*Romance: Finally from the Midas Collection this week: Secret Hearts was a long-running DC romance title, lasting 153 issues until 1971, but it started here in 1949 with #1. As was usually the custom with most publishers romance titles around this time, a photo cover was used on early issues, here a very happy cycling couple. Interior art, as always with DC was of a high standard, including here a couple of stories possibly by Toth and Infantino, and a signed story by Kinstler. A nice clean copy with upper and lower short spine splits and tears without loss at top left and back right cover corners, including a loose chip top left.
PICTURED: SECRET HEARTS #1 GD- £60 SOLD

*Humour Comics: Continuing our policy of providing more information for Beano and Dandy, we’ve now overhauled our stock of Beano for 1950, adding details of strip debuts and special issues; along the way we’ve added about half a dozen issues fresh in (most of which bear the marks of having been removed from a bound volume). As well as the April Fool and Easter issues, we also have the debuts of Sinbad the Sailor (#400), the Wily Ways of Simple Simon (#412) and Bird Boy (#436). We’ve now also marked which years of Beano and Dandy in our catalogue have been checked and overhauled where necessary with new and enhanced information.
PICTURED: BEANO #402 VG/FN £35 April Fool issue

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: No introduction to arguably the greatest American detective writer is really needed from me here. Chandler’s books, such as The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye remain high in profile due to his fame and popularity, and their film versions are classics of film noir. He himself contributed screenplays to that genre such as Double Indemnity and Strangers On A Train. His creation, Philip Marlowe, is the quintessential American private detective, and the dry, sometimes laconic prose style of Chandler’s writing set the tone for generations of imitators to follow. He wrote seven novels and lots of short stories and we feature many of them in our catalogue. Four novels new in this week, all in distinctive Penguin Green livery:
PICTURED: ALL BY RAYMOND CHANDLER ALL SOLD
FAREWELL, MY LOVELY Penguin 1961 7th UK PB thus GD/VG £4
THE LADY IN THE LAKE Penguin 1954 2nd UK PB thus GD £4
THE LITTLE SISTER Penguin 1959 3rd UK PB thus GD/VG £4
PLAYBACK Penguin 1954 1st UK PB thus GD £4

*DC: Our star attraction from the Midas Collection this week is Batman #5; with an eye-catching ‘Scales of Justice’ cover, this issue features a classic Joker story, and is the first appearance of the ‘classic’ Batmobile with the bat head/shield design. (Previously, Batman had driven a succession of cars referred to as ‘the Bat-Mobile’, but they lacked this distinctive configuration). Cover by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. All stories by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Joker story, The Riddle of the Missing Card, sees the clown prince of crime involved with a smuggling gang named after playing cards and a brief fling for the Black Queen with our hero. Book Of Enchantment features a magical adventure for Batman & Robin in Fairyland. The last two stories, The Case Of The Honest Crook and Crime Does Not Pay, are mobster encounters.  This is a decent lower-graded copy with bright cover colours and a fairly undamaged cover scene, although it’s a bit worn from handling with several mostly unobtrusive creases (some of which just break colour), particularly at the bottom right corner. The spine is more or less intact, although the bottom staple has pulled through the front cover (and is also loose at the centrefold). Top staple is not tight, but is still well attached. There is a small faint name above the logo and even fainter figures written near the spine to the left of Batman’s shadow. Pages are a remarkable near white, with just a little foxing at the very edges. Short back cover tear. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: BATMAN #5 GD £1,850 SOLD

*DC: It’s not often that we market a coverless comic, but even less often that we have something from the very dawn of the comics industry as we know it. In 1936, the forerunner of DC started publishing New Fun Comics, changing the name to More Fun Comics after the first six issues. The anthology title featured a wide range of characters from many genres in stories that ran in 1, 2 or 3 page instalments. By issue #19 in 1937, these included Dr Occult by Siegel and Shuster, Sandra of the Secret Service, Pep Morgan, Mark Marson of the Interplanetary Police, the Radio Squad and many others. This coverless copy is otherwise complete, except that a large corner is off the first page, affecting the first story. The general condition of the pages is okay, with some tape, tears and extra staple repairs at the spine. You probably won’t get too many chances to buy an issue from this series at this sort of price, so good luck to anyone who places an order!
PICTURED: MORE FUN COMICS #19 COVERLESS £50 SOLD

*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection, Strange Tales #159 saw the debut of Contessa Valentina Allegro De Fontaine (‘Val’ for short). Although Val’s origins, motives and indeed affiliations seem shrouded in contradiction and mystery with her later appearances, it was much simpler back in her first comic appearance, where she portrayed herself as an Italian noblewoman enrolled in SHIELD’s spy-school and created by the multi-talented Jim Steranko, in an issue guest-starring Captain America. (Also in this issue, a superb Dr Strange story by Roy Thomas and Marie Severin). This is a pence printed copy with great colours and just minor edge and handling wear; tight, firm staples and near white pages.  
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES #159 FN p £50 SOLD

*Marvel: Five issues of the Mighty Thor with art in transition. #168 & #169 features Kirby art and the origin of Galactus. #181 is by Neal adams. #184 & #188 has art by John Buscema and feature the first and last parts of the Infinity saga.
IN THIS UPDATE: THOR
#168 GD+ p £33 Origin of Galactus
#169 VG- p £27 Origin of Galactus concluded
#181 GD/VG p £6.75  Neal Adams art
#184 VG+ p £6.25 1st Infinity
#188 GD+ p £4 Last infinity

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: From our fabulous Arch Collection this week, three early issues of the long-running Blackhawk title from Quality, published in 1946-48, long before DC took over the reins. Great art on these cracking adventure stories, starring our magnificent seven aviators (as long as you can turn a blind eye to the horribly racially stereotyped and caricatured Chop Chop). Often the Blackhawk comic has a bevy of curvaceous heroines and slinky villainesses not always obvious from the covers, and these issues are no exception, starring as they do the adventuress known as Fear, the Blackhawks’ ally, here in her second appearance in #13, plus subsequent in #14 and #22 (her final Golden Age appearance). Her romantic interest in Blackhawk himself was never requited.  
IN THIS UPDATE: BLACKHAWK
#13 VG+ £150 (PICTURED) Nice solid copy with some cover creases that don’t break colour, tight and firm staples and very minimal edge wear with some corner blunting. Pages are off-white with a little tan at edges and some margin foxing. We just had to show the Fear story splash page!
#14 INCOMPLETE Free with #13. Decent copy with centrefold missing, which just happens to feature the Fear appearance. Plenty of other femme fatales in evidence though. Buy #13 and you get this issue free.
#22 GD £42 (PICTURED) A lower graded copy with cover staining, creases and small tears sealed with tape on inside cover. Staples firm at spine but centrefold loose. Pages are okay but inconsistently cut.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Following strong sales and a big influx of new stock, we’re totally overhauling and relisting our Eagle stock: many additions and deletions and new streamlined pricing. One of the icons of British comics’ history, Eagle started up in 1950; every issue of its twenty year run starred Dan Dare, its most famous son, as well as loads of other strips, featuring the cream of British artists and superior quality printing and paper. Volume 9 is now processed and re-listed, continuing from Volumes 1-8 previously done. Please refer to our catalogue for details. Volumes from 10 upwards will be dealt with over the coming weeks, but for now they remain at half the old prices in our half-price sale.

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for this books category, with an image for each book. This week, we reach authors with the surname Jones in our re-listing. D F Jones contributes two novels in his Colossus series (the first two) about the ultimate machine. Langdon Jones, himself an alumnus of the famous New Worlds magazine, presents an anthology very much inspired by that seminal publication, featuring stories by Brain Aldiss, J G Ballard, Thomas Disch, Michael Moorcock, John Sladek and many more. Neil R Jones has three novels of his Professor Jameson Space Adventure series. Raymond F Jones has two stories of psychological space opera. As always, more information, including condition notes, in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
D F JONES: COLOSSUS Pan 1968 1st UK PB VG £15
D F JONES: THE FALL OF COLOSSUS Berkley Medallion 1975 1st US PB GD/VG £10
LANGDON JONES (Ed): THE NEW SF Arrow 1970 1st UK PB GD/VG £7
NEIL R JONES :PROFESSOR JAMESON SERIES:
#1: THE PLANET OF THE DOUBLE SUN Ace 1967 1st US PB FN £6
#2: THE SUNLESS WORLD Ace 1967 1st US PB VG £5
#4: TWIN WORLDS Ace 1967 1st US PB GD £4
RAYMOND F JONES: THE ALIEN Belmont 1966 US PB GD £4
RAYMOND F JONES: THE NON STATISTICAL MAN Brown Watson 1965 1st UK PB VG £5

*Clearance Corner: Very occasionally, a lot comes our way which either does not justify its place in our catalogue (but is too good to discard), or is superfluous to our requirements. These lots are offered here on our What’s New page, but are no longer listed in our catalogue. Lots listed under Clearance Corner will be available for a short time only, and are offered post free to UK buyers only. They are not normally bagged and boarded as our normal stock, but will be securely packaged for transit. If you order a Clearance Corner lot, it may not be combined with another order in the same package. This lot comprises eight 2000 AD Sci-Fi and Winter Specials, all in at least FN or VF condition, as follows:
Sci-Fi Specials 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988
Winter Specials 1988, 1990
All for £30 with Free UK Postage and packing SOLD

*DC: Two classic issues of Wonder Woman from the Midas Collection this week. #45 is a special issue re-telling and updating the origin of Wonder Woman in a long two-part story. In a whimsical third story, a leprechaun wins a scholarship to Holliday College, and Wonder Woman, as acting dean, must endure his pranks while protecting him from gangsters attempting to steal his pot of gold (!). The final story features a western wedding when Wonder Woman travels to the New West. Three longer adventures feature in #46. All stories by Robert Kanigher with art by Henry Peter; covers by Irwin Hasen.
PICTURED: WONDER WOMAN BOTH SOLD
#45 GD+ £200 Good colour to cover, with damage restricted to edges, apart from a subscription crease breaking colour down the centre. Small upper spine split below 2 cm. Chips out at bottom spine and right corners (see scan). Minor chipping to right edge. Firm, tight staples. Pages are off-white to cream. 
#46 GD/VG £125 Great clocks cover with nice colours. Small handwritten monogram in between logo words, small stamped ’10’ on background. Some wear along top edge (with tiny corner off right edge) and spine, with small chunk out back cover at spine base with small split. Reading creases break colour a little near spine. Firm, tight staples. Pages are off-white to cream. 

*Marvel: Iron Man’s very first appearance, in the pages of Tales of Suspense #39; abducted by Reds behind the Bamboo Curtain and forced to manufacture advanced weapons to crush capitalism, Tony Stark turned the tables on his captors by devising a cybernetic suit of armour which transformed him into an unstoppable juggernaut of justice – but at the cost of a near-fatal injury to his heart, which required constant contact with his robotic armour to keep beating! Under the artistic talents of (usually) Don Heck (who devoted special attention, bless him, to the many shapely ladies Tony Stark romanced), the sophisticated world of Tony Stark vied with the action-adventure of his Iron Man persona for the readers’ attention. With two fantasy back-ups, one by Steve Ditko.
This is a pence printed copy with an unmarked cover and good colours. The spine is worn, with small splits along its length, an upper split of about 3 cm and a much shorter lower split with slight creasing at the corner of the spine base. The body is secured well at the staples, which are also firm at centrefold. There are a couple of small chips out at cover right edge. Minor tanning on inside covers, particularly along bottom edges, but decent off-white page quality. Plenty of images shown here; high resolution images are available on request. 
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 GD p £3,850

*Marvel: Seven consecutive issues of the Avengers from the Good Doctor Collection this week from #34-40, featuring the debut of the Living Laser (what would a dead laser be like, we wonder?), the alien Ultroids, Hercules becoming an Avenger, the Mad Thinker and the Sub-Mariner. Roy Thomas takes over on scripts from Stan Lee, and Don Heck’s dynamic pencilling is given greater depth and definition by the inks of George Bell.
IN THIS UPDATE: AVENGERS
#34 FN- £20 SOLD
#35 FN- £20 SOLD
#36 VG/FN p £16.50 SOLD
#37 VF £47 (PICTURED)
#38 VG p £13.25
#39 VF- £41 (PICTURED)
#40 VF £47 (PICTURED)

*Marvel: Five issues of the X-Men between #143 and #148 (exc. #144). Covering the last John Byrne issue, where Kitty has an alien encounter at Christmas and welcoming Dave Cockrum back to the artistic helm, with Dr Doom, Iceman, the Angel, Havok, Polaris, Arcade, Caliban, Dazzler and Spider-Woman all popping by with well wishes and otherwise.
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN ALL SOLD
#143 VF- £17.75
#145 VF- p £7.25 (PICTURED)
#146 FN/VF p £6.50
#147 VF p £8.25
#148 VF p £7.50
 

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Something a bit niche for your consideration this week, and a rarity that you won’t find many. if any, of on the market. This is a regular comic-sized supplement to the European edition of the New York Star Dec 1948, containing, beneath an admittedly nondescript cover, what appears to be a rebound copy of Blonde Phantom #19. As far as we have been able to ascertain, this supplement (called Jet Comics) rebound the interiors of a comic with a new generic cover, in much the same way as the later UK Double Double Comics, so there are probably several different comics lurking under this cover (one issue at a time). This appears to be a rebind rather than a reprint. Blonde Phantom #19 was dated September 1948, just three months before this. Three Blonde Phantom stories, probably by Ken Bald, and one Sub-Mariner story with Namora, probably by Mike Sewkowsky. Nice enough copy with small chip out top centre cover and small lower spine split. A fraction of the price of Blonde Phantom #19. Lots of images shown here. 
PICTURED: JET COMICS VG- £100 SOLD
 

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: A small showcase of the variety available in the UK in the 1950s/60s, reprinted from the American originals (almost always in black and white): Mike Shayne (Private Eye), a Motion Picture Comic (Mask of the Avenger), 2 x Nyoka the (sensibly clothed) jungle girl and two issues of Miller’s Robin Hood.   
IN THIS UPDATE:
MIKE SHAYNE #1 VG £10 (PICTURED)
MOTION PICTURE COMICS #56 GD £6 Mask Of The Avenger; Movie cover.
NYOKA THE JUNGLE GIRL #52 VG £6
NYOKA THE JUNGLE GIRL #64 FA/GD £3
ROBIN HOOD #31 GD £5
ROBIN HOOD #32 GD £5

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for this books category, with an image for each book. This week, two very different novels with distinctive art by celebrated artists. From John Jakes, the science fiction fantasy Master Of The Dark Gate, with cover art by Jim Steranko. From the master of gangster pulp, Hank Janson, a science fiction novel, The Unseen Assassin, blessed with cover art based on an original by Reginald Heade (figure) and Ron Turner (background).
PICTURED:
JOHN JAKES: MASTER OF THE DARK GATE Lancer 1970 1st US PB VG £8 SOLD
HANK JANSON: THE UNSEEN ASSASSIN Alexander Moring 1956 2nd UK PB VG £25

*Children’s Books: This week, we return to the adventures of Biggles. Written by Captain W E Johns, the wartime (and later) stories of James Bigglesworth gave us an iconic British hero, a highly competent fighter pilot with a characteristic gentlemanly air, who has gone on to represent an archetypal figure. Nearly 100 Biggles books were written and published and reprinted many times over, and we have a new selection now available, four Armada and two Knight paperbacks from the 1960s/1970s. And I wish Biggles, Algy, Ginger and Smyth were still up there now, looking out for us – we could do with them and their wizard prangs.
PICTURED: ALL BY W E JOHNS ALL SOLD
BIGGLES FLIES NORTH Armada 1966 UK PB GD £3
BIGGLES: FOREIGN LEGIONNAIRE Armada 1971? UK PB VG £4
BIGGLES IN THE SOUTH SEAS Armada 1975 UK PB FN £5
BIGGLES IN THE UNDERWORLD Knight 1971 UK PB VG/FN £4
BIGGLES SORTS IT OUT Knight 1979 UK PB VG/FN £4
BIGGLES WORKS IT OUT Armada 1971? UK PB VG £4

*DC: The second feature on our Midas Collection Hitler Double Bill is Superman #17, where the Man of Steel has Hitler and Tojo in his grasp on an iconic cover by Fred Ray. The lead story, ‘Man Or Superman’ is the only 1940s Superman story with the premise that Lois suspects Clark is Superman; art by Shuster and Sikela. In the second story, ‘The Human Bomb’ with art by Leo Nowak, a vicious criminal uses innocent people to rob, armed with a bomb apparatus. The third story is ‘Muscles For Sale’, where Superman must solve a series of bold crimes that were pulled by ungainly men who look anything but formidable; art by Sikela. The final story ‘When Titans Clash’ also features the distinctive art of John Sikela; Lex Luthor survives his execution in the electric chair, which only makes him more powerful. A wonderful issue with some memorable Superman art; all stories by Jerry Siegel. Unfortunately, only a low grade due to some degree of brittleness on the interior pages. The cover scene itself is fairly strong, with a faint dust shadow along the right edge. It appears to have been printed without an upper staple and the lower has pulled loose at the front cover. Not too much wear, although there are small chips and nicks to the right edge and a faint, thin brown line up a couple of cms from the bottom edge. Upper spine edge looks like it has had some work done to it on a thin strip left of the logo. A shallow vertical crease up from the bottom edge across Superman’s body does not break colour and is only faintly noticeable. The interior pages are all held securely at the spine, apart from the two centrefold wraps which are loose. The lower right corners and some of the right page edges have become brittle, and some corners are off (most included within the comic); this is generally restricted to the margins and does impinge significantly on the stories. Pages are cream with tanned edges. However, you’ll want to read this one carefully! High resolution images are available on request. 
PICTURED: SUPERMAN #17 FA+ £1,100

*Marvel: Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale! (How very DC-like of Marvel to use those blurbs!) How does Spidey get out of this one? Well, we’re not saying… In the 12th issue of Amazing, Spidey comes up again against the dastardly Doc Ock, with the results shown on the cover. This is a CGC graded copy at 8.0 (VF). Universal blue label (unrestored). Case perfect. Off-white pages. CGC Code: 3954512006. The cover has rich colours. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12 CGC 8.0 £1,100

*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week, these classic issues pit 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. And when the combined powers of the FF fail, who better to step up to help out than the Hulk’s former teammates, the ever-Assemblin’ Avengers? Powerful and gripping, this remains, decades later, one of the best-remembered battles of the early Marvel Age!
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR
#25 FN/VF p £475 A gorgeous pence printed copy with rich colours and a vibrant purple background. Tiny bits of handling and edge wear, but no colour breaks and great eye appeal. Tight, firm staples and supple white to off-white pages.
#26 VG- p £110 Spine and edge wear with tiny colour breaks, corner blunting with slight nick at base of spine without loss. Small figure ‘6’ in biro below title box. Tight, firm staples and supple white to off-white pages. 

*Marvel: Thor, Odin, Hela and Infinity are the main players in the grand saga told in these issues, all in pretty nice higher grade, with no less than three Hela covers featured.
IN THIS UPDATE: THOR
#185 FN/VF p £17
#186 FN/VF p £17
#187 VF p £22.75
#188 FN/VF £17
#189 VF p £22.75 (PICTURED)
#190 FN p £11 Small sticker over pence price printed in masthead box.

*Horror 1940-1959: From 1954, the final issue of Ajax Farrell’s Strange Fantasy, #14, with tombs, ghosts, a witch child, demons, hangings and monsters. Writers unknown, but all art by the Iger Shop, which gave it an accomplished, uniform look. This is a decent lower mid-graded copy with wear at the edges and a colour-breaking crease across top right corner. But nice white pages and secure staples.
PICTURED: STRANGE FANTASY #14 VG- £100

*Humour Comics: Continuing our policy of providing more information for Beano and Dandy, we have an overhaul of Dandy for the years 1954/55. We now provide details of special issues such as holiday numbers and also character debuts. Several issues new in for both years, including Easter issues for 1954 and 1955. 1954 also features the debuts of My Gang (#665) and Wee Black Scallywag (#673). For full details of our stock for these years (and all others) as always, consult our catalogue.
PICTURED: DANDY #647 (17/4/54) VG £15 Easter issue.