*Girls’ Comics: In 1961, June was launched by IPC/Fleetway with genteel photo-covers, safe features like ‘Cookery Nook’, and a cheerful willingness to over-emphasize the Royal Family. Basically it came across, intentionally, as a version of their popular paper Princess, but on cheaper paper. However, the spirited comic strips that were to make it a juggernaut for a decade were there – ‘Kathy of Marvin Grange’, ‘Black Pearls of Taboo Island’, ‘When Did You Last See Your Father?’ and more, promising adventures in exotic locales, distant history, and, er, boarding school. (Well, that was a pretty exotic experience for most of its readers…) We are pleased to have three of the early issues which launched June’s long career; issue #2 comes with the Free Gift – an album of Royal pets – that originally graced its cover, but with all the pictures, including those given away in later issues, already stuck in for your comfort and convenience. The second issue is FA, with Free Gift GD+, at £40; issue #3, an Easter number, is GD £25 and the fourth issue is GD £12.

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 section:
*DC
and in our American/British section:
*Undergrounds
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*Clearance Corner: For our latest bargain lot, we’re clearing out our more modern copies of Commando Picture Library. We have 126 issues up for grabs in the range #3004-4477. These are mostly high grade copies, with just a few exceptions — there are also (just) a handful of duplications. These are available for a price of just £20, for a wealth of reading matter! Can be collected from our shop (in a medium box weighing 6 kg), or posted within the UK only for a further cost of £17 if required. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: We rarely get Timely Comics (the Golden Age precursor of Marvel) in stock, so we’re particularly pleased to have not one, but two, issues of Captain America Comics new in – and both are significant issues! We open with Captain America Comics #46, April 1945, a notorious ‘Holocaust Cover’ scene by Alex Schomburg, in which Cap and Bucky are shown liberating the luckless inmates of a Nazi concentration camp. While it may appear tasteless to dwell on such matters, the fact remains that the subject matter does make this issue significantly more sought-after than the ones around it. This copy is graded FA+, and is a bit of a ‘Curate’s Egg’ in terms of condition – while the lower cover edge is considerably worn, with small chips out of the lower back & front cover corners, and the staple rusty, the upper logo area retains very vivid, vibrant colour, and there is considerable gloss around the lettering, so the copy retains considerable eye appeal even in relatively low grade. This issue hardly ever seems to come up for sale, and there are precious few recorded sales to judge prices against, but because of the high demand and the controversial cover topic, this copy is priced at £1,375. Front and back covers are pictured below and high resolution scans are available on request. Our second Captain America Comics issue is #63, July 1947. A coverless copy, sound and clean,  this features two Captain America and Bucky Tales pitting the chums against super-villains (albeit  not very impressive ones – Rip Van Winkle and the Parrot!) but it’s the Human Torch story which is key here, offering the debut and origin of the Torch’s shapely-but-sinister nemesis, the Asbestos Lady. Victoria Murdock (to her friends) became a recurring foe of the Torch in the Golden Age, and enjoyed a second career from the 1970’s onward in ‘flashback’ tales in the Invaders series. Our coverless copy of #63, also pictured below, is on sale at £100. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

Due to holidays, there won’t be any updates or Newsletter next week. Our next regular Newsletter will be in 2 weeks’ time, but look out before that for a Newsletter EXTRA! coming your way mid-week the week after next when updates recommence, which will be a true star-spangled spectacular! Our shop of course remains open during normal hours.

*Marvel: This week sees the penultimate update in our current Spider-Mania event focusing on issues in the range from #22 to #38, the last issue illustrated by Spidey’s co-creator, Steve Ditko. Among the highlights are the premiere appearance of the lovely but larcenous Princess Python in #22, the first Molten Man in #28, #31 with the first appearances of not one, but two, of Spidey’s key supporting players – his beloved Gwen Stacy, and his troubled best friend, Harry Osborn, the iconic cover of #33, ‘The Final Chapter’ and the debut of Norman Osborn in #37. The classic Spidey Rogue’s Gallery – Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Scorpion etc – is very much in evidence in these early adventures. Illustrated from this range are #23 FN+ £130; #26 FN+ £115; #27 FN/VF £125; #28 VG £120; #31 FN p £75 and #38 FN+ p £53. For details on the others, please see our online catalogue listing.

*Marvel: Light to moderate updates to several of Marvel’s most popular titles this update, with new stock for Conan, Daredevil (including special issue #100), Doc Savage, Howard the Duck (including the first comic-book appearance of rock legends Kiss in #13), Iron Man, Marvel Premiere, Marvel Two-In-One, Nova, Sub-Mariner and the always-Uncanny X-Men, including ‘event’ issues #175 and 200!

*Classics Illustrated: Many dozen issues of the UK versions of Classic Illustrated freshly added to our stock, including line drawn covers (#13 Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, #23 Oliver Twist) a new British cover edition (#82 The Master Of Ballantrae) and two UK only rarities: #148 Nights Of Terror & #149 The Gorilla Hunters. Plus many more. Full details of grades and prices may as always be seen in our catalogue.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: We are very fortunate to have acquired a large collection of British #1 issues, which we shall be listing in our catalogue and featuring here as fast as time allows. We’ve dubbed this collection ‘First-Quenchers’, an event to run alongside our Long Hot Summer feature (see below) to bring you the very best of British comics over the months ahead. We’re commencing with Hurricane #1, complete with its Free Gift, one of the rarest of all accompanying gifts. In February 1964 Fleetway/IPC released Hurricane, a companion to their highly successful Valiant. Featuring in the lead a lightly comedic bruiser – ‘Typhoon Tracy, as opposed to ‘captain hurricane’ in the lead slot, Hurricane ploughed the expected row of adventure, war, sports and historical strips, but allocating several of them a longer run (5 pages, rather than the two or three that were the weekly standard), and with its slightly larger size, seemed to be aiming a little higher age-wise. The most famous alumnus of Hurricane, apart from Tracy himself, was ace racing driver ‘Skid Solo’, who had a decades-long career after Hurricane’s eventual absorption into Tiger. Because it had a regrettably short run, a mere 63 issues, Hurricane is highly sought after today, and this first issue, in a gleaming Fine condition, is made extra precious by the presence of the Free Gift which originally accompanied it – a punch-out cardboard model of the TSR2 fighter plane, not punched out (in this instance), but still in its original ‘flat’ form, albeit with the card having sustained a light horizontal fold at some time; the original rubber band used to launch it is missing (but easily replaced). We’ve graded the free gift as Very Good, and together the pair are on sale for £200.  

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: This week we’re kicking off an event to last all summer long, spotlighting those elusive British Summer & Holiday Specials which were published to keep the kids entertained during the school holidays. Over the course of this summer, we shall be adding hundreds of these extra-length gems to our catalogue in our Long Hot Summer feature. It all starts right here with a selection of favourite Boys’ titles, opening with Battle 1977 – because nothing says ‘seaside fun’ more than ‘stories of bloody combat’ – and continues through Eagle Mk. II (1985), Valiant 1976 and 1979, and Warlord 1976, starring D-Day Dawson, One-Eyed Jack, Dan Dare, Captain Hurricane and other such mainstays, but the jewel in the crown this update is the 1976 Vulcan Holiday Special, which, like its weekly sibling, gathered the finest of UK adventure series, including the Trigan Empire, Steel Claw, Mytek the Mighty, Saber King of the Jungle, and more! This scarce item is FN at £35. 

Did you know that in addition to the 100,000 plus comics, books and annuals we sell, nestled away at the back of the shop we have a wonderful selection of Pulp Fiction? These unique magazines, from both sides of the Atlantic, feature multiple stories each issue, with fabulous cover and interior art and get their name from the quality of the paper they were printed on. Increasingly hard to find these days, they are a collecting hobby in their own right, and include many famous titles such as Weird Tales, Astounding Science Fiction, New Worlds etc. For this spotlight, we’ve chosen the jewel in the crown from our current stock: the March 1935 issue of the Spider, Master of Men, starring the classic pulp hero of that name. This rare beauty is graded at GD/VG and priced at £125. You won’t find many of these available anywhere! So if you’re browsing our shelves, why not take a moment or two to have a look at all the other gems in this category, or surf our online listing?  

Need help sorting out and tidying your comic/book collection (or anything else)? Our friends at Carefully Sorted may be your solution. Check out their details newly added to our Comic Storage page.

*DC: A one-two punch from Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, the cosmos-spanning saga he brainstormed for DC after famously severing his association with Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. Following on from the introduction of Supertown in Jimmy Olsen, Supertown’s most famous denizens, the Forever People, got their own series – though what #1 is best known for now is the first full appearance of Darkseid, who has become one of the DC Universe’s most iconic villains. Following on from that, we also have the first issue of Mister Miracle, in which Scott Free, child of New Genesis but raised in the fire-pits of Apokalips, makes his bid for freedom from Darkseid’s regime – on Earth! Forever People #1 is FN+, cents copy with no pence price, £45; Mister Miracle #1 is also FN+, pence £25. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: The grand finale of our Marvel XX Month, celebrating the Marvel women of the Silver Age is here! In Tales of Suspense #52, Tony Stark/Iron Man, no stranger to beautiful women, met one of the most beautiful – Madame Natasha, also known as the Black Widow! Originally just a generic femme fatale, with the second Crimson Dynamo supplying the muscle. However, Natasha’s career burgeoned as she first teamed up with the rogue archer Hawkeye, and then gained her own costume, becoming a fully-fledged villainess. Later one of the Marvel Universe’s premier heroines, this is where one of our favourite shady ladies started her career; we have her debut in two grades: FA p £60, and PR p £30, with her second (ToS #53), fourth (ToS #60, also 2nd appearance of Hawkeye) and fifth (ToS #64, first costumed appearance) also new in. Take a look at our catalogue for the full details. SORRY, BOTH COPIES OF TALES OF SUSPENSE #52 HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: This update of our favourite Web-Slinger’s adventures opens with issue #39, the first issue in which John Romita took over the artistic reins from Steve Ditko – and while Ditko left some big boots to fill, Jazzy Johnny stepped up to the plate with a classic Spidey/Goblin clash that is acknowledged as one of the most iconic Spider-Man covers of all time! Our new copy of this important issue (pictured) is an attractive VG/FN cents copy at £65. Not content with that, we also bring you a new selection of issues between #44 and #49, in which John Romita not only brought new additions to Spidey’s Rogue’s Gallery – the second Vulture, and the sinister Shocker – but also took several of the big ‘toys’ (Lizard, Kraven) out of the drawer to put his own stamp on them. SORRY, SPIDEY #39 HAS NOW SOLD

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Fawcett’s Captain Marvel, who started out as one of the more successful Superman imitators before developing into a truly unique, whimsical character, enjoyed more than a decade of success, outselling his inspiration for much of that time, until persistent lawsuits from DC coupled with declining sales led his publisher, Fawcett, to drop its comics line altogether in the early Fifties. We are pleased to offer two copies of Captain Marvel (#43, in a remarkable VG/FN grade at £65, featuring Mr. Mind, Cap’s greatest nemesis, and #142 with the threat of “The Beauty In Black!”). Backing up Cap are his family: Captain Marvel Jr. #51, and Marvel Family #70 & #75, plus bonus item Lance O’Casey #1, which does feature Cap on the cover bigging up his Whiz Comics stablemate, so it counts here. Other than the unusually well-preserved CMA #43  (pictured), most of these are low grades, between Poor and Fair, so very affordable for their vintage.

*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: There’s growing interest in the history of comics fandom, both here and in the US, and we’re pleased to be able to present a large slice of history from both sides of the pond. From the UK, we have X-Men Fan Club organ Cerebro, 1970’s Fan-Fare, a complete 9-issue run of the ambitious UK stripzine Super Adventure Stories, 1974’s Marvel Super-Hero Index with early Kev O’Neill art, Cosmorama, featuring early works by Garth Ennis and Steve Pugh, 1974’s Starzine, plus the popular review zines Vicious and Strands from the 1990’s. From the USA, we bring you a selection of early comics fanzines, including Sanctum (1965), Bombshell Ama-Zine (1967), Comic Feature (1968), and the 1970’s revival of the classic Batmania, plus the 1970’s publications of the Comics Heroine Fan Club: Heroine Addict, its successor Heroines Showcase, and the fanfic spin-off, the Adventuress.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A sweep through our Boys’ Adevnture file, adding Hurricane, from issues #2 & #3 upwards, Lion (including 1974’s final issue), an uncommon trio of Roy of the Rovers (two free gift numbers from 1988 and a 1980 issue with a date misprint), a selection of Tiger from 1969 and 1970, Valiant (including the first issue incorporating Smash!), and token touch-ups to Buddy, Hornet, Rover and Warrior! A veritable cornucopia of heroics freshly plucked for your enjoyment! (Can you pluck a corncucopia? Well, you get the gist…)

*TV & Film Related Comics: Close to 200 new issues to our listings of the TV Comic weekly during one of its most sought-after periods, where two cult TV series – Doctor Who and the Avengers – were featured. The William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton versions of Doctor Who are featured in every issue here, and the Emma Peel Avengers is succeeded (after a brief hiatus where the strip was farmed out to DC Thomson’s Diana) by Tara King. Plus, for those fans of Popeye, Ken Dodd’s Diddymen, Skippy, Beetle Bailey, Tom & Jerry, Mighty Moth and the TV Terrors – well, we’ve got the comics for you! This run also features holiday issues galore, including Fireworks, Christmas, Easter and April Fool!

*Humour Comics: 1967’s Giggle was an odd launch for Fleetway, primarily translated European reprints with only a smattering of new material, the slightly-taller size was an odd format, and the whole exercise seemed to be a test run – possibly a cost-cutting measure – to see if Euro-reprints (which Fleetway had been partially using for many years) could sustain their own weekly. If so, then the answer was ‘no’ – or possibly ‘Non’  as after a couple of months it settled down to the more conventional size, and after 38 issues was absorbed into Buster with only “Cruncher” (The Tiny Ter-Mite with a Big Appet-ite) and “Patch-Eye Hooker” (no, calm down, he was a pirate, not what you’re thinking…) making the jump, leaving Giggle as an odd cul-de-sac in the promenade of British comics history. Nevertheless, it isn’t often seen, and we are quite pleased to have fifteen issues new in for your delectation from #2 onwards – mostly, it has to be said, in pretty ropey condition, averaging PR-FA, but not frequently seen in any grade. The second issue, pictured, is an attractive VG at £12; the remainder, considerably cheaper, so now’s the time to indulge your curiosity!

*Girls’ Comics: A few less often seen Girls’ Comics this week as we visit Girls’ Crystal 1960, Penny 1979, ten issues of Princess from 1966/67, Sally 6/2/71 (with and without Tammy Promo Flyer) & a brace of Tina from 1967.

*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics: We’re very happy to have a restock on Spaceship Away!, the labour of love that is an appreciation and retrospective of the classic Dan Dare. In addition to new adventures in the classic Eagle style, Spaceship Away features, in its full-colour lavishly-illustrated pages, articles on and interviews with the team behind Dan Dare and other Eagle alumni, and in later issues broadened its remit to other 1950’s and 1960’s sci-fi stars such as Nick Hazzard, Journey Into Space, and Garth. We now can offer a complete NM run of the first 18 issues, plus a few later numbers.

For this week’s What’s Old spotlight, we turn our attention to a lovely old Marvel comic: Daredevil #7, which is a milestone issue for a variety of reasons: It’s the first appearance of DD’s red costume (which became his regular outfit after the yellow and black duds of issues #1-6; the art is by the wonderful Wally Wood, one of only a handful of DD issues drawn by this fan favourite artist (and a bonus pin-up of DD & Sub-Mariner is included); and the story features a classic encounter between Namor & DD from the days when such things were truly special. This dark background cover issue is notoriously difficult to find in high grade, but our FN/VF cents copy is unmarked with great cover gloss, firmly attached at staples, tight, flat and with excellent page quality; would grade higher but for a 1″ crease across the top right corner, very minor spine wear and a faint stacking ink defect which can (just) be seen across parts of the logo. Nevertheless, an uncommon beauty at £275.   

It is with great sorrow that we hear that legendary British comics creator Leo Baxendale has died at the age of 86 following a long battle with cancer. For DC Thomson’s Beano and other publications, he created a wealth of characters whose names still resonate within the minds of generations, the most famous of which are “The Bash Street Kids”, “Minnie the Minx”, “The Three Bears” and “Little Plum”.
       In 1964, seeking to break away from the management style of D C Thomson, he created, virtually single-handedly, the weekly comic Wham!, which, apart from a token reprint adventure strip, was initially all Baxendale’s own work, though other creators soon joined him.
       Always a staunch advocate for creators’ rights, he fought a seven-year legal battle with D C Thomson for the rights to his creations, a battle which ended only when DC Thomson settled out of court before a trial was imminent. His anarchic, cluttered and frenetic style, which later Beano artists were urged to imitate, belied a consummate sense of control and balance which influenced succeeding generations of cartoonists, not only in the humour field but also in the broader canvas of satire and political commentary.

Please note that our shop will be CLOSED on Bank Holiday Monday 1st May. All other opening times remain as normal.