*DC: From the 1950s, two classic anthologies this week featuring Smallville’s Favourite Son – Man and Boy! Superman, of course, was the lead feature in Action Comics from its beginning , and 1957’s Action #233 brought us one of the more charming Superman adventures when our hero travelled to Borgonia, the ‘Land of One Million Supermen!’; other features this issue included Congo Bill (pre-gorillafication), and Tommy Tomorrow. Superman’s adventures as a boy, meanwhile, had been occupying Adventure Comics since the late 1940s, and 1953’s Adventure #188 brought us yet another of Pa Kent’s wacky alter egos, as ‘The Bullfighter From Smallville!’, backed up by Green Arrow, Johnny Quick and Aquaman in a vintage super-hero showcase. Action #233 is VG+, with light lower corner cover creases and a small tear at the lower cover edge, but bright colours and excellent interiors. On sale at £87. Adventure #188 is VG, lightly glued spine, patch of erasure at upper right cover corner and, again, a small tear mid-cover edge, but extremely well-presenting; on sale at £75.

*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 exacerbated by its scarcity on this side of the pond. Our newest GSXM #1 is an exceptional VF+; cover tight and correctly aligned (these squarebounds tend to slip sometimes in the gluing process, resulting in offcuts and crooked alignments.) The condition of the spine is generally excellent, with minimal wear at lower and upper ends. Interior pages clean and bright, white cover background unmarred, no creases, pressure marks or discolouration. VF+, on sale at £1,350. Front & back covers and splash page shown here; high resolution scans are available on request. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: After a significant hiatus, Doctor Strange returned to the Marvel Universe with the Defenders, followed by a run as the lead in Marvel Premiere, which proved so successful that his own series was relaunched with a new #1 (back in the days when that sort of thing didn’t happen every other week, you understand). The team of Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner, who had done such outstanding work in returning the Doc to form, continued on into the new series, and this copy of #1 is both a tribute to their talents and an outstanding example condition-wise, clean and bright with creamy interior pages and only very faint wear at the outer cover edge. We have graded this as VF, and it can be yours for £75. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: For a visually-impaired gentleman, Matt Murdock did put it about a lot; 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. Now appearing in DD’s Netflix show, Elektra has lived down the stigma of her terrible movie, and is once again a major figure in the MU. Written and drawn by the acclaimed and controversial Frank Miller, this copy of Elektra’s debut is a beautiful VF+, cents copy, with only very slight blunting of the corners preventing a higher grade. On sale at £75.

*Marvel: A further update to everyone’s favourite urban vigilante: Frank Castle aka the Punisher. Starting off with issues from the 1986 mini-series, we progress to a couple of dozen issues from the 1988 ongoing series between #13 & #40.

*Marvel: A selection of plus-sized Avengers issues, kicking off with their first Annual (‘Special’ on the cover but don’t be deceived), with the new and old teams joining forces against a sinister sextet of super-villains; Annual #7 sees the team in the hands of Jim Starlin, embroiled in the very first cosmic Thanos saga, spilling over from Captain Marvel’s mag and guest-starring the Captain himself; Annual #10 (pictured VF/NM £45) features the debut of Rogue, later a key member of the Uncanny X-Men; Giant-Size Avengers #1 brings us the return (kind of) of the All-Winners Squad and the first of many origins for Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch and Giant-Size Avengers #5… reprints Avengers Annual #1; so we come full circle.

*Horror 1940-1959: Resting our Atlas horror updates for a week – still more to come, folks! – we turn our attention to one of the 1950s more notorious publishers, Harvey Comics. Best remembered today for their barrage of juvenile titles starring Richie Rich and company, Harvey were at one point prominent players in the horror field, with their mystery titles being acknowledged as gorier than Atlas’, but approaching the artistic quality of EC’s. Chamber of Chills was illustrated by such craftsmen as Lee Elias, Bob Powell, Howard Nostrand and Bob Fujitani, and the covers are among some of the most iconic of the genre. We have a selection of Chamber of Chills from #6 to #25, complete but low-grade copies at very affordable prices. Illustrated is lucky #13 FA/GD £26.

*Western: Credit where it’s due, despite having an unfortunate ‘redface’ leading character in Apache Kid (a white man who pretended to be a Native American), Atlas did also attempt to have authentic Native American protagonists – one such was Arrowhead, and another was Red Warrior, son of Comanche chief Grey Eagle, who starred in his own series for six issues from 1951. Although rather unfortunately (in retrospect) subtitled ‘Tales From The Land Of The Redmen!’, the series did at least try for a different perspective on the Western tale. We have five of the six-issue run, lacking only #3, new in stock. Issue #1 GD+ £25, is pictured; grades and prices on the rest, as always, in our online listings.

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: Fresh into stock this week, a near complete run (from #3 up to the final issue #34) of Marvel’s 1980 ‘Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction’: Epic Illustrated. The artists present read like a Who’s Who of those prominent in this field at thew time: Adams, Austin, Bode, Bolton, Boris, Brunner, Buscema, Byrne, Chaykin, Corben, Frazetta, Golden, Jones, Kaluta, Nebres, Reece, Russell, Simonson, Smith, Starlin, Steranko, Williamson, Wrightson and others. Issue #3 features the 1st appearance of Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar.  

*Power Comics: After initial forays with Wham and Smash incorporating some Marvel heroes into their more traditional line-ups, Power Comics decided in in 1967 to launch two nicer-quality paper weeklies, Fantastic and Terrific, devoted almost entirely to Marvel. Fantastic featured Thor, Iron Man and the X-Men, and Terrific starred the Avengers, Doctor Strange, and Sub-Mariner – all re-pasted and occasionally edited to eliminate confusing American idioms! We have new stocks of Fantastic from #17, and of Terrific from its very first issue, VG £30.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Two different debuts of series that were acclaimed or long-running: in 1975, Fleetway/IPC repackaged several of its cult adventure strips – Mytek the Mighty, the Spider, Kelly’s Eye, Robot Archie, Trigan Empire and more – in Vulcan, a slick-paper weekly in a faux-America size, smaller than the traditional British comic. Though well-received by critics, Vulcan didn’t catch the public eye, and its national run lasted fewer issues than its Scottish ‘trial’. Eagle Mk. II, on the other hand, launched in 1982, and despite criticism from fans of the original series, endured for more than a decade to 1994’s 505th issue. We have copies of both first issues new in: Vulcan we offer two copies, both FA at £5, with different drawbacks; one has a small lower spine tear, the other a larger lower cover tear. We also have Eagle series 2 #1 FN with Free Gift ‘Space Spinner’ NM at £20 and issue #2 FN with Free Gift Eagle Badge NM £15.

*Girls’ Comics: One thing we’ve noticed is that June, the doyenne of the IPC/Fleetway girls’ line, seems to have dropped circulation circa 1970 – Issues from the 1970s are conspicuously less commonplace in the back issue market than those from the 1960s. Despite their relative rarity, we’re listing a new influx of 54 issues from 1970 to June’s final year, 1974, at our regular rates. Mostly averaging FN, with a few VGs, these are clean, bright and attractive copies with minimal wear and only very occasional light edge foxing or dustshadow from long term storage. Illustrated is 4th July 1970 (VF £8), the premiere of time-travelling trolley dolly Glory Knight, of whom more may be read in the Extras section on our website in the articles section by Will. Grades and prices on everything may be found in our online catalogue.

On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following files in our American/British section:
*Tarzan/E R Burroughs
*Phantom
*Flash Gordon
*Spirit
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: Having launched in issue #80 of the anthology My Greatest Adventure, the Doom Patrol proved so popular that with issue #86 of the series, the title was rechristened, and the Doom Patrol’s own ‘proper’ series began – this was a doubly auspicious issue, as #86 also saw the first appearance of the Doom Patrol’s dark counterparts, the Brotherhood of Evil. The Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Madame Rouge and sundry others bedevilled the DP over the years, and this is where the world’s weirdest villains, every bit as freakish as their heroic opposites, got their start. Since the launch of their own television series, spinning out of the Titans show, the Doom Patrol is becoming extremely popular. This is a superb copy of the Doom Patrol’s first official issue; very clean and bright, tight staples, minimal edge wear, and unfaded red cover background. A cents copy with no pence price or overstamp, it is FN/VF at £180. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: A whole heap of Bronze Age Batman this week, with every issue from #263 to #300 fresh into stock, and mostly in high grade. A good period this for the Caped Crusader, with plenty of appearances of his major villains, such as the Joker, the Peguin, Catwoman, the Riddler and the Scarecrow, plus lots of new ones too and, perhaps surpringly, a strong international flavour. Pictured are #286 (classic Joker cover VF/NM £19.50) and the landmark 300th issue (VF+ p £20.25).

*Marvel: In 1970, Marvel tried something risky and different, quite aside from their familiar super-hero stable; at the urging of writer Roy Thomas, they put out a sword & sorcery title adapting the Robert E. Howard stories of Conan the Barbarian, and, bucking the trend, it was smash hit – thanks in no small part to the illustration of Barry (not-yet-Windsor) Smith, a talented young British artist who gave the most famous Cimmerian of all grace and feral power, filling Conan’s world with mystery, menace, and beauty as monsters and maidens competed for our hero’s attentions. Conan’s first series at Marvel ran 275 issues and multitudinous specials and spin-offs, and after a long sojourn over at Dark Horse, he’s back! To celebrate, we release probably the nicest copy of Conan #1 we’ve seen since its original release; this VF/NM beauty has luminous cover colours, sharp corners, tight staples, cream interior pages, and… just everything in the right place. This cents copy of Conan #1 is VF/NM, on sale at £300. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Marvel’s ‘women’s comics’ line of the early 1970s was a conscientious, if misjudged, attempt to broaden the readership by putting female characters and female creators in the spotlight. Sadly, the lack of experienced women in the industry, and some creative inconsistencies, meant that it was a short-lived and badly-supported experiment, with all three titles cancelled after four or five issues. Its longest legacy – no disrespect to Shanna the She-Devil or Night Nurse – was the Cat, whose first super-heroic career may have been brief, but who was later reworked into Tigra the Were-Woman, while her old costume was passed on to Patsy Walker as Hellcat, so Marvel got a twofer – two successful characters for one failed one! Not that Claws of the Cat didn’t show promise; the first issues, especially, were lovely – issue #1’s origin is drawn by Marie Severin and Wally Wood, and a real treat to look at, and the latter issues featured some interesting experimental work. We have all four issues back in stock. Issue one is a lovely VF+ copy, unbroken cover colour, on sale at £85 (pictured); the others are of course in our online Cat-alogue. (sorry…) SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Hot from the Cold War, the Radioactive Man was a creation of the ‘Red Chinese’, such popular villains in American media in the early ’60s. A scientist who was ordered to find a way to defeat Thor, he experimented on himself with hard radiation, which turned his skin iridescent green and caused him to dress up in a giant nappy, for reasons that were never made clear. Nevertheless, his formidable powers taxed Thor’s ingenuity and strength on a number of occasions, and the former Chen Lu has been both a long-standing villain and – briefly, with the Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers – a hero in more recent times. This is a very attractive copy of JIM #93, cents price with no UK overprint, beautiful unfaded colour with tight staples and corners. The only flaw preventing a higher grade is some noticeable spine wear between the staples, which does not break through the paper, but is simply rough to the touch. That aside, it’s a bright and appealing FN+, on sale at £200.

*Marvel: The original X-Men are substantially restocked this update, with around 25 new listings – including several issues previously unrepresented in our inventory. Commencing with #14, the first appearance of the sinister Sentinels, and featuring highlights such as the debuts of the Banshee and the Mimic, as well as the death of Professor X (it’s okay, he got better), plus later issues leading into the birth and death of the Phoenix, this is a cornucopia of mutant mayhem, mostly in mid grades and at very affordable prices.

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: 1954’s Police Action took a spin on the crime genre by having the police’s perspective as the dominant viewpoint – but don’t worry, there was still enough lurid gunplay for all, especially in the first issue, with violent art by the infamous Robert Q. Sale. Colan, Lawrence and Maneely are other contributing artists to this seven-issue Pre-Code series, which like so many crime titles gave up the ghost with the threatened advent of the Comics Code Authority. Police Action #1-7, complete run, is new in this week. Post-Code, Atlas tried again with Police Badge #479 (that’s the full title, not the issue number), which launched in 1955 with issue #5, continuing from the defunct Spy Thrillers. Despite an engaging Joe Maneely cover, interiors by Maneely and Heck, and an unusual concept (the story of rookie cop Jim Hudson), the series didn’t ‘take’, and issue #5, the first, was also the final, so – buy it, and you’ve completed the set! Pictured is Police Action #1 GD £35; for details of the others, check out our online catalogue.

*Western: A multitude of Western series dominated America’s newsstands in the 1950s from a myriad of publishers, and Atlas’ output in the field was of a consistent high standard. Western Gunfighters debuted in 1956 with issue #20, taking over the numbering from the fallen Apache Kid series. Eschewing recurring characters, Western Gunfighters provided one-off tales of the Old West, several per issue, with a stellar array of artists – Crandall, Wood, Williamson, Powell, Heath, Maneely, Morrow, Severin, Torres, and Toth were among the contributors. Ending with #27, we have the entire series new in stock this week. Illustrated is #23, VG+ £27; details on the other grades and prices may be found in our online catalogue.

*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: A steady seller from this popular section are the so-called ‘Prozines’, slick magazines produced by people in or connected with the comics industry, exploring the in-depth history of the American comics medium, from the Golden Age to the present day. We have restocked our inventory of these titles: Alter Ego ranging through # 4 to #40, Comic Book Artist (First and Second series), and Comic Book Creator from #1, including several paperback collections and special editions from those series, plus the scarcer, but no less sought-after, Charlton Spotlight, consecutive run of the first nine issues.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A complete run fresh in of the infamous horror weekly Scream from 1984, all 15 issues in respectable VG to FN condition. #1 (pictured) is FN £20. Other issues are £5.50-£7 each — full details of course in our catalogue.

*TV & Film Related Comics: Stingray. Fireball Xl5. Thunderbirds. Captain Scarlet. Gerry Anderson’s ‘Supermarionation’ TV shows dominated the consciousness of a generation of children in the 1960s, and the TV Century 21 weekly, launched in 1965 (or ‘2065’ as the covers averred), featured in turn all of those series, illustrated by the finest artists in British Comics, during its 242 issue run. Frank Bellamy, Ron Embleton, Mike Noble, Ron Turner, Keith Watson, Rab Hamilton, Eric Eden and more turned in superlative work in glowing colour, bringing the small screen’s puppet heroes to vivid life. We have one hundred issues of this enduringly popular weekly added to our inventory, many of them filling in previous gaps in our lists. Perhaps of most interest is the #1, which, honestly, has seen better days: an unabashed Poor, its covers are detached, and there is extreme edge and corner wear throughout. The back cover has been torn in half and clumsily taped, and other back cover damage means that portions of the ‘Daleks’ strip are missing. That aside, however, it is otherwise complete, if shabby and downtrodden. The rest of the new influx vary from Fair to Fine/Very Fine, most hovering around affordable mid grades, with light to moderate wear but unmarked cover scenes and clean interiors being the prevailing trend. Any other specific faults will, of course, be noted in our online listings. Illustrated: #1 PR £50, and demonstrating the other end of the spectrum in this new selection, #14 FN/VF £32.50 and #89 FN/VF £27.50.

*Clearance Corner: In the limbo between the cancellation of their original series and the dawn of the international line-up, the X-Men were ghosts in the Marvel Universe, making only very occasional guest appearances. In 1999, writer/artist John Byrne set out to fill in the gap with all-new stories of what Scott, Bobby, Hank, Warren, Jean, Alex and Lorna Did Next, with a clever, fast-paced series that lasted 22 fun-packed issues evocative of classic Silver Age Marvel, and got cancelled despite respectable sales because a new Marvel editorial remit thought it would ‘confuse the readers’, boo hiss. All 22 issues, a brisk, breezy read, all NM, yours for £15. UK postage if required will be an extra £4