*Marvel: What’s Old is our feature where we highlight comics from our catalogue that you may have missed. This week, two copies of Tales of Suspense #52, the debut of the Black Widow. In 1964, the adventures of Iron Man were enlivened by the appearance of the lovely but lethal Natasha Romanoff, code-named the Black Widow, one of the Kremlin’s deadliest operatives. Originally an appealing but unoriginal femme fatale in civvies, inspired by Caniff’s Dragon Lady and other Mata Hari wannabes, Natasha proved surprisingly adaptable, allying herself first with the second Crimson Dynamo (also premiering in this issue) and later Hawkeye, and trading her cocktail dress and veil for the first of many costumed ‘looks’ as she switchbacked from villainess to heroine, culminating, of course, in her live-action embodiment by Scarlett Johansson in the Avengers and other Marvel movies – and soon to star in a big-screen feature of her very own! This issue is where ‘Tasha’s career kicked off, and we have two mid to high grade copies available for your consideration. The first copy is FN/VF cents; no pence stamp or overprint. There is no defacement of the cover scene. Interior pages are off-white and sharp, no fraying, creases, tears or other defects. There is minimal edge and spine wear, with a trace of raggedness at the top cover edge owing to the cover being a smidge taller than the body of the book – an original printing aspect, not a defect as such. The cover colour is deep and unfaded, excellent gloss, still a fresh looking copy despite its vintage. The second copy is pence priced and is graded FN; light to moderate edge wear commensurate with age, but unfaded deep purple cover colour and a remarkable degree of gloss, with tight staples and sharp corners. Additional images for both are shown in our catalogue and high resolution versions are available on request.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE
#52 FN/VF £1,500
#52 FN p £750

*Marvel: Another one of our hugely popular Marvel Bronze Age and beyond #1 issue updates. This time we feature Howard the Duck, Punisher (1987 ongoing series), Red Sonja (1977 series), Rom Spaceknight, Shogun Warriors and Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. #1 issues disappear fast from our listings, so we suggest you get a move on!
PICTURED:
PUNISHER #1 VF+ £28 SOLD
SHOGUN WARRIORS #1 NM- £30

*Marvel: Another expansion to our catalogue as we unleash more of the second Spider-Man title, Spectacular Spider-Man, with issues between #102 & #150 joining our inventory. Mostly with Spidey in the black costume in this period, notable issues include Sabretooth covers and stories in #116 & #119, Kraven’s Last Hunt in #131 and the 1st cameo of the new Hobgoblin in #147. You want more Spidey — we’ve got ‘im! All listed in our catalogue.

*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: I still remember the thrill when an issue of Thunder Agents came out in the mid-1960s. Wow – you got 5 stories each issue in an extra-thick comic! Of course, at age 11, I barely knew who Wally Wood was, but I knew I liked the artwork. And the writers for these super-powered secret agents (a unique hybrid of the super-hero and spy genres) kept the words to a minimum, letting the art tell the stories. And it wasn’t just Wood: Crandall, Ditko, Kane, Sekowsky & Whitney were also represented, along with less notable but mainly competent others. We have a new selection in, every issue from #1 and #19 (except #14); the final issue, #20 was all reprint. Plus all four of the solo Dynamo spin-off series and both issues of the Noman solo spin-off series; as a bonus, issue #4 of the companion title UNDERSEA Agent. Highly recommended.
PICTURED:
DYNAMO #3 VG- p £8.50
NOMAN #2  FN+ £16
THUNDER AGENTS #8 FN p £13.25
THUNDER AGENTS #18 FN+ £16

*War: A miscellany of War from two decades this week, including from Stanley Battle Heroes, from Dell Combat, from Charlton Fightin’ Air Force, Fightin’ Marines & Fightin’ Navy (inc 100 Page issues — Charlton were always Fightin’!), the complete three issue run of the seldom seen Fight The Enemy from Tower, the one and only G8 & His Battle Aces from Gold Key, and many issues of Harvey’s War Front. War is not yet over — more to come soon!

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Two very disparate Free Gifts with two consecutive issues of Hotspur this week from 1972. Issue #675 features a ‘Super-Duper Football Poster — Top Goal Scorers in Full Colour’, while #676 has the ‘Zoomer’, still mounted on its card. Both Gifts are in pristine condition.
PICTURED: HOTSPUR BOTH SOLD
#675 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £25
#676 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £35

*Humour Comics: Small top-ups to several titles this week inc. Beano (1968-1972), Buster (1970-1972 – New Year issue 1972), Cor (1971), Dandy (1968-1970, 1972 – Christmas issue 1968, New Year issue 1972), Knockout (1971 3rd issue), Sparky (1969-1970), Whizzer & Chips (1969-1972) and Whoopee (1st issue 1974 GD/VG £15). Full details as always in our catalogue.

Since we’re now trading by mail order only, it gives us the chance to maintain our catalogue even more accurately. All items sold since lockdown are now being deleted within a few days of sale. We are also working through our entire catalogue to delete those items that sold pre-lockdown since files were last updated. This means that as we finish updating a file, you can rely on the catalogue for that category being (and staying) as close to 100% accurate as it is possible to get, with virtually everything available, apart from items sold in the last few days (and just a tiny amount of human error). We have now completed this exercise for the following category from our British section:
*Girls’ Comics A – Judy
All categories down to this point in our Catalogue Index have now been Super-Housekept! We will continue to post here as we make progress.

*DC: The 1970s revival of All-Star Comics, starring the legendary Justice Society (at first the ‘Super Squad’, but they dispensed with that nonsense quickly) had many creative highlights, and is a much-loved run. Two breakout characters, however, were what came to be called ‘legacy’ heroes. Power Girl, cousin of Earth-2’s Superman, premiered in the first relaunch issue, #58, and while Wally Wood’s artwork gave her the physique of a 1950s sex-bomb, she was anything but compliant eye candy, her no-nonsense, assertive personality gaining her many fans. Issue #69 brought us the Huntress, daughter of Earth-2’s Batman and Catwoman, combining the best traits of both her parents into a dynamic Darknight Detective for a new generation. For almost a decade, Power Girl and the Huntress’ popularity eclipsed the waning fame of their Earth-1 inspirations, Supergirl and Batgirl, and both characters have a keen following today. All Star #58 is a nice, superior copy with minor edge, spine and corner wear; #69 is a lovely high-grade copy.
PICTURED: ALL STAR COMICS
#58 FN/VF £70
#69 VF+ p £60

*Marvel: It’s always good to have a Steve Ditko issue of Amazing Spider-Man through the gates of 30th Century, and particularly so when that’s an issue featuring the Green Goblin. In this issue, Spidey gets caught up in a power struggle between the Goblin and the Lucky Lobo gang. This pence stamped copy has a nice white cover and good page quality; there is some spine wear and a very slight looseness at the upper staple, but staples and all pages are firmly attached.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #23 FN- p £100 SOLD

*Marvel: With the ever-spiralling cost of first appearances of major characters, many collectors are turning to second appearances as a way of obtaining affordable key issues. Here, therefore, is Fantastic Four #53, the second appearance of the Black Panther and the debut of his nemesis Klaw. Much of T’Challa’s background and beginnings are revealed in this issue. A nice mid-grade pence printed copy with some spine and edge wear and corner blunting, but a nice unmarred cover image.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #53 VG+ p £65

*Marvel: Following the smash hit of Secret Wars, Marvel revisited the theme with, rather unimaginatively, Secret Wars II in 1985; the Beyonder, the cosmic entity which instigated the first series, having become intrigued by humanity, visits Earth in human form, and inevitably comes into conflict with Earth’s superhumans and the cosmic entities that exist in the Marvel Universe. Featuring, as before, a multiplicity of crossovers with the rest of the Marvel Universe, this series didn’t have the epochal impact of its predecessor, but Jim Shooter’s script had plenty of intriguing moments, especially the Beyonder’s struggles to adapt to everyday human activities, such as eating, sleeping, using the bathroom – and falling in love! But don’t worry, there’s action aplenty too! This complete 9 issue series, all NM, is available as a set for £40.
PICTURED: SECRET WARS II #1 NM; COMPLETE SET 1-9 NM £40 SOLD

*Marvel: A chunky update for Marvel Bronze Age and later this week, inc the following titles: Avengers (#195, 1st Taskmaster cameo), the Cat, Civil War (inc Michael Turner variant cover #6), Daredevil (#254, 1st Typhoid Mary), Giant-Size Doc Savage, Marvel Premiere (with Iron Fist inc. 1st Colleen Wing in #19), New Mutants (1st Cable in #87 FA £17.50), Spectacular Spider-Man (inc #138 1st full Tombstone), Super Villain Team-Up (inc #5, 1st Shroud), What If (1st and 2nd series) and Wolverine Origin. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL #254 VF £30

*Horror 1940-1959: Superior was a Canadian publisher active from 1945-1956 who mostly reprinted American comics from the same time period. They also published a number of original series that were distributed in the United States. Among these were three horror titles famous for their hallucinogenic covers and accomplished Fiction House style interior art. When you see a lot of these together, they have an almost hypnotic and uncomfortable effect. Our focus this week is on issues #9-13 of one of those titles: Strange Mysteries; mixed grade copies, with specific defects listed below.
PICTURED: STRANGE MYSTERIES
#9 FA £65 Several margin pieced torn out; stories OK
#10 VG+ £240 Nice copy, some corner blunting, tiny chip out bottom right cover SOLD
#11 FA/GD £60 Chip out by front upper staple; extra staples SOLD
#12 VG+ £190 Nice copy, no specific defects, just edge wear SOLD
#13 VG £165 Spine roll/mis-cut SOLD

*Modern Reprints: All 3 three issues new in of Greg Theakston’s Pure Imagination Buried Treasure reprint series, showcasing the art of Frazetta, Kirby, Kubert, Meskin, Toth, Ward & Wood etc in a magazine size black and white format to show off the quality of the art. #1 is general, featuring many artists, #2 is a romance special, with lots of Ward and others and #3 is a Toth special. Full details in our catalogue, in sub-category 6 of our newly re-worked file.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Lots of additions to popular Boys’ titles this week, including Hornet (1969, 1970, 1972), Hotspur (1969-1972), Lion (1969, 1970, 1972), Mark Tyme, Scorcher (1970), Swift (1961), Tiger (1969, 1970, 1972), Valiant (1970, 1972) & Victor (1969, 1970, 1972). Lots of gaps filled in our inventory.

*Humour Comics: A range of the large-size Dandy Summer Specials between 1968 and 1974 fresh in, cover-starring Korky the Cat and featuring such favourites as Desperate Dan, Black Bob, Corporal Clott, Winker Watson etc. Bought as seaside holiday reading so few of these survive, and didn’t wear well, particularly due to their large format. These copies though are unfolded, largely undamaged and nice bright examples, averaging between VG and FN. 
PICTURED: DANDY SUMMER SPECIAL 1968 VG/FN £50

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: June & School Friend Picture Library continued the numbering of Schoolgirls’ Picture Library from #327 onwards, and this week we have very many issues of J&SF PL fresh in between #400 and #497. Many favourite recurring characters are here: Zanna, the Grey Ghosts, Sue Day, Mam’selle X, Miss Adventure, the Silent Three and many others. By and large superior condition copies.
PICTURED: JUNE & SCHOOL FRIEND PICTURE LIBRARY
#401 FN £7
#440 FN £7

*Modern Reprints: Our Modern Reprints category covers a very diverse selection of classic American reprints from the Golden and Silver Ages, and as such it’s been difficult to set out in a cohesive format. We’ve now added a numbering system and more distinctive headers for the various sub-categories and hope you will be able to navigate this tableau of wonder a bit more easily.

*DC: Having quite startlingly revitalised the moribund Jimmy Olsen title with #133, writer/artist Jack Kirby took it up a notch by introducing Darkseid, the fiendish ruler of the hell-world Apokolips, in the very next issue. It was only a fleeting cameo – Darkseid’s image flashes up on a monitor screen while Facetiming with Morgan Edge – but it’s nevertheless the first appearance of the villainous fulcrum of the entire Fourth World Saga, and as such is in high demand. This tight, flat high grade copy is pence stamped and has great cover colour and gloss (Neal Adams cover), very minor edge and corner wear and lovely off white pages. It’s one of those issues where the cover is printed slightly off centre, so the edge of the image goes over the spine, but this doesn’t spoil it one bit.
PICTURED: JIMMY OLSEN #134 VF p £250

*DC/Marvel: In 1976, after some delicate negotiations, the two major publishers decided to pool their talents and create a team-up between their two iconic characters which proved too big for a regular-sized comic – so the tabloid-sized format, as seen in Marvel’s Treasury Editions and DC’s Limited Collectors’ Editions, was co-opted for this epic event! While Wizard of Oz is technically the first Marvel/DC co-production, that’s really just DC piggybacking onto a project Marvel had already produced, to avoid litigation (long story, Google it if you’re bothered). This was the first true collaboration between the titans of the comics industry, and it’s a tribute to the organisation involved that Superman and Spider-Man (as well as guest villains Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus) are note perfect in this mega-sized saga. This is a FN+ cents copy of this ground-breaking item, light to moderate edge and corner wear, but clean and unimpaired cover, nice interior pages, and the squarebound spine strong and intact; there is one tiny nick across the DC/Marvel logo top left.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FN+ £75

*Marvel: So, what do you do when one cuddly brain-sucking symbiote just isn’t enough? Well, the House of Recycled Ideas came up with letting it spawn (not ‘Spawn’!) and thus was born Carnage, offspring of Venom, who rapidly metastasised into one of the MU’s most popular villains. I know this to be at the top of a lot of wants lists, so we’re glad to have an affordable copy of Amazing Spider-Man #361 new into stock. This has all the cover gloss, sharp corners, tight staples etc you’d expect of a comic of this vintage, but there are a few defects worthy of note. Firstly, it is mis-cut (an original printing error, not a wear and tear issue), so that the rear cover is slightly ‘wrapped’ around to the front at the bottom of the spine (see scan); also there are non-colour-breaking horizontal creases near the bottom edge, which also has two tiny nicks/tears in it. Also new in in high grade: #362 and #363, the second and third parts of this initial Venom trilogy.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 FN £60 SOLD

*Marvel: Ms. (later Captain) Marvel, Carol Danvers, had left the Avengers in issue #200, in a controversial and rather offensive departure which raised the hackles of fandom assembled, utterly subverting the character’s independent agenda. In Avengers Annual #10, Chris Claremont ‘fixed’ the storyline, with an amnesiac and powerless Carol being rescued by Spider-Woman, and the discovery of her escape and reawakening commencing. It was a rather skilful job, assisted by the moody, evocative, and too-seldom-seen art of Mike Golden, plus, when the villains of the issue arrived – the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants – they had a spanking-new member, Rogue, who was the reason for Carol’s confused and powerless state. Rogue, of course, swiftly moved to the ‘light side’, joining the X-Men and becoming a key character in the comics and on the silver screen – and this is where she got her start, but the issue has more to offer than only that! Ignore the rather messy and bitty cover; the interior’s a gem! A lovely cents copy, with just extremely minor edge wear and corner blunting.
PICTURED: AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 VF+ £70

*Gold Key/Whitman: Like the earlier publisher Dell, Gold Key published an esoteric mix of TV & Film Related, Cartoon Animals, Science Fiction, their own Super-Heroes and just about anything they thought would sell, I guess. Comics from obscure TV series we never had over here rub shoulders with their more famous cousins and the Gold Key heroes have been revived numerous times in recent decades. This update: Captain Nice (#1 and only), Doctor Solar, Freedom Agent (#1), the Girl From Uncle (inc #1), Hanna Barbera TV Super-Heroes, Jet Dream & Her Stunt Girl Counterspies (#1 and only), Magnus Robot Fighter, the Man From Uncle, Mighty Samson (#1), Star Trek, Turok Son of Stone & Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories.   

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: One of the most startling success stories in the back issue world is the ever-spiralling popularity of Moon Knight’s premier appearance. The series Werewolf By Night had been toddling along, chronicling the adventures of young lycanthrope Jack Russell (no, really), when the boat was suddenly rocked in WBN #32 by a vigilante whose only goal seemed to be the annihilation of our hero – and his silver armour and weapons seemed likely to achieve it! The man who would later be revealed as Marc Spector had a deeper back story, of course, and in his multitudinous appearances since, has developed a complex background oscillating between ‘Marvel’s Batman’ and ‘Multiple Personality psychotic possessed by Egyptian Gods’. Be that as it may, he remains hugely popular, and a near-future Moon Knight TV series having been recently confirmed, demand for his debut is intensifying. Our latest copy of Werewolf By Night #32 is a lowish grade pence printed copy, the significant defects being a book shop stamp across the logo (although this is fairly faint) and two colour-breaking creases across the corner of the bottom right cover. There is some minor spine and edge wear, but the cover retains excellent colour and gloss, the staples are tight and the page quality good.
PICTURED: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32 GD+ p £290 SOLD