*DC: As regular readers will know, from time to time, vintage aficionados though we are, we do include some relatively more modern comics in our catalogue – if we deem them worthy! One such series is 1980’s New Teen Titans, in which Marv Wolfman and George Perez took a faded Sixties franchise and revitalised it into DC’s sales powerhouse of the decade. Introducing three brand-new characters – Cyborg, Raven and Starfire – Wolfman & Perez hewed very closely to the X-Men model of angst-ridden young heroes, and scored big points not only with DC’s readers; NTT became the DC Comic even Marvel fans bought! While we have had key issues listed before, the sheer quality of the title has caused us to expand our net to include the first 20 issues, including the series’ pilot in DC Comics Presents #26, the premiere issue of the new series and issue #2, which introduced Deathstroke the Terminator, who himself later became a breakout star villain. This high-grade consecutive run of the first twenty issues, around half of them (including the early keys) cents copies, may be found under ‘Teen Titans, New’ in our catalogue listing. Pictured below: DC Comics Presents #26 VF+ £50, New Teen Titans #1 FN/VF £30, #2 VF/NM £100. SORRY, ALL THREE PICTURED ITEMS NOW SOLD
Category Archives: What’s New
American Update: Batmania Max: Complete run of Joker #1-9 1975/76
*DC: This week’s Batmania Max features a full run (all 9 issues) of the Joker’s own short-lived series from 1975/76. Not only Batman’s most famous foe, but arguably the most famous villain in comics, starred in his own series briefly at this time, and came up against various other Bat-foes, DCU villains such as Luthor and the Royal Flush Gang and heroes such as Green Arrow, the Creeper and even Sherlock Holmes. A mixture of grades in this all-cents copy run; #1 is VF at £30; full details in our catalogue.
American Update: The World’s Finest Heroes! (and friends…)
*DC: The venerable World’s Finest Comics title originally featured Superman and Batman in separate stories, but page shrinkage in the 1950’s meant that the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader were teamed-up, issue after issue, in stories that required quite a bit of ingenuity to challenge the heroes’ very different skill sets. This selection ranges from the late 1960’s through to the mid-1970’s (#174 to #242), and offers, among others, the rather lovely #176 (an unusual four-way team-up involving Batgirl and Supergirl, illustrated by Neal Adams), the experimental period where Superman dumped Batman and started teaming up with other heroes, from #198 on – guests at this time included Flash, Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, Dr. Fate and more – and the 100-Page era of the early ’70s, plus, from #215 on, the horror and disappointment that was… The Super-Sons! As is common with many of our larger recent DC updates, these are almost exclusively cents copies, with no UK pence price or overprint, and the grade skews high – a few VG’s, but many in FN/VF or better.
American Update: Iron Fist #14 – First Appearance Sabretooth!
*Marvel: Iron Fist’s 1977 title, though critically acclaimed and well-received, failed to catch a mass audience, and was cancelled with its fifteenth issue. But in retrospect, its next-to-last issue, #14, has become hugely sought after as the debut of Sabretooth, one of the X-Men’s most popular enemies. Ironically, it’s only Sabretooth’s premier appearance by accident – he was intended to appear first in Ms. Marvel #24, but that title was cancelled with issue#23, so here he is, in all his feral glory! This issue is doubly desirable here in the UK, as it was never distributed through official channels, and only a relatively tiny amount of the print run made it over. This copy is a FN+, generally appealing with only very minor wear to one upper corner precluding a still higher grade; on sale at £65. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania: #151-200, including 1st Black Cat
*Marvel: For this week’s selection in our Spider-Mania event, we turn to Amazing Spider-Man #151-200, with selections from the long, arid period of non-distribution. This update features issues previously unrepresented in our inventory, and includes clashes with classic villains Kingpin, Shocker and Green Goblin, as well as guest-appearances by Nova, Nightcrawler, and some of the Punisher’s earliest recorded gigs! The most significant item in this run, however – even eclipsing the double-thick special Anniversary #200 – is #194, with the first appearance of the larcenous lady who would become Spidey’s most beloved enemy – the Black Cat! Issue #194 is FN+ at £40; for grade and price details of the others, see our online catalogue. SORRY, SPIDEY #194 HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Journey Into Mystery #87; early Thor, exceptional condition!
*Marvel: Our new acquisition of Journey into Mystery #87 – only the fifth-ever appearance of the God of Thunder – is technically not a NM-, despite its generally superior appearance: a beautiful glossy cover, with vibrant unfaded colour and superb interior page quality, it has nevertheless been very slightly, barely noticeably, trimmed at the right edge. Presumably, at some point in its history, a previous owner was trying to remove an irregularity from the edge. Nevertheless, it is an exceptional vintage item, and given that an actual NM- would grade in excess of £1,000, this Apparent NM- cents copy is priced to sell at a comparatively bargainaceous £335.
American Update: Strange Tales of SHIELD…
*Marvel: Strange Tales made for strange bedfellows from the August 1965 dated #135, as the supernatural adventures of Doctor Strange were joined by the high-tech, James-Bond inspired action thriller, Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD! Fury, the star of the WW II-era ‘Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos’, had been introduced to the modern Marvel Age as a CIA agent in Fantastic Four, and with this series, he was promoted to director of a new international agency, SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage Law-enforcement Division). By Lee and Kirby, this new series shamelessly exploited the super-spy craze, but retained its roots firmly in the Marvel Universe, as Nick and his team dealt with extra-terrestrial threats and rival agencies such as AIM and HYDRA, who were vying for domination of Earth! SHIELD’s premiere issue, #135, is a VG/FN pence copy at £60; we also have several of the follow-up issues, ranging from #137-147, averaging VG to FN, featuring additional high-octane excitement – and let us not forget the Lee/Ditko (Lee/Everett in that last issue) Doctor Strange suspense stories!
American Update: 1950’s Sci-fi, Adventure & Crime from various publishers
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: The 1950’s was a great time for genre diversification in American comics, when super-heroes were not the dominant theme. In this update we have three such genres represented: a gorgeous painted pulp-style cover adorns Ziff-Davis’s science-fiction anthology title Amazing Adventures #3, complete with giant kitten; Arabian Nights adventure features in St John’s Son Of Sinbad #1, with the whole issue graced by the art of the great Joe Kubert;, plus we have a gamut of crime: Kerry Drake from Argo, Public Enemies from DS and several issues of Private Eye from Atlas.
American Update: Classic DC Reprints – 1st Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Green Lantern & more
*Modern Reprints: A pot pourri of classic DC reprints in this popular category. Starting with Millenium Editions, we have Detective Comics #1, #27 (1st Batman, duh!), #38 (1st Robin) & Showcase #22 (1st Silver Age Green Lantern); Annuals that never quite were: Justice League of America 100 Page Super Spectacular and Wonder Woman; and promotional reprints from Toys R Us: Batman #121 (1st Mr Freeze), Detective Comics #38 & #359 (1st Batgirl) and from Pizza Hut Batman #122. Your chance to grab some classic material for usually just a few pounds each!
British Update: I Say, Chaps, It’s Jolly Old Captain Britain! – Issues #1-9 new in, including 1st Betsy Braddock/Psylocke!
*Marvel UK: From 1976, Marvel UK’s first attempt to generate a British-based super-hero, placed into the hands of Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, who… might have possibly met an English person. Once. Be that as it may, CB’s become a mainstay of the mainstream Marvel Universe, and this new selection of the first nine weekly issues features not only his debut and origin in issue #1 (duh), but also issues #8 & #9, the first and second appearances of his psychic psister, Betsy, who – years later and after many, many changes – turned Japanese and became the X-Men’s scantily-clad ninja mind-warrior Psylocke. As you do. This new copy of #8 (pictured) is a respectable VG at £40. For prices and grades on the others consult our catalogue.
British Update: CSD Putney: Top Three – Picture Stories In Colour!
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Well, a bit of colour; the publishers of this series of digest-sized European reprints cheaped out by only having the odd page in full-colour rather than black & white, but that alone made them stand out in those days! Top Three, so called because of its habit of running three separate and distinct stories in each issue, covered an astonishing variety of subject matter in its 100+ run: adventure, jungle, historical, detective thriller, and many more, with attractive painted covers luring in the readers. This selection of new issues (around 30 in all) fills in much of the early run, ranging from 1961’s #2 to 1964’s #40, averaging Fine or better, with many VFs. We’re finally coming towards the end of our massive CSD: Putney collection of picture libraries, with just a few weeks more to go!
British Update: Beezer 1970
*Humour Comics: D C Thomson’s unfeasibly large Beezer takes the Humour spotlight this week with dozens of issues added from 1970. Cover featuring the luckless Ginger, by this time Beezer was almost entirely an out and out humour title with strips such as Colonel Blink, Smiffy, the Numskulls, Baby Crockett and Pop, Dick & Harry, but the odd adventure strip such as Showboat Circus and the Jellymen still adorned the centrefolds. A variety of grades, but mostly veering towards the higher end of the British grading spectrum; mostly unfolded copies, unusual in this big title. Christmas issue included and pictured.
British Update: Girl Goes Poptastic! 1963/64
*Girls’ Comics: The distaff counterpart to Eagle went through many changes in its run, but few as drastic as the last couple of years of its existence, 1963 and 1964. Girl shrank down to a smaller magazine size from its traditional half-broadsheet, and started running photo-covers, at first mild ‘battle of the sexes’ jokes, then later on, full-page pin-up covers as the magazine pandered shamelessly to the new pop scene of the time. In terms of comic strips, Belle and Mamie – formerly, famously, of the Ballet School – got a job as half of the ‘Telegang’, bright young things who toured the world making documentaries and having adventures. Schoolgirls ‘Wendy and Jinx’ were still active, as was ‘Lettice’, and there was also the odd (very odd) dash of genteel sci-fi, the strangest example of which ran from V12 #51 to V13 #13, ‘The Day of the Triffids’, adapting the famous novel, but replacing the adult heroine with two school-age girls. Needless to say, things didn’t pan out quite the way John Wyndham originally wrote them! Famous pop-persons frequently featured include the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Cilla Black, while many others – Eden Kane? Johnny Justice? Heinz? – have been lost in the mists of time. (Tell you what, though: that Shane Fenton’s a dead ringer for Alvin Stardust. Eerie resemblance…) The end seemed nigh when, in the latter days of ’64, Princess-alumni like Sue Day and Uncle Lionel started poking their faces in, and sure enough, with V13 #40, 3rd October 1964, (pictured below right) it was the final issue, as Girl slunk off ingloriously to be incorporated into Princess. This selection of around 100 issues new in (occasional duplicates) varies from Fair to Fine, but predominantly hits a solid VG grade throughout.
Books Update: Science Fiction Novels, Including One For Arachnophiles
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Six excellent SF novels have been added recently. Two have been offered before: M John Harrison’s The Pastel City and Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah. Of the others, Sleeping Planet (William R Burkett) involves the ultimate stealth alien invasion, when practically all humans sleep through the event, Tyranopolis (A E Van Vogt) forecasts a very dystopian future and The Ophiuchi Hotline is a rollicking adventure involving clones, strange human-alien symbioses and a huge lie. Finally, there’s an unusual appearance in this category for Spiderman in The Octopus Agenda (Diane Duane).
Books Update: “Mrs. Peel?” “Don’t tell me –we’re needed again!”
*TV/Film Tie-Ins: The (M) Appeal of the classic TV Avengers series from the 1960’s never seems to fade, and Steed & Mrs Peel are seemingly ever with us! New to our listings this week are several of their adventures in novel form in a variety of guises: Titan’s (now) uncommon 1994 reprints of the Patrick Macnee written stories Dead Duck and Deadline, the 1967 Panther originals The Floating Game, The Passing Of Gloria Munday, The Laugh Was On Lazarus and Heil Harris, and one adventure with Mrs. Peel’s successor Tara King in an American original from Berkley The Drowned Queen. Bowlers, brollies and kinky boots to the fore! Consult our catalogue for pricing details and other information. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
Housekeeping Update
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:
*Marvel
and in our Books Section:
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze
*TV/Film Tie-Ins
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
American Update: Batmania Max – Watching the Detectives: #271-279; Second Bat-Mite, and Martian Manhunter ‘Comes Out!’
*DC: This week’s selection from Batman’s parent title, Detective Comics, runs from #271 consecutively to #279, and straddles the breach between issues that were pre- and post-distribution in the UK – though all of these numbers, it must be averred, are unstamped Cents-priced copies. The usual tropes of the time – wacky bodily transformations (“The Zebra Batman!”), strange alien visitors (“The Jigsaw Creature!”) and wannabe crimefighters with an agenda (“The Crimson Knight!”) are very much in evidence. Significant issues include #273, in which the Martian Manhunter, having previously operated in secret, reveals his existence to the world at large; #274, the first appearance of the Human Flame, a villain who notoriously killed J’Onn J’Onzz (temporarily, as it transpired) in Grant Morrison’s Infinite crisis series; and #276, with not only the second ever appearance of Bat-Mite, but – hold on to your hats, pilgrims – his first Titanic Team-Up with that Battling Babe, Batwoman! (Sorry, it all went a bit Stan Lee for a minute; time for a cup of tea and a biscuit. The excitement’s all too much…) As always, full details of grades and prices to be found in our online catalogue.
American Update: “In Your Satin Tights, Fighting For Our Rights”… Wonder Woman renewed from #177 through to #227!
*DC: A significant top-up to DC’s Amazing Amazon, from 1968 to 1976, a complete consecutive run of those issues now available! Kicking off with an unprecedented team-up in #177 with Supergirl, then, of course, the notorious ‘New Wonder Woman’ run by O’Neil and Sekowsky, wherein our heroine lost her mighty powers. Becoming a martial artist and investigator, she fought crime in a manner more reminiscent of Modesty Blaise or Emma Peel in high-tension spy thrillers, with an occasional dip into fantasy realms. Especially sought-after from this period are the Jeff Jones covers on #199 and #200, and the issues featuring guest-star Catwoman (#201, #202). With #203, to tie in with the release of Gloria Steinem’s WW retrospective book, Diana was switched abruptly back to super-powered mode, and shortly thereafter endured a test of trials to establish her fitness to rejoin the Justice league, with high-profile guest-stars in every issue. And the Red Tornado. Wrapping up this run, the last few more experimental issues before the launch of the TV show starring Lynda Carter, after which point the title became one of DC’s short-lived “DC TV Comics”. Mostly in high grades, this sequence takes the Princess of Paradise Island through a plethora of changes, constituting one of the more interesting periods in her long history.
American Update: Low-grade Superman Annuals (plus Superman #83) at bargain prices!
*DC: From 1960 onward, the 80-page Superman Annuals, from #1 to #6 (except #3), are added to our stock. We’ve had these before, of course, and alternative copies in higher grades are available, but these ones… Well, they’re all there, nothing missing, but ‘cheap and cheerful’ is the way to describe them. Bargainaceous reading copies, with flaws including (but not limited to), creases, tears, heavy tape, detached covers, and myriad other signs of ‘distress’ which just prove how well-read and well-loved these thoroughly pre-owned items have been on their long, long journey to our shelves! Tons of reading in these ‘thick ‘uns’, with all the Superman Family – Lois, Jimmy, Lana, Lori, Krypto, Supergirl, Luthor, Brainiac and Supes himself – front and centre. From £2.50 to £13.50, these Poor-Fair copies are among the cheapest copies of these vintage compilations you’ll find! As a special bonus this listing, we also offer a copy of Superman #83, July-Aug 1953, with all story pages complete, but an idiosyncratic selection of flaws and foibles; poor at £15.
American Update: Spider-Mania! Amazing Spider-Man #14, with the Green Goblin’s Debut!
*Marvel: “Does the Green Goblin Look Cute To You?…” The rather twee opening line of the blurb on Amazing Spider-Man #14’s cover heralded the first appearance of Spider-Man’s most dastardly and persistent enemy – his “Joker”, so to speak. The sinister and malevolent Green Goblin has plagued Spider-Man ever since, causing chaos, destruction and the deaths of some of Spidey’s most beloved friends, and this masterwork by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko is where his villainous career kicked off. And guest-starring the Hulk to boot! A pence copy, this is an attractive Fine, with minimal ‘blunting’ at corners, tight staples, excellent interior page quality, and extremely light wear at spine. Beautiful unmarred cover scene with deep unfaded covers. Priced at £500, a star addition to our Spider-Mania event.
American Update: Marvel Super-Heroes #18 – Guardians of the Galaxy Debut!
*Marvel: The short-lived ‘showcase’ phase of Marvel Super-Heroes saw the debuts of several interesting ‘pilots’, most of which went nowhere, being a bit too experimental for the period. Among these unadopted concepts was a sci-fi strip, the Guardians of the Galaxy, set in the future of an Earth under the scaly thumb of the vicious Badoon invaders, and a rag-tag band of heroes from various planets who formed a resistance movement to liberate the solar system. Created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, it was stylish and fast-paced, but didn’t ‘take’, and languished for half a decade until fan-turned pro Steve Gerber revived the heroes as supporting characters in Defenders and elsewhere. Since then, they’ve had several successful series with various rosters, as well as a lucrative movie franchise soon to be enhanced by the imminent release of “Guardians Of The Galaxy 2” at a cinema near you! So now, before prices spike again, here’s an opportunity to purchase their very first appearance, MSH #18, in Fine condition at £100. With minimum corner wear and one upper staple protrusion (not uncommon in squarebound issues), this is a superior mid-high grade copy for collectors or investors.
American Update: The All-Old X-Men
*Marvel: Back in our day, the X-Men were Scott, Jean, Warren, Hank & Bobby and we had nothing of this new fangled ‘All-New, All Different’ malarkey. So join us back in time this week as we revisit the original X-Men in some of their earliest adventures as they take on Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (#5), Sub-Mariner (#6), the Avengers (#9), Ka-Zar (#10) and the Sentinels (#14 & #15), plus a few later issues previously missing from our inventory. Pictured below: #5 FN + p £170, #6 VG+ p £70, #10 VG p £53 and #15 FN p £56. Then take a look at our catalogue for full details of all issues in stock!
American Update: “This Female Fights Back!” – Ms. Marvel (1977) complete series, including 1st Mystique!
*Marvel: In the Sizzling Seventies, the era of the E.R.A. and Women’s Liberation, Marvel decided to publish a comic celebrating the new, independent woman – and very nearly made a total pig’s ear of it, but with the best of intentions. Carol Danvers, a former supporting character of Captain Marvel, gained super-powers like his, (with an added psychic ‘Seventh Sense’, because ‘girl’) and, despite her clarion calls for equality, was reduced to being in the Captain’s shadow as an imitator of him wearing a skimpier, belly-baring version of his costume. Despite these drawbacks, the title was actually pretty decently written by first Gerry Conway, then Chris Claremont, with a ‘makeover’ issue giving Ms. M, under the artistry of Dave Cockrum, a sleek, chic and non-derivative look that established her as her own woman – only for the series to be cancelled a few issues later! Ms. Marvel had subsequent successful series, becoming a mainstay of the Avengers, and now, having acquired the title of Captain Marvel in her own right, is poised to become the prima diva of the Marvel Universe, and subject of Marvel’s first female-fronted film! This complete high-grade run of her entire first series runs from #1 to #23, highlights including the first issue which establishes the Ms. Marvel identity, the ‘relaunch’ issue #20, and, special bonus for X-Men fans, issues #16 & #17, with cameo appearances by the shape-shifting siren known as Mystique – though she was going by her other name of Raven Darkholme at the time -and #18’s first full appearance of the blue-skinned baddie we all love! Issue #1 is VF+ cents at £60; #16 NM pence £55; #17 VF/NM pence £27; and #18 VF+ pence at £50. For all other issues’ grades and prices, please see details in our online catalogue.
American Update: Gold Key Extravaganza! Cartoon Classics, Adventure Series, and Film/TV Crossovers!
*Gold Key/Whitman: Gold Key, after splitting off from its parent company Dell, followed Dell’s lead by grabbing a wide range of franchises and running with them, as well as generating many interesting new series of its own. This update, of approximately 60 issues, is spread over three broad themes: Cartoon/Comedy (Bugs Bunny, Flintstones, Mighty Mouse, Popeye and Uncle Scrooge), ‘Straight’ adaptations of movies or TV series (Condorman, Green Hornet, Lassie, My Favourite Martian and the ‘Movie Comic’ Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm) and original fantasy/adventure sci-fi series (Brothers of the Spear, Captain Johner and the Aliens, Dagar the Invincible, Magnus Robot Fighter, Mighty Samson, Space Family Robinson, Starstream, Total War (Wally Wood art), Tragg and the Sky Gods, and Turok, Son of Stone!). Covering three decades – 1962 to 1981 – this is a snapshot of one of newsstand comics’ most eclectic publishers!
American Update: A 1960’s onwards miscellany starring Thunder Agents
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: Tower Comics lead the way in this mixed update, with several issues of Thunder Agents fresh in, plus spin-offs Dynamo, Noman & Undersea Agent. Fondly remembered, and with a stellar cast of artists such as Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, Reed Crandall and many more, these have a special place in comics’ history. Backed up here with the first three issues of Bob Burden’s Flaming Carrot from Aardvark-Vanaheim, the bizarre Captain Marvel from M F Enterprises, Herbie the Fat Fury from ACG and issue #2 of the Walking Dead Survivors’ Guide. All strange bedfellows, I’m sure you’ll agree. Full details in our catalogue.
American Update: A new batch of DC’s Archive Editions
*Modern Reprints: Some new additions to our stock of DC’s handsome Archive Editions, full colour hardcover volumes presenting the best of DC Comics from its long history. New stock comprises Action Heroes Vol 2 (actually Charlton reprints of Ditko’s Blue Beetle, Captain Atom and the Question after DC acquired the rights to those characters), All Star Comics Vols 3 & 8 starring the Justice Society, Challengers Of The Unknown Vols 1 & 2 presenting all the Kirby issues, and Rarities Vol 1 (pictured), featuring three big comics, New York World’s Fair 1939 & 1940 and Big All-American Comic Book, comics you’re very unlikely ever to own in their original form! Prices range from £25 — consult our catalogue for full information.
British Update: Ranger #1 – 1st Trigan Empire
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Don Lawrence’s beloved Trigan Empire strip started right here in Ranger #1, the short-lived (40 issues) tabloid from Fleetway which commenced on 18th September 1965. Other strips included ‘The Adventures Of Macbeth’, ‘Treasure Island’, ‘Rob Riley’ by Jesus Belasco and Space Cadet, among other features. Trigan Empire continued of course for many years after Ranger in Look & Learn. This is a GD condition copy with rusty staples, priced at £20. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: A Congress of Eagles – 1982-1990!
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A restock of the second series of Eagle, (home of ‘Doomlord’, ‘Sgt. Streetwise’, ‘Manix’, and the second generation ‘Dan Dare’) which launched with a plethora of dodgy photo-strips, but rapidly evolved into a decent weekly comic with a line-up of writers and artists more famed from the 2000 AD bullpen. A selection of around 60 issues added, from 1982’s premier edition to 1990, towards the end of the series’ run.
British Update: TV Comic from 1965 with Dr Who, the Avengers & Space Patrol
*TV & Film Related Comics: A selection of twenty issues of TV Comic from the year 1965 (numbers between #691 and #732), with early appearances of the Doctor Who comic strip adaptation starring the William Hartnell iteration of everyone’s favourite Time Lord. Also appearing in the series during this period were the rather lovely Space Patrol strip, and, in the latter part of this selection, television’s Avengers, with Mrs. Peel and John Steed fighting the forces of (carefully toned-down) evil. Plus Popeye, Mighty Moth, the Dickie Henderson Family, and others favourites of a bygone era. Full details, including grades and prices, as always, in our catalogue.
British Update: “Mrs. Peel – We’re Needed!” TV Avengers series from Diana, now in paperback!
*TV & Film Related Comics: From issue #199 to #224 (1966-1967), the girls’ weekly comic Diana featured a sumptuous full-colour comic strip of the adventures of the Avengers, John Steed, and Emma Peel, as they thwarted international evil in high style. Illustrated by Emilio Frejo, assisted by Juan Gonzalez Alacrejo, these adventures, while necessarily compressed, carried (unlike the more sanitised versions in TV Comic and elsewhere) the feel of the show, with high-stakes scenarios and actual fatalities – particularly in the final story arc, wherein our heroes are pitted against the Secret Six, a cartel of criminal masterminds, and have to battle their way to freedom. For many years, these issues have been the most highly-sought after in Diana’s entire run, but now, a complete collection of all eight Avengers stories from Diana has been issued by Big Finish Studios and DC Thomson, which, while smaller than the original tabloid pages, is nevertheless a fine-looking paperback, and a very handy addition to any fan’s shelf. Killer Frocks! Mad Norsemen! Deadly Toys! Enraged Animals! Mad Hatters! Black Heart and the Seven Dwarfs! All this and more can be yours, in this brand-new compilation for £13.
British Update: Beano 1977/78 + 1990’s Summer Specials
*Humour Comics: A chunky update to the UK’s favourite and longest-lived humour comic Beano, with lots of issues added for the years 1977 and 1978, plus 4 Summer Specials in low-mid grade from the 1990’s.
British Update: CSD Putney: Bunty Picture Library from #2
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Our massive Picture Library collection continues with dozens and dozens of issues of Bunty Picture Library, starting with #2 and featuring most of the first 15 issues (rarely seen), several of which are pictured below. We then jump to a range between #66 and #232, and conclude with the Bunty & Judy Bumper Library from 1977. So, both rare and common issues in a range of grades and prices, all jolly spiffing fun!
Books Update: The Name is Bond…James Bond (well, duh)
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Some classic Bond paperback editions in this week’s books update, including Diamonds Are Forever, Dr. No, For Your Eyes Only, From Russia, With Love (movie cover), The Man With The Golden Gun (1st PB edition), Thunderball (bullet-hole cover) and You Only Live Twice. Among the most famous adventures of the greatest spy/secret agent of them all!
British Update: Look And Learn Clearance Bargain!
From time to time, we have to make decisions to discontinue certain titles from our stock for reasons of space. This time it’s the turn of Look & Learn, the educational comic that started out a bit earnest and then with #232 was revitalised by the addition of Ranger, most famously featuring the Trigan Empire strip from that defunct publication, sumptuously illustrated by Don Lawrence and later by others. We’re clearing this title from our boxes to make room for some of the vast number of collections we’ve been buying in so we are able to offer our complete stock of approximately 165 issues (between #232 and #859 – #232 being the first issue to add Ranger and the Trigan Empire) with about 40 duplications among them at a bargain price of just £30 to the first person to order them. Grades range from Fair to Fine and as a bonus there’s an original free gift included. NB They don’t come bagged and boarded (as our normal stock does) and if the buyer wants them posted to a UK address, the postage cost would be an additional £25 (sorry, we won’t post these outside the UK, due to prohibitive postage cost). These are heavy, weighing in at over 15 kg, so if you’re thinking of collecting from our shop, you’ll need transport! We don’t want to throw them away, so we hope this limited-time offer will see them relocated in a good home! First come, first served — the first person to pay for them gets them!
Housekeeping Update
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/Mystery 1960-1980’s
*Romance
*Teen Humour/Funny Girls
and in our British section:
*Younger Readers’ Comics
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
British Update: It’s Poptastic – Fab 208, 1964-1971!
*Girls’ Comics: Stepping a little outside our usual remit, a selection of the pop mag Fabulous (later Fab 208). Launched in 1964, it gained the ‘208’ sobriquet in 1966 when it engineered a promotional tie-in with Radio Luxembourg, (broadcast on 208 wavelength) one of the new stations credited with shaking up the BBC’s somewhat staid monopoly on the listening airwaves. Fab 208’s USP was a plethora of full-colour pin-ups of pop princes and princesses, with the occasional prettier footballer thrown into the mix to tickle the magazine’s overwhelmingly female demographic. They delivered pin-ups in abundance, with the perfunctory text features taking very much a second place – though, allegedly, both the Monkees and George Best wrote regular columns! (Or at least their publicists did…) This selection of over 50 issues spans the years from 1964 to 1971, though with by far the heaviest concentration lands in 1967 and 1968, when the Beatles and the Monkees were king. (Though Doctor Who fans might check out 10/8/68, with cover model the lovely Wendy Padbury (or ‘Paddy Wenbury’, as those of us of a certain vintage will always remember her…), though not, unfortunately in her Who persona as Zoe! (and if you need to ask, ‘Who’s Zoe?’ then you’re too young to be reading this update – away with you, urchins!))
American Update: 1st Neal Adams Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76… plus…
*DC: A decent copy just in of the ground-breaking debut issue of writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams’ run on Green Lantern/Green Arrow (continuing the numbering from the Green Lantern series). With #76, DC’s two Emerald Justice Leaguers teamed-up in a series of radical storylines featuring ‘relevant’ issues such as racism, sexism, drugs etc. Comics would never be the same again after this issue cited by many as the first issue of the Bronze Age. Just spine and edge wear commensurate with a VG grade on this cents copy priced at £150. Plus… a couple of bonus issues from the same run: #85, with the classic ‘My ward is a junkie’ cover and #87, featuring the first appearance of John Stewart, the black Green Lantern.
American Update: Batmania Max: Love For Sale… Mad Love For Sale! Harley Quinn’s Second Comics Appearance in VF-
*DC: In our Batmania Max event this update, we have Batman Adventures: Mad Love, the comics one-shot by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm which redefined the Joker/Harley relationship, and catapulted Harley into her position as the breakout character of the late 20th century! This 1994 release was Harley’s second-ever comics appearance, and she takes centre stage in a tug of love between Batman and the Joker. This copy is an attractive VF- at £50, with only one light diagonal crease in the upper right corner cover precluding a still higher grade. Your chance to grab an early spotlight on a character whose popularity is growing at an epic rate!
American Update: A League of Their Own! JLA #51-100.
*DC: A surprisingly under-represented period in our previous stock, this massive update of the second half of the JLA’s first century saw many changes and departures; original scripter Gardner Fox left after #65, being replaced by Mike Friedrich and Denny O’Neil, resulting for a time in a writing style that could most charitably be described as ‘histrionic’, culminating in the egregious #89, where a Harlan Ellison avatar guest stars, and the writer breaks the fourth wall to invite the readers to contemplate “the crash-pounding of my creative soul!”. No doubt they were all very sincere at the time. Fortunately, things calmed down a little after that, and the series reverted to decent super-heroics on the run-up to its centennial issue. However, highlights of this period include the reintroduction of the Robin of Earth-2 as an adult member of the JSA, the debut of the second Red Tornado, and the crossing over of Black Canary from Earth-Two to Earth-One, trading in her Justice Society membership for JLA status. This selection are all unstamped Cents copies, and averaging Fine or better grade, with many VF. Every issue from #51-100 now in stock; check out our catalogue for full details.
American Update: Hulk #181 – first full appearance of Wolverine!
*Marvel: Probably the most sought-after comic of the 1970’s, Hulk #181 featured the first full appearance of Wolverine, the Canadian super-hero who, outstripping everyone’s expectations, became the most popular Marvel character created 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 lucrative X-Men franchise, and a multi-media darling in his own right. This issue, where it all really kicked off, is an apparent VG+, with good interior page quality, excellent cover colour and gloss, and one soft but long diagonal crease running from the top of the logo’s ‘K’ down almost to the bottom of the book, as may be seen on the accompanying illustration. The thing precluding an actual VG+ grade, however, is the removal of the Marvel Value Stamp, which has been neatly cut from an interior non-story page. Despite that, the overall condition of the book is very appealing, and given that this is routinely a £1,000+ item intact, we are confident of a rapid sale in pricing this copy at £350. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: A Quartet of classic Fantastic Fours with groovy Guest-Stars!
*Marvel: This update features Marvel’s first family, the Fantastic Four from their classic Silver Age period, each issue featuring a famous guest star or two. First up, #14 VG/FN £95 with the Sub-Mariner, next #27 VG/FN p £60 with Subby again plus Dr. Strange, then #29 GD+ p £23 with the Watcher, and finally #55 VG+ p £30 with the Silver Surfer. Some of Marvel’s best!
American Update: Inhumans 1975 full run of #1-12
*Marvel: Increasingly rising in popularity ever since their first appearance in the Fantastic Four mid-1960’s, the Inhumans remain one of the most original concepts in Marveldom and in recent years and indeed currently, are taking their place as a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe. We’re pleased to present the entirety of their first series under their own name, all 12 issues from 1975-76, written by Doug Moench with art by George Perez, Keith Pollard and others. Join Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak and all their chums for high adventure! Averaging VF and all listed in our catalogue with full grading and pricing information.
American Update: Spider-Mania – The Thick ‘Uns! Annuals and Giant-Size issues new in!
*Marvel: This week, we concentrate on some of Peter Parker’s extra-length adventures, with new listings for Amazing Spider-Man Annual (including #2, with “The Wondrous Worlds of Doctor Strange”, the only Steve Ditko illustrated crossover between his two most famous co-creations, #16, with the debut of Captain Marvel II/Photon/Pulsar/Spectrum/Whatever Monica Rambeau’s calling herself this week, and #21 (pictured VF/NM £25), the tear-sheddin’ weddin’ issue, where Spidey and his beloved Mary Jane finally tied the knot. (And no, we DO NOT SPEAK of that ‘One More Day’ gubbins…). Complementing these, the first three issues of Giant-Size Spider-Man, a quarterly title from the Seventies, which was Giant-Size Marvel Team-Up in all but name, as each issue paired Petey with a co-star – Dracula in #1, Master of Kung Fu in #2, and Doc Savage in #3.
American Update: “Where No Man Has Gone Before…” Gold Key’s Star Trek Hugely Restocked!
*Gold Key/Whitman: More than half of the 1967-1978 Star Trek series from Gold Key has beamed down here in the 30th Century, with issues ranging from #2 to the penultimate #60, 32 additions in all. These eccentric adaptations of the cult TV series started oddly, as the original artist, Alberto Giolitti, was working from only a handful of black & white stills and had never seen the series; accordingly, errors in costuming and character portrayal abound, and the Enterprise was frequently shown landing on planets! Later issues adhered more closely to established canon, with unofficial sequels to on-screen episodes. Spottily distributed at best in the UK, these are not commonplace, and this substantial addition to our stock ranges from low, affordable grades on the early issues to very nice VF or even VF/NM condition on several of the latter. Don’t be a red-shirt – join the away team!
American Update: Kid Colt Outlaw Rides Again!
*Western: Having relatively recently replenished our stock boxes with good runs of Rawhide Kid and Two-Gun Kid, it was high time we turned our attention to the final member of Marvel’s Western ‘Big Three’: Kid Colt Outlaw, and a run between #99 & #139. This incorporates our favourite period for the Kid, issues in the early 100’s, when he came up against a whole battery of Western ‘super-villains’ such as Iron Mask, the Scorpion, Doctor Danger and the Invisible Gunman, the Phantom Raider and, our personal favourite, the Fat Man and his Bewitched Boomerang! The run then continues with more conventional western fare, including the Giant issues #131 & #132. Full details, as always, in our catalogue.
American Update: A Gala of Golden Age Marvel Masterworks!
*Modern Reprints: A long-overdue addition in the form of these handsome full-colour hardcovers chronicling the earliest days of what would become the Marvel Universe. Titles refreshed are All-Winners, Daring Mystery, Sub-Mariner, USA, and Young Allies, featuring not only the ‘big three’ of Sub-Mariner, Human Torch and Captain America, but also a plethora of lesser lights such as the Whizzer, the Destroyer, the Phantom Reporter, Fiery Mask, Angel, defender, Captain Terror and the Victory Boys! These are second-hand, but gently used and in prime condition, clean, glossy copies grading between VF and NM; priced at £35 each.
British Update: Marvellous Alan Class Reprints Redux! Astounding Stories, from the very beginning!
*Alan Class Reprints: A double-dip for our Alan Class ‘events’: in our ‘Redux’ programme, we revisit one of Alan’s ‘Big Six’ titles, Astounding Stories, for a selection of issues from #1 through to #55, around 30 issues new to our listings. These are Alan’s own file copies from his reference collection, each released with a signed certificate of authenticity from Alan Class, the publisher, himself. And in our ‘Marvellous Alan Class Reprints’ feature, we highlight those hotly-pursued issues which feature early cover-featured reprints – in many cases, the first reprint – of stories from the Marvel Universe. In this selection are included issues #28 and #29 (pictured), which reprint, respectively, X-Men #9 (1st X-Men/Avengers battle) and Tales To Astonish #50 (debut of Giant-Man and the Wasp’s nemesis, the Human Top!). #28 is FN/VF at £40; #29 is FN/VF at £35. For details of all other issues’ grades and prices, please see the listing in our catalogue website.
British Update: Wham! Leo Baxendale’s Cult Humour Classic Revisited!
*Power Comics: A small but welcome update to our stocks of Wham! from 1965. By this time, the all-Baxendale lineup (apart from token reprint adventure strips) of the first year had been enhanced by other contributors, including Ken Reid’s Jasper the Grasper and the unstoppable Frankie Stein, who joined Eagle Eye Junior Spy (whose villain, Grimly Feendish, graduated to his own series in companion paper Smash!) Georgie’s Germs, the Tiddlers, and Danny Dare for a truly stellar comedy lineup. This selection runs from issue #46 to #80, in very affordable mid-grades, including the 1965 Christmas issue, #80 as pictured. Consult our catalogue for further details.
British Update: CSD: Putney – Thriller Picture Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: We’ve mostly listed all the pure Cowboy and Detective themed PL’s now that represent the C & D in the name of this feature, but this week we’re able to list several dozen issues of Thriller Picture Library, in which many stories feature Cowboy and Detective adventure, alongside historical adventure and much more. This update runs between issues #76 and #431, with an emphasis on the 100-400 range. Many of the usual recurring features are well represented, such as Dick Turpin, Captain Blood, the Three Musketeers, Dick Daring Of The Mounties, Battler Britton, Spy 13, Dogfight Dixon and John Steel. Grades are all over the place, ranging between a very tatty Poor and a sparkling FN/VF.
British Update: TV Century 21 – most of the first 50 issues plus Summer Extra 1965
*TV & Film Related Comics: This major acquisition consists of the majority of the first 50 issues of TV Century 21, 1965’s epochal launch of the Gerry Anderson ‘shared universe’ of the near-future in comics form. Properties long established on TV, such as ‘Supercar’ and ‘Fireball XL5’, were joined by newcomer ‘Stingray’, and, in a strip that piloted International Rescue long before the TV launch of ‘Thunderbirds’, the solo adventures of ‘Lady Penelope: Elegance, Charm…and Deadly Danger’. This oversized, lavishly printed production, illustrated by the best artists in the British comics field at the time – Mike Noble, Ron Embleton, Frank Bellamy, Ron Turner, Keith Watson – was a huge hit, and has remained fiercely collected by comics aficionados and ‘Fanderson’ devotees alike. This is by no means a complete selection, but does include the earliest and hardest to find issues, as well as the elusive 1965 Summer Extra. Issue #1 is GD/VG at £200; #2 GD at £75; #3 GD/VG £100 and the 1965 Summer Extra in Fair (considerable spine wear, but otherwise respectable) at £75. For details of the other issues, including grades and prices, as always, check our online catalogue listing.