*DC: A huge update to our Silver/Bronze age stock of Flash, from issues #124 to #232 plus Annual #1. Weddings, Rogues Gallery, 2nd Professor Zoom, Golden Age Flash, 100 pagers and Giant issues — they’re all here in a variety of grades and prices to suit every taste, with many new issues previously missing from our catalogue.
30CC
American Update: Great Guardians! Classic Green Lantern Issues Restocked
*DC: For space-age derring-do, the Silver Age adventures of fearless test pilot Hal Jordan, a.k.a. Green Lantern, have few equals, and our new range of issues provides stirring examples of adventures on other worlds – as well as more terrestrial crime-stopping a’plenty! A selection from issue #5 up to issue #52 gives us team-ups with the Flash and the Earth-2 Green Lantern, the debuts of Sonar and Evil Star and clashes with Star Sapphire, Doctor Light and other vintage villains. Plus, from the ‘relevant’ Green Lantern/Green Arrow era, more hard-hitting haranguing from Denny O’Neil, mollified by beautiful Neal Adams artwork! Peace Out!
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts! Debut of Thanos in Iron Man #55
*Marvel: They don’t come much hotter these days than Iron Man #55, wherein the cosmic arch-villain Thanos, nemesis of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, made his first appearance, the brainchild of fan favourite writer/artist Jim Starlin. Thanos has of course gone on to plague Marvel’s heroes in comics and movies ever since, but here is where it all started. This landmark issue also features the debuts of Drax the Destroyer, Mentor, Starfox and Kronos. It’s getting more and more difficult to find a comfortably affordable copy of this, but our new copy is marred by two book centre stamps across the logo (see scan), which do not impinge on the cover image. Other than that it’s a decent tight copy with minor spine and edge wear, firmly attached at staples. We’ve graded it VG+ to allow for the stamps, a pence copy priced at £280. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts! Quicksilver & the Scarlet Witch in X-Men #4
*Marvel: The debut of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, thus 1st appearances of Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Mastermind and the Toad in the fourth issue of the X-Men from 1964. It’s a great pity that no one told Wanda that the clue to her costume colour was in her name, and thus she posed in a fetching shade of Emerald for the cover. This solid mid-grade copy has great colour and eye appeal; tight and flat and firmly attached at staples. It has a little spine wear commensurate with this grade, some pressure marks on the cover and a very faint, barely perceptible trace of a subscription crease. Another Lee & Kirby masterpiece VG+ pence copy at £375.
American Update: Spider-Mania Meets Slab Happy! Amazing Spider-Man #8 5.0
*Marvel: We begin a new event with our ‘Slab Happy’ feature this week, where we showcase third party graded and slabbed comics. We’re kicking off with this week’s entry in our regular Spider-Mania event with a CBCS graded copy of Amazing Spider-Man #8 5.0 (VG/FN), from 1964, unrestored. In this special ‘Tribute To Teenagers’ issue, your friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler tackles the Human Torch, the Living Brain and Flash Thomspon (poor Peter just wasn’t getting along with anyone that month!). Single digit Spideys are getting harder and harder to come by, and for those who like their comics encased in plastic, this is a great investment at £265. We’ll be back ‘on the slab’ very soon! SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Fantastic Four #25 VF+ – an outstanding copy
*Marvel: The landmark 25th issue of the Fantastic Four, Lee & Kirby’s flagship title that launched the Marvel Age of Comics, features the classic Thing/Hulk clash, as depicted on the cover with a deep purple background, and the colours on this copy really pop out at you! An outstanding copy with great cover colour and gloss. Tight and flat with good staples, firmly attached. Virtually no wear with great white pages. A couple of minor pressure marks in the logo area and a barely perceptible very faint vertical crease (like a subscription crease but much, much less pronounced) are the only faults that prevent this copy grading even higher. VF+ pence copy at £575.
American Update: Nick Fury, Agent of Shield #15 — 1st Bullseye (in a sense) and death of Nick Fury (also in a sense)
*Marvel: Did you know that before the Daredevil enemy we all know and love to hate, there was another villain at Marvel called Bullseye? Possibly not, as he both debuted and died in the same comic, the final issue of the original Nick Fury series (apart from reprints). But this prototype villain kept good company, because Nick Fury was also shot and killed in this issue (unlike Bullseye, Nick got better!). Our new copy of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #15 is a real beauty, NM with no visible flaws — ripe for slabbing and investment, a cents copy at £70. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Let’s Level with Daredevil — inc low grade #158 & #168
*Marvel: A chunky update to our stocks of the sightless swashbuckler between issues #98 and #194 plus Annual #1, including many Frank Miller issues. #158 (1st Miller art) is FA at £5; #168 (1st Elektra) is GD p at £10.
American Update: Now, here’s the Thing…
*Marvel: Spinning out from John Byrne’s superlative run on Fantastic Four, everyone’s favourite blue-eyed Ben Grimm, AKA the Thing, was awarded his own series in 1983, initially scripted by Byrne. The series lasted a respectable 36 issues and featured, as you might expect, a myriad of guest-stars. The Thing is a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe — he was there right at the beginning and is still around today, so here’s a good chance to sample him in solo action in this well-received series, almost all of which is now in stock.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Men’s Adventures — Stories for Men!
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: A triumvirate of updates for one title! Men’s Adventures (Atlas 1950) went through distinct phases in its short 25 issue life. It started off with crime and adventure stories from #4 (the first issue) until #10, and it’s these that feature in this update, emblazoned with the strap-line ‘Stories For Men’. Crime, adventure, mystery, science fiction, war etc were all featured. Illustrated here is #5 VG/FN £49. This is a complete run of this series within a series; for details of the remainder, see our website listing. War and Horror issues are featured in separate updates (alas, we don’t have the two super-hero issues, #27 & #28, that finished the title.
American Update: The Atlas Expolsion! Pre-Code Horror Mega-Fest continues with (Weird) Men’s Adventures
*Horror 1940-1959: For issues #21-26 of its run, Men’s Adventures featured the strap-line ‘Weird Men’s Adventures’ and featured unadulterated Pre-code Horror in the inimitable Atlas style, with the usual gang of reliable and exceptional artists. All six issues of this series within a series are featured in this update in various grades and prices, including the infamous Shrunken Head cover (#25). Illustrated here are #22 VG £87, #24 VG- £76 and #25 VG- £125. SORRY, PICTURED ISSUES HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Men’s Adventures — Stories Of War!
*War: The third and final part of our Men’s Adventures updates features issues #11-20 (all included) when the title was an out and out War comic with the strap-line ‘Stories Of War’. Still Pre-code, of course, so full of the guts and violence one associates with the genre from this publisher during this period. Some great covers in this run, and we’ve decided to showcase here an unusual, darkly humorous one (#17 FN £41). More Atlas coming very soon!
American Update: Complete EC Library Hardcover Volumes inc Slipcase Editions
*Modern Reprints: Eight titles from the Complete EC Library featured in this update. These are the over-size Hardcover volumes with crystal clear black and white reproduction and colour covers and colour cover illustrations internally. Short run titles are presented in single volumes and longer series by several volumes, usually collected in a slipcase. Widely regarded as the best reprint editions of EC material available. EC featured horror, science-fiction, crime, war, humour, adventure & more with inarguably the finest team of artists ever assembled by one publisher at one time. The best comics of the 1950s, if not the best ever! Titles available (as illustrated) are: Impact, Mad (the one exception in full colour), MD, Piracy, Shock Suspenstories, Tales From The Crypt, Two-Fisted Tales and Weird Science Fantasy/Incredible Science Fiction. For grading and pricing information, see our website listing. NB If you’re ordering by post or planning to buy in person, these are heavy!
American Update: Comic Media #1, Omniverse #1 & #2 and More Rarities and Oddities
*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: Some uncommon items added to this popular section: from 1970, Comic Media #1, the long-running British ‘zine which later became Comic Media News and developed into what was arguably Britain’s first ‘prozine’. From 1977, the first (and only?) two issues of Mark Gruenwald’s Omniverse, in which the later Marvel Editor-In-Chief pondered the parallel universes of the comics medium (he’d have a much harder job of it these days…) and from 1972, the Gloria Steinem edited hardcover retrospective of Wonder Woman, not only a feminist appreciation of the Amazing Amazon’s cultural significance, but also serving as the first significant collection of Golden Age Wonder Woman stories! All this, plus top-ups to our stocks of Alter Ego, Amazing Heroes, Comics Journal, Comic Book Marketplace and From The Tomb.
British Update: More Alan Class certificated comics
*Alan Class Reprints: It’s time for another release of material from the personal archives of the famous and well remembered publisher whose comics graced the newsagents from 1959-1989. Each comic comes with a Certificate of Authenticity hand signed by Alan Class himself. This new selection is all pre-decimal and comprises, Creepy Worlds, Outer Space, Out Of This World (both series), Secrets Of The Unknown and Uncanny Tales. You’ll find full details in the Alan Class category in our website listings.
British Update: First Quenchers Plus: Pow #1-4 in high grade
*Power Comics: ‘The Brand New Comic for the New Breed of Comic Fans’ proclaimed Pow! #1 across its masthead. In 1967, Odhams Press, after successes with the Beano-esque Wham! and Smash!, hit upon its highly successful formula of Marvel reprints combined with original British humour and adventure strips. Nowhere was this more notable than in Pow!, their third launch, which featured Spider-Man reprints virtually from the beginning, backed up by Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, as well as well-remembered original strips ‘Georgie’s Germs’, ‘The Dolls of St. Dominic’s’, and ‘The Cloak’. Odhams Press proudly basked in the glory of the emerging Marvel Age of Comics and copied its style of blurb. The first four issues are now in stock, all in superior FN+ grade (#4 FN); we seldom grade UK comics better than FN. but these are flat, creamy white with vibrant colour and virtually no wear. We doubt they looked any better than this when they were in the newsagents. No Free Gifts, alas, but probably the best-looking copies we’ve ever seen. #1 FN+ £100, #2 FN+ £50, #3 FN+ £50 (all illustrated below) and #4 FN £20. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: More Eagles from early 1950s volumes
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Replenishing our Eagle stock boxes (which have been taking a bit of a battering sales-wise of late) we have reinforcements on the way of issues from Volumes 3, 5, 6 & 7 making their way to the comics’ front line!
British Update: Chocks Away! A Squadron of Air Ace Picture Libraries, Just Landed!
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: One of the most popular Picture Libraries is Air Ace, tales of daring aviators defending the Empire’s skyways, and we’re delighted to replenish our severely depleted stocks with in excess of 200 copies new to our listings, from issue #101 to #544, filling many gaps in our ranks, in affordable mid-grades. Air Ace always (excuse the expression) flies out rapidly, so place your orders promptly to avoid disappointment!
Books Update: Biggles Takes Flight Again!
*Childrens’ Books: A small but by no means a minor addition to our Biggles selection, with two titles, Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter and Biggles Of The Special Air Police. Both available in HC with DJ, and the latter also available with Pictorial Boards. Ripping yarns of derring-do!
American/British Update: Laurel & Hardy and Airfix (!)
Memorabilia & Esoterica: Strange bedfellows in this update as we present (a) an Airfix Construction Kit Catalogue from 1966 (VG £10) that features all those kits we put together as kids (providing one is of a certain age, of course) and (b) the Laurel & Hardy Book Of Wisecracks, 36 pages of the wit of the immortal duo originally presented as a supplement to Film Fun in 1937; this original (not a copy) has been reported as selling for £200, which makes ours at just £25 (VG) sound like a real snip!
Last Call for Clearance Corner: Hey Diddle Diddle 70 issues for £20
As you may realise, the purpose of our Clearance Corner lots is to clear space in our shop by discontinuing titles we’re no longer carrying to make way for new and incoming stuff. As such, they will only be offered for a short time. This Clearance Corner lot, listed on 23rd October, has not been snapped up and is nearing the end of its time with us. If not purchased by the weekend, we will have to dispose of it. Here are the details from our original listing:
‘Over in Clearance Corner this week, an uncommon oddity. Approx 70 issues of the 78 issue run of the younger readers’ comic Hey Diddle Diddle, where the stories are based on nursery rhymes and feature the star power of Baby Bunting (!). From 1972/73, this selection features both the first and last issues. We’ve seen this described as ‘increasingly collectable’ and ‘hard to find’, but you can now find it and collect it in Putney! All 70 issues for an amazing £20 (UK postage if required – in two packages to keep postage costs down – would be an additional £8).’
Housekeeping Update
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 files in our American section:
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s
*Romance
*Teen Humour/Funny Girls
*War
*Western
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Clearance Corner: Bumper Bundle of Vintage Free Gifts (1894-1950s) — 33 for £40!
*Clearance Corner: A superb opportunity from Clearance Corner this week to acquire a truly vintage selection of Free Gifts originally issued with comics (plus a couple of bonus items). These comprise booklets, albums, photo cards, badges etc as follows: 2 from Adventure, 5 from Hotspur, 7 from Rover, 11 from Wizard, 2 combined gifts from those titles, 1 from Triumph, 1 from Scout, 1 from Modern Boy, 1 from Schoolgirls’ Weekly, 1 from Punch and 1 otherwise unidentified book (a tiny Atlas from 1894!). All bagged and labelled with as much information as we have about them. So that’s 33 items available for just £40! Many (but far from all) are pictured here. UK postage if required would be an extra £5.
British Update: He Is The Law! Classic Judge Dredd Compilations – Cursed Earth, Apocalypse War and More
*Collected Editions: The bastion of 2000 AD and guardian of Mega-City One, several out-of-print softcover editions of Judge Dredd’s adventures have been added to our inventory: Cursed Earth (NM £35, pictured), The Pit (NM £25, pictured), Necropolis (NM £20) Judgement Day, featuring a team-up between Dredd and fellow 2000-AD alumnus Strontium Dog (NM £20) and the complete Apocalypse War (with Block Mania bonus, NM £20).
Housekeeping Update
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 files in our American/British section:
*Mad & Other Parody
and in our British section:
*Annuals
*TV & Film Related Comics
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
What’s Old: Scream and Scream Again! #1 (1984) with Free Gift
A UK classic in our previously-listed spot this week. The short-lived and notorious title Scream!, intended as a horror-themed companion to 2000 AD in 1984, fell foul to censorious cretins early in its existence. Despite prestigious contributors – including Alan Moore in its early issues – was pressurised off the nation’s newsstands during a strike after only fifteen weekly issues, belatedly – and without so much as the traditional ‘great news, chums!’ – merging a couple of its strips into Eagle series 2, albeit in greatly diluted form. We’ve lost count of how many sets of Scream we’ve sold over the years, but they never hang around in stock for long. We offer for your consideration our sole remaining issue of Scream! (at the moment) the #1 issue, a sparkling FN copy, comes with the Free Gift (Dracula Fangs) mint and unopened in its original bag and still taped to the front cover. #1 on sale for £50.
Excelsior, Stan
Today the world is full of tributes to Stan ‘The Man’ Lee and you can read all over the net about his life and works. There are also very many glowing tributes from those who knew and worked with him. All we can add is a personal perspective. As kids growing up in the 60s, all three of us here were primarily DC fans, but as the Marvel Age of Comics took hold, we became captivated with the universe Stan was creating, with the assistance of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and a handful of others. Stan’s heroes were people we could identify with, who had some of the same problems of normal life that we ourselves faced.
The legacy of Stan’s work will of course live on in comics and in film; virtually all the big names you can think of in Marvel all stemmed from his pen in the 1960s. More than any other single comic creator, Stan is responsible for the success of the comics industry over close on 60 years and is the one household name everybody knows. Comic shops like ours would probably not be around without him. And, fitting that Stan should have a reputation as a nice guy — in an industry where the terms ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ are bandied about two-a-penny, no one is more deserving of those titles than The Man himself. He is a bigger legend than any of those he created, and his memory lives on every time you open a Marvel comic.
‘Nuff Said, True Believers…
American Update: Who Watches the Watchmen? Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Groundbreaking Series, Complete!
*DC: One of the stories which redefined the concepts of comics narrative and superheroic iconography in the 1980s, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen has been constantly in print since its 1986 debut, with myriad editions, collections and archives, but these are the original comics which set comics fandom and the industry alight. At first intended to be a ‘grim and gritty’ reinvention of the Charlton Comics heroes, who had only recently then come into DC’s possession, Dick Giordano convinced Moore to come up with original characters instead. Often imitated – frequently to the detriment of the medium – but never equalled, the 12-issue series is on sale in its entirety, averaging VF condition (#7 VG owing to an upper cover crease) at £100 the set. We don’t need to say much about the content of this most famous of later comics titles; either you know you want it, or you’re beyond hope. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: Crossovers – Amalgam and Others
*DC/Marvel: The DC/Marvel Crossovers are always hugely popular, so we’re delighted to have a handful back in stock: the Marvel & DC Presents team-up of the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans, the Silver Surfer & Superman prestige format one-shot of 1996, and a selection of both 1996 and 1997’s Amalgam one-offs, in which the DC and Marvel Universes collided to bring us JLX! Bruce Way.ne, Agent of SHIELD! Thorion of the New Asgods! Magneto and the Magnetic Men and many more!
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – Behold… the Vision! Debut in Avengers #57
*Marvel: A significant latecomer to the Silver Marvel Age, the enigmatic synthezoid, the Vision premiered in Avengers #57 as a villainous pawn of the evil Ultron. Rapidly being discovered to be misguided, he was offered membership the next issue, in one of the most rapid reforms ever, and became a mainstay of the Avengers and the MU in general, particularly through his convoluted relationship with the Scarlet Witch. Based on a Simon & Kirby character from the 1940s, Roy Thomas’ love affair with all things Golden Age stood him in good stead, as the Vision captured the hearts and minds of readers worldwide… though the exquisite art by John Buscema doubtless didn’t hurt! Now a pillar of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and soon to co-star with the Scarlet Witch in a TV series, the Vision’s star continues to rise. This copy of his debut is VF- p at £200. Glossy cover, vivid colour, tight staples at cover and centrefold, only the very faintest unevenness at edge & corner, truly a beautiful copy of a key issue.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts Meets Spider-Mania! The Black Cat – Spider-Man’s most beloved enemy debuts in Spidey #194
*Marvel: Feline-themed slinky femme fatale with a penchant for plunder and an irrational crush on a super-hero? Nope, not Selina Kyle, but a slightly less famous Cat-Woman, Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, who premiered in Amazing Spider-Man #194! Seemingly a throwaway villain, akin to dozens of others introduced in the period (The Spot? The Skinhead? Banjo, anyone?), Ms. Hardy caught on with the readership and became Spidey’s favourite ‘frenemy’, becoming seriously romantically involved with our hero for some time. Still a major player in the MU, Felicia’s debut issue is a highly desirable VF+ cents copy (no UK distributed copies of this issue), with minimal wear and excellent eye appeal – like the lady herself! On sale at £125. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Anyone for Seconds? – Journey Into Mystery #84, with the second-ever Thor and first Jane Foster
*Marvel: After the extraterrestrial invasion of the Saturnian Stone Men in his debut issue, Thor faced more pressing terrestrial concerns in his second-ever appearance, when, at the height of Cold War frenzy, his alter ego, Dr. Don Blake and Nurse Jane Foster fell into ‘Commie’ hands and became prisoners of the Executioner! (No, not that Executioner, though Stan & Jack clearly liked the name enough to recycle it shortly thereafter for the Asgardian assassin we all know and love.) This ‘Executioner’ was the dictator of the South American Republic of San Diablo, and while it may seem laughable to pit him against the Thunder God now, back then, in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis, it was very relevant. This is also the first appearance of Jane Foster, who’s held the title of Thor herself a couple of times! A Good+ copy, pence priced, this is a sound copy, clean cover image, with moderate wear at spine and edges and a small (half-inch) cover tear at right edge in the middle of the cover blurb. On sale at £180. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: X-Men #50 – Jim Steranko art, and the first Lorna Dane (later Polaris) in costume
*Marvel: Lorna Dane had met up with the X-Men in the previous issue, rescued by Iceman after being caught up in one of the bouts of anti-mutant hysteria which sweep Marvel-Earth twice a week, but it wasn’t until issue #50 that she had her Big Reveal: she was the daughter of Magneto, Master of Evil Mutants and the heir to all his power! Fortuitously, this issue was one of a handful drawn by Jim Steranko, and his innovative layouts, cinematic storytelling and nifty costume design for Lorna (who, though generally known as Polaris, didn’t formally adopt that codename until years later) made this story a gripping read with stunning visuals. To say that Lorna’s history has been convoluted is an understatement – the ‘official’ position as to whether she’s Magneto’s offspring or not has changed many times (she is at the moment, but give it a week or two…), but – except when she’s had psychotic breaks and become a villain, as you do – she’s been a stalwart member of the X-Men and/or X-Factor for decades now. This copy of her premiere is a lovely VG/FN, pence copy, light to moderate edge & corner wear but unimpeded iconic cover image, on sale at £60. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Wolverine #1 (1982) Claremont and Miller Epic
*Marvel: By the 1980s, Wolverine’s status as the breakout star of the ‘New’ X-Men had become evident, and an A-List team of Chris Claremont, Frank Miller and Josef Rubinstein was assembled to give him a solo spotlight in a four issue mini-series. Logan returns to Japan where he seeks to regain his lost honour and win the hand of his beloved Mariko, in an outstanding series which was the basis for the 2013 smash film ‘The Wolverine’ – instead of being merely an outline for the film, many of Miller’s striking visuals for the mini-series were meticulously re-created for the movie. This copy of the series’ premier issue, Wolvie’s first solo flight, is VF+ p £40. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Let’s Re-Visit The X-Men! Issues #100 to #277 – 1st Emma, Kitty, Dazzler, Jubilee, Mr. Sinister and more
*Marvel: Approximately 100 new issues added to the ‘New’ (from 1975 on) X-Men, commencing with #100, in which the original and the new teams face off for the first time… or do they? Other highlights of this run include #129 (double debuts of Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde), #130 (first Dazzler), #137 (first death of Jean Grey – she does that quite a bit), #201 (1st Nathan Summers, later Cable), #212 and #213 (spectacular Wolverine/Sabretooth clash), #221 (1st Mr. Sinister), #244 (1st Jubilee) and Annual 9 (epic Asgardian cross-over with New Mutants). Also: Jean Grey scoffs stars! Psylocke gets a face lift! Rogue joins the team! Second ‘Full Gambit’! and lots more mutant madness!
American Update: Tales To Astonish #78-101 in cheap and cheerful grades
*Marvel: An update for the budget conscious! Some classic issues from the latter days of Tales To Astonish featuring Sub-Mariner & the Hulk, as depicted by many of Marvel’s finest creators of the time, from #78 right through to the end of the run with #101. Notable within these are the first appearance of the Abomination (#91), the Hulk/Silver Surfer crossover in #92/93, the Subby/Hulk fight in the full-length #100 and the final issue itself where the Hulk goes to Asgard. Mostly in low grades (a lot of Fairs and Goods) with an occasional nicer graded issue.
American Update: Vintage Blackhawks from Quality Comics
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: By the 1950s, Blackhawk and his band of international adventuring aviators, having won World War II, devoted themselves to ever more outlandish adventures, battling evil scientists with monstrous, death-dealing machines, and also facing off against sundry sinister shapely ladies with exotic aliases. We have five new Blackhawk entries in our 1950s stock from Quality Comics, ranging from 1951’s #46 to 1956’s #102, all in very affordable mid to low grades. Bill Ward, Reed Crandall and others bring us Amora and her Death Patrol! The Crimson Hoods! The Doom Cloud! and the deadly but delectable trifecta of Hitla, Communa and Vampira, all in the same issue (#97). Hawk-AAA!
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Pre & Post Code Horror Mega-Fest continues with Journey Into Mystery
*Horror 1940-1959: Our Mega-Fest rolls on! One of Atlas’ earliest and longest-running fantasy titles, Journey Into Mystery is best remembered now for being the birthplace of Thor – and before that, for hosting a plethora of ‘Big Panty Monsters’, including Xemnu – but in its earliest stages, it was full-on horror, tales of the macabre by Everett, Maneely, Williamson, Morrow, Torres, Heath and more. We have fifteen new issues in, ranging from 1952’s #3 to #49, the unheralded ‘relaunch’ issue in 1958 after the publisher’s distribution crisis had caused a year-long hiatus in publication. Six of the new entries are Pre-Code, but all of them feature the top-quality artists associated with the publisher. Illustrated are #3 FN £500 (high resolution images available on request), #19 FN/VF £470, #22 FN+ £385, #32 FN+ £260, #36 FA/GD £57, #37 FN+ £260, #43 FN+ £145 and #46 FN+ £125. But in addition to these mostly ‘showpiece grade’ issues, there are several affordable mid-grade copies for more casual reading.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Marines In Battle! Action Tales of Fighting ‘Gyrenes’ (Whatever They Are…)
*War: Another of the plethora of War titles released by the company who would become Marvel, Marines In Battle flirted with historical stories a little, but rapidly coalesced around its series character ‘Iron Mike’ McGraw, a tough-as-nails ‘gyrene’ (your guess is as good as ours…) who did quite a bit of Commie-smashing in most of the series’ 25 issues. One-off stories also appeared in each issue, of course, and the usual menu of A-list artists took their turns on the title: Shores, Colan, Sinnott (as an illustrator rather than an inker), Williamson and Crandall, to name but a few. We have most of the series new in stock from 1954’s premier issue (pictured, App. FN+, £61), through to the finale, #25, in 1958.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Ringo Kid – Classic Western hero with Joe Maneely Art
*Western: While not a ‘superstar’ akin to Kid Colt, Two-Gun Kid or the Rawhide Kid, Ringo Kid is well respected by Western aficionados, mainly because of the high quality of the artwork. Joe Maneely designed many striking covers for the 21-issue series (occasionally ‘subbed’ for by John Severin), but Maneely also drew most of the interiors, with occasional help from Fred Kida, resulting in a consistent ‘look’ to the black-clad vigilante’s adventures with his sidekick Dull Knife and his horse Arab. Ringo Kid never had a civilian name revealed, but was a mixed-race hero, having a Caucasian father and either a Comanche or Cheyenne mother (depending on who was scripting the book that month). We also never found out why he fought for justice, but, as the cover blurb on most later issues averred, ‘Ringo (is) the name that makes killers tremble!’. We have the entire 21-issue original issue series in stock, in a variety of grades. Depicted are #1 (FN/VF £125) and #17 (VF £54), but there are also many affordable ‘reading’ copies.
British Update: More From Marvel UK! Weeklies, Winter Specials and a cross-over surprise
*Marvel UK: Another tantalising top-up to Marvel UK, where all your favourite classic stories were re-edited and pasted up into all sorts of odd configurations to fit the weekly comic market. We have new stock for the regular titles Captain Britain, Complete Fantastic Four, Mighty World of Marvel, Monster Monthly, Spider-Man Comics Weekly and Thor, with four Specials – one Summer (Frantic, Marvel UK’s Mad-alike) and three Winter (Conan, Daredevil and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends). Of particular interest, we suspect, will be the Superman & Spider-Man one-off, a magazine-sized reprint of the second Supes & Spidey meeting, and Mighty World of Marvel #198, a partial reprint of Hulk #181, featuring (most of) the first appearance of Wolverine! MWOM is only PR/FA – splash page neatly coloured in, moderate wear and a thumb-sized piece out of the cover mid-spine (cover image unimpaired), but it is an affordable copy of an issue that’s soaring up in price to an unbelievable extent.
British Update: Cursitor Doom and Phantom Patrol – Rare Collected Editions of Cult Classics
*Collected Editions: Two extremely rare items this week. In 2009, Bear Alley Books released two paperbacks collecting the entirety of two cult series: supernatural adventurer Cursitor Doom by Ken Mennell and Eric Bradbury from Smash!, and the Phantom Patrol from Swift, the tale of daring timelost aviators who get involved in sci-fi adventures by Willie Patterson (writer of the ‘Jeff Hawke’ newspaper strip) and Gerry Embleton (as accomplished an artist as his more famous brother Ron). These handsome volumes were only available for a very limited period before, owing to copyright complications the details of which remain unknown, they were abruptly and completely withdrawn from circulation. Each is a handsome large-format paperback, akin to the more recent Rebellion compilations, in black and white with lovely crisp reproduction and a brand new full-colour cover (Cursitor Doom by John Ridgeway, Phantom Patrol by Chris Weston). They’re very lovely collections, and it’s a real shame that you’ll almost never get to see them. Both are NM; Cursitor Doom is £50 and the Phantom Patrol £100. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: First Quenchers Plus: Score ‘n’ Roar – Football Frolics from 1970
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Following the success of 1969’s Whizzer & Chips launch, the USP of ‘two comics in one!’ with an inbuilt rivalry proved so popular that publishers IPC/Fleetway went back to the well with Score ‘n’ Roar, two football comics in one – neither of which had existed previously as an independent entity. The rivalry aspect was provided by brothers, ‘Jack of United’ and ‘Jimmy of City’, who played for opposing teams – and in rival halves of the comic! Other strips included young prodigy goalie ‘Peter the Cat’, supernatural striker ‘Phantom of the Forest’ and obligatory comedy team of ne’er-do-wells, ‘The Mudlarks’. We have acquired the first four issues of this popular but less frequently seen series back in stock, all in Fine condition. Issue #1 is £45; #2 & #3 are £20 each. For the rest of our Score ‘n’ Roar stock, please see our online catalogue. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: Long Hot Summer: Lady Penelope Summer Extra 1966
*TV & Film Related Comics: Following her debut in TV Century 21 (where she acted as a ‘stealth pilot’ for International Rescue and the Thunderbirds TV series) Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward gained her own series in short order. Starting out in 1966, apart from Lady P herself, the early issues featured Marina, Space Family Robinson, the Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched and the Perils of Parker, all making an appearance in Her Ladyship’s one and only special edition, the 1966 Summer Extra. Possibly the rarest issue of the rarest Gerry Anderson-related series, this copy of the Summer Extra is only Fair; there is considerable spine and corner wear, especially at the lower left corner, and there is a small hole in the cover (just beneath the ‘x’ in ‘Extra’ on the logo) but the stories are complete and unimpaired. FA £75.
Clearance Corner: Pecos Bill – 17 issues for £10
*Clearance Corner: This week’s bargain lot comprises 17 issues (inc. #1) of the British (faux American) comic from the 1950s featuring Pecos Bill, ‘the legendary hero of Texas’. Despite the character being from American folklore, this series originated in Italy and was reprinted for the British market by L Miller. (NB one of these issues is from the Westworld 1970s series). We’re offering this lot for the ridiculous price of just £10. Grades range from FA to FN. (UK postage, if required, would be an extra £3.50).
Housekeeping Update
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 files in our American section:
*DC/Marvel
*Horror 1940-1959
and in our British section:
*Girls’ Comics
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
American Update: Hawkman #1 (1964)
*DC: In the wake of the successful Silver Age revivals of Flash and Green Lantern, DC decided to try one of their most popular Golden Age characters, Hawkman, recast in a ‘Space-Age’ mode. This version was Katar Hol, police officer sent from Thanagar to study Earth law-enforcement customs, and his helpmate Hawkgirl was no silly debutante as in the original, but both his colleague in policing and his wife. A husband-and-wife superhero team was virtually unheard-of at that time, and Gardner Fox’s scripting presented the Hawks as a true partnership of equals, with derring-do all over Earth and on other worlds. After two successful runs in Brave & Bold, and a short series in Mystery In Space, Hawkman was awarded his own series, superbly illustrated by Murphy Anderson, and we have the first issue of that ongoing back in stock. This is a cents copy, with no UK price marking, sound and attractive, with good colour, decent interiors and an unmarred cover image, but the cover is detached from the bottom staple, and there is a small lower spine split. GD/VG at £60. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: The Phantom Stranger! New issues added to DC’s Mysterious Guardian
*DC: The Phantom Stranger was a short-lived 1950s concept re-introduced by Bob Kanigher in Showcase #80, and promptly spun off into his own series in the wake of DC’s successful revamp of their long-running thriller titles, House of Secrets and House of Mystery. An enigmatic wanderer with unspecified supernatural abilities, he fought otherworldly incursions into the terrestrial realm. His primary writer was Len Wein, and Jim Aparo produced daring and imaginative artwork, which, combined with stunning Neal Adams covers on the early issues, gave the series the distinct impression of being set on the mystical borders of the DC Universe, a far cry from the sanitised world of the Justice League. We have a selection of issues from #10 to #24 newly in stock, and if you haven’t tried the Stranger yet, we can recommend you pick up this under-estimated series – before someone goes and makes a TV show of it, and the prices skyrocket!
American Update: Sea Devils – Aquatic Adventure from #8 to #29
*DC: The crusading aquanauts, the Sea Devils, created by Bob Kanigher and Russ Heath, were one of DC’s more ‘out there’ properties – clearly inspired by the TV show Sea Hunt, then still in syndication, the exploits of four diverse divers – a brain, a brawn, a babe, and a brat – seems like an unlikely hit, but the series embraced the phantasmagorical, with hidden undersea realms, fantastic creatures and mythical figures stalking a surprisingly busy and congested ocean. We have new copies of issues between #8 and #29 of the first series, all previously unrepresented in our inventory, and all in mid to high grades, the lowest being a VG+ and the highest a sparkling VF+. Dive! Dive! Dive!
American Update: A Surfeit of Surfers! Original 1968 series extensively restocked
*Marvel: Following his debut in Fantastic Four, Norrin Radd, Herald of Galactus, gained popularity as a recurring guest-star, and his status was confirmed when Marvel launched the Silver Surfer’s own series in 1968. The first seven issues of his ongoing were double-sized Giants, with John Buscema’s illustrations on the Surfer, a body of work generally acknowledged to be among his finest, and, in the back, all-new Tales of the Watcher, by various artists. (The first issue, in fact, gave the never-before revealed reasons for the Watcher’s oath of non-interference.) The first run of the Surfer’s solo series has achieved cult status, with the first seven double-sized issues in particular being keenly sought out. We are delighted to have almost the complete series (1-17 of 18) back in stock. The covers of the first four (with duplicates of #1 and #3 available) are shown here: #1 VG £135, #1 GD £115 (Spine split from lower staple down), 2 VF+ p £100 (First Badoon), 3 FN/VF p £180 (1st Mephisto), 3 VG- p £75 (small lower spine split; still first Mephisto) and 4 (FN+ p £275 (Thor/Silver Surfer crossover; extremely low distribution, rare issue).