*DC: For the first of two visits to our ongoing Batmania Max feature this week, we visit the years 1960/61, where, under the editorial reins of Jack Schiff, the Batman title was consumed (so it seemed) by aliens and monsters. Fine examples in this update, which features Batman #135, #137, #138, #140, #142 & #143 (most pictured below with aliens and monsters galore!). Issue #140, in addition to having a Batwoman cover, also as a bonus has a Joker story and, rare for this time, a Superman appearance. Most of these cents copies come in at around VG to FN- and the £60-£80 price bracket. A far cry from the Dark Knight Detective, but zany and charming in their own way!

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Dozens of issues of D C Thomson’s hard-hitting Bullet new in, running from the very first issue (1976) to the last (#147 in 1978), doubling the range of issues we’ve previously offered. After this it merged with Warlord and it was revealed that Bullet’s most famous ‘star’, Fireball, was in fact the ward of Lord Peter Flint, the eponymous Warlord himself. Issues #1 and #2 are here presented with their free gifts (#1 signet ring and emblems, #2 survival kit) as pictured.

*Annuals: A new batch of classic Beano annuals fresh into stock, with most years represented between 1971-1987, mostly in Fine grade or better.

*Girls’ Comics: Sandie was launched by Fleetway on the 12th February 1972, and heavily promoted in its stablemates as a ‘sister paper to Tammy’ – the implication being that young readers should add it to their weekly purchases, rather than switch over. Given that Tammy herself was less than a year old at the time of Sandie’s launch, Fleetway were obviously keen for a second ‘street-level’ weekly, and had high hopes for editor John Wagner’s brainchild. Featuring superior artwork and the usual mixture of elements,  (humour  -“Brenda’s Brownies” , mild soap – “Friends and Neighbours” , animal antics – “Silver Is A Star” and the inevitable ‘slave story’ – “Captives of Madam Karma”, by a new-to-the-biz Pat Mills), Sandie nevertheless failed to ‘snag’ a huge audience, and with the issue of 10th October 1973, readers faced the announcement that Sandie was being absorbed into Tammy. This once-forgotten title has experienced a resurgence of interest in recent times, and we have in excess of two dozen of the 80-something published issues new in from 1972, varying grades, the single biggest influx of this series we have ever had, including #2 and the one sole Christmas issue.

Inspired by Will’s successful hip replacement under the aegis of the wonderful NHS, Dr Evilla has created a timely homage to members of the nosocomial professions (that’s doctors and nurses to normal people). A melange of comic and book covers, ranging from Thor (Dr. Don Blake & Nurse Jane Foster), Twinkle (Nurse Nancy), Dr. Kildare, EC’s M.D., Night Nurse, James White’s ‘Code Blue Emergency’ amongst others to showcase professionals of the past and future. You can click on the thumbnail here to get the big picture!

*Marvel: We present a copy of the highly sought after guest appearance of the Punisher in Captain America #241, sporting a Frank Miller cover. This pristine Near Mint pence copy is offered at £40, and rarely seems to come up.

*EC:  Four issues of EC’s seminal horror series Haunt Of Fear new in, all from the second numbering sequence of that series: #13 VG £73, #16 GD/VG £55 (both pictured) #17 FA £25 and #18 FA/GD £34. All pre-code horror is getting harder and harder to come by, and EC were simply the best!

*Marvel: Another run through the Marvel alphabet, this time with new stock for Avengers, Conan, Daredevil, Howard the Duck, Jungle Action, Marvel Spotlight, Marvel Team-Up, Strange Tales, Warlock and starring the ever Uncanny X-Men, including the classic Wolverine/Sabretooth 2 part encounter in #212 & #213 and the first appearance of Jubilee in #244.

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Love is in the air in this small update as we feature two titles new to our listings: Picture Romance (Illustrated World Library Series) and Romantic Adventure Library (Micron), all from the early 1970’s except one 1960’s edition of the latter (#3). Plus a small bonus, a late Schoolgirls’ Own Library (text) #381.

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/British section:
*Classics Illustrated
and in our British section:
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material
and in our Books Section:
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*Annuals: A swatch of TV & Film favourites new in from the 1960’s to the 1980’s, including the Beverley Hillbillies, Buck Rogers, Dick Barton, Flash Gordon, Star Trek, Tarzan and Tom & Jerry.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: About 100 issues of Victor added to our catalogue, all previously unlisted, from the years 1980-1986. 32 pages of action each issue for £1.50-£2 each on average.

*DC: We start a new sub-set of our Batmania Max running feature this week as we embark upon a long run of Detective Comics, and what better way to start than with the 225th issue of the comic that gave DC its name, wherein featured the debut of J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. Opinions differ on which comic started the Silver Age; many consider that Showcase #4 with the debut of the Barry Allen Flash was the first Silver Age comic, but Detective Comics #225 from November 1955 preceded that by almost a year and featured a brand new super-hero rather than a re-invented one, so you pays yer money and you takes yer choice. Anyway, our issue of Detective #225 is a bright attractive copy, with nice page quality, graded at FN-; the defects comprise a small back cover tear (about 1″), minor spine wear and a very minor crease at the bottom right corner of the cover. It’s the first copy we’ve ever had in stock in our 23 years of trading and is seldom seen for sale. The price is £2,500 and represents a solid investment; front and back cover scans shown left and right here. For those craving the Martian Manhunter, but on a more modest budget, we also have his next five appearances in consecutive issues of Detective Comics as follows: #226 FA £80, #227 FA £30, #228 GD £60, #229 GD/VG £90 & #230 VG+ £195 (as a bonus, #230 features in the Batman story the 1st Silver Age appearance of the Mad Hatter). All pictured below and rare in the UK. More from Batmania Max (and Watching the Detectives) in the weeks to come.

*Marvel: Issue #4 seemed to have a resonance in Marvel’s key team books of the early 1960’s. First, in Fantastic Four #4 (May 1962) the classic Golden Age character Sub-Mariner was revived and has gone on from there to be a major player in the Marvel Universe. Then, in Avengers #4 (March 1964), Captain America was revived, ‘disinterred’ from a block of ice, and has gone on to even greater heights of fame in the Marvel comic and film world since. We’re very fortunate, in our Slab Happy event, to have third party graded slabbed copies of both these landmark issues now available. Fantastic Four #4 is CBCS 6.5 (FN+) at £1,250; Avengers #4 is CGC 7.5 (VF-) at £2,000. Issues such as these, preserved as they are, are only going to continue to go up in value and represent serious investment potential. More from our Slab Happy event soon!

*DC: In this week’s entry in our regular Batmania Max feature, we celebrate the release of the Suicide Squad movie and proudly present the first appearance of Harley Quinn in regular DCU continuity, following her appearances in the Batman Adventures animated series. From 1999, this prestige format edition sports a stunning Alex Ross painted cover and is written by Paul Dini, Harley’s creator and co-features Poison Ivy and, of course, the Joker. This copy is VF with very minor edge wear and a tiny dink at the bottom of the spine keeping it off NM, but a lovely copy. Priced at £100.

*DC: A very nice selection of Silver Age Aquaman issues just in, ranging between #2 and #30, all pence copies, but mostly in grades well above average, around the Fine mark. Two key issues with first appearances are included: #11 (1st Mera) VG+ at £80, and #29 (1st Ocean Master FN- also at £80). Both Mera and Ocean Master went on to play significant but very different roles in Aquaman’s life (wife and brother respectively) and the whole DCU, and are both slated to appear in the Aquaman movie, of course. All this and the gorgeous art of Nick Cardy gracing the pages of this series makes it a highly desirable run.

*Girls’ Comics: The fondly-remembered tabloid size Diana is in the Girls’ Comics spotlight this week, with a large update which includes the very first issue from 1963, although sadly incomplete with 2 pages missing, apparent VG at £5; we don’t normally sell incomplete issues, but make an exception for such a significant issue as this. There are a handful of other issues new in from the 1960’s, before we settle into a good run of decent condition issues from 1970 and 1971, very many new to our listings. Full details in our catalogue.

*Marvel: Just a quickie update for Marvel’s Bronze Age, including Astonishing Tales with Deathlok, Champions, Marvel Team-Up (#53 with 1st John Byrne art on X-Men), Not Brand Echh, Red Sonja and the Savage She-Hulk.

*Modesty Blaise: Lots of Modesty Blaise collections in new this week, from both the Titan first and second series, the Ken Pierce series & the Manuscript Press series plus a magazine version of the first novel in text form in the Bestsellers series, with John Burns illustrations and film and feature articles. Modesty remains a firm favourite here at 30th Century, and we’re proud to carry her well-told adventures in all their various publication guises. Check our catalogue for details.

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: Last week, we featured a large batch of Westerns in this category, so here’s a similar-sized batch of non-Western titles, from both the UK and Australia. UK titles (as published by Miller, World Distributors, Streamline, Strato etc): Adventures Into The Unknown, Big Shot, Blackhawk, Bob Son Of Battle, the Buccaneers, Captain Marvel Jr (#1 pictured), Crime-Buster, Fightin’ Air Force, Flash, Justice Traps The Guilty, Lassie, Laurel & Hardy, Lorna the Jungle Girl, Mr. District Attorney, Moby Dick, Mystery In Space, Nature Boy (#1 pictured), Nyoka the Jungle Girl, Police Comic, Popeye, Race For The Moon, Sea Hunt, Sgt Preston of the Yukon, Spellbound & T-Man; Australian titles: Batman, Foxy Fagan, Giant Flash Album, Mighty Comic, Super Adventure Comic, Superboy & Superman. A whole bucket-full of nostalgia!