*DC: Another gem from the Midas Collection this week, a CGC encapsulated copy of Superman #23 featuring a classic war periscope Nazi cover, with a striking image of Superman swimming in pursuit of a Nazi sub with a stricken sinking ship in the background, all seen through the lens of the sub in question. Cover by Jack Burnley. Stories by Don C Cameron and Jerry Siegel, art by various, all signed as by Joe Shuster. Stories feature Superman visiting an army training camp and being so impressed that he decides that he is not needed to fight this war, and that ‘our boys can handle the job alone’. Plus murder at a college, a fashion scandal and a drugs in sport story. CGC Universal blue label (unrestored), white pages, case perfect. CGC serial number: 2069234002. Prospective buyers should note the cover creasing (see image) and the CGC grader’s notes which state: ‘large, multiple crease full center of front cover breaks color’. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN #23 CGC 4.0 (VG) £1,500
Category Archives: What’s New
American Comics Update: Wonder Woman #204 – Key issue with the return of costume and powers
*DC: For almost six years, from 1968 to 1973, Diana Prince lost her powers, gave up her costume and became the ‘New’ Wonder Woman. In the seminal issue #204, that all changed. Her mentor during her powerless years, I Ching, was killed, and she got her powers and costume back, and there was also the challenge of Nubia in her debut. Our copy of this landmark issue is a very nice grade, with high gloss and vivid colours. Flat and tight with firm staples and white to off-white pages. Just very minor wear at bottom edge and a small amount of handling wear towards the top of the spine. A beautiful example.
PICTURED: WONDER WOMAN #204 VF £170
American Comics Update: Batmania: Batman #58 (1950) with classic Penguin cover and story; ‘Returned’ copy
*DC: NOW AT A REDUCED PRICE! Batman #58 features a Penguin cover and lead story, classic ‘State-Bird Crimes’. ‘Returned’ copy, where the logo was cut off an unsold copy and returned by the newsvendor for credit. The rest of the cover has bright colours and a solid image, but the covers are detached from the comic. Small split at base of spine. Staples tight at centrefold. Page quality quite decent although top of splash page is a little mottled where it has been exposed. Benefits from logo on splash page being in a similar position to the missing cover logo. All pages complete and present.
PICTURED: BATMAN #58 INCOMPLETE £75
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania: Amazing #12 – ‘Unmasked By Dr Octopus!’
*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 superior cents copy, with bright, reflective colours and virtually unmarked. There is just a suggestion of wear at the corners and a couple of miniscule stress marks at the spine, but the copy is tight and flat with good staples and white to off-white pages. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12 FN/VF £700
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Pop Art Journey Into Mystery with Thor
*Marvel: From the Good Doctor this week: Thor was really getting into the whole pomp and grandeur thing of Asgard and the Norse myths by the time we got the stage just before the title change from Journey Into Mystery to Thor. All the trappings in these issues, plus the Absorbing Man to boot. Nowhere was this apparent more so than in the splendid Tales Of Asgard back-ups; #119 featured the debuts of the Warriors Three, Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg in that issue’s back-up. Generally nice copies on offer here.
IN THIS UPDATE: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY WITH THOR
#119 VG+ p £40 (PICTURED) A Marvel Pop Art Production. 1st Warriors Three. Decent pence printed copy with some edge wear/minor creasing. Good staples and nice pages.
#121 VF+ £125 (PICTURED) A Marvel Pop Art Production. Superb copy, tight and flat, reflective cover, square corners, great staples and near white pages.
#122 GD- p £10 A Marvel Pop Art Production. Large water stain on back cover.
#123 VF £80 (PICTURED) Great copy with very minimal edge and corner wear. Reflective cover, great staples and near white pages.
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Silver/Bronze Marvel Grab Bag
*Marvel: Six more excerpts from the Silver/Bronze Ages of Marvel this week, as detailed below:
IN THIS UPDATE:
AMAZING ADVENTURES #16 VG- p £11.75 Beast vs Juggernaut
CAPTAIN MARVEL #2 GD/VG p £9 vs the Super-Skrull
MARVEL PREMIERE #55 VF p £10 1st Wonder Man solo
MARVEL TALES #5 GD p £4 Giant; reprints early stories of Spider-Man, Thor, Giant-Man, Human Torch
TALES OF SUSPENSE #82 GD- £5 Iron Man vs Titanium Man, Cap vs Adaptoid
TALES TO ASTONISH #79 GD/VG p £8 Sub-Mariner vs Behemoth, Hulk vs Hercules
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Pre-Code Horror Fest: 2 x Atlas Astonishing
*Horror 1940-1959: From the Bute Collection this week, two pre-code issues of Astonishing from Atlas, whose material in this genre was always of a consistently high standard of story and art.
PICTURED: ASTONISHING
#27 GD+ £49 Cover by Maneely, interior art by Andru, Roussos, Tuska, Fujitani and others. Some cover wrinkles, short upper spine split, moderate edge and spine wear. Good staples, nice pages.
#29 VG+ £150 Classic decapitation cover. Cover by Everett, interior art by Heath, Colan, Fujitani, Benulis, Sinnott. Glossy cover with some creasing (mostly not breaking colour), tiny crease across bottom right cover, otherwise minimal wear. Good staples, nice pages.
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection: Early issues of Girls’ Romances
*Romance: Also from the Midas Collection this week, we feature three issues of Girls’ Romances, one of DC’s longest running romance titles, which started in 1950. Although mostly drawn by unknown artists, DC’s romance comics from this period featured a good standard of appealing art, and often very well composed and executed covers. Seldom seen, particularly over here in the UK, the Midas Collection is quite rich in this genre, with many more to follow.
PICTURED: GIRLS’ ROMANCES
#15 VG/FN £40
#18 FA/GD £13 Long spine split
#19 VG- £29
British Comics Update: Complete Set of Fantasy Stories #1-6
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Around 1966/67, John Spencer published four series of limited lifespan, containing black and white stories of the supernatural under colour covers, several stories each issue. All material was original, with Mick Anglo at the artistic helm; some covers were repurposed from Badger Books, by the same publisher. Here is a complete set of one of those series, Fantasy Stories #1-6. Hey, we know it was scary ‘cos they used the words ‘unknown’, ‘supernatural’, ‘weird’ and ‘eerie’ on the covers just in case you were in any doubt. These turn up occasionally, but are not common.
PICTURED: SPECTRE STORIES Complete Set #1-6 £70
#1 GD
#2 GD/VG
#3 VG/FN
#4 VG
#5 VG
#6 VG
British Comics Update: New Hotspur 1959
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: We have just four vintage Hotspurs left now in stock, all from 1959, where the former boys’ story paper was re-launched at #1 and re-branded as the ‘New Hotspur’ and featured mainly adventure and humour picture strips (with cover star Hotspur Harry), although text stories were still featured (such as The Boyhood Of Desperate Dan). All four early issues, now with lower prices, as follows:
IN THIS UPDATE:
NEW HOTSPUR 1959
#2 GD/VG £20 (PICTURED)
#3 VG £20 (PICTURED)
#5 FA £5
#10 FN £15 Christmas issue
SPECIAL OFFER! BUY ALL FOUR ISSUES FOR JUST £50!
Books Update: The Valley Of The Worm by Robert E Howard
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: In the 1970s, Panther published three volumes of the Skull-Face Omnibus, titled after the Atlantean necromancer, although the stories constituted a collection of Howard’s dark fantasy/horror. We have a very nice copy of The Valley Of The Worm, the second volume in this series.
PICTURED: ROBERT E HOWARD: THE VALLEY OF THE WORM Panther 1976 1st UK PB VG/FN £15
Books Update: Six Of The Best: Sexton Blake Library
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: This week, we return to the famous and long-running Sexton Blake Library. Often dubbed ‘the poor man Sherlock Holmes’, there’s still no doubting the popularity of Sexton Blake, who has probably had far more fiction written of him than the world’s greatest detective. Six issues new in this week from the 1950s. These are picture library sized, but mainly text. The series ran from 1915 to 1968, These issues follow the 1956 revamp by W Howard Baker when the covers took on a more gangster/sleazy mode and were drawn by notable artists such as Reginald Heade (#315 here) and David Wright. Written by a ‘harem’ of notable writers including Wilfred McNeilly, W Howard Baker, Michael Moorcock (one of many moonlighting as house name Desmond Reid), Peter Saxon and Jack Trevor Story, the longevity of the series is testament to the quality of the plotting and writing.
PICTURED: SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY: ALL AMALGAMATED 1950s
#315: THE RIDDLE OF THE INVISIBLE MENACE by REX HARDINGE GD £8 Heade cover
#365: NIGHT BEAT by ARTHUR MACLEAN GD/VG £6
#366: REQUIEM FOR REDHEADS by W HOWARD BAKER VG £7
#367: ASSIGNMENT IN BEIRUT by JAMES STAGG VG £7
#368: DARK FRONTIER by ARTHUR MACLEAN VG £7
#369: WOMAN OF SAIGON by PETER SAXON GD £5
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection/Batmania: Batman #4 (1941)
*DC: Another single digit Batman, pure gold, from the Midas Collection this week. Batman #4 from 1941 features a Joker story (his 4th appearance, plus the 1st appearance of his hide-out the Ha-Hacienda) The Case Of The Joker’s Crime Circus, wherein the Joker organizes a crime circus that performs at the homes of wealthy patrons to size up the joint, then later robs them. In Blackbeard’s Crew and the Yacht Society, Batman & Robin encounter the immortal Blackbeard the pirate. In Public Enemy No 1, Batman must contend with a young bully who claws his way up through the ranks until he becomes the overlord of crime. Finally, Batman goes undercover as a star football player to uncover an illegal gambling ring in Touchdown for Justice. Stories by Bill Finger, art and cover by Bob Kane. This issue features the first mention of Gotham City in a Batman comic and has a wonderful splash page featuring panels from various stories including the Joker and Clayface.
This is a solid copy with spine roll. Vivid red cover background. Staples are tight and firm at the spine with the top staple off at the centrefold. A name (previous owner?) is written fairly faintly on the moon on the cover. The spine is reasonably intact except for a tear of about 3.5 cm at the top. Moderate edge wear with several short tears (without loss) at the right edge. Short nick in bottom edge and colour-breaking creases across bottom right corner and more faintly below 10c symbol and a few short ones elsewhere. The pages are very good, near white in places to off-white. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: BATMAN #4 GD £1,750 SOLD
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Leading Comics #3 & #4 (1942) with the Seven Soldiers Of Victory
*DC: The Seven Soldiers of Victory were DC’s second super-hero team after the Justice Society of America, and like their more famous predecessors, were drawn from characters in DC’s anthology titles. The Seven were: Green Arrow and Speedy, the Vigilante, the Shining Knight, the Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy and the Crimson Avenger (although the latter’s sidekick, Wing, was involved in their adventures, he was for some reason never regarded as a member of the team). Apart from the Shining Knight, none of them had any super-powers. They appeared in Leading Comics #1-14, created by Mort Weisinger and Mort Meskin. Like the JSA, their stories featured separate chapters for each hero (or pair) and they all teamed up for the conclusion. Two rare issues from the Bute Collection this week. I must say these seem remarkable value considering their pedigree.
PICTURED: LEADING COMICS BOTH SOLD
#3 GD £100 A self-proclaimed great scientist, (Dr. Doome!) by use of a time machine, brings five of the greatest conquerors of all time to the present and engages them to seek out the five rarest metals on Earth, all to help him build a machine that will open the gate to the future. The Soldiers come up against Alexander the Great, Nero, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun & Napoleon. Spine worn but intact. Reinforcing tape along lower half of right front cover inner. Edge wear with significant corner blunting. Spine roll with staples firm at spine; centrefold off lower staple. A couple of minor cover creases. Pages a nice off-white with very slight tanning to some edges.
#4 PR/FA £55 Five criminals, kidnapped by a robot, have their senses heightened by a certain extract created by a Dr. Brett, in order to be used by a paralyzed man known as the 6th Sense, who plans to use them to steal five jewels. Spine worn and taped. Edge wear with nicks and severe corner blunting. Small vertical tear at top margin (only) throughout comic. Staples are in place but spine is mostly brittle with most pages loose, but all complete.
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection: Single issues from four titles
*DC: Scattered throughout the Midas Collection are some titles represented by just one or two issues. Here are four such examples from the 1950s:
PICTURED:
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #78 GD £13 Jack Kirby cover SOLD
JIMMY OLSEN #40 GD- £11
MR DISTRICT ATTORNEY #57 VG £22.75
MYSTERY IN SPACE #47 VG £30 inc. the final Space Cabby story
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Daredevil #1 1964
*Marvel: From the Bute Collection, it’s always a special moment here at 30th Century when we unveil the first appearance of a major Marvel character. After the successes of the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, Stan Lee enlisted his old colleague, Bill Everett, to co-create this acrobatic avenger of the streets. Sporting a yellow and red costume intended to evoke the jester-style livery of the 1940s Daredevil, young Matt Murdock lost his sight but gained phenomenal sensory powers to compensate, using them and his athletic skills to avenge the murder of his father… and the rest was history. This is an attractive mid-grade copy of this major key issue, pence printed. The cover is clean and virtually unmarked with strong colour. Minor edge wear and corner blunting, with a tiny upper spine split and nick of less than 1 cm. There is also minor handling wear on the cover, but nothing significant. Staples are tight and firm and supple pages are white to off-white. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL #1 VG+ p £2,300 SOLD
American Comics Update: Tales Of Suspense #63-65
*Marvel: With the arrival of Captain America joining Iron Man in Tales Of Suspense, the title was really firing on all cylinders, and it seemed like you got twice the bang for your buck. In #63, Iron Man takes on the Phantom, while the Captain America story retells Cap’s origin in WWII. Issue #64 features Iron Man pitted against Hawkeye and the New Black Widow, with Natasha in costume for the first time, plus Cap & Bucky in a dramatic WWII adventure. In #65, Iron Man has to battle a thief who stole his armour and dons his original armour to do it, while back in 1941, the Red Skull makes his first Silver Age appearance.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE ALL SOLD
#63 VG/FN £65 Great cover with good colour and some gloss. Minor edge wear and corner blunting; tight and flat with firm staples and supple off-white pages.
#64 FN+ £75 Nice, bright unmarked cover. ‘The MMMS Wants You!’ Minimal edge wear, no creasing. Tight and flat with firm staples and supple off-white pages.
#65 VG+ £70 Great colours. Some wear along top edge, but minimal elsewhere. ‘The MMMS Wants You!’ Firm staples and supple off-white pages.
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection/Spider-Mania: 8 issues of Amazing between #170-186
*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week, 8 issues of Amazing Spider-Man between the numbers shown above. Doctor Faustus, Nova, the Punisher, the Hitman, The Green Goblin, Flash Thompson, Mary Jane, Aunt May, the Chameleon & tons more.
IN THIS UPDATE:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#170 VF £15.50
#171 FN- £10
#175 VF+ £30
#176 FN/VF £12
#177 VF- £18
#178 VF+ £18
#185 VF £14.75
#186 VF+ £16
American Comics Update: Take Five: A Dell Movie Classic Grab Bag
*Dell: Fantasy, monsters, adventure & horror await you in this selection of Movie Classics from Dell.
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
JACK THE GIANT KILLER 12-374-301 FN £16.25
THE LOST WORLD 1145 GD £10 Loose centrefold
THE NAKED PREY 12-545-612 VG £7.75
TWO ON A GUILLOTINE 12-850-506 FN+ £9.25
THE VALLEY OF GWANGI 01-880-912 GD+ £12
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: A Mixed Bag from the IW/Super Extravaganza
*IW/Super: We continue with our series of updates from that most esoteric publisher IW/Super. IW Publications was a short-lived comic book publisher in the late 1950s and early 1960s, named for the company’s owner Israel Waldman. Comics were published under both the IW and Super imprints and were notable for publishing unauthorised Golden Age reprints of other company’s properties. Usually these companies were out of business, but not always. Basically, it seemed to be whatever they could get their hands on that determined the esoteric nature of their output. Thus you get super-heroes, war, romance, western, funny animals, crime, horror, science fiction and just about every genre within their pages. Full details of what was reprinted in what are listed in our website catalogue. NB usually with newly-drawn covers. Over the next few months, we’ll be presenting a series of issues from this publisher. A mixed bag this week, with adventure, war, horror, science fiction and the Spirit. In all cases, these are the only issues published by IW in these series (we told you their numbering was esoteric!).
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
DYNAMIC ADVENTURES #8 VG+ £5.75 Reprints Fight Comics #53 (Fiction House 1947). New cover by Sol Brodsky.
DYNAMIC ADVENTURES #9 GD p £2.75 Reprints Escape From Devil’s Island #1 (Avon 1952) Re-touched original cover by Everett Kintsler.
PURPLE CLAW #8 GD £3.50 Reprints Purple Claw #1 (Toby 1953) with cover from #1 by Bob Brown
THE SPIRIT #11 VG/FN £10 Reprints The Spirit #19 (Quality Comics 1950) which included reprints from various Spirit sections. New cover by Joe Simon.
THE SPIRIT #12 VG/FN £10 Reprints The Spirit #17 (Quality Comics 1950) which included reprints from various Spirit sections. New cover by Joe Simon.
STRANGE WORLDS #5 GD- £20 (PICTURED) Reprints Strange Worlds #9 (Avon 1952) New cover by Carl Burgos.
British Comics Update: Long Hot Summer: The 1st Victor Summer Special 1967
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Continuing our latest series of British Summer and Holiday specials. Although more famous as probably the most acclaimed (and certainly longest-running) British War Comic, the Victor certainly had other genre representation over the many years of its run, notably Morgyn the Mighty and The Tough Of The Track. Both these celebrated strips are included in the 1st Victor Summer Special from 1967, alongside many war strips and others, as well as the sort of puzzle and feature pages for which this phenomenon of British comics’ publishing was famed. Tabloid-sized and unusually only 32 pages, this inaugural special with its distinctive dinosaur cover is genuinely scarce and can command significant prices in the marketplace. This example is in reasonable condition, with some creasing, but not the horizontal fold across the middle you so often get in comics of this size. There is a very small chip out at bottom edge near spine and a small lower spine split of less than 2 cm. There is an incipient central cover tear which has not yet truly manifested and a tear on the back cover at upper staple without loss. Bright cover with colour and black and white interiors. We haven’t had this through our hands very often.
PICTURED: VICTOR SUMMER SPECIAL 1967 VG £80 (1st)
British Comics Update: Eagle Overhaul: Volume 13 (1962)
*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 13 is now processed and re-listed, continuing from earlier volumes previously done. Please refer to our catalogue for details. We have no stock from Volumes 14 and 15 at present, so Volumes from 16 upwards will be dealt with over the coming weeks, but for now they remain at half the old prices in our half-price sale.
Books Update: 7 Vintage Saints by Leslie Charteris
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: This week, the Saint by Leslie Charteris. Immortalised by Roger Moore on TV in the 1960s, Simon Templar is a smooth international adventurer/detective, getting involved in cases all over the world, particularly so in these volumes where the Saint is a real globetrotter. Published by Hodder, these vintage books from the early 1960s consist of long and short stories and novels. More information, including condition notes, may be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED: THE SAINT by LESLIE CHARTERIS ALL SOLD
THE SAINT AROUND THE WORLD Hodder 1961 UK PB GD/VG £3
THE SAINT BIDS DIAMONDS Hodder 1960 UK PB GD £3
THE SAINT CLOSES THE CASE Hodder 1963 UK PB 2nd thus GD/VG £3
THE SAINT IN MIAMI Hodder 1961 UK PB VG £4
THE SAINT ON THE SPANISH MAIN Hodder 1960 UK PB GD £3
THE SAINT TO THE RESCUE Hodder 1963 UK PB GD/VG £3
TRUST THE SAINT Hodder 1964 UK PB GD/VG £3
Taking A Break
We’re taking a short break next week, after filling orders received up to 4 pm today (3rd May) and posting them next Wednesday (7th May). There will not be a Newsletter nor stock updates next Saturday, but they will be back on 17th May. After this coming Sunday 4th May, we’ll next be filling orders on 18th May. You may of course continue to place orders at any time; we will acknowledge them and reserve items for you wherever possible.
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection/Batmania: Detective Comics #42 1940
*DC: From the Bute Collection this week, an early Detective Comic, #42 from 1940. Headlining Batman, of course, with one of Robin’s earlier appearances, this issue also features Spy, Red Logan, Crimson Avenger, Speed Saunders, Steve Malone, Cliff Crosby and Slam Bradley. A wonderful Batman cover by Bob Kane is followed by the Batman lead (The Case Of The Prophetic Pictures), written by Bill Finger, with art by Kane and Jerry Robinson. A business man heavily in debt buys up pictures of an artist at cheap prices, then tries to increase their value by murdering those pictured in the portraits. This lower graded copy has a taped spine, and the covers are off at both staples. There is a small nick out at base of spine and a small fingernail size chunk out at bottom right cover edge (see scan). Otherwise, apart from small nicks and minor wear, the cover is remarkably intact with great colours. Staples hold the body of the comic together very well. The creamy-coloured pages are nice and supple. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: DETECTIVE COMICS #42 FA/GD £650 SOLD
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection: Take Five: Superman #129-133
*DC: Five consecutive issues of Superman from 1959, #129-133, which is as high as the Midas Collection goes in date/issue number. By this time, the classic Silver Age lore of the Superman Family was really kicking in. Decent low grade copies all.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN
#129 GD- £35 1st Lori Lemaris; centrefold loose.
#130 GD £47 2nd Krypto app with Superman
#131 GD £34
#132 GD £34
#133 GD £34
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: A DC Silver/Bronze Grab Bag
*DC: Six issues spanning the DC Silver/Bronze Ages as follows:
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
ADVENTURE COMICS #411 GD p £2.50 Supergirl, LSH
ATOM #10 GD p £7.75
BRAVE & BOLD #83 GD- p £5 Batman & Teen Titans; Neal Adams art
PLASTIC MAN #4 GD p £4
STRANGE ADVENTURES #155 GD- p £6.50
SUPERMAN #174 GD/VG p £13.25
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of the Vision 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! This nice glossy copy is a little above mid-grade, pence stamped, tight and flat with good staples and flexible off-white to white pages. There is a small vertical reading crease along the middle of the spine, just breaking colour and a short crease diagonal from the top edge down to the logo of about 2+ cm; if there is a colour break from that, it’s invisible in most lights. Presents very well.
PICTURED: AVENGERS #57 FN- p £180 SOLD
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Mad Thinker, Awesome Android and Rama-Tut in Fantastic Four plus… Dr Doom
*Marvel: Three early and significant issues of the Fantastic Four from the Good Doctor Collection this week. #15 features the debut of the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android, #17 has another dastardly plan by Dr Doom and #19 sees the debut of Rama-Tut, and expands on the whole Kang dynasty saga.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR
#15 VG £180 Strong cover colours on this one, but a long subscription crease faintly breaks colour, and there is other spine, cover and corner creasing which breaks colour to slight and varying extents. Very short spine split at top. Tight, firm staples and supple off-white pages.
#17 FN p £195 Pence printed. Great cover colour and some residual gloss. Solid copy with only minimal edge wear. Nice white to off-white pages. Tight, firm staples.
#19 GD- p £75 Pence printed. Unmarked cover scene with good colours. Off top staple, with spine split and torn with small loss at back cover. Edge wear, with small nicks and creases; a little frail. SOLD
American Comics Update: Venom: Lethal Protector: Complete Set #1-6
*Marvel: This 1993 six-parter by Michelinie, Bagley and Lim was Venom’s first solo series, and saw the start of his transition from outright villain to reluctant anti-hero – though predictably, there were many mis-steps along the way! Establishing an uneasy truce with Spidey, Venom relocates to San Francisco, but his past deeds follow him, when the father of one of his victims enlists super-powered mercenaries to take revenge, plus he’s faced with five further symbiotes – Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony – in a highly dysfunctional family gathering! All six issues now available as a set, all in sparkling NM condition, including the foil enhanced cover to #1.
PICTURED: VENOM: LETHAL PROTECTOR #1; Set #1-6 All NM £80
American Comics Update: Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye and Family Values
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: Frank Miller’s Sin City burst on to the comics scene in 1991, firmly establishing the neo-noir mood he had built on in his earlier classic run on Daredevil and the seminal Dark Knight Returns. The series was chock-full of the dark, seedy characters that inhabit the city and the locations that form it. The film noir influence on the series’ artwork is seen in its use of shadow and stark backgrounds. Black and white are the sole colours most of the time, with other colour used sparingly to highlight certain characters. The writing style also draws heavily on detective and crime pulp fiction. The original Sin City series (later entitled The Hard Goodbye) originally appeared in serial form in Dark Horse Presents, but was never printed in its own comic title. Here it is represented in graphic novel form – the story of Marv, the main protagonist of Sin City, a hulking brute of a villain. Likewise, Family Values was only presented in graphic novel form, and continues the story of Dwight, Miller’s other main protagonist and the girls of Old Town. For our last visit to Sin City, we present both these stories in graphic novel form.
PICTURED:
SIN CITY (later THE HARD GOODBYE) All 13 episodes in graphic novel form VF/NM
SIN CITY: FAMILY VALUES Original graphic novel NM
As one package £30 SOLD
American Comics Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Beware #11 (Youthful 1952)
*Horror 1940-1959: Beware Pre-Code Buyers Beware! There are actually two series bearing this title. From 1952, the first series only consisted of 3 issues (#10-12) published by Youthful in 1952 (previously Fantastic, subsequently Chilling Tales). The second series, published by Trojan/Merit in 1953 lasted for 14 issues, and continued the numbering from the first, before renumbering at #5 after the first four issues. Thus there are two Beware #11s. This is the first from 1952 published by Youthful and features a gruesomely lurid cover with rats by Ed Goldfarb; his and other artwork inside including Harry Harrison. Suitable horrific content. A solid copy with vibrant cover where the colours pop. Tight firm staples and white to off-white pages. Small amount off margin on one page, not affecting story. Slight mis-cut does not appear to impact on the issue. Corner blunting but only minimal amounts of edge and corner wear on this good-looking copy.
PICTURED: BEWARE #11 VG £225
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection: Early issues of Girls’ Love Stories
*Romance: Also from the Midas Collection this week, we feature five early issues of Girls’ Love Stories, one of DC’s longest running romance titles, which started in 1949 and finished in 1973. Although mostly drawn by unknown artists, DC’s romance comics from this period featured a good standard of appealing art, and often very well composed and executed covers. All worn but in solid, decent mid-grade condition without significant defects. Seldom seen, particularly over here in the UK, the Midas Collection is quite rich in this genre, with many more to follow.
PICTURED: GIRLS’ LOVE STORIES ALL SOLD
#19 VG £36
#20 VG- £31
#21 VG+ £27
#22 VG £25
#24 VG £25
British Comics Update: Eagle Overhaul: Volume 11/12 (1960/61)
*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. Volumes 11 and 12 are now processed and re-listed, continuing from earlier volumes previously done. Please refer to our catalogue for details. Volumes from 13 upwards will be dealt with over the coming weeks, but for now they remain at half the old prices in our half-price sale.
British Comics Update: Long Hot Summer: Tammy Holiday and Summer Specials
*Girls’ Comics: It’s a timely return for one of our most popular features of yore. Long Hot Summer spotlights that wonderful holiday institution of British comics: the holiday or summer special. We commence with the first three specials of Tammy from 1971-73. The 1971 is entitled Tammy & Sally, the 1973 Tammy & Sandie, as Tammy absorbed some of her siblings. Chock full of stories of favourite characters from the titles represented, plus puzzles, quizzes, features, pin-ups, and indeed everything essential to entertain the kiddies while they were off school in bumper reading packages.
PICTURED: TAMMY SPECIALS ALL SOLD
1971 TAMMY & SALLY HOLIDAY SPECIAL (1st) VG £40 Minor creasing and wear
1972 TAMMY SUMMER SPECIAL FA/GD £25 Cover off bottom staple and loose at top staple; small back cover tear with slight loss to final story, but nothing significant.
1973 TAMMY & SANDIE SUMMER SPECIAL FA/GD £25 Cover almost off at staples, with small upper spine split; small amount of back cover wear.
Books Update: Re-Working our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category: Keith Laumer Part 1
*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 the works of Keith Laumer who was a prolific American writer active in the second half of the 20th Century. Before taking up writing, he had careers in the US Air Force and the US Foreign Service, the latter inspiring perhaps his most famous works, the Retief series, which deals with the adventures of a cynical spacefaring 27th Century diplomat who constantly has to overcome the red-tape-infused failures of people with names like Ambassador Grossblunder. In the first part of our re-listing, we have several Retief books, as well as other novels and short stories. Part 2 of our Laumer re-working will follow soon.
PICTURED: ALL BY KEITH LAUMER
GALACTIC DIPLOMAT Berkley Medallion 1966 1st US PB VG £10. Retief short stories
THE MONITORS Mayflower 1971 1st UK PB VG/FN £4
NINE BY LAUMER Sphere 1970 1st UK PB VG/FN £5 Short stories
ODYSSEY Baen 2002 1st US PB GD/VG £5
RETIEF AND THE WARLORDS Pocket 1978 US PB VG £4
RETIEF: EMISSARY TO THE STARS Pocket 1979 US PB VG £4 Short stories
RETIEF OF THE CDT Pocket 1978 1st US PB thus GD/VG £4 Short stories
Books Update: Three Peter Cheyney 1950s Hardcovers with Attractive Covers
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We return to the thrillers of English author Peter Cheyney, who flourished between 1936 and 1951. Three hardcovers are just in, all in inexpensive editions, but all featuring very attractive dust jacket covers, one (Ladies Won’t Wait) by the stylish David Wright. All from Cheyney’s Dark series, thriller espionage fiction which foreshadowed the 1960s cold war spy fiction which was to follow. All towards the end of his career. More details, including condition notes, may be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED: ALL BY PETER CHEYNEY
DARK INTERLUDE Collins 1955 UK HC VG £10 With DJ (VG)
LADIES WON’T WAIT Book Club 1951 UK HC VG £5 With DJ (GD/VG)
YOU CAN CALL IT A DAY Collins 1951 2nd UK HC VG £6 With DJ (GD)
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection/Batmania: A Two-Face Triple Bill
*DC: Three early Two-Face appearances lead off our Midas Collection releases for this week, one of the classic foes from Batman’s Rogues Gallery.
PICTURED: BATMAN
#50 PR £90 In the cover story (cover by Bob Kane), after Harvey Dent begins having nightmares of being Two-Face again, Two-Face returns to start a new crime spree. Once Batman and Robin capture him, they learn that it is Harvey’s butler Wilkins, who had masqueraded as Two-Face so that Harvey would be blamed for his crimes. Story by Bill Finger. There’s also a Vicki Vale story and a third story where Batman is training a young boy to be his new partner. All art is by Bob Kane (Batman & Robin figures only) and Lew Sayre Schwartz. This is a Poor copy with the front cover detached with many chips out and a long tear across top right corner. Extra staples have been added to the spine at the interiors. Pages are a reasonable creamy colour, tanning slightly at edges. SOLD
#68 GD/VG £400 In the cover story (cover by Win Mortimer) featuring Harvey Dent, a second Two-Face emerges, following an incident where an actor is playing the role of Harvey Dent for TV. Story by Bill Finger; art by Bob Kane and Lew Sayre Schwartz. Also features a story where crooks steal from atom bomb proof caves; art by Dick Sprang. Plus a story centring on Alfred. A reasonable copy with solid structure, some minor chipping to right edge. Historic water stain around lower staple, unobtrusive on cover, more visible on splash margin. Nice pages and staples.
#81 GD- £260 In the cover story (cover by Win Mortimer), Harvey Dent returns as the real Two-Face after he is caught in an explosion. He sets up the death trap for the Dynamic Duo as shown on the cover. Story by David Vern, art by Dick Sprang. In the second story, Robin reveals his secret identity at school. In the third story (written by Bill Woolfolk, art by Dick Sprang), the Caped Crusaders and Vicki Vale encounter the Phantom Bandit of Gotham City. This copy has a long crease down the centre, slightly diagonal and only very faintly breaking colour. 3 cm upper spine split, corner blunting and moderate edge wear. Cover off upper staple, but staples otherwise okay. Flexible cream-coloured pages.
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection: Their Name Is Legion: 2nd appearance of the LSH in Adventure #267
*DC: From the Midas Collection, Adventure Comics #267 from 1959. Twenty issues after their first appearance in Adventure #247, the Legion returned in ‘Prisoner Of The Super-Heroes!’ At this stage, Lightning Boy had become Lightning Lad in the costume he became famous for, and Saturn Girl had adopted her familiar red outfit (although I note she was a mousey-haired individual inside, whereas she was her proper blonde colour on the cover.) She was however, firing bolts from her eyes that shattered rock. Cosmic Boy’s outfit was more purple than the ‘pale scarlet’ it would evolve into. The story seems like one of those that was dreamed up to fit the cover scene which I assume came first. Superbly crafted stories of Aquaman and Green Arrow as back-ups. This is a very decent pence-stamped copy without any significant defects, just very minor edge and corner wear; tight staples, virtually no creases. A very presentable example of this milestone issue.
PICTURED: ADVENTURE COMICS #267 VG+ p £160
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Showcase #1 1956
*DC: From the Bute Collection this week, Showcase #1, starring the Fire Fighters featuring Fireman Farrell. Whilst Farrell didn’t go on to bigger things (unless you know something I don’t) he did make occasional subsequent appearances in the DCU, and was right here to launch this legendary series that gave birth to many DC super-stars, including Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, Challengers of the Unknown and many more. Bearing in mind Farrell’s relative non-stardom in relation to those, completist collectors may be relieved to learn that this is only a Poor copy at the fraction of the price of a decent one. The front cover is taped on to the body of the comic with old tape along most of the spine, which also extends to seal cover tears; there is also tape reinforcement along top and bottom edges. The back cover is missing, but all pages are present and the staples hold the comic together fairly firmly.
PICTURED: SHOWCASE #1 PR £100 SOLD
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debuts of Ka-Zar (& Zabu) and the Stranger in X-Men #10 & #11
*Marvel: Two significant debuts in consecutive issues of the X-Men this week. Issue #10 features the debut of Ka-Zar. Apart from a shared name and attribute of being ‘Lord of the Jungle’, there was little similarity between the Ka-Zar of Marvel’s Golden Age character from the pulps and his namesake introduced in X-Men #10. Unlike his predecessor, this Ka-Zar ruled over the Savage Land and had Zabu, a big pussycat of a sabre-tooth, as his companion. Ka-Zar has, of course, gone on to become a fixture of the Marvel Universe, with several of his own series under his belt; the long association of Marvel’s Merry Mutants with the Savage Land also started right here. In issue #11, Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants accosted a mysterious figure who appeared to be a mutant possessing power to dwarf even Magneto’s own – but the Stranger was soon revealed to be much, much more, a cosmic entity rivalling the Watcher in might, but, unlike Uatu and his chums, all too willing to use that power! A chain of events began which led to the dissolution of the Brotherhood, and the beginning of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch’s road to heroic redemption, all in this Lee/Kirby classic – oh, and Chuck X. and his merry mutant students are in there too!
PICTURED: X-MEN BOTH SOLD
#10 VG+ p £150 Pence stamped. Some corner blunting, minor edge and handling wear, with small spidery edge creases just breaking colour, but a nice sound copy, with tight, firm staples and supple off-white pages. Delightful ‘MMMS Wants You’ box bottom right cover.
#11 VG/FN £195 Bright copy with minor edge and corner wear. Unmarked cover; tight, flat copy with firm staples and supple white to off-white pages.
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Spider-Mania: Amazing #80, #81, #93: Chameleon, Kangaroo, Prowler
*Marvel: Three quality issues of Amazing Spider-Man from the Good Doctor Collection this week, featuring some of Spidey’s less common antagonists.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#80 FN+ p £50 Chameleon. Pence printed. Nice sound copy with good colour and gloss. Just tiny edge wear and a minor amount of wear at the spine in the masthead box.
#81 FN p £40 1st Kangaroo. Pence stamped. Minor spine and handling wear, but decent copy.
#93 VG+ £35 Prowler. Minor spine and handling wear, but decent copy.
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Marvel Silver/Bronze Grab Bag
*Marvel: Six issues spanning the Silver & Bronze Ages, as follows:
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
CAPTAIN MARVEL #50 FN+ £5.50
FANTASTIC FOUR #148 FN- £9.25
POWER MAN & IRON FIST #50 VG/FN p £10
TALES OF SUSPENSE #93 VG £10
TALES TO ASTONISH #88 GD/VG £7
THOR ANNUAL #5 FN- £7
American Comics Update: The IW/Super Extravaganza: Daring Adventures Horror (ish) issues
*IW/Super: We continue with our series of updates from that most esoteric publisher IW/Super. IW Publications was a short-lived comic book publisher in the late 1950s and early 1960s, named for the company’s owner Israel Waldman. Comics were published under both the IW and Super imprints and were notable for publishing unauthorised Golden Age reprints of other company’s properties. Usually these companies were out of business, but not always. Basically, it seemed to be whatever they could get their hands on that determined the esoteric nature of their output. Thus you get super-heroes, war, romance, western, funny animals, crime, horror, science fiction and just about every genre within their pages. Full details of what was reprinted in what are listed in our website catalogue. NB usually with newly-drawn covers. Over the next few months, we’ll be presenting a series of issues from this publisher. This week, two horror issues from the Daring Adventures series. The first, #9, is out and out horror, reprinting pre-code horror; the second, #15, features a KKK type gang from the old west, plus dark crime stories, all with horror undertones.
PICTURED: DARING ADVENTURES BOTH SOLD
#9 FN £40 Reprints Blue Bolt Weird Tales Of Terror #115, Star 1952. Redrawn cover of Avon’s Eerie #6. Art by Disbrow and others.
#15 FN £45 Reprints The Hooded Menace, Avon 1951. New cover by Joe Simon (?)
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: 1970s Charlton Horror/Mystery
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Six issues from Charlton’s 1970s horror line from different titles. As always, much Ditko work to be found in some. Cheaper than chips!
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
BEYOND THE GRAVE #6 VG p £4.75
GHOST MANOR (2nd series) #7 VG- p £4
HAUNTED LOVE #9 FA £1.75
MANY GHOSTS OF DR GRAVES #35 VG+ p £5.25 (PICTURED)
MIDNIGHT TALES #18 VG+ p £3.50
SCARY TALES #30 GD p £2.50
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection: Hopalong Cassidy
*Western: If you’re a fan of ageing Western TV and movie stars gadding about in fancy shirts in a Wild West that never quite was, then these four issues of Hopalong Cassidy from the Midas Collection will be just the thing for you. Hop (William Boyd) started out in comic form from Fawcett in 1943, moving to DC with issue #86 in 1954, lasting until #135 in 1959. Great art by the estimable Gene Colan and Gil Kane. Photo covers on early DC issues.
PICTURED: HOPALONG CASSIDY ALL SOLD
#86 GD £29 1st DC issue
#99 GD £12
#124 VG £10 Fabulous greytone cover
#131 VG £10
British Comics Update: Beano 1948 – New and Improved
*Humour Comics: Continuing our policy of providing more information for Beano and Dandy, we’ve now overhauled our stock of Beano for 1948, adding details of strip debuts and special issues; along the way we’ve added seven issues new in. Lots of debuts in this year: Winnie the Witch and Peter the Penguin in #326; Swanky Lanky Liz and Boy with the Magic Masks in #336, Smarty Smokum in #337, Hungry Goodwins and Hairy Hugh and his Cockatoo (really!) in #343.
PICTURED: BEANO
#326 VG £22 1st Winnie the Witch; 1st Peter the Penguin.
#343 GD/VG £19.50 1st Hungry Goodwins; 1st Hairy Hugh and his Cockatoo.
Books Update: Damon Knight x3
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Three more books by Damon Knight new to our listings this week, showing two sides to this multi-faceted stalwart of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Natural State is a book of three long stories; Turning On is a book of several of Knight’s short stories; A Pocketful of Stars is an anthology edited by Knight including short stories by Bova, Dickson, Ellison, Leiber, Laumer, and many more.
PICTURED: DAMON KNIGHT
NATURAL STATE AND OTHER STORIES Pan 1975 1st UK PB thus VG £3
TURNING ON Sphere 1969 1st UK PB VG £4
A POCKETFUL OF STARS Gollancz 1972 1st UK HC FN £10 With DJ FN in removeable archival film
Books Update: Cannon: the Heavyweight Detective from the TV Series
*TV/Film Tie-Ins: Frank Cannon was an overweight detective played by William Conrad, who starred in the American TV series for 122 episodes from 1971 to 1976, also shown on the BBC. Despite his large size, he was a man of action. While he preferred to use his wits to escape a difficult situation, he could engage successfully in fistfights and shoot-outs with bad guys. The series in its day was immensely popular on both sides of the Atlantic. There were nine tie-in novels published in the 1970s, of which we have seven in this update. Condition notes are shown in our catalogue.
PICTURED: CANNON ALL SOLD
THE DEADLY CHANCE: PAUL DENVER World Distributors 1973 1st UK PB GD £6
THE FALLING BLONDE: PAUL DENVER Star 1975 1st UK PB VG/FN £10
FAREWELL, LITTLE SISTER: DOUGLAS ENEFER Corgi 1978 1st UK PB thus GD £6
THE GOLDEN BULLET: PAUL DENVER World Distributors 1973 1st UK PB GD/VG £7
I’VE GOT YOU COVERED: PAUL DENVER World Distributors 1973 1st UK PB GD/VG £7
MURDER BY GEMINI: RICHARD GALLAGHER Lancer 1971 1st US PB VG £8
SHOOT-OUT!: DOUGLAS ENEFER Corgi 1979 1st UK PB VG £8
American Comics Update: The Midas Collection: Superman #14 (1942) with iconic patriotic cover
*DC: Probably the most famous cover in all the run on this week’s Superman release from the Midas Collection. From 1942, Superman #14 features the Man of Steel on the cover with an American eagle and a backdrop of the American flag in the form of a shield. The black background features weapons of war and indeed the USA was just on the brink of entering the war when this issue went on sale in November 1941; Pearl Harbour was just a month away. Cover by Frank Ray. Four stories here, all by Jerry Siegel with art by Leo Nowak (signed as by Joe Shuster). Clark Kent uncovers robbery by hypnotism over the radio; Superman investigates the schemes of an invention thief; he then encounters a mermaid whose father’s evil adviser is planning to invade the surface world; Superman responds to a lightning storm over Metropolis and the menace of the super-villain Lightning Master.
There are two main defects with this copy: the cover is detached (cleanly) at both staples and there is a slight mark over the ‘U’ and the ‘P’ (and the eagle’s wing) in the logo where a label had previously been attached – see scan. The spine is solid (tiny nick at base) apart from the staple holes. The cover’s black background would show every flaw, but fortunately there aren’t too many – just a couple of stress marks at spine, tiny nicks at edges and corners and a couple of chips out of the right edge. The year ‘1942’ has been written in pencil above the issue number in its circle. The centrefold is loose and a date and name have been written/printed in upper and lower margins on the splash page. Pages are a supple off-white to cream with some foxing at the very edges. Overall the copy presents very well for a lower-graded example. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN #14 GD £2,000