1-53 – £60 POST FREE (UK ONLY) SOLD
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Third and Fourth Appearances of the Flash in Showcase #13 & #14
*DC: Among the rarer Silver Age treasures are the pre-distribution, early appearances of Flash in the DC try-out title Showcase. From the Bute Collection this week, we have the third and fourth ever appearances of the Scarlet Speedster for your delectation. Showcase #13 is the Flash’s third appearance and the premiere appearance of the nefarious Mr Element. With issue #14, Mr Element was back post-makeover as Dr Alchemy, commencing a lengthy criminal career in his new guise. Both issues cover feature tales of international adventure and science-fiction, with rich blue and purple backgrounds that only the DC palette could produce. The early appearances of the Flash are seldom seen in the UK and are much prized by the comic collecting community worldwide. These low grade examples are at least in reach financially – more than better copies would be!
PICTURED: SHOWCASE
#13 FA £175 Cover detached and split all of the way down. The bottom third is attached front and back by two pieces of tape. Much wear to the spine and some to the other edges, with a long colour-breaking crease across the Showcase logo and a softer vertical subscription-like crease down the centre. Cover colours are vivid and rich, staples are firm at centrefold and the page quality is an okay, dusky cream colour. Small corner off bottom right splash page (margin only) and a similar size corner off back cover top. Tiny vertical chip off top right edge alongside Comics Code box.
#14 FA+ £225 Cover detached with vertical holes at staple level and one further centre spine. Multiple colour-breaking creases all over cover and quite a lot of edge wear. Tiny chip out bottom right cover. Centrefold off top staple. Pages are a nice off-white. Heavily worn but readable and complete.
American Comics Update: ‘Get Us Out From Under, Wonder Woman!’
*DC: Three Silver Age issues of the Amazon Princess this week. #136 has a great cover reminiscent of Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman; in #141, Wonder Woman comes up against The Academy of Super-Villains, including Angle Man, Mouse Man and the Human Fireworks; and in #173, we witness her ‘Daring Deception’.
IN THIS UPDATE: WONDER WOMAN
#136 GD p £9.50 (PICTURED) SOLD
#141 VG+ p £21.50 (PICTURED)
#173 GD- £5.25
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Green Lantern
*DC: Six issues new in featuring the Emerald Gladiator between #37 and #45. Skirmishes with Evil Star and Major Disaster, an adventure with Tomar Re, an alien Green Lantern, a crossover with the Flash and another one with Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern of Earth 2. These are mostly pretty nice condition copies.
IN THIS UPDATE: GREEN LANTERN ALL SOLD
#37 FN- p £19 1st Evil Star
#38 GD/VG p £8 Tomar Re
#39 GD/VG p £9.25
#43 FN+ p £28 (PICTURED) Flash guest-stars
#44 VG/FN p £18.25
#45 VG/FN p £25 Golden Age Green Lantern
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu in Special Marvel Edition #15
*Marvel: One of Marvel’s most successful attempts at diversifying their line in the 1970s was their cash-in on the Martial Arts craze, with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu! His inauspicious debut in Special Marvel Edition, a series previously devoted to reprints, indicated that there wasn’t much faith in Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin’s co-creation, but readers took him to their collective hearts, and more than 100 issues ensued, with a star roster of creators including Doug Moench, Gene Day and Paul Gulacy. Here, however, was where it all started, in Special Marvel Edition #15, December 1973, with the Son of Fu Manchu discovering his villainous heritage, and setting out to oppose his father. Never distributed in the UK, and therefore doubly sought after on these shores. This is an outstanding copy from an original owner collection, bought new in 1973 on a New York newsstand, and carefully preserved ever since. Flat, tight, glossy, square corners, white to off-white pages, perfect staples, no marks or creases; if you look really hard you can see just the faintest possible signs of reading wear at the spine, so we’ve conservatively avoided grading it higher. But honestly, a copy good enough for the collection of the proudest owner.
PICTURED: SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #15 NM- £360 SOLD
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut Of Man-Wolf in Amazing #124/125
*Marvel: John Jameson, son of Spidey’s nemesis J Jonah Jameson has had a long and chequered career in the Marvel Universe, appearing in various guises to threaten the wall-crawler, although in his normal state he has always been a friend to Spidey and has gone on to have heroic adventures. In Amazing Spider-Man #124 and #125, a two-part story, he is transformed into the menacing Man-Wolf, an alias in which he went on to have his own 1970s series in Creatures On The Loose. Nice copies from the Good Doctor Collection.
IN THIS UPDATE: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#124 FN/VF £120 (PICTURED) Glossy unmarked copy with very minor edge wear and a couple of short creases at centre spine which do not break colour. except for a pin-prick size mark on the spine itself. Firm, tight staples and nice off-white pages.
#125 VG/FN £18.25
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Elektra in Daredevil #168
*Marvel: For a visually-impaired gentleman, Matt Murdock saw, as our American cousins would put it, a lot of action with the ladies; for a while in the 1980s and 1990s, every second plotline involved a Woman From His Past, with attendant complications. But by far the most memorable of these was Elektra, the tormented assassin whose conflicted relationship with our hero struck so deep a chord with readers that even after she died, she was brought back (twice) by popular demand. Written and drawn by the acclaimed and controversial Frank Miller, this copy of Elektra’s debut is towards a mid-grade, glossy and shiny, with firm, tight staples and nice white to off-white pages. There is minor spine wear and corner blunting, with a tiny chip off bottom right corner. There are a couple of creases which only faintly break colour on DD’s head and body.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL #168 VG £85
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Dazzler in X-Men #130, plus 1st White Queen cover and Kitty joins
*Marvel: Given her peculiar origins, Dazzler’s longevity as a comics heroine has been remarkable. Conceived as a disco tie-in by Casablanca Records in the late 1970s, Marvel was to create a singing super-heroine and Casablanca was to recruit a live singer to ‘be’ Dazzler. Originally intended to resemble Grace Jones, the design was considerably altered to resemble then-hot actress Bo Derek. When the record company withdrew, leaving Marvel with an ‘orphaned’ character, she was introduced as a fully-fledged mutant in X-Men #130. Alison Blaire, with the ability to transmute sound into light, has been an unlikely mainstay of the Marvel Universe ever since, and we have a copy of her premiere appearance in X-Men #130. Also in this update, issue #131, with the first cover to feature the White Queen and #139, where Kitty Pryde joins the team.
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN
#130 FN £160 (PICTURED) Newstand edition. A glossy, fresh copy complete with Mark Jewelers insert. Slight corner blunting, tight, firm staples and nice white to off-white pages. There is a tiny white mark at the top centre which is not a tear or a crease, but looks like a printing quirk. A couple of pressure marks centre cover, a very soft, non colour-breaking crease just visible vertically down the top third of the cover and a very short diagonal crease above the MCG banner top edge which only just breaks colour. All in all presents very well.
#131 FN+ £30 Newstand edition.
#139 VG p £7.50