*DC: Our Batmania event continues with another double dose this week! DC’s most famous and most popular hero (sorry, Supes), the Gotham Guardian always sells briskly, and we are pleased, after significant recent sales, to add in the region of 75 issues of Batman to our listings, commencing with #230 from 1971 and wrapping up with Annual #11 in 1987! Along the way, we have 100-Pagers galore, two team-ups with the Shadow, a parade of classic dastardly villains – Catwoman, Riddler, Scarecrow, Ra’s Al Ghul, Two-Face, Penguin, the Joker, and, ahem, Kite-Man, plus some new faces that didn’t prove … quite so classic – anyone remember the Silver Sari? Skull Dugger? The Sheikh? The Spook? No? There is a plethora of talent on show in this run, but creative highlights must include #255, a Neal Adams-drawn supernatural shocker; 300, “The Last Batman Story” (until the next one) illustrated by Walt Simonson; 366, the first Jason Todd in a Robin costume, but actually noteworthy for a stunning Eisneresque Joker cover by Don Newton and the aforementioned Annual #11, with an often-overlooked villain spotlight by multiple award-winning author Alan Moore.
30CC
American Update: X-Men #94 – Return of the Mutants
*Marvel: After a long hiatus in reprint limbo, the X-Men, with a new international line-up, made a spectacular return in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and #94 of the ongoing X-Men title marked the return to all-new stories. Scripter Len Wein handed over to Chris Claremont, and Dave Cockrum’s superb illustrations continued to impress. This issue is notoriously hard to find anywhere, being the first New X-Men in the title, and its scarcity is compounded here in the Old Country by the fact that it wasn’t distributed in the UK at all. (That month, the distributors saw fit to bring in Tomb of Parsnips #47 or somesuch instead…) This copy is an attractive VG/FN, with moderate spine and cover edge wear, but a glossy, unfaded and unmarred cover scene and flexible off-white interior pages. As a bonus, there is an unverified Chris Claremont autograph on the lower splash page margin. VG/FN £175.
American Update: Spider-Mania! Amazing Spider-Man #298-300 – the Venom Trilogy
*Marvel: While we of course favour crumbly old comics for crumbly old folks like ourselves, we do spotlight more modern titles or issues of importance and popularity, and the ‘Venom Trilogy’, Amazing Spider-Man #298-300, leading up to the first full appearance of Venom, is one such example. Having debuted in Secret Wars #8 as a semi-sentient blob which configured itself into Spider-Man’s new costume, the ‘symbiote’ became a regular feature in Spidey’s own series before being revealed as a malevolent alien parasite which disclosed its true agenda in these very issues! #298, with the first brief appearance of Eddie Brock (the man who would become Venom) and the beginning of Todd MacFarlane’s run as artist, is VF+ p £28; #299, with the first cameo of Venom himself, is NM- p at £25 and the big one, #300 – the first ‘Full Venom’ – is VF- p at £125. SORRY, SPIDEY #300 NOW SOLD
American Update: Wolverine’s First Solo Series by Claremont and Miller
*Marvel: By the 1980s, Wolverine’s status as the breakout star of the ‘New’ X-Men had become evident, and an A-List team of Chris Claremont, Frank Miller and Josef Rubinstein was assembled to give him a solo spotlight in these four issues. Logan returns to Japan where he seeks to regain his lost honour and win the hand of his beloved Mariko, in an outstanding series which was the basis for the 2013 smash film “The Wolverine” – instead of being merely an outline for the film, many of Miller’s striking visuals for the mini-series were meticulously re-created for the movie. #1 and #4 are VF p, #2 & #3 are FN/VF p, sold as set of four only for £85. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Star Wars #42 – Boba Fett Debut
*Marvel: Issue #42 of Marvel’s always popular Star Wars series featured the first comic book appearance of Boba Fett, with our bounty hunting hero centrally featured on the cover, despite being only seen on the splash page and a couple of interior panels as Marvel continued its comics adaptation of “The Empire Strikes Back”. Fett-o-philes have driven the cost of this issue up over the last decade or so, so even a superior mid-grade example – such as this FN+ cents copy – clocks in at £40. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Ghost Rider #1 (1973)
*Marvel: In the early 1970s, with the supernatural craze at its height, Marvel sought ever-more ingenious ways to produce horror/mystery series which got around the then-Draconian censorship of the Comics Code Authority. One such was Ghost Rider, a retooling of a former Western hero as a stunt-riding Satanic minion (obviously). After a short but successful run in Marvel Spotlight, Ghost Rider moved to his own series under the aegis of Gary Friedrich, Tom Sutton and Syd Shores, and achieved a very respectable 80+ run, remaining a major player in the MU ever since. This copy of Ghost Rider #1 is a cents copy, no pence price or overstamp, imported from a dodgy lockup in the wilds of the Bronx just for you! FN/VF £80. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Atlas Western Round-Up! Gunfighters, Outlaws, and ‘Kids’ A’Plenty
*Western: More than thirty new issues in our Western section, all from the same publisher. A couple in the late 1940s – and technically Timely – through to a whole passel from the 1950s, when the Western genre was at its most popular, and Atlas (the company that would become Marvel) was its main supplier! Titles updated include The Kid From Texas (#1 FN £32 pictured), Kid Slade Gunfighter, Matt Slade Gunfighter, Outlaw Kid, Quick-Trigger Western, Ringo Kid, Six-Gun Western, Texas Kid, Tex Morgan, Two Gun Western (1st and 2nd series), Western Gunfighters, Western Kid, Western Outlaws and Western Trails. Stellar artists such as Joe Maneely, John Severin, Syd Shores, Matt Baker and Bill Everett are represented, as well as a whole rip-roarin’ rodeo of other talents – with many debut and other early issues in this selection, this is a regular Gold Rush for cowboy aficionados!
American/British Update: Flash Gordon – He’ll Save Every One Of Us!
*Flash Gordon: New US and UK stock of the adventures of Planet Mongo’s famous champion, with issues of the American series (spanning three publishers, King, Charlton and Gold Key) between #9 and #23, plus the UK Miller Digest #2 from 1962.
British Update: World Distributors Movie Classics – from Animal World to Zorro
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: In the Palaeozoic Era, back when your chums at 30th Century were young, we didn’t have the DVDs or Videos or Laser Discs that you urchins have these days, oh no… If we wanted a copy of a movie to keep and experience again, we had to buy the comic book version of it! Several companies, particularly Dell, traded on this, with a large part of their output being movie adaptations, which the British company World Distributors re-packaged as a series titled ‘Movie Classics’. Unusually for UK reprints, these were reprinted in full-colour rather than black & white, and were popular in the comic-starved days of the pre- and early-distribution 1950’s. Titles new to our lists this time include Animal World, Big Circus, Brave One, Buckskin, Circus Boy, FBI Story, Last Hunter, Man In Space, White Wilderness, Wings of Eagles, and Zorro – the last with some very tasty Alex Toth art. All of these are under the film’s title rather than the series title of Movie Classics, so you’ll find Animal World listed under A rather than M.
British Update: First Quencher with Free Gift Farrago: Marvel UK’s Hulk #1
*Marvel UK: Continuing our British #1 First Quencher event; the Hulk Weekly launched by Marvel UK in 1979 – the height of the Hulk TV show’s popularity in Britain – was a refreshing change from their all-reprint fare. Although there were some twice-told tales in its pages, it was at first mostly new tales of old favourites, produced by stars in the making: Hulk by Dave Gibbons, Black Knight by Steve Parkhouse & John Stokes (kicking off a storyline that eventually re-introduced the moribund Captain Britain), Nick Fury by Steve Moore & Steve Dillon (the latter’s first professional gig) and Night Raven by Steve Parkhouse & David Lloyd, plus reprints of Jack Kirby’s Ant-Man from the very beginning. Hard to find in high grade, this premier issue is VF with the Free Gift (Hulk Sticker Album) also VF, on sale at £25.
British Update: Long Hot Summer! Scorcher and Tiger Holiday Specials
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A sporty theme this week, with Scorcher Holiday Special from 1975, starring ‘Nipper’, ‘Sub’, and ‘Billy’s Boots’, in a cornucopia of soccer action (VG/FN £17.50, pictured). Then, a pair of Tiger Holiday Specials starring ‘Johnny Cougar’, ‘Topps on Two Wheels’, and, er, ‘Billy’s Boots’, the latter having made the jump after Scorcher’s cancellation. 1981 is GD at £10; 1982 (pictured) VG £15. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: First Quenchers: Solo in the Spotlight! #1 of short-lived TV anthology from 1967
*TV & Film Related Comics: Released in 1967, Solo, the companion paper to TV Tornado, featured a line-up of film and TV tie ins with guaranteed star power -‘Sgt Bilko’, ‘Mary Poppins’, and the hugely popular ‘Man From UNCLE’. Oddly, the powers-that-be decided to go with Disney’s ‘Scarecrow of Romney Marsh’ as the lead cover feature. Nevertheless, these leads plus lesser lights – ‘Seaspray’? ‘Run, Buddy, Run’? – provided ample entertainment, though it could be argued that the multitude of Disney cartoon strips brought the reading age down a bit. Despite its quality, Solo never achieved very wide circulation, and copies are seldom seen. This copy of #1 is in FA condition, with considerable spine and cover edge wear and evidence of historical folding, but all pages are present, complete and eminently readable. Yours for £40. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: It’s The Big One! From First to Last!
*Humour Comics: This huge, over-sized experiment from Fleetway only lasted 19 issues (into early 1965) before it was merged with Buster. Measuring approx. 14″ x 22″, we suspect this was a real nightmare for newsagents, and that this comic was stored and sold – when it was put on display at all, as it would have occupied a huge amount of space – horizontally folded like broadsheet newspapers. We’ve never seen a copy without such a fold, and indeed we store and sell them that way. This new collection is just three issues short of the complete run, and includes first, last, Fireworks, Christmas, and New Year issues. #1 (pictured) is FA/GD £30, complete and readable but having been folded in four at some point, so there are both vertical and horizontal stress lines resulting in central wear. For prices on the rest, please see the catalogue listing.
What’s Old: Adventures in Time and Space! Rip Hunter #1 from 1961
Our previously listed spotlight this week shines on a famous time traveller! In 1959’s Showcase #20, considerably preceding the debut of a more famous time-travelling explorer, DC premiered Rip Hunter, Time Master, in which our eponymous hero’s Time Sphere took him and his chums to mystery and adventure in the past, the future, and occasionally even outer space! Our heroes – Rip himself, Jeff, Bonnie and Corky – followed the heroic template of ‘The Brain, the Brawn, the Babe and the Brat’ so beloved of comics writers, and after three further Showcase appearances, Rip and the gang got their own series in 1961. This debut issue of Jack Miller’s creation is a highly attractive VG/FN cents copy at £83, with no UK price or overstamp, and with a revamped Rip being a central character in “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” TV show, now is the time to pick up his early appearances. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
Housekeeping Update
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 file in our American section:
*Marvel
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Books Update: Perfumed And Pampered With Frazetta Art
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Perfumed / Pampered, a pair of novels published bound together by Midwood (Tower) are typical sleaze novels from this publisher, but they are elevated by the inclusion of ten full-page black and white illustrations by Frank Frazetta. This is an extremely rare book with high collector interest, in VG/FN grade on sale for £150. There is minor creasing at the spine and very slight binding separation towards the rear, but no loose pages.
Although we normally only use images from our own copies, in this case, to avoid damage, we’ve used stock images to show a sample of the illustrations. Front and back cover images are of the actual copy of the book.
Books Update: The Bookshop Crawl Cometh!!!
This year we’re very excited (maybe the !!! gives it away?) to be taking part in the London Bookshop Crawl, which will be happening over the weekend of 9th – 11th February. The Bookshop Crawl, as you might imagine is like a pub crawl, only with books, and is an opportunity for booklovers to visit lots of (mainly) independent booksellers and be rewarded in the process.
We’ll be offering 10% off all purchases from our Books section, and a selection of free books (up to 5 per customer). In addition, for this Sunday (11th) only, we’ll be open from 10:30 to 18:00.
If you want to join in, or just find out more, just click here.
American Update: Quirky Batmania! Star-Spangled Comics #88 – Robin Declares War On Batman
*DC: A double dose of Batmania this week! An often-overlooked and very seldom seen Golden Age DC title Star-Spangled Comics was, in its latter days, home to a solo strip for Robin the Boy Wonder – though often, as with this issue, Batman turned up on some pretext or another, in this case a plot-generated feud between the Dynamic Duo! Other features include Merry the Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks, a genuinely obscure super-heroine who shoplifted her series from her adoptive brother, the Star-Spangled Kid; maritime adventurer Captain Compass and Tomahawk, Revolutionary War hero who fought the evil British – no, hang on a minute… This copy of Star-Spangled #88, January 1949, is an unashamed Poor: the page edges have been trimmed, though with the generous margins the story pages are completely untouched. In addition, the upper right cover corner has been lost and replaced with a lovingly handcrafted substitute. There is some browning and brittleness on the inside cover, and some marginal watermarking, BUT all pages are complete, intact, and legible – and how often do you see a Golden Age Batman-related comic this cheap? Yours for a mere £20! SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Batmania: Watching the Detectives
*DC: A double dose of Batmania this week. This bit features a long run of Detective Comics between #438 and #527. Starting off with the much lauded 100 page issues between #438 & #444, this run moves on through some of the Marshall Rogers illustrated issues in the 460’s and 470’s before culminating in both the 500th Anniversary issue and the 500th Appearance of Batman in Detective Comics in #527. Mostly nice grades, a mixture of cents and pence copies.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts! Strange Tales #110, First Appearance of Dr. Strange
*Marvel: When the misjudged appeal of the Human Torch’s solo strip in Strange Tales started to falter, the series needed a new star to come along, and fortunately Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, already the creators of hugely popular twist-ending tales in a plethora of Big-Panty Monster comics, turned their talents to an eldritch hero, and Doctor Strange was born! Unheralded on the cover – Does Paste-Pot Pete’s Invincible Paste-Gun finish the Torch off? Would anyone care? – the stylish back-up story introduced the Sorceror Supreme to the Marvel Universe, commencing a lengthy career which has crossed over into the blockbuster film starring Bandersnatch Chamberpot. Now that the good Doctor is a multi-media phenom, his earliest appearances are spiralling up in price – but if you’re going to get one, this is the one to get! This copy is VG+ p, on sale at £1200. An attractive copy with unbroken cover image, good colour, very minor wear at top cover edge. This concludes our Mighty Marvel Firsts event, but there’ll be plenty more of the same in the future. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Fantastic Four #25 – Definitive Hulk/Thing Clash
*Marvel: A personal favourite from the distant childhood of the 30th C. team, this pits the Green Goliath against Marvel’s First Family in a long-promised but oft-deferred fight to the finish. When three of the Four rapidly succumb to the Hulk’s irresistible force, it falls to the Thing, outclassed despite his own formidable strength, to hold the line in an epic, desperate struggle to protect the city. Powerful and gripping, this remains, decades later, one of the best-remembered battles of the early Marvel Age! This copy is an attractive VG- p at £80.
American Update: A Spider-Mania Miscellany – From Silver Age to Modern Times
*Marvel: This Spider-Sweep covers a bunch of recent additions to our stock from #11 (FA £45) through to the Spider-Man Versus Wolverine all-new one-shot extravaganza from 1987, (NM £30) with highlights including an affordable mid-grade #252, introducing the black costume which would later become Venom, several Annuals including #14 (an epic Dr.Strange/Spidey team-up by Frank Miller) and Giant-Size Spider-Man #4 co-starring the Punisher (FN+ £30). More Web-Wiggling Wonderment on the way soon!
American Update: New Mutants #87 – Get Cable!
*Marvel: … And a generation of lame jokes about television reception was launched. Issue #87 of the ‘junior X-Men’ series, New Mutants, saw the first full appearance (he’d stuck his face in for a foreboding panel or two the issue previously) of Cable, the time-travelling man of mystery. Who was he, really? What was his agenda? What the hell were his powers, again? Some of these questions would be answered more promptly than others (apart from the Big Gun & Mullet ensemble, I still to this day don’t know what his skill set comprised…), but he stuck around to become the leader of the New Mutants, then, after that series’ cancellation, honcho of X-Force, and star of several solo series. Currently, he’s co-starring in the second Deadpool movie (rumours of Jennifer Saunders interpreting the role are sadly exaggerated…), so his star is ever-rising! This lovely VF+ p copy of New Mutants #87 is on sale at £85.
American Update: “I Pity The Fool…” Marvel’s 1984 A-Team Set
*Marvel: One of the hottest TV properties of 1984 was the A-Team, the curiously bulletproof crew of ex-military who travelled around the US dispensing rough-hewn justice. This three-issue complete set from 1984 features the talents of Jim Salicrup, Marie Severin, John Romita and Chic Stone, in all-new adventures. Issue 1 is FN/VF, and issues 2 and 3 are VF; sold as a complete set only, for £15. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: EC Science Fiction and more
*EC: A fresh batch of lowish grade ECs in this week, mainly science fiction but with a dash of crime and satire. We have three out of the four issues of Incredible Science Fiction (which carried on from Weird Science-Fantasy): #30 (1st issue, pictured GD+ £50), #32 AND #33; the only issue of International Crime Patrol (formerly International Comics, subsequently Crime Patrol) #6 with a Moon Girl and the Prince story; a single issue of Panic (#6) and three issues of Weird Science-Fantasy itself: #27, #28 (pictured, GD+ £50) and #29, the final issue with classic Frazetta cover, sadly only in PR at £39.
American Update: Harvey Humour & Adventure
*Harvey: A chunky update to our stocks from this quaint publisher, including many of the humour titles for which they’re best known: Casper the Friendly Ghost, Hot Stuff, Little Lotta, Playful Little Audrey, Richie Rich, Sad Sack & Wendy the Good Little Witch; also several of their less well known adventure series: Joe Palooka, Spyman (with Steranko’s first attempts at art) and Unearthly Spectaculars with the super-hero Jack Frost and others.
British Update: I Say Chaps, It’s a Complete Set of Jolly Old Captain Britain!
*Marvel UK: Marvel UK’s unprecedented and experimental attempt to broaden their readership by generating a new British hero, Captain Britain, was the subject of much controversy, not least because he was created by two Americans (Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe) who, from the evidence presented here, had never met an English person, and whose interpretation of the UK’s manners and mores made the Austin Powers films look like documentaries. Be that as it may, the character endured to become a respected icon of the medium, and these issues are now attracting keen collector attention, primarily because of early appearances by characters who have become, as the young people say, ‘hot’ in the media. This is a complete run of all 39 weekly issues. Other than the first two issues – with free gifts, in this instance – the most wanted numbers are #8 (1st Betsy Braddock, who turned Japanese and became the X-Men’s scantily-clad ninja mind-warrior Psylocke. As you do.), #9 (2nd Betsy B.) and #19 (1st Lance Hunter, aka ‘Mr. Mockingbird’ from Marvels ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ television series.) After a long stretch of a CB TV series being ‘on’ and then ‘off’ production schedules, Rumour Central reports that it’s ‘on’ again – so buy now! Captain Britain Weekly #1 VF with NM Free Gift is £50; #2 FN with NM Free Gift is £35; #8 FN/VF is £80 and #19 FN is £12. For the price and condition of all other issues, see our catalogue pages. SORRY, #1 & #2 NOW SOLD
British Update: Long Hot Summer – Starlord and Tornado Summer Specials from 1978 & 1979
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A brace of one-off sci-fi specials from two short-lived 2000 AD companion titles! 1978’s Starlord was a quality sci-fi weekly, featuring innovative strips such as “Strontium Dog”, “Ro-Busters”, “Planet of the Damned” and “Timequake”, and with more colour pages and slicker paper, seemed to be attempting to upgrade the 2000 AD model. Tornado debuted in 1979, on the then-traditional pulp paper, starring psychic teen delinquent “The Mind of Wolfie Smith”, rebellious slave “Black Hawk”, and superheroic parody “Captain Klep”. Oddly, both series lasted precisely 22 issues before being amalgamated back into 2000 AD, but each produced a single Summer Special on high quality stock, both of which are the rarer and more sought-after of their respective titles. Starlord Summer Special 1978 (with a Gerry Anderson interview and Arthur C. Clarke short story for added cult appeal) and Tornado Summer Special from 1979 are each VF £40. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: First Quenchers! Champion #1 from 1966
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Continuing our First Quenchers event featuring UK #1 issues! In the 1960s, IPC/Fleetway launched not one, but two weekly adventure comics that were heavily promoted as “Companion papers to Valiant”, neither of which, peculiarly, ended up merging with Valiant; one such was Hurricane, which merged with Tiger and the other was Champion. 1966’s Champion #1 looked a bit odd to contemporary audiences, because more than half its content (though the readers had no way of knowing it at the time) was reprinted from European sources. Among the new material, though, was some imaginative stuff, including ‘Return of the Stormtroopers’, ‘School for Spacemen’, and a bona-fide superhero, ‘The Phantom Viking’. Readers didn’t take to the imports, though and after only fifteen issues, the title folded into Lion, with ‘Phantom Viking’, ‘Stormtroopers’ and a couple of humour strips making the leap across. This debut issue of a now-collectible short run is a respectable GD at £30, marred only by some small tears at the centre front cover where the free gift has been too-eagerly removed in years gone by. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: Are you ready to Shiver & Shake?
*Humour Comics: A long run in of the fondly-remembered spooky humour title from the mid-1970s, Shiver & Shake, in which the nominal poltergeist and pachyderm presented a plethora of comic horror delights, including Frankie Stein, Grimly Feendish, Horrornation Street, Sweeney Toddler, Tough Nutt & Softy Centre and lots more. It borrowed its two comic in one format from Whizzer & Chips and enjoyed an 83 issue run before being absorbed into Whoopee in late 1974. We have a fair chunk of it new in this update, from the 4th issue to the final, nearly 60 issues in all.
British Update: A Date With Debbie – Debbie Picture Library from #1
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: From 1978, Debbie Picture Library, like its stablemates Bunty & Judy PL, reprinted serials from the parent weekly, collected into done-in-one handy digests, with the occasional brand-new story thrown in. We’re pleased to have a selection of many of the first fifty of the Debbie PL’s, beginning with the very first, “Lost On Planet X”. One observation to be made is that around a quarter of the stories deal with science-fiction themes – usually mysterious visitors from another planet being mentored by plucky Earth schoolgirls, which seems to have been a very popular trope! Traditionalists need not despair, however – there’s still gymnasts, dancers, orphans, slaves of X and servants of Y in abundance!
Books Update: Joe 90, Space 1999 And Thunderbirds – Action All The Way!
*TV/Film Tie-Ins: Even better, it’s Gerry Anderson style action, as Joe 90 aims to W.I.N., the Space:1999 crew explore four episodes and the Thunderbirds team set off on their first adventures. All 1st UK paperbacks, in conditions ranging from FA/GD to VG.
Ursula K Le Guin – A Grandmaster Of Science Fiction
With deep regret we learned of the death of Ms Le Guin, a visionary and highly influential author of Science Fiction for both adults and children. Her writing reflected her background: her father was an anthropologist and her mother a writer, allowing her to consider alternative ways of life when many writers stayed within the conventions of their time. Ms Le Guins’s most famous books are The Left Hand Of Darkness, The Dispossessed and the Earthsea series, but she was a prolific author – a personal favourite is The Lathe Of Heaven. As for influence, having herself been inspired by Lord Dunsany, Theodore Sturgeon, Cordwainer Smith and Tolkein, she went on to influence many well-known authors including David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, J K Rowling, George R R Martin, Iain Banks and Terry Pratchett – a fine legacy indeed.
Dr Evilla writes: ‘Like many others I first encountered Ursula Le Guin as a child, through the Earthsea Trilogy, which I read avidly. Since then I’ve sought out her writing and never been disappointed. If you haven’t read any of her work, treat yourself; my personal favourite is The Lathe Of Heaven, but there are so many others to choose from’.
Books Update: More Moorcock (Elric and the Eternal Champion)
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Four more Moorcocks (apart from being a bit of a tongue-twister) are always welcome on our shelves. This time we’ve added Phoenix In Obsidian with the Eternal Champion, an early US version of Stormbringer (with a Jack Gaughan cover), The Singing Citadel and The Stealer Of Souls (two more early Mayflower Elrics with other characters). Join Elric as he agonises eternally, the Eternal Champion in his agonies and numerous other characters in the struggle between Order and Chaos that only Moorcock could conjure up.
Housekeeping Update
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 file in our American section:
*DC
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Clearance Corner: Swift Volume 1 – Bound Volume of all issues from 1954
*Clearance Corner: Here’s another bargain from our Clearance Corner feature! Swift Volume 1 complete — issues #1-41 from the debut year 1954 of the junior companion to Eagle, with a plethora of features designed to entertain (and subversively educate) young minds, including Tarna the Jungle Boy, Tom Tex, Sue Carter, the Rolling Stones (these ones are itinerant acrobats, not rock musicians!), Nicky Nobody, David & Jonathan and the Bentine Bumblies. All bound into a hardback volume and offered for £100 (Previously on sale for £350!). Binding reasonable if a bit grubby with some wear at top and bottom spine; contents tightly bound. What looks like gold leaf lettering on spine. Condition of interior issues averaging VG, with light tanning to edges, but stories untouched. Borders of issues trimmed. This fits into a small box weighing 2.33 kg and UK postage if required would be an extra £13.50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
What’s Old: The Art of Reginald Heade
Nestled away in the Crime, Spies and Sleaze category of our Book Department are several volumes featuring the distinctive art of Reginald Heade, described by some American afficiandos of the ‘gangster pulp digest’ genre as ‘England’s finest artist’ and indeed his finely detailed paintings that adorned the covers of hardbacks and paperbacks in the mid 20th Century were a cut above the illustrations featured on the vast majority of similar fare. Although his work ranged through many genres and subject matters, he is best remembered perhaps for the voluptuous women (often in a state of distress/undress) who graced the covers of books by Hank Janson, Paul Renin, Michael Storme, Roland Vane and countless others. Heade himself was a man of mystery about whom little is known, other than he worked in London; there are no photos of him, nor does anyone claim to remember meeting him. Fortunately, he left behind a large body of wonderful work, the legacy by which he will be remembered. Here are a few examples from our stock; although some Heade cover books turn up quite often, others are very rare indeed and command huge prices if and when they come up for sale (some it seems never do!).
Ordering from our Newsletter by email or phone
There has been some minor confusion lately among some customers on how best to order following our Newsletter issue/What’s New page updates. People trying to phone on Monday morning as soon as we open are often disappointed to learn that somebody else has already committed to buy an item by email the day before.
The Newsletter is usually sent out on Sundays while the shop is closed; this is just after the week’s new stock is listed on the What’s New page. Many orders are usually received by email on Sunday and, to be fair to everyone, we treat them strictly in the order they’re received, although replies will not usually be sent until the shop reopens on Monday morning (because even we need a bit of a day off now and again!). So, any orders by email on Sunday will be dealt with before anything can be promised to anyone phoning on Monday morning; our phone line is very busy on Monday morning and you may find you can’t get through anyway!
To stand the best chance of getting any item that catches your eye, it’s best to email as soon as you see it and, if you’re sure you want it, commit to it in your email. If you’re the first to do so, it will be reserved for you (for a maximum of 3 days pending payment) and you’ll get a reply from us on Monday as soon as we can manage it.
Please remember that in the vast majority of cases, we will only have one copy of any given item and inevitably, when it’s one in high demand, someone is going to be disappointed at missing out.
American Update: A new round of Batmania begins with Neal Adams Classics
*DC: Having recently whetted your appetites with our most important Batman update ever, we’re starting this week a new round of Batmania, featuring tales of Batman and his chums throughout their history. The flowing and dynamic art of Neal Adams graced many a cover of Batman and other DC series in the 60s and 70s, but his interior illustrations are less commonplace and much in demand, particularly his renditions of Batman, which helped re-define the public’s perception of the Gotham Guardian after the influence of the Batman TV show faded. New in this week are two of Adams’ best-regarded Batman issues: #234, which features the first appearance of the classic villain Two-Face since the 1940s, reintroducing him to a new generation and #237, in which the trail of a war criminal leads Batman & Robin to a quaint Halloween parade in Rutland, Vermont, kicking of a series of ‘Rutland specials’ which became an in-joke at both DC and Marvel for years. Both of these issues are not only high in creative quality, but in physical quality, being superior examples; Batman #234 is VF- p at £150; #237 is FN+ p £50. More Batmania next week!
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts/Spider-Mania: Amazing Spider-Man #14 – first appearance of the Green Goblin
*Marvel: A conflation of our current two Marvel events! After #1, possibly the single most sought-after issue of Spider-Man is #14, which featured the debut of his definitive nemesis (sorry, Doc Ock) the Green Goblin. Steve Ditko’s illustrations turning the seemingly whimsical into the positively eerie, the Goblin caught the imagination of the public from day one, and has featured in most of the major story arcs of Peter Parker’s alter ego. This copy of Spider-Man #14 is graded FN, but appears better than the stated grade; many dealers would have graded it higher, but as you all know by now, we’re really picky. This superior cents copy, no UK price or stamp, has extensive cover gloss, deep, unbroken cover colour, and only light wear at upper and lower left corners. There’s one light diagonal cover crease, approximately 3.75″, at the lower right cover, bisecting the Hulk’s fist; staples firm at cover and centrefold. Great copy with considerable eye appeal. FN at £775. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: The Coming of… The Juggernaut! Two-part Origin in X-Men #12 and #13
*Marvel: With Jolly Jack Kirby leaving the art chores of the X-Men after issue #11, Stan Lee realised he had to crank up the excitement to keep readers’ attention, and he certainly achieved it with this dynamic two-parter which not only introduced one of the X-Men’s (and the broader Marvel Universe’s) most powerful opponents, the Juggernaut! Cain Marko, the hitherto unsuspected step-brother of the X-Men’s mentor Professor Xavier, dabbled with arcane forces and was transformed into the embodiment of an irresistible force – giving him the power to crush his hated step-sibling, and his super-powered students! This two-parter reveals the origins of Professor X and the Juggernaut, and reveals some of the reasons why Xavier set about training the new generation of mutants. #12 is GD/VG p £55; #13 is VG- p £38. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: Defenders #1 – Marvel’s ‘Non-Team’ get their own series
*Marvel: Marvel Feature (1st series), one of the multitudinous ‘spotlight’ titles of the 70s, introduced the world to the Defenders, an amalgam of loners – the Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange and sometimes the Silver Surfer – who didn’t belong on any team temperamentally, but circumstances kept forcing them to combine forces. This odd ‘hook’ so intrigued the readership that shortly afterward, the Defenders gained their own title, which in its first series achieved a respectable 150+ run and has been periodically revived ever since. This is the very first Defenders #1, VG- (would grade higher but for moderate wear at upper cover edge and lower left corner) on sale at £40. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: …In A Galaxy Far Away…. More of Marvel’s Star Wars
*Marvel: Following extensive sales on Marvel US’s original Star Wars comic, we are delighted to welcome back into stock a selection of issues between #2 and #49, including #39, the first issue of the adaptation of “The Empire Strikes Back”.
American Update: New Restock for Silver/Bronze Iron Man
*Marvel: Following recent high sales turnover for the Armoured Avenger, we’re delighted to have a further selection of Iron Man issues, ranging between numbers #17 to #93, in mid to high grades. Highlights include the debut of the rabble-rousing ruffian Firebrand, clashes with the Red Ghost, Lucifer, Kraken, the malevolent Madame Masque, and additional chapters in the Battle of the Super-Villains, with guest-appearances by, among others, the Mighty Avengers and the Incredible Hulk! (Also the debuts of Val-Larr and Rokk, but you can’t have everything…)
American Update: A miscellany of Dells
*Dell: From that most esoteric of publishers comes a variety of material this week: the humour of Little Iodine, the equine thrills of National Velvet, the theatrics of On Stage, a couple of Movie Classics – Operation Bikini and Two On A Guillotine, TV sci-fi with Outer Limits, TV mystery with Room 222, The Story of Ruth, another movie adaptation with a glorious cover and jungle thrills with Toka Jungle King. Something for everyone?
American Update: Gold Key/Whitman science-fiction inc Magnus Robot Fighter #1
*Gold Key/Whitman: A scintillating sci-fi selection from Gold Key/Whitman this week, starring Magnus Robot Figher inc. #1 (debut and origin VG+ £85 as pictured, with gorgeous Russ Manning art), Mighty Samson (#1), Star Trek & UFO Flying Saucers/UFO & Outer Space.
American/British Update: US & UK Mad hardcover collections from 1958/59
*Mad & Other Parody: Quite a coup in this truly transatlantic update, with not only the US first two magazine-sized hardcover collections of Mad, published in 1958/59 by Crown (presenting the best of the early years), but also the UK first hardcover (virtually identical to the US first and published in the same year by Arco, predating the UK version of the magazine. Not at all common, these nice copies come with dust jackets protected in removeable archival film. As pictured below, left to right, US first VG in VG DJ £80, US second VG in GD DJ £100, UK first FN in VG DJ £75.
British Update: Captain Britain Monthly – Complete Run of Cult Series
*Marvel UK: Following his successful revival in other Marvel UK anthologies, and rave reviews for the daring and innovative Alan Moore/Alan Davis storylines, the ‘new’ Captain Britain was given his second solo series in 1985, and although Moore had jumped ship, the quality of the scripts continued for the monthly magazine, with Jamie Delano’s scripts and Alan Davis’ artwork presenting an enticing saga of multiversal conflict. The Crazy Gang, Gatecrasher’s TechNet, Slaymaster and Mastermind all made popular returns, and briefly, Brian Braddock’s sister, Betsy (later Psylocke of the X-Men) made her costumed debut as the second Captain Britain. We have a complete 14-issue run of this keenly-collected series, mostly in high grades, back in stock, with several duplicated issues, so if you haven’t sampled it before, here’s your chance! Issue #1 (pictured) is FN/VF £15; prices for the rest of the series are available on our website.
British Update: Marvel UK’s Dracula Lives near complete run inc special
*Marvel UK: Every single issue of Dracula Lives from first (#1, without poster) to last (#87) fresh into stock (except #12) plus the 1976 World Distributors Special. This popular series reprinted Marvel’s Tomb Of Dracula and Werewol By Night, acquiring along its way the Frankenstein Monster, Brother Voodoo, the Living Mummy, the Legion Of Monsters, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider and just about every recurring character from Marvel 1970s horror boom!
British Update: First Quencher! TV Tornado #1 from 1967
*TV & Film Related Comics: In 1967, Mick Anglo (formerly the brains behind Marvelman), who had made his name in faux-American comic books, drew inspiration from the success of TV Century 21, and launched a weekly comic starring other characters from TV and movies: Batman, Superman, Tarzan, the Green Hornet, Bonanza, the Phantom and the Man From UNCLE, a mixture of new stories, reprints, and text, which had a respectable two-year run, and is still well-remembered today. This new copy of the debut issue is a very respectable VG, with minimal staple stress and corner wear and clean, unmarred interiors; on sale for £50.