*Girls’ Picture Libraries: From 1978, Debbie Picture Library, like its stablemates Bunty & Judy PL, reprinted serials from the parent weekly, collected into done-in-one handy digests, with the occasional brand-new story thrown in. We’re pleased to have a selection of many of the first fifty of the Debbie PL’s, beginning with the very first, “Lost On Planet X”. One observation to be made is that around a quarter of the stories deal with science-fiction themes – usually mysterious visitors from another planet being mentored by plucky Earth schoolgirls, which seems to have been a very popular trope! Traditionalists need not despair, however – there’s still gymnasts, dancers, orphans, slaves of X and servants of Y in abundance!

With deep regret we learned of the death of Ms Le Guin, a visionary and highly influential author of Science Fiction for both adults and children. Her writing reflected her background: her father was an anthropologist and her mother a writer, allowing her to consider alternative ways of life when many writers stayed within the conventions of their time. Ms Le Guins’s most famous books are The Left Hand Of Darkness, The Dispossessed and the Earthsea series, but she was a prolific author – a personal favourite is The Lathe Of Heaven. As for influence, having herself been inspired by Lord Dunsany, Theodore Sturgeon, Cordwainer Smith and Tolkein, she went on to influence many well-known authors including David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, J K Rowling, George R R Martin, Iain Banks and Terry Pratchett – a fine legacy indeed.

Dr Evilla writes: ‘Like many others I first encountered Ursula Le Guin as a child, through the Earthsea Trilogy, which I read avidly. Since then I’ve sought out her writing and never been disappointed. If you haven’t read any of her work, treat yourself; my personal favourite is The Lathe Of Heaven, but there are so many others to choose from’.

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 file in our American section:
*DC
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: Having recently whetted your appetites with our most important Batman update ever, we’re starting this week a new round of Batmania, featuring tales of Batman and his chums throughout their history. The flowing and dynamic art of Neal Adams graced many a cover of Batman and other DC series in the 60s and 70s, but his interior illustrations are less commonplace and much in demand, particularly his renditions of Batman, which helped re-define the public’s perception of the Gotham Guardian after the influence of the Batman TV show faded. New in this week are two of Adams’ best-regarded Batman issues: #234, which features the first appearance of the classic villain Two-Face since the 1940s, reintroducing him to a new generation and #237, in which the trail of a war criminal leads Batman & Robin to a quaint Halloween parade in Rutland, Vermont, kicking of a series of ‘Rutland specials’ which became an in-joke at both DC and Marvel for years. Both of these issues are not only high in creative quality, but in physical quality, being superior examples; Batman #234 is VF- p at £150; #237 is FN+ p £50. More Batmania next week!

*Marvel: With Jolly Jack Kirby leaving the art chores of the X-Men after issue #11, Stan Lee realised he had to crank up the excitement to keep readers’ attention, and he certainly achieved it with this dynamic two-parter which not only introduced one of the X-Men’s (and the broader Marvel Universe’s) most powerful opponents, the Juggernaut! Cain Marko, the hitherto unsuspected step-brother of the X-Men’s mentor Professor Xavier, dabbled with arcane forces and was transformed into the embodiment of an irresistible force – giving him the power to crush his hated step-sibling, and his super-powered students! This two-parter reveals the origins of Professor X and the Juggernaut, and reveals some of the reasons why Xavier set about training the new generation of mutants. #12 is GD/VG p £55; #13 is VG- p £38. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Following extensive sales on Marvel US’s original Star Wars comic, we are delighted to welcome back into stock a selection of issues between #2 and #49, including #39, the first issue of the adaptation of “The Empire Strikes Back”.

*Dell: From that most esoteric of publishers comes a variety of material this week: the humour of Little Iodine, the equine thrills of National Velvet, the theatrics of On Stage, a couple of Movie Classics – Operation Bikini and Two On A Guillotine, TV sci-fi with Outer Limits, TV mystery with Room 222, The Story of Ruth, another movie adaptation with a glorious cover and jungle thrills with Toka Jungle King. Something for everyone?

*Mad & Other Parody: Quite a coup in this truly transatlantic update, with not only the US first two magazine-sized hardcover collections of Mad, published in 1958/59 by Crown (presenting the best of the early years), but also the UK first hardcover (virtually identical to the US first and published in the same year by Arco, predating the UK version of the magazine. Not at all common, these nice copies come with dust jackets protected in removeable archival film. As pictured below, left to right, US first VG in VG DJ £80, US second VG in GD DJ £100, UK first FN in VG DJ £75. 
 

*Marvel UK: Every single issue of Dracula Lives from first (#1, without poster) to last (#87) fresh into stock (except #12) plus the 1976 World Distributors Special. This popular series reprinted Marvel’s Tomb Of Dracula and Werewol By Night, acquiring along its way the Frankenstein Monster, Brother Voodoo, the Living Mummy, the Legion Of Monsters, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider and just about every recurring character from Marvel 1970s horror boom! 

*Humour Comics: Surprisingly – given that the weekly comic launched in 1956 – the Beezer didn’t gain the traditional Summer Special until 1973, over a decade after its senior siblings had launched the form with the joint Dandy-Beano Summer Special. Oddly, given the Beezer weekly’s A3 dimensions, the Summer Specials were actually slightly smaller all around than the regular comic – but made up for it with lots more colour and extra pages, as Ginger, Pop Dick and Harry, Colonel Blink, the Numskulls, Baby Crockett, the Badd Lads and more entertained readers old and new. We have a nice sequence of the Beezer Summer Specials – less common than their Beano and Dandy stablemates, owing, we suspect, to shorter print runs – from the very first in 1973 consecutively through to 1980, then 1982. The 1973 Special, pictured, is VG £20; prices of the others, as always, to 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 British section:
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material
*Younger Readers’ Comics
*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*Marvel: Among the most sought-after comics of the 1970s, Hulk #180-182 featured the first appearances of Wolverine, the Canadian super-hero who, outstripping everyone’s expectations, became the most popular Marvel character since the dawn of the Marvel Age. Created by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe (from a John Romita design), Wolvy was revived by Wein when he put together the “New” X-Men who debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and since then, Wolverine became the star of the X-Men, and a media darling in his own right. We have acquired these three issues in… interesting grades. Issue #180 is technically Wolverine’s debut, though he only appears in a couple of panels toward the end. We have two copies of #180 available, one of which has an unfortunately sun-bleached cover, but would otherwise be VG+ or better. This has the Marvel Value Stamp (that pernicious cut-out which blights collectors of 1970s Marvels) present and intact. Our second copy is an apparent FN, clean with good cover presentation, but the Marvel Value Stamp has been removed from a non-story page. Less scrupulous dealers than ourselves might well try and ‘Frankenstein’ the copies together, given that an intact copy in high grade can be a four-figure book; we, however, decline such jiggery-pokery, and offer then to you as they came to us. Issue #181 is The Big One for the Little Guy: the first ‘Full Wolvy’, in which he battles both beside and with the Hulk against the menace of the Wendigo. Our copy is coverless, but with Marvel Value Stamp in situ. The cover has been neatly detached, with no visible stress or tearing to the staple area, and the general condition is otherwise Fine. Wrapping up the trilogy, we have a relatively uncomplicated #182, in which Wolverine says a fond farewell in a few panels. This is VF/NM. None of these issues were ever distributed in the United Kingdom – thanks once again, Marvel UK – so while they’re not commonplace anywhere, they’re especially scarce in our green and pleasant land. To sum up: Hulk #180 GD, cover sun-bleached but otherwise FN, MV Stamp in place £35; Hulk #180 App. FN but MV Stamp out of non-story page £100; Hulk #181 coverless but MV Stamp in place £300 and Hulk #182 VF/NM £125. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Another of our hugely popular Marvel #1 updates! No fewer than seventeen #1 issues from Marvel’s Bronze Age (with a couple of early Modern Age), with debut numbers for Black Goliath, Black Panther, Champions, Inhumans, Marvel Two-In-One, Micronauts, Ms. Marvel, New Mutants, Nova, Rom, Savage She-Hulk, Son of Stan, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Star Trek, Wolverine (1st ongoing, 1988), and X-Factor! Many of these were low or non-distributed in the UK, and featured early appearances by characters who have since gone on to greater things, both in the comic book Marvel Universe and its multi-media incarnations! Pictured for your delectation are Black Panther #1 VF £50, with its patented Kirby Kraziness and She-Hulk #1, in which Bruce Banner’s smarter cousin made her debut, VF/NM £50; for the others, please see details in our online catalogue.

*Marvel: The 1970s cult ‘non-team’, most popular under the authorship of Steve Gerber, consisted of a bunch of people who were born loners, forced to cooperate, and that ‘hook’, plus Gerber’s off-the-wall scripts, gave the original series a loyal following which its successors have largely failed to incite. At its peak, like other prime titles, it was awarded a ‘Giant-Size’ spin-off, in which feature-length new lead stories were teamed with selected reprints. Never distributed in the UK, these Giant-Size series are enthusiastically pursued, and we are pleased to have all five issues of Giant-Size Defenders back in stock, with, among other attractions, early appearances by the nigh-omnipotent villain Korvac and the Guardians of the Galaxy! SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Horror/Mystery 1960s-1980s: Both series of Charlton’s Ghost Manor (1968 & 1971) recharged in our boxes with dozens of issues new in. Like most Charlton horror from this period, these have a distinct feel; many are graced with Ditko art, but other fine artists such as Tom Sutton, Don Newton, Pat Boyette etc are also represented in their wierd and off-beat pages.

*Tarzan/E R Burroughs: Despite improving our knowledge on a daily basis, the largely unchronicled history of British comics still contains certain pitfalls for us, among them the Tarzan comics published by the linked (in some mysterious way) companies of Top Sellers, World Distributors and Williams. We were recently surprised by a small batch of ‘albums’ related to this series: Tarzan of the Apes Superadventure from 1972, with issues #2, #3 and #4 new to our listing, and Tarzan of the Apes Deluxe Album Series from the same publisher(s) in 1973 – issue #1 new in. These full-colour magazine-sized cardcover album contain about three times the usual jungle shenanigans. The mystery continues to unravel…

*Power Comics: Although Alan Class had been reprinting Marvel super-hero tales in his various titles from the early 1960s – and Len Miller presented some in his anthologies ‘Spellbound’ and ‘Mystic’ – it took until 1967 before a concerted attempt was made to reprint Marvel superheroes in sequential order. That was in the Power Comics weeklies, and after trials in Smash! Wham! and Pow!, they released Fantastic, a weekly devoted entirely to super-heroes, with Thor, Iron Man and the X-Men from the beginning, in glorious black & white and oddly re-edited for the UK market (such as changing American idioms for more intelligible jargon). We may mock – in fact, those of us who’d been reading the originals all along did – but for those benighted parts of the country where the American editions weren’t imported, this was a gift much appreciated, and many people’s first exposure to the Marvel Universe was in these pages. This copy of Fantastic #1 is a remarkable FN/VF, with gorgeous white pages, tight edges and corners, and only staple discoloration precluding a still higher grade. On sale at £55. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*TV & Film Related Comics: A small addition to the hugely popular Fanderson stock: new issues in of TV Century 21 from #183 to #214, the period when the indestructible Captain Scarlet was the headline feature and a dash of Countdown, the inheritor of TV 21’s mantle, which later mutated into TV Action, of which there are also a couple. Quality stuff all around!

*DC: We’ve had many rare and distinctive items through our hands in our 25 years’ trading, but this selection is probably our most significant, comprising some of the earliest adventures of arguably the most popular comics character of all. We have acquired issues #2, #3, #4, #5 and #7 of the Batman’s original series from 1940 and 1941, including early appearances by the Dynamic Duo’s greatest nemeses.

Batman #2 presents not only the second-ever appearances of the Joker and the Catwoman, but features both of them in the same story, thereby becoming DC’s first in-universe villain cross-over. This is also the first use of the Catwoman (or as they style it here, ‘Cat-Woman’) as Selina Kyle’s alias, whereas in her previous appearance, she was simply called ‘The Cat’. The central two centrefolds are off staple, but present; some weakness and stress at cover staple area, minor corner & edge wear. The page condition is decent, light tanning at margins, but no brittleness. There are small ‘puncture’ marks on the front cover. These do not actually impinge upon the cover scene, but do leave marks throughout most of the first half of the book, which diminish towards the centre pages. There is erased pencil residue on the cover, around Batman’s lower torso and legs. Graded GD-, this historic item is on sale for £3000.

Batman #3 features the third Catwoman appearance, and her first in costume – previously she was just a slinky jewel thief in couture clothing, but this, although not her classic ‘look’, was the premiere of her succession of outfits. This has a trimmed right edge, which does not impinge upon the story pages. Staples firm at centrefold, coming loose at lower cover. One small corner off the final page margin, again not affecting any story content. Otherwise, no significant flaws other than general wear owing to its vintage. App. GD+ (because of the edge trim) on sale at £1350.

Batman #4 is the fourth appearance of the Joker, and the first recorded use of the Gotham City name. The centrefold is missing, with 2 pages of one Batman story gone as a result. The other three Batman stories are intact, including the Joker tale. The cover is off the lower staple. Two small corners are off the lower cover edge, not impeding the cover scene. One small corner is off the final interior ad page. App. GD/VG owing to the missing centrefold; on sale at £1000.

Batman #5, with an eye-catching ‘Scales of Justice’ cover, features another Joker story, and is the first appearance of the ‘classic’ Batmobile with the bat head/shield design. (Previously, Batman had driven a succession of cars referred to as ‘the Bat-Mobile’, but they lacked this distinctive configuration). The staples are firm at cover and centrefold, and the interior page quality excellent. A 5mm tear is throughout the lower level of the book, radiating in from the spine. (Approximately at level of Batman’s right bicep on cover image) This does not encroach upon the interior stories. This remains an extremely attractive copy, which would, without the last flaw described, grade significantly higher. VG+ at £1500.

Batman #7 features the Joker again, and a classic ‘bullseye’ cover. This is an extremely attractive copy, with flexible off-white interiors, staples firm at cover and centrefold, and a light dustshadow at the right cover edge. VG+ at £1500.

More description than we normally try your patience with, but we’re sure you’ll appreciate that with items of this importance and rarity, the extra verbiage is justified. Shown below are cover images of all five in sequence left to right. Our catalogue listing also has images for the back covers and splash pages; high resolution images are available on request. Truly historical items, and ones we’re proud to have in our possession. NB We do not keep these issues on our premises; viewing is STRICTLY by appointment only.

BATMAN #2 & #7 NOW SOLD

*Marvel: The popularity of Marvel’s God of Thunder is riding higher than ever with several smash movies in his wake, so early appearances by Thor are keenly sought; we have a selection beginning with his second-ever appearance, in Journey Into Mystery #84, where he faces the menace of – The Executioner! (Stan & Jack clearly liked the name enough to recycle it shortly thereafter for the Asgardian assassin we all know and love.) We also have #100 – an epic clash with the diabolical Mr. Hyde – in two grades, and a few more J.I.M.’s up to #123, then a handful of issues from when the title renamed itself for Thor, up to #161. Pictured are #84 VG/FN p £425; 100 FN p £75 and 123 VF p £53, with details of the others in our online catalogue.

*Marvel: The 1970s were a confusing time for Captain America, and his creators. As the years moved away from World War II, the Star-Spangled Sentinel’s established persona seemed almost quaint, and the Marvel Bullpen threw him into a lot of unusual scenarios to try to integrate him with the ‘relevant’ world. Some of them stuck – his long-term partnership with the Falcon – and some of them didn’t (anyone remember his short-lived career as a police officer?). Nevertheless, top-notch creators kept trying, and the results are an interesting switchback read. We have new stock for Cap from issue #121 through to #200, highlights along the way including clashes with Modok, the Grey Gargoyle, and the debuts of the nifty but nefarious Nightshade and the scintillating Serpent Squad, as well as a cross-over with Spider-Man and Jack Kirby’s pledge that “America Will Die!” – just in time for the Bicentennial!

*Archie: While Archie Comics is of course best known for their plethora of teen-comedy titles focused on their titular star, the publishers also have a stable of super-heroes whose history dates back as far as 1940. In the late Fifties, the company made their first serious attempt at a revival (the original runs having petered out more than a decade previously) with two characters created by the legendary Joe Simon and Jack Kirby: The Double Life of Private Strong and The Fly. The former was a meek private who was scientifically empowered into a star-spangled crusader. Sound familiar? The fledgling Marvel Comics (who weren’t even publishing Captain America at the time!) thought so too, and after two issues Private Strong was abruptly demobbed following a heartfelt ‘cease and desist’ order. His companion title, the Fly, fared better; initially reminiscent of the original Captain Marvel (plucky orphan gains magical artefact enabling him to become a super-adult), after the first few issues Simon & Kirby jumped ship, and he was retooled into an adult attorney, who, with his distaff counterpart Fly-Girl, had adventures very reminiscent of the Silver Age Superman. A further title, the Jaguar, joined the franchise, and they pottered along happily until the mid-Sixties, when the Batman TV show and Marvel’s success caused the entire line to mutate into an infinitely inept pastiche of Marvel’s ‘bickering heroes’ style. Fly became Fly Man, and a super-team (The Mighty Crusaders) and a ‘showcase’ title (Mighty Comics Presents) followed. We have both issues of Private Strong, a dash of Jaguar, and most issues of the Fly from the first wave, and substantial runs of Fly-Man, Mighty Comics Presents and the Mighty Crusaders from the second wave, as well as the one-off Super-Heroes Vs. Super-Villains. Buy the first wave, and be charmed and gently entertained; buy the second, and listen to the sound of your brains dribbling out of your ears. You have been warned…