*Humour Comics: Continuing our policy of providing more information for Beano and Dandy, we have ten new issues of Dandy in this week from 1952, but sadly none of them are first appearances or special dates or with flyers, most in jolly nice condition though.

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Another visit this week to the dynamic world of James Bond. This week’s featured books need no introduction from me. Ian Fleming’s iconic creation is known worldwide thanks to the hugely successful movie franchise, but James Bond got his start in novels, so it is in this category that these books belong. And let me tell you, the books are darker and deeper than the films, less gadgety and more visceral. We have four examples this update: two from the elusive ‘Models’ cover sequence from the late 1960s, which are less often seen, and two of the ‘Girls With Guns’ covers from the 1970s/80s. More information, including condition notes, can be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED: ALL BY IAN FLEMING
JAMES BOND: CASINO ROYALE Pan 1969 28th UK PB VG £10
JAMES BOND: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Pan 1969 17th UK PB VG £10
JANES BOND: GOLDFINGER Triad Granada 1982 UK PB GD/VG £6
JAMES BOND: ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE Triad Granada 1977 1st UK PB thus VG £7

*DC: Another gem from the Bat-Vaults of the Bute Collection this week. Batman #19 is a classic issue and a joy for Dick Spang fans, as he illustrates not just the cover, but all four stories as well. The inventive cover scene has Robin mixing up a batch of chemicals, in the fumes from which we see the story titles displayed. Batman Makes A Deadline is a tough thriller focusing on a crime reporter; Atlantis Goes To War involves a nazi submarine base hidden in lost Atlantis (!); The Case Of The Timid Lion has someone using the Joker’s calling card to perpetrate jokes and robberies, which doesn’t amuse the Joker, nor Batman & Robin; and in Collector of Millionaires, Bruce Wayne is kidnapped and replaced by a lookalike in a dastardly plot. Four very different but equally absorbing stories.
This issue is generally in nice shape. Wear is limited to a very slight spine roll and tiny white wear marks around the staples and at right edge. There is one short 4 cm crease breaking colour across the bottom right corner. Cover colours (on an undamaged black background) are good and the cover image is strong and unspoilt. Pages are flexible and a nice off-white with excellent staples firm and tight at spine and centrefold. The comic has been mis-cut in the production process, resulting in a sloping white edge at the bottom of the cover and the top edge being correspondingly truncated a little. The margins (only) on the inside pages are similarly affected. Also, some of the pages are a little short in the lower margin with serrated edges, which suggest they were made from paper at the beginning or end of a roll. These aspects are very slight and are of course production problems rather than being due to age or wear. They don’t spoil the look or feel of this well-presenting issue. And what a treat to get an early Batman with the Joker in such nice shape! High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: BATMAN #19 VG £750

*DC: A handful of issues starring Lois Lane this week: first up, from the Eighty Page Giant series: #14, highlighting Lois’s rivals for Superman’s love. Then two issues of Lois from her regular series, #93 and #112. Polishing off with Lois Lane Annual #2.
IN THIS UPDATE:
EIGHTY PAGE GIANT #14 FA/GD p £7 (PICTURED)
LOIS LANE
#96 GD p £3.25
#112 VG p £6
Annual #2 GD/VG p £16.50

*Marvel: A more modern excursion into the Bute Collection this week. 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, including the foil enhanced cover to #1.
PICTURED: VENOM: LETHAL PROTECTOR #1; Set #1-6 Averaging VF+ £50 SOLD

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Also from the Bute Collection this week, some true vintage from Quality Comics from 1944 in the shape of Police Comics #29 & #30. Police Comics was the title in which Plastic Man first appeared (from #1) and although I don’t see many police involved, this bumper-sized anthology title contained a whole wealth of detective, mystery and super-hero strips, as well as a fair sprinkling of humour. In these issues you get Plastic Man by Jack Cole and the Spirit by Will Eisner, the occult detective Destiny, Manhunter, the Human Bomb and a number of comedy shorts.
PICTURED: POLICE COMICS BOTH SOLD
#29 FA/GD £45 Cover detached from single staple, pages all secure. Small upper spine split; chips out top and centre right front cover and top and bottom edge rear. Moderate wear and tear. Cover image unspoilt with good colour; good page quality. 
#30 GD- £50 Cover detached from single staple, pages all secure. Otherwise only minimal wear. Cover image unspoilt with good colour; good page quality.

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Adventures Into The Unknown from ACG was the earliest ongoing horror title, starting in 1947. It’s the Silver Age incarnation that concerns us here, when the horror of pre-code had given way to the more whimsical fantasy/mysteries for which ACG became known in the 1960s. Six more issues this week.
IN THIS UPDATE: ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN ALL SOLD
#143 VG- p £5.25
#144 VG- p £5.25
#145 GD/VG p £4.75
#155 FA+ p £2.25
#165 VG p £6
#173 GD- p £2.75

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: This week’s release of Love Story Library (later Love Story Picture Library), the longest running romance picture library from Fleetway, comprises 13 issues from 1963/64 between issues #455 and #483. The series always maintained a high standard and the very accomplished art reflected the fashions and mood of the times. These new additions are mostly in very nice grades, with little wear or creasing in most cases, the grades mainly determined by the amount of staple rust. Full details as always in our catalogue.

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies and Sleaze Category for the fourth part of our Hank Janson re-listing. This also features the famous cover artwork of Reginald Heade. The most famous name in the post-war boom in British gangster ‘pulps’ (curiously, mostly set in the both seedy and glamorous USA) was Hank Janson. Written by ‘Hank’ and telling his adventures as a journalist and later general adventurer, these were in reality written by Stephen D Frances. These racy, tough and often violent detective novels of the 40s and 50s, generally published on a monthly basis, filled the gap formed when American pulp fiction was banned from the UK, and were immensely popular. (In fact they were so racy that author, publishers and distributors were prosecuted for obscenity in 1954). The earliest Jansons were generally published by New Fiction, and were almost exclusively blessed with Heade covers. The 1950s Alexander Moring imprint, with red and yellow stripes across the top of the cover either featured art by Heade, or produced in his style. Interestingly, many Alexander Moring publications have Heade covers that have been modified, usually by the addition of just enough clothing on the young ladies to avoid another prosecution for obscenity. This update, one further New Fiction Heade, with the same cover reproduced on one of the four Morings also on offer. Full details, as always,with condition notes in our catalogue.
PICTURED: ALL BY HANK JANSON
SUGAR AND VICE Alexander Moring 1958 1st UK PB VG/FN £10
SWEET FURY Alexander Moring 1950s 1st UK PB FN £12
TENSION New Fiction 1940s/50s UK PB PR £10 Cover art by Reginald Heade
TENSION Alexander Moring 1957 2nd UK PB FN £15 Cover art by Reginald Heade
THEY DIE ALONE Alexander Moring 1950s 1st UK PB GD £5

*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.
PICTURED: LEADING COMICS
#6 FA/GD £100 The Soldiers attempt to recover a lost treasure in South America. Bright cover, with some gloss. Some non-prominent writing on cover, including thick felt-tip pen line above logo (see scan). Covers detached from body of comic with long spine splits about 3/4 of the comic’s length. A couple of small chips out bottom edge and top and bottom right corner. Nice supple page quality, which are off-white to cream.
#9 FA/GD £100 The Soldiers come up against Mr X, the Chameleon of Crime. Bright and colourful cover. Spine is heavily worn with splits and holes, off at top staple but hanging on at bottom. Small pieces of tape around spine top and bottom. Bottom right corner also secured by diagonal tape. Nice quality off-white pages.

*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, which triggered a whole batch of DC/Marvel crossovers in the years that followed. This cents copy is bright with vibrant cover colours, a totally intact squarebound spine, tight, firm staples, square corners and crisp white to off-white pages. Just one or two short creases at spine (not breaking colour) prevent an even higher grade. This is an outstanding copy from an original owner collection, bought new in 1976 in New York, and carefully preserved ever since.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VF £100 SOLD

*Marvel: A ‘Special Once-In-A-Lifetime Issue’, the cover of this one-shot boasted, and its unique position is simply a result of a scheduling tangle which arose when Marvel was finally allowed by its distributors to increase its range of titles. The Hulk took over the numbering of Tales to Astonish and Captain America the numbering of Tales of Suspense, but that left ‘orphaned’ chapters of the Iron Man and Sub-Mariner serials languishing, so they were used in this oddball one-off so that both Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner could start off their #1 issues with origin recap storylines. Nevertheless is has found ‘fame’ in recent years as a Marvel #1! Joyfully, both strips were pencilled by the superb Gene Colan. The Good Doctor Collection copy is a decent, solid example, pence stamped but with an otherwise unmarked cover with bright colours. Very minimal edge wear and corner blunting, but no creases. Tight and flat with good staples and off-white pages. One of the easiest Silver Age Marvel titles to complete – buy one and you’ve got the set!
PICTURED: IRON MAN & THE SUB-MARINER #1 FN p £85

*Marvel: From the mid-1970s, five issues fresh in from the acclaimed run of Black Panther in Jungle Action. Many other issues are available – check out our catalogue.
IN THIS UPDATE: JUNGLE ACTION
#11 VG p £4.75
#12 VG- p £4
#13 VF £12.50 (PICTURED)
#15 GD p £2.50
#17 VF+ p £15.75

*Horror/Mystery 1960/1980s: Six issues from the DC sub-section of this category: 3 House of Secrets, 1 Ghosts, 1 Plop (a later Giant issue) and 1 Unexpected.
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
GHOSTS #98 VF £7.75
HOUSE OF SECRETS
#90 FN £19.50 (PICTURED)
#91 FN+ £22.50
#103 GD £4.25
PLOP #21 VG/FN £6.25
UNEXPECTED #107 FN+ p £11.50

*Boy’s Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Thirty copies of D C Thomson’s iconic picture library newly listed from 1976, ranging between #1022 (Raiding Party) to #1077 (the chillingly prophetic Code Name Boris). Although these are from the latter part of our range, they are outstanding copies, each and every one of them grading at VF at £3.50 each, with bright glossy covers, tight, squarebound spines, sharp corners and none of the glue pucker that often plagues these. Only the faintest traces of storage wear at edges; we doubt you’ll find better copies. Full listing in our catalogue. 

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: I’m often harping on here about the Queens Of Crime, those indomitable (mostly) British women who dominated the crime/detective genre in the Golden Age Of Detective Fiction, roughly between the wars. Well, there was one male writer active at the time who was their equal, and he was an American to boot, although he lived a significant part of his life in England, where most of his tales were set. John Dickson Carr (who also wrote as Carter Dickson) was the master of the locked room mystery, a setter of seemingly impossible puzzles for his recurring cast of detectives. He also wrote many historical mysteries which are equally engaging. Five new mysteries in this week, four Penguin and one Pan, both historical and featuring Dr Gideon Fell. Full details, with condition notes, in our catalogue.
PICTURED: ALL BY JOHN DICKSON CARR ALL SOLD
CAPTAIN CUT-THROAT Penguin 1960 1st UK PB thus VG £4
THE DEMONIACS Penguin 1965 1st UK PB thus VG £4
THE EMPEROR’S SNUFF BOX Penguin 1967 UK PB FN £5
THE HOUSE AT SATAN’S ELBOW Pan 1969 1st UK PB thus VG £8
IN SPITE OF THUNDER Penguin 1966 1st UK PB thus VG £8

*DC: When DC editors Jack Schiff and Julius Schwartz were each tasked with  creating a new science fiction hero, Schwartz came up with Adam Strange, while Schiff was responsible for Space Ranger. Both heroes debuted in issues of Showcase in 1958. Space Ranger was up first in issues #15/16. Space Ranger is Rick Starr, a seemingly shiftless executive. He took on the role of the superheroic interplanetary troubleshooter to battle space pirates, alien invaders, evil scientists and other futuristic threats both cosmic and criminal, hiding his true identity. Only two people knew his secret, his loyal and highly efficient beautiful blonde secretary/girlfriend Myra Mason and his plucky and clever little pink alien sidekick Cryll, a big-eyed shapeshifter. Space Ranger and chums first appeared in Showcase #15 and it took just one further outing the following issue to propel him into his own long-running series in Tales Of The Unexpected (later in Mystery In Space). He was created by writers Edmond Hamilton and Gardner Fox and artist Bob Brown. The Bute Collection brings us both those debut issues in Showcase this week.
PICTURED: SHOWCASE
#15 VG+ £300 Presents really well, with a vibrant cover and great colour. Tight, firm staples and supple off-white to cream pages. Minimal corner blunting and spine wear, with an upper spine split of less than 2 cm. A faint, vertical subscription-like crease down the centre is not obvious and only very barely breaks colour.
#16 VG/FN £200 Vibrant cover with vivid colour. Tight and flat with good staples and supple near off-white pages. Minimal spine wear with tiny nick at base of spine. Only minor handling wear at some edges. A really nice copy. SOLD

*Marvel: From 1971, the debut of Werewolf By Night in Marvel Spotlight #2. Created by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog, the story of a young man named Jack Russell (no, really) who contracted a lycanthropic curse hit a high note with the readership and spun off into his own series after three try-out issues in Marvel Spotlight. This extra-thick #2 is the Werewolf’s first appearance and as a bonus, issued during Marvel’s fleeting flirtation with a 25c standard price, has a gorgeous Venus back-up reprint strip drawn by the incomparable Bill Everett, plus a wonderful Venus pin-up by the man himself. Squarebound issues are notoriously problematic, but the spine here is solid and intact, with a miniscule amount of blunting top and bottom and at other corners. Colours are strong and there is a small amount of handling wear around the edges. Staples are tight and firm, pages are off-white to cream.
PICTURED: MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #2 FN £175

*Marvel: Three of the earlier Iron Man adventures from Tales Of Suspense, featuring villain debuts and the first crossover anywhere with the X-Men. 
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE
#46 GD+ p £60 1st Crimson Dynamo; Iron Man still in solid golden armour. Pence printed. Decent copy with some soft cover creasing breaking colour. Staples and pages okay. Cover colour good, but small scuff mark centrally. Firm creasing to back cover. Corner blunting and small spine split at bottom 1 cm.
#49 PR/FA p £25 Angel & X-Men crossover (1st anywhere). Tales of the Watcher back-ups begin. Pence printed. Bit of a wreck, unfortunately. Cover detached and holes at staple area. Some spine roll. Much wear at spine with bottom split of 2+ cm. Handwritten and overprinted prices on cover image and logo; some graffiti. Tear along bottom edge and back cover. Pages are okay and staples firm at centrefold. Only really a reading copy.
#51 GD/VG p £40 1st Scarecrow. Pence printed. Not a bad copy. Strong cover image with good colour. Staples are firm and pages good; small corner off one ad page. Some spine and edge wear and corner blunting; crease and tear on back cover. SOLD

*Marvel: I don’t think there’s a single title that was such a plaything in the marketplace as the Eternals. Boosted to ridiculous values by the announcement of a movie, the comic crashed and burned alongside its celluloid doppelganger and is now back where it started. But hey kids, it’s still the same Jack Kirby bonkers space gods it’s always been! Just the first two issues featured from the Good Doctor this week.
IN THIS UPDATE: ETERNALS
#1 VG p £10 (PICTURED)
#2 VG p £6

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Thee pairs of titles from Charlton’s extensive Silver/Bronze age range this week:
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
GHOSTLY TALES
#70 VG+ £9
#132 FN p £4.75
MONSTER HUNTERS
#1 FN+ p £10.50 (PICTURED)
#4 FN+ £5.75
SCARY TALES
#9 FN+ p £4.75
#37 FN p £4.75

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints Of US Material: Perhaps often overlooked in the annals of UK horror reprints (probably because these weren’t published until the 1960s), it should not be forgotten that Len Miller’s Mystic & Spellbound reprinted quite a bit of Atlas Pre-Code horror stories, as well as Post Code and pre-hero Marvel Big Panty Monsters and Marvel Super-Heroes, and work from many other publishers too. A treasure trove of delights await within these volumes, including plenty of work by Kirby and Ditko, Atlas super-hero reprints, and Dr Strange.
IN THIS UPDATE:
MYSTIC
#42 PR £10 Reprints Atlas Sub-Mariner and Captain America stories. Corner off cover, spine taped and distressed, lots of wear.
#43 GD £15 (PICTURED) Reprints 3rd Dr Strange story from Strange Tales #114.
#44 FA £8 Spine taped with taped tear across cover.
SPELLBOUND
#42 PR £10 Reprints Atlas Human Torch story. Quarter page torn off fantasy story, otherwise nice condition.
#62 VG £12.50

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category and have reached the Golden Amazon series by John Russell Fearn. Fearn was a very prolific British writer from the pulp age of science fiction and wrote under a variety of pseudonyms. The Golden Amazon was a super-powered space heroine who starred in some 27 books of pulp-style adventures. The publication history of these is complicated, with many, previously in magazines, not appearing in book form until the 1990s when, for my money, the most attractive versions are from the American publisher Gryphon Books, unusually published in paperback with dust jackets, and featuring the technicolour covers of veteran British sci-fi artist Ron Turner. These are hard to find; we understand that the print runs were limited to 500 of each, but a great goal for the collectors among you, and we can start you off with four of the Gryphon editions, including #1, plus an earlier edition from the UK publisher Zeon.
PICTURED: THE GOLDEN AMAZON BY JOHN RUSSELL FEARN
1 THE GOLDEN AMAZON Gryphon 1996 1st US PB thus NM £20 With DJ NM SOLD
4: THE AMAZON’S DIAMOND QUEST Gryphon 1998 1st US PB thus NM £20 With DJ NM
6: TWIN OF THE  AMAZON Gryphon 1998 1st US PB thus NM £20 With DJ NM
7: CONQUEST OF THE AMAZON Gryphon 1998 1st US PB thus NM £18 With DJ VF
8: LORD OF ATLANTIS Zeon 1991 1st UK PB thus VF £15 68 pages

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies and Sleaze Category for the third part of our Hank Janson re-listing. This also features the famous cover artwork of Reginald Heade. The most famous name in the post-war boom in British gangster ‘pulps’ (curiously, mostly set in the both seedy and glamorous USA) was Hank Janson. Written by ‘Hank’ and telling his adventures as a journalist and later general adventurer, these were in reality written by Stephen D Frances. These racy, tough and often violent detective novels of the 40s and 50s, generally published on a monthly basis, filled the gap formed when American pulp fiction was banned from the UK, and were immensely popular. (In fact they were so racy that author, publishers and distributors were prosecuted for obscenity in 1954). The earliest Jansons were generally published by New Fiction, and were almost exclusively blessed with Heade covers. The 1950s Alexander Moring imprint, with red and yellow stripes across the top of the cover either featured art by Heade, or produced in his style. Interestingly, many Alexander Moring publications have Heade covers that have been modified, usually by the addition of just enough clothing on the young ladies to avoid another prosecution for obscenity. One book under the publisher name S D Frances with Heade cover plus four Morings in this update. One, Persian Pride, is actually part of Janson’s Arabian slave girl trilogy and not a crime story at all! Further information, including condition notes, in our catalogue. More Hank soon!
PICTURED: ALL BY HANK JANSON
HELLCAT Alexander Moring 1950s 1st UK PB thus VG £9
HONEY, TAKE MY GUN S D Frances 1949 1st UK PB FA/GD £15 Cover art by Heade
MISTRESS OF FEAR Alexander Moring 1958 1st UK PB thus VG £9
PERSIAN PRIDE Alexander Moring 1957 2nd UK PB VG/FN £10
SINISTER RAPTURE Alexander Moring 1957 1st UK PB thus VG/FN £10

*DC: One of the most well-received articles posted here during lockdown was the one I wrote on Adam Strange, the interplanetary adventurer, my favourite DC science-fiction hero. So, we’re delighted to present half a dozen of his adventures in Mystery In Space, between #77 and #83. The finest examples of this sort of thing ever produced, IMHO, and with the best creators. These are mostly lower graded reading copies (some of them are really grotty) , providing excellent budget entertainment.
IN THIS UPDATE: MYSTERY IN SPACE ALL SOLD
#77 VG+ p £15
#78 PR p £3 Cover stains
#79 FA p £5.50 Torn back cover
#81 PR p £2.25 Staining, water damage, restapled
#82 GD/VG p £11 Restapled
#83 FA/GD p £5.75 Restapled; book shop stamps