*Modern Reprints: A cavalcade of compilations in this popular section. One of the more pleasant aspect of the last few decades’ worth of comics trading is the advent of archival reprints of long-unavailable vintage comics, whether they’re hardcovers collecting entire series in sequence, such as the Marvel Masterworks or DC Archives, one-offs themed around creators or reproducing facsimile issues, or paperbacks exploring a character’s adventures in depth. We have a plethora of such tresures this time: DC’s All-Star Archives brings us the exploits of the first super-team, the Justice Society of America, and the landscape format hardcover collecting the Superman newspaper strip; while Marvel’s Atlas-Era Masterworks supplies the complete adventures of Lorna, Jann, Leopard Girl and pals in the three-volume Jungle Adventure set. DC is also topped up with Silver Age Classics (including the debuts of the JLA, the Martian Manhunter, the Silver Age Green Lantern and more) and others, while Marvel offers us Neal Adams’ collection of the Kree-Skrull War starring the Avengers. The ever-popular EC has many new issues of Haunt of Fear, Tales From The Crypt, Vault of Horror and Weird Science, and a new publisher to our listings, Dragon Lady Press, offers a bewildering variety of cult newspaper strips, including Secret Agent X-9, Mandrake, On Stage, and a multitude more. There are retrospective compilations of Bill Ward’s blonde bombshell Torchy (pictured), the best of the Simon & Kirby Golden Age romance books, and the lurid cautionary tales of ‘Reform School Girls’ and their ilk; and a handful of one-off issues spotlighting classic Good Girl artists, including Matt Baker and Frank Frazetta. Details? Go to the website and find out!

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: In the wake of the success of Hotspur, the venerable story paper that had relaunched as a comic two years previously, D.C. Thomson decided in 1961 that it was time for another boys’ weekly in a similar format – but rather than revamp another of their older titles, they made this an entirely new creation! The Victor #1 was cover-dated February 25th, and featured a mix of World War II heroics, sporting strips, and mild sci-fi adventure. A hit with its intended audience, it had a respectable 30+ year career. This is an affordable opportunity to obtain one of the touchstones of British comics. It is frankly Poor, with cover edge wear and tears including a long diagonal cover tear, and a small corner missing from the lower right corner, slightly affecting the first strip, ‘The Gaunt Hounds Are Out’, but only a minor part of the picture is gone, and the narrative unaffected. All other stories complete, all interior pages present. On sale at £40. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*TV & Film Related Comics: We continue blitzing our way through Look-In, this time with nearly all issues from 1980 and every issue from 1981, including #4 with the exciting Free Gift: Super Elastoplast Heroes Medal Plasters (hey, don’t ask us!) as pictured. Grades range from VG-VF and this selection also includes both Christmas issues and the first Mork & Mindy strip in 1980 #12.  

We’re delighted to hear from our long time contact Irmantas Povilaika about his Kickstarter project to publish the complete strips from the Power Comics Wham, Smash & Pow by Ken Reid, one of the great iconic artists of British comics. Strips included are the fondly remembered Frankie Stein, Jasper the Grasper, Queen of the Seas, Dare-A-Day Davy and The Nervs, plus lots of extras will also be included. The 2 volume hardcover set is due out in August and you can read all about and join the project here. We wish Irmantas well with this wonderfully worthwhile project and encourage all Ken Reid fans to check it out.

On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following files in our American section:
*Teen Humour/Funny Girls
*War
*Western
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: And so, for a while at least, we come to the end of our Eagle updates, adding an almost unbroken run of Volumes 19 and 20 (only 1 issue missing). Volume 19 (1968) was the final full year of publication and Volume 20 (1969) only ran to 17 issues. All the added comics grade GD or VG and they include the Christmas issue for Volume 19 and the very last issue of Eagle (Volume 20 #17).

*DC: After a few years in semi-retirement, Catwoman was brought back as one of the major antagonists in 1966’s Batman TV show, and in short order returned to the comics pages – not in Batman or in Detective Comics, which one might have reasonably expected, but in the 70th issue of Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane! Well, obviously. In a full-length thriller (and a rather fetching variation of her classic costume), Selina Kyle transformed Superman into a Puss of Steel, resulting in the inevitable (ahem) catfight with Lois when the latter discovered her beloved’s fate. Other guest-appearances by the Penguin, Batman and Robin stretched the story out to the extent that it was concluded in the following issue, #71. It’s all complete hooey, but huge fun, with Kurt Schaffenberger’s illustrations at their finest. Issue #70 is Apparent Fine, pence copy with two small cover colour touches on the darker parts of Selina’s costume at £35. Issue #71 wraps it up (and features the additional tale of Lois being blackmailed!) at FA p £3.75. SORRY, #70 NOW SOLD

*Marvel: In issues #31 to #33 of Lee & Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker’s alter ego faced the machinations of the mysterious Master Planner in an early ‘story arc’ – decades before the term was coined! The Planner was revealed to be one of Spidey’s most deadly enemies, and placed our hero in such peril that his escape became one of the most iconic scenes of Spidey’s earlier career. This three-part story is well remembered as a baptism of fire along Spidey’s heroic journey – and, into the bargain, issue #31 introduces two characters – Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn – who are destined to have major impacts on his future! We have two copies of each issue new in: #31 is available in VG- £65 or GD/VG p £50 (both pictured); #32 is App. GD £17.25 (right edge trim, small tear at upper spine) and FA p £9 and #33 is VG- £35 or GD £20. SORRY, BOTH SPIDEY #31 ISSUES NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Sales on Marvel’s Merry Mutants have been very strong lately, so much so that we’ve felt the need to top up our boxes once again with a selection from the X-Men original series. This batch runs between #5 and #66 (the last issue of original material before the ‘new’ X-Men launched with #94), and is for the most part in low affordable grades, with many poors, fairs and goods, although some of the later issues are a bit nicer. With the debuts of the Juggernaut, the Sentinels, the Mimic and the Banshee, plus the artistic hands of Steranko, Smith and Adams (among others), there’s much to enjoy, back in the day before you needed a scorecard to keep track of who was who in mutantkind…

*Alan Class Reprints: At long last some freshly excavated Printing Plate sets now available! Although all of the Alan Class line of reprint comics are increasingly collectible, thanks to their eclectic mix of Superheroics, supernatural thrillers, war, western and miscellany, among the most highly prized are those reprinting tales of the Marvel Universe – often the first reprinting after the original publication! We have seven sets of such issues this update, from the publisher’s private archive, comprising the comic itself, the four lead printing plates used for the full-colour covers, Certificates of Authenticity signed by Alan Class, and occasional ‘bonus features’. Marvel stars include Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer, and Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD by Steranko. Astounding Stories #66, Secrets of the Unknown #67/134 (pre- and post-decimal editions), #103, #122, #123, & #124 and Sinister Tales #55. Prices range from £50 to £75 per set. See our online catalogue for more details!

*TV & Film Related Comics: Perhaps the most keenly sought issues of Gerry Anderson’s craetions represnted in comics are the various TV Century 21 Summer Specials and Extras: 48 pages of adventure and action in a not-too distant future, and we’re lucky enough to have three of them back in stock. 1965’s TV Century 21 Stingray Special starred the eponymous heroes of W.A.S.P., based in Marineville, illustrated by Ron Embleton, backed up by Marina, Girl of the Sea (drawn by Rab Hamilton) and Oink the Seal. This is a very nice copy, light horizontal fold marks esp. at left cover edge, but clean and tight, no interior markings. VG at £100. 1965’s TV Century 21 Summer Extra featured Lady Penelope, Stingray and Fireball XL5 among others, with contributing artists Frank Hampson and Ron Embleton. This is a GD copy, moderate spine and edge wear but no interior markings – puzzle pages are often done in copies of this – on sale at £80. And 1965’s TV Century 21 International Extra is another Stingray-heavy issue (Stingray was a hit on US TV at the time) but also featured Fireball XL5, Lady Penelope, Supercar and a behind-the-scenes photo feature on the making of the Stingray TV show. Contributing artists include Ron Turner. This unusually nice VG copy with only light wear at spine and edges, unmarred cover image, is on sale for £120.

*TV & Film Related Comics: It seemed like the market was being flooded with new TV & Film Related titles in the 1980s and 1990s, and we’ve got a whole caboodle of them for you this week! Titles include (all #1 issues): Captain Scarlet, Cartoon Time Presents Scooby Doo, Casper (with Free Gift), James Bond Jr, Joe 90, Popeye, Real Ghostbusters, Star Trek, Star Trek The Next Generation (1990 with Free Gift & 1992), Stingray (with Free Gift), Thunderbirds Are Go (with Free Gift) & Visionaries (with Free Gift).   

On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following files in our American section:
*Horror 1940-1959
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980’s
*Romance
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

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 27th April, 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:
‘This week’s bargain lot features Viz, the ‘adult comic’ that shamelessly exploits classic tropes of traditional humour weeklies with a scatological twist. Home of ‘Johnny Fartpants’, ‘The Fat Slags’, ‘The Pathetic Sharks’, ‘Millie Tant’, ‘Sid the Sexist’ and a personal fave here at 30th Century, ‘Meddlesome Ratbag’. This infamous parody mag was once the best-selling magazine in the UK, and is still going strong today every other month, but we feel it sits ill with our more conventional funnies, so we’re waving bye-bye to this torrent of toilet humour. Forty issues: 19, 21-25, 27, 34-49, 51-55, 58, 59, 61, 62, 67, 70, 71, 90, 91, 93, 97 and 98, averaging FN, originally on sale for a cumulative price of £142.50, now yours for £25! UK Postage (3.7 kg parcel) if required will be a further £14 for hours of sweary fun!’ SORRY, THIS LOT HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: The Doom Patrol is one of the under-regarded classics of the Silver Age, but its breakout character, peculiarly, didn’t make his debut until the series was well established. In Doom Patrol #99, the team met Beast Boy, an orphan with the uncanny ability to change into any creature, under the control of his evil guardian. This launched two long-running plot-threads, as the DP fought beside, and sometimes against Beast Boy, while Elasti-Girl and Mento sougt to free him from his guardian’s influence and become his new family! Beast Boy (occasionally known as Changeling) has been a major player in the Doom Patrol, the New Teen Titans, the Teen Titans Go! cartoon and will soon be a featured character in the Teen Titans live-action TV show, so now is the time to lay hands on his premier appearance! A highly attractive VG+ pence copy, minimal edge and corner wear, available for £100.

*Marvel: After a long hiatus in reprint limbo, the X-Men, with a new international line-up, made a spectacular return in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and #94 of the ongoing X-Men title marked the return to all-new stories. Scripter Len Wein handed over to Chris Claremont, and Dave Cockrum’s superb illustrations continued to impress. This issue is notoriously hard to find anywhere, being the first New X-Men in the previously-reprint title, and its scarcity is compounded here in the Old Country by the fact that it wasn’t distributed in the UK at all (the distributors in their wisdom bringing in Tomb of Parsnips #47 or somesuch instead…). This copy is a GD-, with a not-quite vertical crease breaking the cover colour, an approximately 3″ diagonal crease at the cover’s right corner, and other minor corner and spine wear. There is also a tear of approximately 1″ in the upper left back cover. However, the interiors are utterly unmarred, and this is a relatively affordable opportunity to obtain a non-distributed and significant item. GD-, cents copy (obviously), £70. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: A Spider-Stonker this week, with around sixty new entries in the Amazing Spider-Man section, commencing with #42, the first ‘Full MJ’, (Mary Jane Watson had cameoed in a few preceding issues, but her face was artfully concealed; this was the famous issue in which Peter Parker realised he’d hit the jackpot…), and encompassing most issues through to #97, plus Annuals #3 to #7, taking in along the way the first appearances of friends, foes and frenemies the Prowler, Silvermane, the Schemer, the Shocker and the ever-kuddly Kangaroo, as well as famous clashes with the Avengers, Quicksilver, Madame Medusa, the Black Widow and of course Spidey’s classic Rogues: Doctor Octopus, Electro, Mysterio, the Vulture and so on. Mostly in attractive mid to high grades, these stories by Stan Lee and (mostly) John Romita will enhance every Spider-Phile’s collection! #42, pictured, is VG/FN at £50, a stunning cover with superb deep unfaded colour and gloss; for grades and prices on the rest – well, you should know where to look by now, True Believer! SORRY, SPIDEY #42 NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Time to top up our Marvel boxes in earnest, since you’ve been buying so much they’re getting increasingly floppy! Marvel titles added this time include Atonishing Tales (Ka-Zar, IT & Deathlok), Avengers (between #25 & #165 plus Annuals #1-3), Daredevil (from #2), Dr. Strange (1st series) & Fantastic Four (dozens of issues between #57 & #288 plus Giant-Size #2). Make Yours Marvel!

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: Among the multitude of 1950s UK publishers who made a career of repackaging US material during those non-distributed days, one of the most prominent was Len Miller, whose enterprise produced myriad faux-US format titles, reprinting American strips and sometimes (most famously with Marvelman) creating entirely new stories for the comics-starved UK market. His big four titles, however, were the horror/sci-fi anthologies Mystic, Spellbound, Voodoo and Zombie, with a heady and seemingly random selection of Pre-Code horror, Marvel ‘Big Panty Monster’ tales, crime stories, and surprisingly frequently, early reprints from Marvel Comics, before Mr. Miller’s demise in the early 1960s left the Marvel licence to be taken up by Alan Class. We have a large number of Mystic and Spellbound newly stocked, ranging from #13 to #66 of Mystic and Spellbound from #7 to #64, plus a smaller selection of Voodoo and Zombie. Several of these feature early Marvel super-hero stories including Dr. Strange, the Human Torch, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor and Ant-Man, and there are occasional other surprises: the 1950s revivals of Captain America, the original Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner from Young Men #24, and an entire issue of Quality’s Blackhawk (in which our team of international aviators take on the Black Widow!) Another talking point is the reprinting of ‘Stretching Things’, the first published story by a young promising talent named Steve Ditko. Illustrated are Mystic #45 FN £25 and #48 FN £25; Spellbound #43 GD £15 and #45 FN £25; Voodoo #9 FN £15 and Zombie #9 £20; full range of issues available, with grades and prices, is shown in our website catalogue. .

*TV & Film Related Comics: A plethora of new issues of Look-In, the ‘Junior TV Times’ best remembered now for its comic strip adaptations of TV series of the day, frequently drawn by the cream of British comic artists. Examples include Mike Noble on ‘Timeslip’ and ‘Follyfoot’, John M. Burns on ‘Tomorrow People’, John Bolton on ‘Bionic Woman’, and many more. This 150+ issue update includes many from 1971, the first year of publication, a dash of 1972, and substantial portions of 1973, 1974 and 1976 (years either minimally or non-represented before), and plenty of gaps filled in our 1977 listings. Two free gift issues from 1971 are included, as well as a scattering of Christmas issues!

*Girls’ Comics: June, the grand old dame of Fleetway/IPC’s girls’ line, hung up her hockey sticks in 1974, but in the British Tradition, both Annuals and Summer Specials continued to be issued for years after the weekly’s demise. 1980, however, saw the very last June and School Friend Summer Special, and that issue is newly arrived in our inventory. Oddly, it’s got few of the series associated with June weekly – Bessie Bunter and Lucky’s Living Doll show their faces, but the rest of the comics content is stand-alone mystery and adventure stories. Nevertheless, this last J & SF Special is also the rarest, so this attractive VG copy, with moderate spine wear, is on sale at £40. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

Our spotlight on previously listed stock this week falls on the 225th issue of the comic that gave DC its name, which featured the debut of J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. Opinions differ on which comic started the Silver Age; many consider that Showcase #4 with the debut of the Barry Allen Flash was the first Silver Age comic, but Detective Comics #225 from November 1955 preceded that by almost a year and featured a brand new super-hero rather than a re-invented one, so you pays yer money and you takes yer choice. Anyway, our issue of Detective #225 is a bright attractive copy, with nice page quality, graded at FN-; the defects comprise a small back cover tear (about 1″), minor spine wear and a very minor crease at the bottom right corner of the cover. Given the Martian Manhunter’s prominence in the DC Media Universe – currently a major player in the hit Supergirl TV series –  recorded sales on this issue are spiralling, but we’re holding firm at the price we originally listed it at of £2,500, offering a solid investment opportunity. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*As you may realise, the purpose of our Clearance Corner lots are 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 20th April, 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: 
“Artist and writer Jack Katz, despite a career dating back to the 1940s, felt unfulfilled by the art form to which he had devoted his professional life, and in 1974, he took inspiration from the underground commix movement, and the move towards black & white magazine comics by publishers such as Warren and Skywald, to create his own graphic opus, the First Kingdom, in which he saw the potential to create his own story without editorial interference. The First Kingdom is a 24-issue, 768-page series which took Katz twelve years to complete, from 1974 to 1986. The twice-yearly publication and adult content meant that First Kingdom never found broad commercial success, but this story of a post-nuclear civilization rebuilding itself with help from gods and aliens, inhabited by a plethora of characters, is generally regarded as a forerunner of today’s independent comics movement. We have 22 of the 24-issue run, in VF average condition (some second printings) lacking only issues 14 and 21 for the complete set. Average retail was £3-£4 per issue, 22 issues now available for £12. Weight 1.5 kg. UK postage, if required, will be an additional £3.50 as a small parcel.” SORRY, THIS LOT HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: In the 1970s, both major companies experimented with tabloid formats, and DC’s was the Limited Collectors’ Edition, selected reprints in oversized format, which proved popular enough to spread to subsidiary series – Famous First Editions (reprinting historic issues in full), All-New Collector’s Edition (with, as the name implies, non-reprint stories of major characters). We have selections from all these gargantuan behemoths new in. Their unusual dimensions meant that they were not well-distributed by newsvendors in the States, nor have they generally fared well in long-term storage. Added to that the fact that they barely saw any distribution in the UK at all, and their rarity will be appreciated. We have one Famous First Edition new in, C-61, reprinting Superman #1 from 1938, FN p £10. From the main Limited Collectors’ Edition series, we have C-31 GD £5, reprinting a selection of vintage Superman stories, GD £5; C-37, a Batman All-Villain Special, (pictured) with an all-star roster – Catwoman, Joker, Two-Face and the Penguin; this is a beautiful VF at £25; C-47, Superman Salutes the Bicentennial, is FN/VF £10 and the star of the update is one of thee most sought-after issues – and by a long way the most contentious – All-New Collectors’ Edition C-55, starring Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, at that time one of DC’s strongest-selling series. Featuring the wedding of two founding Legionnaires, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, this was completely undistributed in the UK and not commonplace in the US, with the result that rabid completist Legion fans (yes, like us!) had to have it, and sought it out regardless of expense or effort, despite the fact that, frankly, the expanded page size did the Grell & Colletta ‘artwork’ no favours whatsoever. Didn’t matter to the diehard Legion folks – and still doesn’t, decades later, as every copy to come through our hands has vanished as if abducted by the Time Trapper! This copy (pictured) is an outstanding VF/NM at £50. SORRY, PICTURED ITEMS NOW SOLD

*DC/Marvel: In 2003, DC and Marvel collaborated to bring together their premier super-teams; in a four-part prestige Format crossover, the Justice League of America and the Avengers clashed, then cooperated, in an epic reality-twisting battle which encompassed every member of both teams at some point, as well as myriad friends, foes and forces of the universe, as Krona and the Grandmaster manipulate two universes to their own ends. The following year, this slipcased hardcover edition was released, featuring not only an expanded version of the full story, but also the 21 pencilled pages of the original aborted Avengers/JLA crossover from 1983, and a plethora of other features! George Perez’s stunning art is even better at the super-sized 9″ x 12″ dimensions, for a truly immersive reading experience! This is a NM copy of a book long out of print, with slipcase, dustjackets and volumes virtually as new, with only the most minuscule ‘shelf wear’ from long term storage. On sale at £125.