*Marvel: One of the more tragic entries in Spider-Man’s Rogue’s Gallery is the Lizard, a.k.a. Dr. Curt Connors, a dedicated scientist and devoted husband and father whose research into a regenerative serum, to help himself and other amputees, went horribly wrong when the lizard-like properties of tissue regeneration ran rampant, turning him into a humanoid reptile. The Lizard debuted in the sixth issue of Spider-Man, and we are delighted to have in stock this VG- p copy, which would grade higher but for the placement of a Book Centre Stamp over the Lizard’s tale, as may be seen in the illustration. Nevertheless, a clean, tight copy of one of the Wall-Crawler’s earliest adventures, which as getting harder and harder to come by as the years roll on. Amazing Spider-Man #6 VG- p £225. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Three years after the debut of the Black Panther, 1969’s Captain America #117 saw the debut of Marvel’s second African-American super-hero. Having switched bodies involuntarily with the Red Skull, Cap ends up on Exile Island, being hunted by the Skull’s henchmen. Rescued by a young man named Sam Wilson and his pet hawk, Redwing, Cap persuades Sam of the importance of a costumed identity as a symbol, and Sam adopts the guise of the Falcon, first to inspire revolution in the native population of Exile Island, and later as an aspirational figure in Sam’s Harlem home. The Falcon and his avian sidekick Redwing would become a mainstay of Cap’s series, and of course figure largely in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe, so this first appearance, long undervalued, is now climbing. This is an attractive VG, cents copy with no pence price or overstamp, clean and tight with only minimal wear at the cover edge, on sale at £75. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: When the distribution restrictions eased, and Marvel’s split books fissioned into solo series, Jim Steranko really cut loose with his kinetic, cinematic style, heavily influenced by the Op Art movement of the era, but founded on meticulous narrative principles, producing some epic work in his sadly short comic book career. Nowhere was this more evident than in his work on Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, where he combined the secret agent tropes popular in the day with his own visual flair, producing iconic works that still resonate decades later. We have the first fifteen issues of this series, (sans #13) in stock; Steranko sadly didn’t do all of the early issues – his attention to detail was deadline-unfriendly – but he was ably substituted by Frank Springer, an under-estimated artist who has seldom been better than when he was emulating Steranko’s approach. Issue #1 is VG+ p £25; details of the remainder may be found in our online catalogue. SORRY, ISSUES #1-3 NOW SOLD

*Western: A selection of western adventures from four decades and five publishers: the 1940s brings us Timely’s Tex Taylor #8, and the 1950s offers two Magazine Enterprises titles – Bobby Benson’s B-Bar-B Riders #13, with a splendid Frazetta cover, and Durango Kid #8, with interior Frazetta art – and two issues of Prize Comics Western, with John Severin art among others. The 1960s shows up with two Marvel titles – a dash of Rawhide Kid, and a couple of the giant-sized Mighty Marvel Western issues and the 1970s is heralded with Weird Western Tales #18, the first all-Jonah Hex issue.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Lion is a popular series in all its iterations, but in the final few years – 1972 to 1974 – it had a top-notch line-up of fantasy and adventure which was, honestly, too good for the general readership. (Is the writer here a prejudiced witness, being a former Lion reader? Perhaps.) With ‘The Spider’, ‘Dr. Mesmer’s Revenge’, ‘Robot Archie’, ‘Spellbinder’, ‘Adam Eterno’, ‘The 10,000 Disasters of Dort’ and okay, if you must, ‘Carson’s Cubs’, it was a cracking read – which leaves scholars baffled as to why it faltered, losing sales and even, in its final year, skipping some weeks. Must have been inter-office politics. Be that as it may; we are delighted to have around twenty new issues in from this period, including the very final issue, in attractive grades, averaging Fine; the last-ever Lion dated 18th May 1974 is FN at £20. The others may be found in our online catalogue.

*TV & Film Related Comics: After a long run of 242 issues, TV Century 21, the Gerry Anderson-inspired comics showcase, without pausing for breath, reinvented itself as TV 21 & Joe 90, starting with a new #1, and scooping up its fallen stablemate, co-opting the titular speccy hero, ‘Star Trek’, and ‘Land of the Giants’ from Joe 90 weekly and teaming them with the star features ‘Thunderbirds’ and ‘The Saint’ for a refreshed line-up. We have several of the earlier TV 21 & Joe 90 new in, including the first four and then a further half-dozen issues between #9 and #23. Issue #1 (pictured) is GD/VG at £35, and price and grade details of the others, as always, may be found in our online catalogue. SORRY, #1 & #2 NOW SOLD

*Clearance Corner: Up for grabs this week is a batch of 18 of those wonderful Marvel Giant squarebound reprint comics from the mid-late 1960s. This lot comprises 6 x Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics (#1, #2, #3, #5, #7 & #20), 7 x Marvel Super-Heroes (#21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26 & #27) and 5 x Marvel Tales (#4, #5, #6, #8 & #10). Condition averages VG ish. Full of glorious tales from the earliest days of the Marvel Universe, at just £18 (£1 each!), this lot represents tremendous reading value – the FF, Spidey, Ant-Man, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Dr Strange, the X-Men, Daredevil etc — they’re all here! UK postage on this lot if required would be an extra £3.50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

Our spotlight on previously listed stock this week falls on a pair of beauties from the notorious American publisher Fox of the 1940s/50s. Most Victor Fox publications were printed on the cheapest paper stock available to him, and were shameless in their exploitation of lurid and scantily clad heroines and femme fatales, plus violence and gore were not underused in these pre-code days. Here, for example, the titular character, Dagar the Desert Hawk, a male desert adventurer, was upstaged on the covers (and mostly on the interiors) by exotic damsels. A Fox book is an experience quite like nothing else — crude and unsophisticated for the most part (Matt Baker’s Phantom Lady aside), but with a certain manic energy and drive. Dagar #16 (the series started at #14) is VG- (small piece of clear tape upper centre cover) at £65; #22 (the penultimate issue) is GD/VG at £50. Both have varying degrees of spine wear, but attractive and unspoilt cover images and reasonable page quality. 

‘BUT,’ I hear the cries of non-footie fans (including Dr Evilla), ‘surely the football season is over!’ They haven’t reckoned with the forthcoming World Cup. Despite her lack of respect for the beautiful game Dr Evilla has been cajoled into producing a window display celebrating the doyen of British football (and comics), Roy Of The Rovers, even going so far as to find the issue where Roy wins the World Cup (in his dreams).

As usual, we shall be closed on the Bank Holiday Monday 28th May. All email orders submitted before then will be dealt with on Tuesday morning when we re-open, and prioritised in order of receipt. 

*DC: Star of this week’s Batmania is Batman #169, the second Silver Age appearance of the Penguin, and his first post the launch of Batman’s ‘New Look’. One of the ‘Big Four’ villains featured regularly in the Batman TV show, embodied by Burgess Meredith, the Penguin clicked with the mainstream audience, and thanks to the updated incarnation portrayed by Robin Taylor in ‘Gotham’, he’s more popular than ever! This key appearance of a major villain is a beautiful FN, pence copy, with vivid purple background unfaded and unbroken by the ravages of time – and also one of Carmine Infantino’s most eye-catching designs of the era! On sale at £65. But the Bumbershoot Bandit brought along friends – appearances by the Joker, Clayface, the Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Getaway Genius (pardon?) festoon this update of around 20 Silver Age issues new in, from #159 (‘Clayface/Joker Feud!’), to #189 (return of the Scarecrow).

*Marvel: This week’s look at Marvel’s debut issues in 1968 features a gamma-infused milestone, with the first issue of the Hulk’s own series, eccentrically numbered #102, as he assumed the numbering of Tales to Astonish, the split-book which had been his home for several years. This was Brucie’s big break, his comeback vehicle after his early-60s 6-issue flop, and the start of the long-running series most associated with him. Mirthful Marie Severin illustrated not only a recap of Bruce Banner’s irradiated origin, but also a new story thread with Jade-Jaws frolicking with some of Thor’s Asgardian chums. (Bonus points for the appearance of guest-villainess the Enchantress (obviously)). This is a gorgeous copy: clean, tight at staples, sharp corners, excellent cover colour and gloss, VF p £140. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: As befits its status as the premier series of the Marvel Universe, the Fantastic Four has launched many secondary careers of the FF’s foes and friends who first appeared as guest-stars, then graduated to their own series. The Silver Surfer, the Inhumans, the Black Panther and many others have debuted this way, and in Fantastic Four #66, we were introduced to a mysterious cocooned figure who emerged the following issue as ‘Him’, a being of almost godlike power. Later, he would be named Warlock and would enjoy a chequered career of critical acclaim, but haphazard commercial success, coming into his own with Jim Starlin’s controversial series of the 1970s. These two issues see the first appearance of the character, though he was not fully revealed until the second half of the two-part story. Issue #66, the prelude as it were, is VG+ p at £32; the ‘big reveal’ comes in #67, a VG+ p copy with a striking white-background cover (only slight right-edge discolouration due to age) spotlighting all of our cavortin’ cast of characters. This debut issue is VG+ p £75. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: One of Marvel’s most enduring characters, and still tearing up a storm in the Marvel cinematic universe, Thor, God of Thunder, is significantly restocked, with issues commencing from Journey Into Mystery #112 (the scarce early Thor/Hulk clash) through to Thor #173 (the title having become eponymous with #126, but keeping the Journey Into Mystery numbering) and JIM Annual #1, which introduced Marve’s take on Hercules! Highlights along the way include the premier appearances of the Warriors Three, Mangog, and the Destroyer. For grandeur and glory, Lee and Kirby’s Thor remains unmatched.

*War: The early 1970s were a schizoid time for the DC war line; still popular sellers, but, with the zeitgeist of the American nation still reeling from Vietnam, tales of combat had to be less straightforward and gung-ho than they used to be. The writers and artists rose to the challenge, producing fine and often overlooked work. We have new listings from this period for Our Army At War (starring Sgt. Rock, from #236), Our Fighting Forces (featuring the Losers, from #131), Star Spangled War Stories (home to the Unknown Soldier, from #159), and the war/horror hybrid Weird War Tales, commencing with #5. These are mostly higher-grade additions, averaging Fine+ or better, and featuring the best artists working in the genre – Joe Kubert, of course, but also Russ Heath, Sam Glanzman, John Severin, Alex Toth and relative newbie Neal Adams!

*Mad & Other Parody: We refresh our lists of the premier parody magazine with half a dozen of the UK Mad Specials, ranging from the 1970 “Collected Ravings From”, through a selection of numbered Specials (#11, #12, #13 and #15) from the 1970s, and closing out with the 1985 ‘Worst From’ Special (#53). Backing them up, there’s a single vintage issue of Cracked, the shameless Mad-imitator which ran from 1958 to 2007. This is #17, from 1960, and features the artistic talents of John Severin, Jack Davis and Russ Heath, amongst others.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: In 1974, D.C. Thomson launched Warlord, a harder-hitting weekly devoted entirely to war in its various guises; the company had of course always played up WW II and other famous battles in its other adventure weeklies, such as Victor, Hotspur, Hornet et al., but this was the first all-war weekly they had tried, and it caught on big time with the public, running more than a decade for a total of 627 issues, and inspiring competitors IPC/Fleetway to retaliate a year later with Battle. Warlord was fronted by Lord Peter Flint, code-named guess-what, as a WWII spy, and other popular features included Union Jack Jackson and Bomber Braddock. This copy of #1 is a GD, with an upper spine tear being the predominant flaw. The accompanying Free Gift – a ‘For Valour’ Medal holder with shiny paper ‘medals – is Fair, partially completed with 18 out of 24 ‘medals’ stuck in. (obviously the original purchaser missed a week!) It’s not pretty, but it’s complete, it’s the first issue of a long-running series, and it’s very affordable at £15. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*TV & Film Related Comics: Early and key issues of Transformers, the much-loved shape-shifting robots who fought a covert war to save Earth while disguising themselves as common vehicles, according to the popular toy & cartoon series from the 1980s! The Marvel UK title started out as a simple reprint of the US series, but demand proved so huge that a great deal of new material was produced for the UK market to satiate the desires of a generation of rabid Transfans! Included in this update are thirty issues new to our listings, all of them bearing Free Gifts ranging from posters to stickers, badges, transfers, iron-on t-shirt transfers, plastic planes, mini-comics and a ‘Data Scan’ – what’s that, exactly? Only Optimus Prime knows for sure! #2 is FN with the gift – action transfers NM £30; #3 is FN with the iron-on t-shirt transfer in NM £30: and issue #28, featuring the debut of the Dinobots, is VF with poster VF at £30. For details of all the rest, please see our online catalogue.

*Girls’ Comics: Around 80 issues of Judy from the years 1968 to 1971 new in, in affordable mid-grades, with science-fantasy – ‘Beneath the Blue Iceberg’, secret-agent adventure -‘The Girl From DORSET’ – and the Judy holy trinity of ‘Bobby Dazzler’, ‘Wee Slavey’, and ‘Sandra of the (fill in the blank) Ballet’ in full force! Christmas issues etc included. This concludes our massive Judy extravaganza for the time being.

*Clearance Corner: This slender volume – as Swift only lasted until March of 1963 – encompasses the final issues of the former ‘Junior Eagle’. By this time, however, its original brief of younger protagonists and cross-gender appeal had been abandoned, and the line-up was primarily well-done boys’ adventure strips including ‘Phantom Patrol’, ‘Tarna’ (no longer a jungle boy, as he had been in earlier years), ‘Blackbow the Cheyenne’, and ‘Max Bravo’. From the IPC Magazines Central Reference Library, the hardcover binding is sound, but a bit worn and grubby. The comics (all 9 issues), allowing for the necessary trimming to bind them, are in decent shape, equivalent to FN. This is on sale at £12. UK postage on this, if required (small parcel) would be an additional £3.50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

This week’s spotlight from our previously-listed stock falls on a comic from recent times (only 13 years old!) Yes, we can see you all reclining on your fainting couches at the thought of us spotlighting a comic published in the 21st Century, but trust us, Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo’s She-Hulk series is worth the attention! A delightful blend of comedy, drama and pathos, it follows the former Jennifer Walters, superheroic stunner and lawyer at large, dealing with the complexities of a world where ghosts, aliens, clones, robots and more are everyday matters. Can a deceased superhero who’s had a resurrection reclaim his estate from his heirs? Who’s legally liable if a person has an unwanted origin? is the testimony of a murder victim’s ghost admissible in court? Fun and imaginative stuff as Jen has to re-start her life after being kicked out of Avengers Mansion – again! This copy of #1 from 2005 is CGC 9.8 (NM/M), at £40.

*DC: It all began so routinely. Yet another bunch of super-powered teens arriving in Smallville, a quiet town which had seen so many brightly-clad youths streak across its skies, only to vanish and never be seen again. But this trio of guest-stars were different. Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, from the far future’s Legion of Super-Heroes, travelled back to invite Superboy, the most legendary teen hero of all, to join their ranks – and a legend began. After multiple guest-appearances in various Superman family titles, the Legion gained its own series with Adventure Comics #300, and despite setbacks along the way, remains an important presence in DC’s history. We are admittedly prejudiced witnesses, huge Legion of Super-Heroes fans, to the extent we named our business after their home era. Therefore we are especially delighted to welcome the Legion’s first three appearances into our lists. Adventure #247, dated April 1958, brought the founding trio to Smallville for the first time. This is an attractive GD copy, with an iconic cover scene endlessly homaged since; the interior pages are exceptionally white, with no creasing, tears or discolouration. The spine is sound, staples firm, and only light wear at the spine and edges. However, there has been a cover colour touch – the black area at Cosmic Boy’s side of the podium. Nevertheless, a lovely copy of a major debut. The team’s second appearance was in Adventure #267, the following year, sales reports having spiked on the team’s debut. Again, this is a GD copy with considerable eye appeal. Light creasing on the back cover precludes a higher grade, but overall a strong sound copy with light to moderate wear, and one diagonal cover crease which breaks the colour across the logo. The team’s third appearance was in 1960’s Action #267, where we saw the roster expand for the first time, with the on-panel debuts of Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid and Colossal Boy, as Supergirl was invited to audition (better luck next year, Kara…) This copy of Action #267 is only FA, with considerable edge and corner wear, a small tape ‘patch’ on lower front cover, and minor writing on the front cover. Adventure #247 is GD £625; Adventure #267 is GD £80 and Action #267 is FA p £25. SORRY, ADVENTURE COMICS #247 HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: Issue #54 of Brave & Bold teamed up three junior partners of DC’s major super-heroes – Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin – against the villainy of the sinister Mr. Twister, as a kind of junior Justice League. Written by Bob Haney, ilustrated by Bruno Premiani, this proved to be such a hit that issue #60 of the same title got the band back together as the “Teen Titans”, with the addition of Wonder Girl, against the staggering Separated Man! Often overlooked is the fact that B & B #60 is actually a double debut: not only the premier of the Teen Titans title, but the first appearance of Donna Troy as Wonder Girl – previous appearances of WG had just been stories of Wonder Woman’s younger adventures, a la Superboy, but this was the first WG as an independent entity. The team got one more tryout in Showcase #59, against the funky but forgettable Flips (“We’re Just A Babe, A Board, And A Bike”…), most notable for Premiani yielding the artistic reins to Nick Cardy, the artist most associated with the classic Titans. And finally, comics’ other Fantastic Four got their own ongoing series commencing in 1965, and despite cancellations and setbacks, some iteration of the Titans has almost always been on DC’s roster of stars. Our Brave & Bold #54 is VG/FN p, with a very slight cover tear, less than a quarter-inch, at lower spine; Brave & Bold #60 is FN p, with an unmarred black cover border bearing only the faintest of cover colour breaks; Showcase #59 is a lovely FN/VF p, minimal corner blunting being the only flaw and Teen Titans #1 is FN+ p, unmarred white cover background and excellent interior pages. Brave & Bold #54 VG/FN p £225; Brave & Bold #60 FN p £225; Showcase #59 FN/VF p £50; Teen Titans #1 FN+ p £120.

*Marvel: By the time of Spider-Man’s 50th issue, ‘new’ artist John Romita had made the series his own, and this special issue was marked with the debut of a new villain, the Kingpin – so long associated with Daredevil, in the post-Miller years, that many people overlook the fact that he originally belonged to Spider-Man’s Rogues’ Gallery! This landmark issue also saw a crisis of confidence in Peter Parker, his temporary abandoning of the Spider-Man identity immortalised in the iconic (and often imitated) cover. Our newest copy of ASM #50 is VG, a cents copy with no pence price or overstamp. There is some browning and spine wear, but the overall appearance of the book is very attractive, with excellent cover gloss and unfaded cover colour. On sale at £125. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: One of the phenomena of the last decade of the 20th Century was Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos, the megavillain Starlin had been building up for nearly twenty years, was unleashed against the massed forces of the Marvel Universe, armed with the reality-altering Infinity Gauntlet, in a struggle for the sake of the universe itself! Hugely popular, the mini-series spawned many, many crossover issues, and two direct sequels, Infinity War – in which the Marvel Heroes were forced to confront their own dark duplicates – and Infinity Crusade – in which ‘The Goddess’ separated the Marvel Heroes into a super-powered jihad. These three series have been hugely popular ever since their inception, but with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet at the centre of the Avengers: Infinity War movie, demand for them is at its height, and we consider ourselves very lucky to have acquired both Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War in their entirety. Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 average NM p, and are sold as a set of six at £100; Infinity War #1-6 are averaging NM p, and sold as a set of six at £50; as a bonus, we also have the first issue of Infinity Crusade NM p £6. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD