*Marvel: No, not a festive special, but the King of Comics writes and illustrates the King of Wakanda in the search for the artefact of another king! (Got that?) With the preparations for his feature film debut under way, interest in the Black Panther has seldom been keener – and we have the first seven issues of his 1977 solo series, written and drawn by Jack Kirby, ready to order! One of Kirby’s strangest series (and coming from the man who brought us Devil Dinosaur, that’s saying something!), this incarnation of the Panther enjoyed fantastical quest adventures such as the search for “King Solomon’s Frog!” Yours for the asking, True Believer! #1 VF (cents) at £26, remainder nearly all VF.

*Alan Class Reprints: We restock our inventory of this consistently popular publisher with both pre-and post-decimal additions to five of the ‘Big 6’ mystery series – Astounding Stories, Creepy Worlds, Secrets of the Unknown, Sinister Tales, and Suspense (no Uncanny Tales this time, alas) – plus Out of This World (second series) and a one-off early issue, Astonishing Stories, a ‘prototype’ for the later Astounding. As always, these are a heady mix of genres and characters from a multitude of American publishers – so join the X-Men, Steve Ditko, Shield, S.H.I.E.L.D., Jack Kirby, Hangman, Wally Wood, Taboo, Captain Atom, Al Williamson, THUNDER Agents, Nightshade, and a whole lot more for fun and adventure in stylish black & white!

*EC: In case you didn’t know, before it was the famous magazine widely-known and still being published today, Mad started life as a regular-sized comic book, published by EC in 1952. There were 23 regular comic-sized issues published before, with #24, it converted to magazine-size, and these comic-sized issues are rare now, particularly in the UK. Joining our existing stock, we have three new issues in: #8 & #9 (low grade) and #20 (pictured) in a respectable VG+ at £75.

*Marvel: Two of Marvel’s premier titles in their Giant-Size incarnations from the mid 1970’s, undistributed in the UK. We have Avengers Giant-Size #3-5 and Fantastic Four Giant-Size #3-6. All in nice shape, nearly all FN or better. Highlights include Avengers GS#4, with the weddings of the Vision & the Scarlet Witch and the Swordsman & Mantis and FF GS#4, with the first appearance of Madrox the Multiple Man.

*Marvel: The debut of the man who is these days the current Captain America, Sam Wilson AKA (as he was then) the Falcon in Captain America #117. This is a nice glossy copy with no significant defects; minor edge wear; tiny chip out bottom centre cover. Graded at FN+ (cents copy) £70.

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A big new selection in in this category, mainly Princess (from #1 to near the end at #115) and Schoolgirls’ Picture Library (as early as #7 and as late as #317), but also featuring early Bunty & Judy, early June & School Friend, Love Story Library & True Life Library; many low grade reading copies. Hours of reading pleasure here from more innocent times, whether you’re reading about ‘Sue’s Christmas Ghost’, ‘Julie & The Time Machine’ ‘Queen Of The Lost Moon’, ‘Gina’s Flying Slippers’ ‘Girls Not Wanted’ ‘The Secret Three At St. Kit’s’, ‘That Amazing Princess Anita’, ‘Zanna, Queen Of The Jungle’ or any one of the several dozen more featured in this joyous update.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Adventure and war aplenty this update as we feature seven #1 issues from the 1970’s: From 1970, Thunder; from 1971: Jet; from 1974: Warlord; from 1975: Battle & Vulcan (National Edition); from 1976: Bullet and from 1979: Crunch. A chance to get in on the ground floor of these popular titles!

*Classics Illustrated: A new batch in of the famous Classics Illustrated series, in both American and British editions. Famous novels such as Ivanhoe, Moby Dick, A Tale Of two Cities, Kidnapped, Treasure Island, The Time Machine, Lord Jim, Mysterious Island and The Three Musketeers rub shoulders with adaptations of Shakespeare such as Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as several perhaps lesser known novels in this long-lasting and very worthy attempt to pictorialise and popularise the classics.

*DC: A rare gem for our catalogue this week. Our latest CGC graded acquisition hails from March 1947, Star Spangled Comics #66, featuring the second Robin solo story (& cover) up against the villainy of No-Face, with Batman on hand in a cameo appearance. Slabbed and graded by CGC (Universal Blue Label), unrestored at a sparkling, vivid 8.0 (VF), a grade rarely seen in items of this esteemed vintage. This sort of thing doesn’t come along every day, and represents a real investment opportunity at £450.

*DC: Following on from our recent Silver Age Superman updates, we now turn to his companion title, Action Comics, from the early 1960’s, when the comic was divided between the Man Of Steel and his cousin Supergirl. Lots of issues new in, between #260 & #347 (plus  a handful of Bronze Age issues), filling many gaps in our listings. Perhaps the most significant issue in this update is #285, where the maid Of Steel’s existence is finally revealed to the world.

*Alan Class Reprints: We’re delighted to present a further batch of copies from the Alan Class Private Collection, both pre and post decimal, all with a certificate hand-signed by Alan Class himself. Titles this time range as follows: Astounding Stories, Creepy Worlds, Out Of This World (2nd series), Secrets Of The Unknown & Uncanny Tales.

*DC: A brace of felonious fowls this update, as Batman’s Bumbershoot Bandit – the pilfering Penguin – stars in two very high grade issues. The first is his second Silver Age appearance, and his first post ‘New Look’, in the more sleek and sophisticated style designed by Carmine Infantino – though, let’s be honest, sleek and sophisticated are never adjectives applicable to our Mr. Cobblepot. Issues #169 and #190 now available in a lustrous and alluring VF+ (cents copies) at £160 & £90 respectively. They really look sensational in this grade!

*DC: An unusual addition to our lists this update; a CGC-graded (‘slabbed’) copy of the fifth issue of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s imaginative team-up of great characters from fantastic literature of the past. What makes this distinctive, however, is that this is the first release of issue #5, which was hastily withdrawn because of an embarrassing piece of text. LoEG frequently used authentic vintage advertisements as a backdrop, and one such was for an appliance called “The Marvel Whirling Spray Syringe”, a – ahem – feminine hygiene appliance, which, the Powers-That-Be feared, could lead to litigation with Marvel Comics if amends weren’t made. Consequently, copies were yanked from distribution, but some small percentage went into non-US distribution bundles. This copy is graded 8.5 (Universal Blue Label), VF+ equivalent, and offered for £100.

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: A real mixed bag here from the UK and Down Under featuring the following: Australian reprints of the Harvey Ghost comedies Caspar & Spooky, plus Woody Woodpecker and Super-Adventure & Superman, from the UK: Miller’s Captain Midnight, Space Adventures & Spellbound and Strato’s Challengers Of The Unknown, Mystery In Space & Out Of This World and a Movie Classic from World Distributors: Last Train From Gun Hill.

*Modern Reprints: We’ve added to our range of handsome Archive editions, in this instance reprinting some DC & Gold Key (presented by Dark Horse) characters. These dust-jacketed editions, now mostly out of print, provide quality reprints of original classics that would cost the proverbial arm and leg. All of our new incoming stock is in lovely VF condition and would look great on your bookshelves! DC: Atom Vols 1 & 2, Enemy Ace Vol 1, Sgt Rock Vols 1 & 2, Supergirl Vols 1 & 2; Dark Horse (Gold Key): Magnus, Robot Fighter Vols 1 & 2, Doctor Solar, Man Of The Atom Vols 1-3. Prices range from £20-£50.

*Younger Readers’ Comics: We’re delighted to have a new selection in of both Harold Hare’s Own Paper (1959/1960) and Mickey Mouse in a variety of guises: from 1957, the celebrated Mickey Mouse Weekly (inc 28/12, being both the Christmas issue for that year and also the final issue of the series, pictured here), from 1958, Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and from 1959, Walt Disney’s Weekly.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Small updates to four volumes of Swift, inc. Vol 4 #51 (1st Dixon Of Dock Green); in Volume 8, Dixon finds himself embroiled with pirates and stranded on a desert island with unfriendly natives. Gosh, that never used to happen in his adventures on the telly! Evenin’ all!

*Marvel: We’re continuing our programme of extending our catalogue into the 1980’s (and occasionally beyond); this time, it’s the turn of the Invincible Iron Man, with stock now listed up to #150. A good period for the Golden Avenger this, with creators such as David Micheline, Bob Layton and John Byrne at the helm. Dominated of course by the Tony Stark alcoholism storyline, as epitomised by the startling cover to #128 (VF+ p £40), reproduced here.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A chunky update to another of Fleetway’s classic war-themed Picture Libraries from the 1960’s: this time Battle (from #1 PR/FA £25), including many of the first 20 issues and then running up all the way to #100 and beyond and finishing off with a handful from the second series. Some powerful and gripping reading awaits the lucky purchaser!

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 British section:
*Humour Comics
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: One of the most sought-after issues of the classic Flash run, the debut of Barry Allen’s counterpoint nemesis – Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash – is back in stock, in an extremely attractive VG (pence copy £60). Apart from general minor corner & edge wear, this copy has excellent interior page quality, and only one specific flaw – a tiny tear just below the bottom staple – precluding the higher grade it superficially deserves. But you know how picky we are here in the 30th Century! With the Reverse-Flash’s current prominence in the popular Flash TV show, interest in this character has spiked, so now is a good time to purchase.

Something very out of the ordinary this update with two pieces of vintage merchandise:

*DC: A beautifully-preserved vintage item, the Super DC Calendar from 1977 features all-new artwork from a roster of DC’s artistic super-stars – Neal Adams, Curt Swan, Joe Kubert, Wally Wood, Kurt Schaffenberger and more, with pages devoted to Wonder Woman, the Justice Society, the Justice League, Superman, Batman and all the others you’d expect. Highlight for Legion of Super-Heroes completists will be the centre double-page illustration of a Legion Vs. Fatal Five showdown! In a striking VF grade at £30.

*Marvel: From 1976, the Mighty Marvel Bicentennial  Calendar features Marvel’s most famous characters in a plethora of patriotic situations; all the Marvel ‘big names’ are here, so fans of the Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, FF, Avengers and – of course – Captain America will be well satisfied, but there’s also pages devoted to some outer fringes of the Marvel Universe, such as the cosmic heroes (Warlock, Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel), Marvel Monsters (Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing), the Invaders, and the Black Panther. All-new illustrations by Brunner, Starlin, Kane, Romita, Buscema and more. Fine at £45.

Front & back covers of both reproduced below:

*Marvel: After Jean Grey’s return from the dead (no, the first one), Marvel decided to employ the then largely-dormant original X-Men in a new title, X-Factor, with the peculiar twist that half the team would masquerade as mutant-hunters, who would then take the mutants they ‘captured’ to a place of safety, where they could be trained in the correct use of their powers while finding a refuge from those who hated them. Quite why Marvel figured such a self-loathing concept should be a hit is lost to the past, but the idea was quietly jettisoned after the first twenty or so issues, becoming just another X-Book – and rather better for it! Entered into our catalogue under our Catalogue Expansion programme, we have X-Factor’s first issue through to #26 – conclusion of the Fall of the Mutants storyline – newly listed for your delight. We suspect most folks will be interested in issue #6, the first full appearance of Apocalypse, but #24 features the first full Archangel and the origin of Apocalypse, while  Freedom Force, Boom-Boom, Tower, Frenzy, Skids, Rusty and more all make early appearances in this run.

*Marvel: A trio of triumphant Treasuries from Marvel’s experimental mid-1970’s heyday: Marvel Treasury Edition #4, featuring Conan the Barbarian as illustrated by Barry Smith, one of the handful of artists whose work was enhanced, rather than diminished, by being reprinted in enlarged format; Marvel treasury Special – Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles, an all-new Jack Kirby extravaganza profiling the Sentinel of Liberty’s pivotal role in the American psyche; and finally, 2001: A Space Odyssey, another all-original Kirby classic loosely adapting the Kubrick film, but serving more as a ‘pilot’ for Kirby’s ongoing Marvel title of the same name. All are in decent shape, though the Bicentennial Battles has acquired a peculiar light blue-gray tinge on 20 or so of its interior pages, which we can only attribute to a flaw in the paper stock. Nevertheless, all three of these are genuine rarities, so move swiftly to satisfy your evil needs!