*Girls’ Comics: One thing we’ve noticed is that June, the doyenne of the IPC/Fleetway girls’ line, seems to have dropped circulation circa 1970 – Issues from the 1970s are conspicuously less commonplace in the back issue market than those from the 1960s. Despite their relative rarity, we’re listing a new influx of 54 issues from 1970 to June’s final year, 1974, at our regular rates. Mostly averaging FN, with a few VGs, these are clean, bright and attractive copies with minimal wear and only very occasional light edge foxing or dustshadow from long term storage. Illustrated is 4th July 1970 (VF £8), the premiere of time-travelling trolley dolly Glory Knight, of whom more may be read in the Extras section on our website in the articles section by Will. Grades and prices on everything may be found in our online catalogue.

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:
*Tarzan/E R Burroughs
*Phantom
*Flash Gordon
*Spirit
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: Having launched in issue #80 of the anthology My Greatest Adventure, the Doom Patrol proved so popular that with issue #86 of the series, the title was rechristened, and the Doom Patrol’s own ‘proper’ series began – this was a doubly auspicious issue, as #86 also saw the first appearance of the Doom Patrol’s dark counterparts, the Brotherhood of Evil. The Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Madame Rouge and sundry others bedevilled the DP over the years, and this is where the world’s weirdest villains, every bit as freakish as their heroic opposites, got their start. Since the launch of their own television series, spinning out of the Titans show, the Doom Patrol is becoming extremely popular. This is a superb copy of the Doom Patrol’s first official issue; very clean and bright, tight staples, minimal edge wear, and unfaded red cover background. A cents copy with no pence price or overstamp, it is FN/VF at £180. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: A whole heap of Bronze Age Batman this week, with every issue from #263 to #300 fresh into stock, and mostly in high grade. A good period this for the Caped Crusader, with plenty of appearances of his major villains, such as the Joker, the Peguin, Catwoman, the Riddler and the Scarecrow, plus lots of new ones too and, perhaps surpringly, a strong international flavour. Pictured are #286 (classic Joker cover VF/NM £19.50) and the landmark 300th issue (VF+ p £20.25).

*Marvel: In 1970, Marvel tried something risky and different, quite aside from their familiar super-hero stable; at the urging of writer Roy Thomas, they put out a sword & sorcery title adapting the Robert E. Howard stories of Conan the Barbarian, and, bucking the trend, it was smash hit – thanks in no small part to the illustration of Barry (not-yet-Windsor) Smith, a talented young British artist who gave the most famous Cimmerian of all grace and feral power, filling Conan’s world with mystery, menace, and beauty as monsters and maidens competed for our hero’s attentions. Conan’s first series at Marvel ran 275 issues and multitudinous specials and spin-offs, and after a long sojourn over at Dark Horse, he’s back! To celebrate, we release probably the nicest copy of Conan #1 we’ve seen since its original release; this VF/NM beauty has luminous cover colours, sharp corners, tight staples, cream interior pages, and… just everything in the right place. This cents copy of Conan #1 is VF/NM, on sale at £300. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Marvel’s ‘women’s comics’ line of the early 1970s was a conscientious, if misjudged, attempt to broaden the readership by putting female characters and female creators in the spotlight. Sadly, the lack of experienced women in the industry, and some creative inconsistencies, meant that it was a short-lived and badly-supported experiment, with all three titles cancelled after four or five issues. Its longest legacy – no disrespect to Shanna the She-Devil or Night Nurse – was the Cat, whose first super-heroic career may have been brief, but who was later reworked into Tigra the Were-Woman, while her old costume was passed on to Patsy Walker as Hellcat, so Marvel got a twofer – two successful characters for one failed one! Not that Claws of the Cat didn’t show promise; the first issues, especially, were lovely – issue #1’s origin is drawn by Marie Severin and Wally Wood, and a real treat to look at, and the latter issues featured some interesting experimental work. We have all four issues back in stock. Issue one is a lovely VF+ copy, unbroken cover colour, on sale at £85 (pictured); the others are of course in our online Cat-alogue. (sorry…) SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Hot from the Cold War, the Radioactive Man was a creation of the ‘Red Chinese’, such popular villains in American media in the early ’60s. A scientist who was ordered to find a way to defeat Thor, he experimented on himself with hard radiation, which turned his skin iridescent green and caused him to dress up in a giant nappy, for reasons that were never made clear. Nevertheless, his formidable powers taxed Thor’s ingenuity and strength on a number of occasions, and the former Chen Lu has been both a long-standing villain and – briefly, with the Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers – a hero in more recent times. This is a very attractive copy of JIM #93, cents price with no UK overprint, beautiful unfaded colour with tight staples and corners. The only flaw preventing a higher grade is some noticeable spine wear between the staples, which does not break through the paper, but is simply rough to the touch. That aside, it’s a bright and appealing FN+, on sale at £200.

*Marvel: The original X-Men are substantially restocked this update, with around 25 new listings – including several issues previously unrepresented in our inventory. Commencing with #14, the first appearance of the sinister Sentinels, and featuring highlights such as the debuts of the Banshee and the Mimic, as well as the death of Professor X (it’s okay, he got better), plus later issues leading into the birth and death of the Phoenix, this is a cornucopia of mutant mayhem, mostly in mid grades and at very affordable prices.

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: 1954’s Police Action took a spin on the crime genre by having the police’s perspective as the dominant viewpoint – but don’t worry, there was still enough lurid gunplay for all, especially in the first issue, with violent art by the infamous Robert Q. Sale. Colan, Lawrence and Maneely are other contributing artists to this seven-issue Pre-Code series, which like so many crime titles gave up the ghost with the threatened advent of the Comics Code Authority. Police Action #1-7, complete run, is new in this week. Post-Code, Atlas tried again with Police Badge #479 (that’s the full title, not the issue number), which launched in 1955 with issue #5, continuing from the defunct Spy Thrillers. Despite an engaging Joe Maneely cover, interiors by Maneely and Heck, and an unusual concept (the story of rookie cop Jim Hudson), the series didn’t ‘take’, and issue #5, the first, was also the final, so – buy it, and you’ve completed the set! Pictured is Police Action #1 GD £35; for details of the others, check out our online catalogue.

*Western: A multitude of Western series dominated America’s newsstands in the 1950s from a myriad of publishers, and Atlas’ output in the field was of a consistent high standard. Western Gunfighters debuted in 1956 with issue #20, taking over the numbering from the fallen Apache Kid series. Eschewing recurring characters, Western Gunfighters provided one-off tales of the Old West, several per issue, with a stellar array of artists – Crandall, Wood, Williamson, Powell, Heath, Maneely, Morrow, Severin, Torres, and Toth were among the contributors. Ending with #27, we have the entire series new in stock this week. Illustrated is #23, VG+ £27; details on the other grades and prices may be found in our online catalogue.

*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: A steady seller from this popular section are the so-called ‘Prozines’, slick magazines produced by people in or connected with the comics industry, exploring the in-depth history of the American comics medium, from the Golden Age to the present day. We have restocked our inventory of these titles: Alter Ego ranging through # 4 to #40, Comic Book Artist (First and Second series), and Comic Book Creator from #1, including several paperback collections and special editions from those series, plus the scarcer, but no less sought-after, Charlton Spotlight, consecutive run of the first nine issues.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A complete run fresh in of the infamous horror weekly Scream from 1984, all 15 issues in respectable VG to FN condition. #1 (pictured) is FN £20. Other issues are £5.50-£7 each — full details of course in our catalogue.

*TV & Film Related Comics: Stingray. Fireball Xl5. Thunderbirds. Captain Scarlet. Gerry Anderson’s ‘Supermarionation’ TV shows dominated the consciousness of a generation of children in the 1960s, and the TV Century 21 weekly, launched in 1965 (or ‘2065’ as the covers averred), featured in turn all of those series, illustrated by the finest artists in British Comics, during its 242 issue run. Frank Bellamy, Ron Embleton, Mike Noble, Ron Turner, Keith Watson, Rab Hamilton, Eric Eden and more turned in superlative work in glowing colour, bringing the small screen’s puppet heroes to vivid life. We have one hundred issues of this enduringly popular weekly added to our inventory, many of them filling in previous gaps in our lists. Perhaps of most interest is the #1, which, honestly, has seen better days: an unabashed Poor, its covers are detached, and there is extreme edge and corner wear throughout. The back cover has been torn in half and clumsily taped, and other back cover damage means that portions of the ‘Daleks’ strip are missing. That aside, however, it is otherwise complete, if shabby and downtrodden. The rest of the new influx vary from Fair to Fine/Very Fine, most hovering around affordable mid grades, with light to moderate wear but unmarked cover scenes and clean interiors being the prevailing trend. Any other specific faults will, of course, be noted in our online listings. Illustrated: #1 PR £50, and demonstrating the other end of the spectrum in this new selection, #14 FN/VF £32.50 and #89 FN/VF £27.50.

*Clearance Corner: In the limbo between the cancellation of their original series and the dawn of the international line-up, the X-Men were ghosts in the Marvel Universe, making only very occasional guest appearances. In 1999, writer/artist John Byrne set out to fill in the gap with all-new stories of what Scott, Bobby, Hank, Warren, Jean, Alex and Lorna Did Next, with a clever, fast-paced series that lasted 22 fun-packed issues evocative of classic Silver Age Marvel, and got cancelled despite respectable sales because a new Marvel editorial remit thought it would ‘confuse the readers’, boo hiss. All 22 issues, a brisk, breezy read, all NM, yours for £15. UK postage if required will be an extra £4

*Clearance Corner: 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 30th January 2019, 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: ‘Our second and final clearance of Crisis features in Clearance Corner this week. A star of the late 1980s British comics boom and their attempt to produce intelligent, mature and politically and socially aware comics. Starting out with Third World War by Pat Mills & Carlos Ezquerra and New Statesmen by John Smith and Jim Baikie, it later featured The New Adventures of Hitler and other strips by Grant Morrison, Troubled Souls by Garth Ennis and John McCrea (Ennis’s start in comics) and many other noteable strips by British and European creators. The run lasted 63 issues from 1988-1991. This selection comprises 30 issues between #1 & #39, including 3 issues with free gifts (#15, #16 & #17). All on offer for just £20. UK postage if required will be a further £4.’

*DC: In 1973, the town of Metropolis, Illinois, petitioned to be affiliated with the Superman character, becoming the official ‘hometown’ of the Man of Steel for public relations purposes. Among the tie-ins for this event was this one-off tabloid comic – in the format later popularised by DC’s Limited Collectors’ Edition series and its spin-offs – featuring new and reprint Superman and Superboy comics stories, plus multiple features and a stapled-in poster, a Map of Krypton. Sadly, the proposed Superman theme park never materialised, the attractions in the real-life Metropolis being limited to a Superman Museum – but this is a fascinating read nonetheless. Of extremely limited distribution even in the US – and almost never seen in the UK – this rarity is a must for Superman completists. This copy is FN- £40, sound and tight, poster stapled firmly inside, with only minor breaks in spine colour and light corner and edge wear preventing a higher grade.

*DC/Marvel: In 1976, after some delicate negotiations, Marvel and DC decided to 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 event! Superman and Spider-Man (as well as guest-villains Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus) are note-perfect in this mega-sized saga. This triggered a series of cross-overs between the two companies, with DC and Marvel alternating on the publishing chores, and Marvel was at the production helm by 1981, when Marvel Treasury Edition #28 was released, with the follow-up Superman and Spider-Man team-up, this time co-featuring Wonder Woman and the Hulk and the villainy of Doctor Doom and the Parasite! We are delighted to have both these epic editions back in stock: Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, to give the first its full title, is a FN/VF cents copy, no pence price or overstamp, clean and bright with minimal corner and edge wear. Marvel Treasury Edition #28 is FN+, marginally more wear and slight corner ‘blunting’, but still clean interiors, vivid unimpaired cover scene. Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man is FN/VF £90; Marvel Treasury Edition #28 is FN+ £50.

*Marvel: This early Lee/Kirby (with a dash of help from Steve Ditko on the cover inking) pits the Sub-Mariner, once again, against the men of the Fantastic Four (Sue, typically, is rather on the fence in the matter… how many times does a gal have to get kidnapped before she makes up her mind?), provoked by the behind-the-scenes machinations of the perfidious Puppet Master! This copy is a CGC Universal Grade Blue Label, rated 4.5 (VG+ in real money) with no restoration, but – it must be noted – the name of a previous owner, ‘Brian’ scrawled across Namor’s shoulders (unless he was very forward-thinking in having a tattoo parlour in lost Atlantis!). That is the sole flaw, however, in a bright, tight-cornered copy which would easily grade FN or better otherwise. CGC 4.5 £130.

*Marvel: The Black Panther’s series in Jungle Action, which attracted a lot of acclaim at the time, was known for being verbose, introspective, reflective and philosophical. When the character’s co-creator, Jack Kirby, took over as writer and artists on T’Challa’s follow-up solo series, the results were… a considerable contrast. Shouting! Explosions! Aliens! Time-Travel! Implausibly-muscled ladies with black lipstick! Cosmic critters! All were here, and all playing at full volume all the time, in the crazed kinetic frenzy that Kirby was renowned for. Since the major movie hit, the King of Wakanda’s star is ever-ascendant, and this issue especially always sells very briskly. This copy of Black Panther #1 is a cents copy, with no pence price or overstamp, fine lines at upper and lower right cover corners, but unmarred glossy cover with vivid, unfaded red background. VF+ on sale at £80. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Following Kirby’s tabloid-sized Treasury Special, liberally adapting the Kubrick cinematic blockbuster, Marvel green-lit an ongoing series exploring the milieu of 2001: A Space Odyssey, giving artist/writer Kirby a free hand to explore all of time and space – perhaps too free a hand, as while time-transcending spectacle there was in abundance, the lack of a central cast left the readership feeling ‘unanchored’ to the series. This was remedied to an extent with issue #8, and Kirby’s introduction of X-51 (later known variously as Mister Machine and Machine Man), a humanoid robot in search of his soul, who became the protagonist for the rest of the series, spinning off into his own title and becoming part of the main Marvel Universe. The entire 10-issue series of 2001: A Space Odyssey is now restocked: illustrated is issue #8, X-51’s premier appearance, NM at £65. SORRY, PICTURED ITEM NOW SOLD

*Marvel: A small update for Johnny Blaze (1973) this week from #2 (1st full Son Of Satan) and issues up to #10, plus the final issue of the series #81, plus Marvel Spotlight #8, with the adventures of Ghost Rider before he got his own series.

*Horror 1940-1959: Mystery Tales was one of Atlas’ longest-running horror/mystery series, to the extent that we had to split our stock over two updates; previously, we brought you the Pre-Code issues, up to #26, and with this update we add in the Post Code numbers, from #27 in 1955 to the series’ conclusion in 1957 with issue #54. This strong run, lacking only 5 issues, features the usual plethora of top-ranking artists: Heath, Morrow, Orlando, Maneely, Powell, Everett, Romita, Severin, Williamson, Krigstein and a rookie named Steve Ditko. Illustrated: #28 GD/VG £53, #31 GD/VG £53, #32 GD/VG £53, #36 GD/VG £53, #47 VG £72, #52 FN £105, #53 VG £71 and #54 VG+ £79. While the illustrated items are remarkably consistent mid-high grades, the rest of the title is in a variety of conditions, including many complete but low-grade issues to suit all budgets. Full details of all issues, as always, in our online catalogue.

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: Following the romance comics boom in the American comics industry in the late 1940s, it didn’t take long for the UK to climb aboard with re-packaged American stories for the British audience, at that time denied distribution of the US product. Arnold/Strato (sometimes listed as separate companies, but they were linked in some way we haven’t been able to fathom) were a leading repackager of US material, and they shrewdly licenced the three Simon & Kirby titles which had kicked off the ‘love boom’: Young Brides, Young Love and Young Romance, which they released as 68-page squarebound compilations. However, with a fine disregard for intellectual property, the publishers mixed & matched material, so while the titles may have been from the Prize stable, the content could contain any old love from a myriad of publishers: ACG, Atlas, Ajax/Farrell, Quality and, yes, Prize, are among the ones we’ve positively identified, along with many more that we have to shrug helplessly and say “We don’t really know, Vera…” These 68-page squarebounds, dating from 1954 to 1955, have a distinctive yellow & red livery that made them easy to pick out at the newsagent’s, but also a bugger for acquiring stains and marks, so we’re delighted to have a nice selection of all three ‘Young’ titles in clean bright condition, averaging Fine or better. As a bonus, we also have the first Album of each series, 128-page stonkers with more tearstained moonlit fantasies than before! Depicted are Young Brides #1 FN+ £25 and Album #1 FN+ £40; Young Love #9 FN £12 and Album #1 FN+ £40; and Young Romance #14 (three Simon & Kirby, 1 Matt Baker) FN £17.50, and Album #1 FN+ £40.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: World Distributors were re-packagers of American comics material from the 1950s to the 1970s, but occasionally they produced original material, and they had a knack for bandwagon-jumping, exploiting lucrative franchises with zeal and vigour. In the 1960s, they launched a number of digests called World Adventure Library, each series of WAL focusing on a different star. Chief among them were the Man From UNCLE, the longest-lasting of the WAL’s at 14 issues from 1966 to 1967, and Batman, who launched for 11 issues in 1967. These are not commonplace in any condition, and we’ve been exceptionally fortunate to have a number of these two series in high grades. A selection of Man From UNCLE World Adventure Library (initially repackaging of the Gold Key comics, moving on to original material) is available from #1 to #11; our range of Batman World Adventure Library (original text stories with illustrations) goes from #3 to #6. Illustrated; Batman WAL #3 VF £20 and Man From UNCLE WAL #1 VF £25.

*Humour Comics: 1970 was a transitional year for the Beano Summer Special, as Dennis the Menace took over front cover prominence from the former featured character, Biffo the Bear, marking a new era for the veteran title. The format remained unchanged, however: oversized pages (13″ x 10″) with more colour and better paper than the weekly, making for an extra-sized treat for the traditional British family Summer break. This is a remarkably clean and bright copy, no sign of the horizontal folding often plaguing these larger items, very minor corner and edge wear, but firm spine and tight staples, with all the regular features from the weekly; Dennis the Menace, Bash Street Kids, Minnie the Minx, Billy the Cat, General Jumbo, the Q-Karts and more are waiting inside for you! FN- £40.