*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A nice addition to our stocks of Bunty Picture Story Paper, the done-in-one series at great value. Our 17 new additions, all Good to Very Good grades, run between #163 and #277 and are sure to find eager recipients.

*Children’s Books: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Children’s Books category and the William books by Richmal Crompton. The quote in our title is from the Sunday Times. William, the eternal naughty but lovable schoolboy, is a personal favourite here at 30th Century and his stories are possibly even more amusing when read as an adult than as a child — I’ve done both! There’s no doubt that William Brown provided the inspiration for the character Adam in Terry Pratchett’s and Neil Gaiman’s ‘Good Omens’. We have 13 vintage hardcover volumes, all with dust jackets protected by removable archival film, listed in our catalogue and, for those on a budget, we also have a strong representation of paperback editions from sundry publishers, mostly ‘Red’ MacMillan editions with the famous artwork of Thomas Henry adorning the covers, as on the hardcovers. Most highly recommended; see the full range in our catalogue.
PICTURED: ALL BY RICHMAL CROMPTON
SWEET WILLIAM Newnes 1956 14th UK HC VG £15 With DJ (GD)
WILLIAM AND THE BRAINS TRUST Newnes 1956 6th UK HC VG £25 With DJ (VG)
WILLIAM – IN TROUBLE Newnes 1963 25th UK HC FN £25 With DJ (FN)
WILLIAM – THE BAD Newnes 1963 20th UK HC VG £15 With DJ (GD)
WILLIAM – THE DETECTIVE Newnes 1967 20th UK HC VG £10 With DJ (GD)
(Includes ‘William & The Nasties’, infamous Nazi parody edited from later editions)
WILLIAM – THE DICTATOR Newnes 1963 12th UK HC FN/VF £20 With DJ (VG)
WILLIAM – THE GANGSTER Newnes 1965 20th UK HC FN £25 With DJ (FN)

A final reminder that today (Saturday 10th December) is the last day to place orders to be posted before Christmas. All orders placed by 4 pm today will be filled tomorrow (Sunday 11th) and if paid for by 4 pm on Monday 12th, will be posted on Tuesday 13th. After that we are closing down for the holidays, resuming as follows:

Saturday 31st December: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 10th December (up to 4 pm on 31st) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 1st January 2023.
Wednesday 4th January: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.

Please note that these posting dates may be subject to change if Royal Mail announce any further strike action over this period.

It just remains for me to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2023 from all of us here at 30th Century, humans and cats.

*DC: With the last year or so of the Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes title, following the Earthwar saga, the title was somewhat in decline, and unfortunately, when the Legion left Superboy behind and took over the title with #259, things didn’t improve, thanks to very ordinary stories by Gerry Conway (who didn’t have a feel for the characters) and very stilted artwork by Jimmy Janes (despite the odd bright spot from Steve Ditko). But Legion fans (and I’m one) are famously completist and wouldn’t be without these issues. Issues #259-283 (almost all of ’em) fresh in this week. We all got our rewards starting with #284 when Paul Levitz ushered in a new vitality and one of the best Legion periods ever, but that’s a story for a future update…

*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week, issues #2-18 complete of the original series of Captain Marvel, starting in 1968. Up to halfway through #16, the Kree captain wears the green and white uniform in which he rose to fame, replacing it with a new look (cameo in #16, full in #17) by which he became better known in all the cosmic Thanos adventures that were to follow. Villains and guest stars galore, including the Super Skrull, Sub-Mariner, Quasimodo, Iron Man, Captain America and more. Issue #18 features the explosion in which it is later revealed that Carol Danvers gained the super-powers leading to her Ms Marvel identity. Nearly all superior graded copies.
PICTURED: CAPTAIN MARVEL
#16 VF- £50 1st cameo new Captain Marvel
#17 VF+ £80 1st full new Captain Marvel

*Marvel: Copies of Marvel’s First Family, the Fantastic Four, newly available in the above number range, most issues in that range, mostly in very nice grades. Please consult our catalogue for full details.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Dez Skinn’s Warrior from his Quality Group is one of the most loved and fondly remembered British comics of its time (1982-1985). Although all content was of a high standard, it is for Alan Moore’s Marvelman (later Miracleman) and V For Vendetta that this title will always be remembered and revered. The V For Vendetta mask, a stylised version of a traditional Guy Fawkes mask, has become known as a symbol of worldwide anti-establishment protest movements. Although Moore finished off both strips elsewhere, it’s here that they famously got their start. All 26 issues are now available; please consult our catalogue for details.
PICTURED: WARRIOR #11 FN £10

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: 25 issues of True Life Library newly added to our catalogue, from #626-650, every issue in that number range. The standard of art by mainly European illustrators is very accomplished. These are lovely items, their appeal enhanced by the fact that they are from a newsagent’s reserve stock, never sold or circulated, with white pages, bright covers and not too much rust in the staple areas on most examples; a few of the earlier ones have slight tanning to edges of inside covers. Full details as always in our catalogue.

Here’s a list of relevant dates for our trading during the festive period:

Saturday 10th December: Last day for orders for pre-Christmas delivery. You need to place your order no later than 4 pm. Orders placed after this deadline will not be posted until the New Year. This is also the day we shall be issuing our last Newsletter before Christmas.
Tuesday 13th December: Last posting before Christmas for all orders placed by 4 pm on Saturday 10th and paid for by 4 pm on Monday 12th December.
Saturday 31st December: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 10th December (up to 4 pm on 31st) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 1st January 2023.
Wednesday 4th January: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.

Please note that these posting dates may be subject to change if Royal Mail announce any further strike action over this period.

*DC: Mystery In Space, the venerable DC science-fiction title which lasted from 1951 to 1968, 117 issues (with a brief revival in 1980), ended its original run with eight issues starring the bizarre adventurer Ultra the Multi-Alien, an Earth spaceman transformed into a mixed alien being by one of the most contrived devices ever. We have the complete Ultra run (#110-117) new to the market from an original owner collection, all in very decent shape, averaging FN+. Please see our catalogue for full details.
PICTURED: MYSTERY IN SPACE #110 FN+ p £18 SOLD, OTHER COPIES AVAILABLE

*Marvel: A good period for Strange Tales from the Good Doctor Collection. In #118-124, not only do we get a stream of the Torch’s more famous villains, such as the Wizard, the Plantman, the Beetle (in his first appearance in #123), and Paste-Pot Pete, there’s also some beautifully crafted self-contained Dr Strange tales in the back by Lee & Ditko. And there’s a whole host of guest stars: the Thing and the rest of the Fantastic Four, Iceman in #120 and, in the Dr Strange story in #123, Thor & Loki (giving us a chance to see Ditko’s unique interpretation of those Asgardians).  
IN THIS UPDATE: STRANGE TALES
#118 GD- £20
#119 VG+ p £50 (PICTURED)
#120 GD £20 Off lower staple SOLD
#121 GD/VG £16 SOLD
#122 GD- p £8.50 Tape residue at spine, small felt tip price centre cover.
#123 GD p £70 (PICTURED) 1st Beetle. Loki and Thor in Dr Strange story
#124 VG £21

*Marvel: In 1972, Marvel came up with the brainwave of the team-up title (that DC had been doing in Brave & Bold for many years by then); ostensibly this was starring Spidey or the Human Torch with the guest star of the month, but it soon transformed to just Spidey with Johnny Storm making fewer and fewer appearances. We have most issues fresh in this week between #41 and #86, with a plethora of guest stars too lengthy to mention here; most are in exceptionally high grade. For grade and price details, please consult our catalogue.

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Also from the Bute Collection this week, two zany #1 issues: Timely’s Krazy #1 (2nd series 1948) features the art of Wolverton (10 pages) and Kurtzman (8 pages) among other humour strips. Madhouse #1 (1st series 1954) from Ajax/Farrell emulates the satire and parody of Mad.
PICTURED:
KRAZY #1 GD- £65 Reasonably good front cover with tiny corners off right edges. The back cover has a long tear (with holes) and a repair with brown tape. Staples and interiors are okay.
MADHOUSE #1 FA/GD £25 Weak spine with splits and holes, off bottom staples, chip out right edge cover. Decent pages. SOLD

*Classics Illustrated: 10 mostly early UK versions of Classics Illustrated now added, most of them previously missing from our listings: #23 Oliver Twist, #24 Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, #27 The Spy, #31 The Black Arrow, #33 The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, #37 The Pioneers, #42 Swiss Family Robinson, #46 Kidnapped, #47 In The Reign Of Terror, #48 David Copperfield. For full details of prices and editions, please consult our catalogue. 

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: In the mid-1960s, World Distributors launched several series in their World Adventure Library label, each one focusing on a prominent comics or TV/Film franchise, with high quality production values. Most were picture strips, with a few illustrated text format. Four such #1 issues in this week’s #1 slot, as detailed below:
PICTURED: WORLD ADVENTURE LIBRARY ALL SOLD
BONANZA #1: THE PONDEROSA RANCH FN £10
FLASH GORDON #1: ADRIFT IN SPACE VG £10
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN #1: THE AFTERMATH VG/FN £10
SUPERMAN #1: DUEL OF FLAMING SWORDS VG £10 (Illustrated text)

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: This week, we feature more from Poul Anderson, award-winning American science fiction and fantasy writer of Scandinavian descent. Anderson came to fame as a writer of so-called ‘hard’ science fiction, which, although rooted in technology, was shot through with humanity. Later perhaps, he produced many works of fantasy of great merit. Four of his works fresh in this week. Brain Wave is a novel where IQ begins at 150, The Broken Sword is a classic fantasy, The Corridors Of Time is a time travel tour de force and Orbit Unlimited is a cosmic adventure of tyranny and colonialism.
PICTURED: ALL BY POUL ANDERSON
BRAIN WAVE VG/FN £5 1st UK PB 1965
THE BROKEN SWORD FN £6 2nd UK PB 1977
THE CORRIDORS OF TIME VG £4 1st UK PB 1968
ORBIT UNLIMITED GD/VG £4 1st US PB 1961

Here’s a list of relevant dates for our trading during the festive period:

Saturday 10th December: Last day for orders for pre-Christmas delivery. You need to place your order no later than 4 pm. Orders placed after this deadline will not be posted until the New Year. This is also the day we shall be issuing our last Newsletter before Christmas.
Tuesday 13th December: Last posting before Christmas for all orders placed by 4 pm on Saturday 10th and paid for by 4 pm on Monday 12th December.
Saturday 31st December: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 10th December (up to 4 pm on 31st) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 1st January 2023.
Wednesday 4th January: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.

Please note that these posting dates may be subject to change if Royal Mail announce any further strike action over this period.

*DC: Nearly every issue of the Man of Steel between #201-235 freshly added to our catalogue, a period previously poorly represented in our listings. Lots of 80 Page Giants in this period featuring classic reprints from  yesteryear, plus plenty of modern contemporary developments such as the ‘end’ of Kryptonite in the pivotal #233 with an iconic cover by Neal Adams, pictured here.  Consult our catalogue for full details of all issues available.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN #233 GD p £40 Iconic Neal Adams cover; small rear cover tear, minor creasing; decent colour cover but dingy pages. 

*Marvel: Three early Thors in Journey Into Mystery from the Good Doctor Collection this week: In #100, Thor concludes his first encounter with Mr. Hyde, in #101 he faces the Tomorrow Man again (and the Avengers guest star in their 2nd crossover), and in #102, the battle with the Tomorrow Man concludes, but, more significantly, the Tales Of Asgard back-up features the debuts of Balder, Sif and Hela.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
#100 GD/VG p £55 Pence printed, good colour, spine worn with small splits at both ends, creases that mostly don’t break colour. Good staples and reasonable page quality.
#101 GD/VG £65 Reasonably clean cover, very small chip out bottom edge; creases that mostly don’t break colour. Staples are a little loose but okay; reasonable page quality.
#102 GD/VG p £105 Pence printed, good colour, short creases and small tears at bottom right corner, but decent pages and staples.

*Marvel: A nice run of the original series of Conan fresh in this week from #11 to #22 complete. Lots of lovely Barry Smith artwork (by this time he had honed his skills to perfection), a couple of great fill-ins by Gil Kane (#17-18), a two-part crossover with Michael Moorcock’s Elric (#14-15) and a reprint of the first issue in #22. The best sword and sorcery comics ever. As always, see our catalogue for full details. 

*War: In issues #138 to #150 of the long-running Star Spangled War Stories title, DC featured the exploits of Enemy Ace, Hans Von Hammer, the German pilot from World War 1 (later WW2), known as the Hammer of Hell. Due to immense popularity following his debut in Our Army At War #151, he reappeared in that title before being granted his own series in Star Spangled, later appearing many times over the years in the DCU. We have seven nicely-graded consecutive issues of his SSWS run fresh in, all cents copies, with multiple copies of many issues as follows:
IN THIS UPDATE: STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES
140 FN £19.50 Enemy Ace SOLD
141 FN £19.50 Enemy Ace 2 available
142 VG+ £14.75 Enemy Ace
143 FN+ £26 Enemy Ace
143 FN- £18 Enemy Ace
143 VG+ £14.75 Enemy Ace; off lower staple
144 FN £22 Enemy Ace; Adams/Kubert art 2 available
145 FN+ £26 Enemy Ace
146 VF £33 Enemy Ace (PICTURED)
146 VG/FN £12.25 Enemy Ace

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: This Week’s #1 British comics slot is filled by Ranger #1 from 1965, with its original Free Gift included as a bonus. Although being the birthplace of Don Lawrence’s rightly celebrated Trigan Empire, the large format Ranger had a lot of other things going for it as well: nice paper quality, glorious painted covers and lots of other beautifully executed strips such as H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines & Allan Quartermain, Treasure Island , Space Cadet and many other stories of war, western, science fiction and historical adventure in a mix of colour and black and white. It had a short life before being subsumed into Look & Learn. The Trigan Empire debuted in #1, here with its Free Gift, the BOAC VC10 Booklet. This is a decent copy of this large format comic, with some spine wear, a minor crease or two and a small tear on the back cover margin. The Booklet Free Gift is a very nice Fine.
PICTURED: RANGER #1 (18/9/65) GD/VG WITH FREE GIFT FN £45 SOLD

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies & Sleaze category and the works of Joh Dickson Carr. I’m often harping on here about the Queens Of Crime, those indomitable (mostly) British women who dominated the crime/detective genre in the Golden Age Of Detective Fiction, roughly between the wars. Well, there was one male writer active at the time who was their equal, and he was an American to boot, although he lived a significant part of his life in England, where most of his tales were set. John Dickson Carr (who also wrote as Carter Dickson) was the master of the locked room mystery, a setter of seemingly impossible puzzles for his recurring cast of detectives. He also wrote many historical mysteries which are equally engaging. We’re now listing which novel features which detective (if a recurring character), as well as which are historical mysteries. Several new additions in this re-working. Featured are a few of my favourites (both UK and US editions); includes The Hollow Man, which is widely regarded as the best locked room mystery ever written. Lots of other stock listed in our catalogue. 
PICTURED: ALL BY JOHN DICKSON CARR
THE EMPEROR’S SNUFF-BOX VG £5 Berkley 1959 1st US PB
THE HOLLOW MAN GD £8 Penguin 1963 3rd UK PB
THE MAD HATTER MYSTERY VG/FN £12 Penguin 1955 2nd UK PB
THE SLEEPING SPHINX VG/FN £12 Bantam 1952 1st US PB
THE WITCH OF THE LOW-TIDE VG/FN £5 Penguin 1964 1st UK PB

It’s never too early to plan and do your Christmas shopping. Here’s a list of relevant dates for our trading during the festive period (please note that we have had to revise our last posting day before Christmas due to further Royal Mail strike announcements):

Saturday 10th December: Last day for orders for pre-Christmas delivery. You need to place your order no later than 4 pm. Orders placed after this deadline will not be posted until the New Year. This is also the day we shall be issuing our last Newsletter before Christmas.
Revised: Tuesday 13th December: Last posting before Christmas for all orders placed by 4 pm on Saturday 10th and paid for by 4 pm on Monday 12th December.
Saturday 31st December: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 10th December (up to 4 pm on 31st) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 1st January 2023.
Wednesday 4th January: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.

Please note that these posting dates may be subject to change if Royal Mail announce any further strike action over this period.

*DC: In 1985, for the company’s 50th Anniversary, DC released Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 12-part series in which all the multiple parallel Earths of the DCU, long established ever since ‘Flash of Two Worlds’, faced annihilation, in an attempt to reconcile the conflicting alternate realities, and result in a more comprehensible DC Universe. Marv Wolfman and George Perez delivered a truly epic story, sending shockwaves through fandom as veteran characters perished, mostly permanently. (Well, until reality rebooted again, but in fairness that was decades later…) For all its flawed legacy (it was unevenly followed up by other creators, resulting in a ‘streamlined’ DCU that was actually more confusing, and it set the precedent for sprawling cosmic crossovers to become a tedious annual occurrence), COIE was an epochal event in the evolution of comics. Marvel’s Secret Wars may have done it first – but Crisis did it with style, expertise and a genuine air of consequence. In memory of the late, great George Perez. This is being sold only as a complete set of 12, averaging VF, no low grade copies.
PICTURED: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1; COMPLETE SET #1-12 AV. VF £140