*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week. By the time Strange Tales got to the end of its initial run, both Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD and Dr Strange series were in high gear, in preparation for the launch of both into their own titles. Steranko was at the helm in Nick Fury (witness his famous patriotic cover on #167), while Denny O’Neill and the stylish Dan Adkins were the creative mainstays on Dr Strange. 
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES
#165 VF- £40 Excellent copy with just very minor edge wear and a small, faint arrival date in the bottom right corner. 
#166 VF- £40 Excellent copy with just very minor edge wear and corner blunting.
#167 FN+ £60 Classic cover. Very minor edge wear. Off-white to cream pages. A little corner blunting. A couple of small, invisible creases bottom spine.
#168 VG/FN £25 Nice copy with impact dink at bottom spine and faint shallow crease up from bottom centre for a few cms; minor colour breaks in both cases. SOLD

*Miscellaneous 1940-59: Two of this week’s updates in this category promise true and authentic stories, you betcha…  After Dark from Sterling (there were only three issues #6-8) features Mike Sekowsky art in stylish cops and robbers stories, the long-running Justice Traps The Guilty adapts true police and FBI cases and the one-shot Secret Missions features the ‘daring expolits of US foreign agents in the cold war vs Communism’ and has an excellent Joe Kubert cover.
PICTURED:
AFTER DARK #7 VG+ £22
JUSTICE TRAPS THE GUILTY #55 VG £19
SECRET MISSIONS #1 GD/VG £44

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: The Australian publisher K G Murray famously reprinted DC titles in the 1950s, many of which were distributed in the UK, in a time when the American originals were not. In this update we have Superadventure Comic #98, which reprints the origin of the Superman-Batman team from World’s Finest #94, backed up with three issues of Superman which reprint stories from the Superman family of titles.
IN THIS UPDATE:
SUPERADVENTURE COMICS #98 VG £25 (PICTURED)
SUPERMAN
#105 GD/VG £12.50
#109 GD £10
#114 FA £7.50

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror category for three very different volumes from the end of our ‘E’ authors. A 1950s novel from James Elton, one of the house names deployed by that most quirky of publishers, Badger Books; a 1970s anthology edited by Roger Elwood with stories from McCaffrey, Pangborn, Anderson, Farmer and more; and a 1960s anthology edited by I O Evans, with stories from Wells, Clarke, Asimov, Russell, Bradbury, Anderson and more. 
PICTURED:
JAMES ELTON: THE QUEST OF THE SEEKER Badger 1958? 1st UK PB GD £8 SOLD
ROGER ELWOOD (Ed): CONTINUUM 1 Star 1977 1st UK PB VF £7
I O EVANS (Ed): SCIENCE FICTION THROUGH THE AGES 2 Panther 1966 1st UK PB VG/FN £6

*TV/Film Tie-Ins: From 1963, the first ever novel from the classic TV series and the only one to feature John Steed partnered with Cathy Gale, as delightfully played by Honor Blackman. Mrs Gale very much laid the groundwork for her successor, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel. This iconic novel by Douglas Enefer is uncommon and our copy new in is in excellent VG condition with square corners and very little wear apart from a few short creases at left edge of cover by spine; unblemished page quality and photo front and back covers.
PICTURED: THE AVENGERS by DOUGLAS ENEFER Consul 1963 1st UK PB VG £40 SOLD

*DC: Among the rarer Silver Age treasures are the pre-distribution, early appearances of Flash in the DC try-out title Showcase. From the Bute Collection this week, we have the third and fourth ever appearances of the Scarlet Speedster for your delectation. Showcase #13 is the Flash’s third appearance and the premiere appearance of the nefarious Mr Element. With issue #14, Mr Element was back post-makeover as Dr Alchemy, commencing a lengthy criminal career in his new guise. Both issues cover feature tales of international adventure and science-fiction, with rich blue and purple backgrounds that only the DC palette could produce. The early appearances of the Flash are seldom seen in the UK and are much prized by the comic collecting community worldwide. These low grade examples are at least in reach financially – more than better copies would be! 
PICTURED: SHOWCASE
#13 FA £175 Cover detached and split all of the way down. The bottom third is attached front and back by two pieces of tape. Much wear to the spine and some to the other edges, with a long colour-breaking crease across the Showcase logo and a softer vertical subscription-like crease down the centre. Cover colours are vivid and rich, staples are firm at centrefold and the page quality is an okay, dusky cream colour. Small corner off bottom right splash page (margin only) and a similar size corner off back cover top. Tiny vertical chip off top right edge alongside Comics Code box. 
#14 FA+ £225 Cover detached with vertical holes at staple level and one further centre spine. Multiple colour-breaking creases all over cover and quite a lot of edge wear. Tiny chip out bottom right cover. Centrefold off top staple. Pages are a nice off-white. Heavily worn but readable and complete.

*DC: Six issues new in featuring the Emerald Gladiator between #37 and #45. Skirmishes with Evil Star and Major Disaster, an adventure with Tomar Re, an alien Green Lantern, a crossover with the Flash and another one with Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern of Earth 2. These are mostly pretty nice condition copies.
IN THIS UPDATE: GREEN LANTERN ALL SOLD
#37 FN- p £19 1st Evil Star
#38 GD/VG p £8 Tomar Re
#39 GD/VG p £9.25
#43 FN+ p £28 (PICTURED) Flash guest-stars
#44 VG/FN p £18.25
#45 VG/FN p £25 Golden Age Green Lantern

*Marvel: John Jameson, son of Spidey’s nemesis J Jonah Jameson has had a long and chequered career in the Marvel Universe, appearing in various guises to threaten the wall-crawler, although in his normal state he has always been a friend to Spidey and has gone on to have heroic adventures. In Amazing Spider-Man #124 and #125, a two-part story, he is transformed into the menacing Man-Wolf, an alias in which he went on to have his own 1970s series in Creatures On The Loose. Nice copies from the Good Doctor Collection.
IN THIS UPDATE: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#124 FN/VF £120 (PICTURED) Glossy unmarked copy with very minor edge wear and a couple of short creases at centre spine which do not break colour. except for a pin-prick size mark on the spine itself. Firm, tight staples and nice off-white pages.
#125 VG/FN £18.25

*Marvel: Given her peculiar origins, Dazzler’s longevity as a comics heroine has been remarkable. Conceived as a disco tie-in by Casablanca Records in the late 1970s, Marvel was to create a singing super-heroine and Casablanca was to recruit a live singer to ‘be’ Dazzler. Originally intended to resemble Grace Jones, the design was considerably altered to resemble then-hot actress Bo Derek. When the record company withdrew, leaving Marvel with an ‘orphaned’ character, she was introduced as a fully-fledged mutant in X-Men #130. Alison Blaire, with the ability to transmute sound into light, has been an unlikely mainstay of the Marvel Universe ever since, and we have a copy of her premiere appearance in X-Men #130. Also in this update, issue #131, with the first cover to feature the White Queen and #139, where Kitty Pryde joins the team.
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN
#130 FN £160 (PICTURED) Newstand edition. A glossy, fresh copy complete with Mark Jewelers insert. Slight corner blunting, tight, firm staples and nice white to off-white pages. There is a tiny white mark at the top centre which is not a tear or a crease, but looks like a printing quirk. A couple of pressure marks centre cover, a very soft, non colour-breaking crease just visible vertically down the top third of the cover and a very short diagonal crease above the MCG banner top edge which only just breaks colour. All in all presents very well.
#131 FN+ £30 Newstand edition.
#139 VG p £7.50

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Also from the Bute Collection this week, some true vintage from Quality Comics from 1943 in the shape of Police Comics #19, #22 & #23. Police Comics was the title in which Plastic Man first appeared (from #1) and although I don’t see many police involved, this bumper-sized anthology title contained a whole wealth of detective, mystery and super-hero strips, as well as a fair sprinkling of humour. In these issues you get Plastic Man by Jack Cole and the Spirit by Will Eisner (both cover featured), the occult detective  Destiny, Manhunter, the Human Bomb and the original Phantom Lady (in yellow and green costume). Alongside these are a number of comedy shorts.
PICTURED: POLICE COMICS ALL SOLD
#19 FA £35 Several spine splits, but spine held on by pieces of tape. Small tear at right edge sealed by tape on the inside cover. Otherwise decent enough copy with good page quality.
#22 GD/VG £80 Decent, clean copy. Minor discolouration at bottom right cover edge. Single central staple has small stress tears above and below, but cover is still attached. Nice pages.
#23 GD £50 Small spine split at top with short ‘invisible’ crease, some discolouration (foxing?) above logo. Thumbnail size chip out lower right edge of cover. Front cover off single staple, but back attached. Nice pages. 

*Alan Class Reprints: Long-time visitors to our site will remember that we’ve been selling the Printing Plates from Alan Class’s Private Archive for many years. Although they ran out last year, there has always been the possibility of a few more being located with the co-operation of Alan himself. Many years ago we sold the set for Creepy Worlds #32, reprinting Fantastic Four #1, the most valuable Alan Class comic. We’re now delighted to unveil Sinister Tales #23, the second most valuable in that it reprints both the cover and lead story of Tales Of Suspense #39, the first appearance and origin of Iron Man.

The set comprises the lead printing plates used in the original comic’s colour cover printing, a copy of the comic printed with these plates and a signed certificate of authenticity signed by Alan Class himself. These are packaged in a special protective presentation case. There are also a host of extras that come with this set. Full details follow.

SINISTER TALES #23 COMIC AND PLATE SET £2,000
*Comic VG. Vibrant colour, totally unmarked except for tiny monogram above logo. 3 cm spine split to base of front cover. Crisp pages; virtually no creasing or glue puckering. Reprints 1st appearance and origin of Iron Man from Tales Of Suspense #39, plus Atlas, pre-hero Marvel, Charlton (1 Ditko). High resolution images of the comic are available on request.
*Colour cover plates: 3. Among the best of all the plates we’ve seen in terms of definition and still imbued with the colour inks used in the printing process.
*Signed certificate of authenticity
*Presentation case
*Extra: High quality glossy colour photo of Alan Class with the comic and plates.
*Oprional bonus: At no extra charge, Alan Class will sign (and dedicate if required) the comic and/or photo for the buyer.
*Free UK postage and packing, fully insured. (Not available for postage to an address outside the UK, sorry).
Remember: This is a unique opportunity – there’s only one of these in the world!

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: This week’s release of Love Story Library (later Love Story Picture Library), the longest running romance picture library from Fleetway, comprises a round dozen issues from 1962/63 between issues #410 and #425. The series always maintained a high standard and the very accomplished art reflected the fashions and mood of the times. These new additions are in decent condition, with little wear or creasing in most cases, the grades mainly determined by the amount of staple rust.  Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: LOVE STORY LIBRARY #425 VG £5

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies and Sleaze Category for the first part of our Hank Janson re-listing. This also features the famous cover artwork of Reginald Heade, the first part of a double feature on Heade this week. The most famous name in the post-war boom in British gangster ‘pulps’ (curiously, mostly set in the both seedy and glamorous USA) was Hank Janson. Written by ‘Hank’ and telling his adventures as a journalist and later general adventurer, these were in reality written by Stephen D Frances. These racy, tough and often violent detective novels of the 40s and 50s, generally published on a monthly basis, filled the gap formed when American pulp fiction was banned from the UK, and were immensely popular. (In fact they were so racy that author, publishers and distributors were prosecuted for obscenity in 1954). The earliest Jansons were generally published by New Fiction, and were almost exclusively blessed with Heade covers. The 1950s Alexander Moring imprint, with red and yellow stripes across the top of the cover either featured art by Heade, or produced in his style. Interestingly, many Alexander Moring publications have Heade covers that have been modified, usually by the addition of just enough clothing on the young ladies to avoid another prosecution for obscenity. The two Heade covers in this update, Accused and Conflict, are low grade copies, but even here the spectacular cover art stands out. Further information, including condition notes, in our catalogue. More Hank soon!
PICTURED: ALL BY HANK JANSON
ACCUSED New Fiction 1940s/50s UK PB FA £15
AVENGING NYMPH Alexander Moring 1958 1st UK PB VG £9
BEWITCHED Alexander Moring circa 1957 GD/VG £7
BRING ME SORROW Alexander Moring circa 1958 1st UK PB thus VG £9
CONFLICT New Fiction 1940s/50s UK PB FA £15

We’re pleased to report that this morning’s technical difficulties appear to have been resloved and the Newsletter has now been sent. We are currently working on updates to this page and our catalogue. Stand by for action!

*DC: In the May 1959 issue of their flagship title, Action Comics #252, DC introduced another survivor from Krypton, Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El, who called herself Supergirl. She would go on to become a prominent member of the DCU, until killed off in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. Since then, she has appeared in a number of iterations too numerous to go into here. Suffice it to say that Kara remains a firm fan favourite character and one of DC’s mainstays. This is the first copy of her origin story we have had in stock for a very long time. This is the beginning of Supergirl’s regular strip in Action Comics, and there’s also a Congorilla story and a Superman story featuring the first appearance of Metallo; what a landmark issue! It’s a lower to mid-grade copy, pre-distribution so cents of course. The cover image is bright and colourful and the comic presents reasonably well, with firm staples and decent cream coloured pages. Although the central cover image is unmarked, there are signs of reading wear at central right edge in the form of (probably) finger marks leading to smudgy creases which break colour over the tail fins of Supergirl’s rocket (see scan). The other significant flaw is a lower spine split of about 4 cm which extends throughout the pages to lesser degrees. Nevertheless, a good-looking copy of a major key issue which would be beyond a lot of collectors’ budgets if in much higher grade. High resolution images are available on request. 
PICTURED: ACTION COMICS #252 GD/VG £1,350

*Marvel:  This week, a ground-breaking 1970s character. His comic started out in 1972 as ‘Luke Cage, Hero For Hire’ before changing to ‘Power Man’ for later issues. Created by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska, this tapped into the ‘Blaxploitation’ craze of the day, and genuinely tried to present a seamier side of the Marvel world, with Luke defying a deluge of corruption, though the series’ good intentions were often subverted by the attempt to emulate street slang in the dialogue without using actual swear words! We have a copy of his debut issue new in – cents, of course, there are no pence copies as it was ND UK. First appearances of both Luke himself and his arch-enemy Diamondback. A very sound copy with great colour and gloss that really pop, tight, firm staples and supple off-white pages. Just a little bit of edge wear with a miniscule crease bottom right corner and a softer crease at the middle right edge, both of which faintly break colour. This is one of those copies where the spine is not totally centred, so there is about 0.5 cm of white spine at the front. Technically, this does not affect the grade, but because we know some people find this aesthetically unpleasing, we have taken it into account with our grading and valuation. 
PICTURED: LUKE CAGE, HERO FOR HIRE #1 FN £200 SOLD

*Marvel: Two nice condition copies from the Good Doctor Collection. Jazzy Johnny Romita really excelled himself with the covers of Amazing Spider-Man #66 & #67, two of my favourites of his tenure on the wall-crawler. Appropriately enough for a special effects artist and illusionist, Mysterio is one of the most visually striking of Spidey’s Rogues’ Gallery, and these great-looking issues are not comics you want in low grade!
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#66 FN+ £110 Vivid cover colour and gloss including white background. Sharp edges and corners. Cover unmarked, staples tight at spine and centrefold. Very small dink at base of spine with no colour breaks. Supple white to off-white pages. SOLD
#67 VF- £80 Excellent cover colour and reflectivity. Sharp edges and corners. Cover unmarked, staples tight at spine and centrefold. Tiny handling wear at extremity of top edge just breaks colour. Small ink mark at top of pages looks like a (very minor) printing issue. Supple white to off-white pages.

*Horror 1940-1959: A pretty ropey copy of Harvey’s Witches Tales #19 on offer from the Bute Collection this week. Featuring a devil cover by Lee Elias, and pretty strong material from Elias, Powell, Nostrand, Sparling and others. Unfortunately, a low grade copy with water damage to the spine, which has long splits but is still attached at staples, a small stain at the top margin throughout, much edge wear and a waviness associated with water damage. Nevertheless it holds together and can be read and enjoyed.
PICTURED: WITCHES TALES #19 FA £35 SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Rick Random was one of the best of the 1950s spacemen prolific in British comics. Debuting in Super-Detective Library #37 and created by Edward Holmes (writer) and Bill Lacey (artist), many subsequent stories were graced with the wonderfully stylish artwork of Ron Turner; the famous American science fiction author Harry Harrison had a hand in writing several. This week, we are delighted to present five of Rick’s adventures in reasonable grades.
PICTURED: SUPER-DETECTIVE LIBRARY: RICK RANDOM
#111 Sabotage From Space GD/VG £12
#115 SOS From Space VG £13.50
#123 The Planet Of Terror VG £13.50
#127 The Space Pirates VG £13.50
#133 The Mystery Of The Frozen World GD/VG £12

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror category for authors from Gordon R Dickson to Max Ehrlich. I particularly recommend Thomas M Disch, among the best of the American New Wave writers of the 1960s, Lord Dunsany (the Irish nobleman who was one of the best fantasists of them all – I wish we could offer you more of his books) and E R Eddison, another great master of fantasy. Dunsany and Eddison are represented here with some of their best works from the fondly-remembered Pan Ballantine Adult Fantasy series from the early 1970s, edited by Lin Carter. More information in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
GORDON R DICKSON: DORSAI! Sphere 1975 1st UK PB FN £5
GORDON R DICKSON: MASTERS OF EVERON Sphere 1981 1st UK PB FN £5
GORDON R DICKSON: TACTICS OF MISTAKE Sphere 1976 UK PB FN £5
THOMAS M DISCH: ECHO ROUND HIS BONES Panther 1970 1st UK PB FN £4
LORD DUNSANY: AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Ballantine Adult Fantasy 1970 1st US PB GD £10 SOLD
LORD DUNSANY: DON RODRIGUEZ: CHRONICLES OF SHADOW VALLEY Pan Ballantine Adult Fantasy 1972 1st UK PB GD/VG £12 SOLD
E R EDDISON: MISTRESS OF MISTRESSES Ballantine Adult Fantasy 1968 3rd US PB
VG £10
MAX EHRLICH: THE BIG EYE Corgi 1960 UK PB VG/FN £7

*DC: As rare as hen’s teeth! In 30+ years of flogging comics, we’ve only ever had a couple of issues of the first series of Phantom Stranger through our hands before the series we’ve been marketing over the last few months. In 1952, he appeared from nowhere, without explanation or origin to be DC’s mysterious omniscient and omnipotent being of mystery. Despite numerous theories in the DCU, no concrete information has ever been revealed about his true nature. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth, and created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, this series had the finest creators of the time working on it in a number of horror/supernatural stories. Here we get scripts by John Broome and Jack Miller with pencils by Carmine Infantino, Murphy Anderson, John Giunta and Jerry Grandenetti. Whilst perhaps not as Pre-Code horrifically as the fare of other less polished publishers, the Phantom Stranger made up for that in the quality of substance and style of his stories. This final issue of our run is also the final issue of the series and is in the best condition of the issues we’ve had. Murphy Anderson pencils a fabulous cover which many years later he swiped for Justice League of America #2. There are just a few cover flaws – a small split at top of spine, small colour-breaking creases across top and bottom right corners and a tiny nick out of the right cover centre edge. The cover image is clean and attractive with great colours. Staples are firm and strong at spine and centrefold and the supple pages are a remarkable off-white to white. 
PICTURED: PHANTOM STRANGER #6 VG- £400 SOLD

*DC: It will come as no surprise to regular followers that I really rate the 1960s Hawkman comics as among the best ever. Science fiction super-hero adventures with the loving relationship of Katar (Hawkman) and Shayera (Hawkgirl) at its heart. Clever stories by the superb Gardner Fox and beautiful art by the unexcelled Murphy Anderson, both masters of their craft. All very nice copies of this highly recommended series.
IN THIS UPDATE: HAWKMAN ALL SOLD
#9 VG/FN p £14.75 (PICTURED) Atom guest-stars
#10 FN- p £15.75
#11 VG p £9 Restapled at lower
#12 FN- p £12.25
#13 VG/FN p £10.25
#14 FN- p £12.25

*Marvel: The consummate craftsman Wally Wood concluded his run on the Man Without Fear in Daredevil #10 and #11, a two-parter introducing the Organizer and the Ani-Men. Wood scripted and pencilled #10, relinquishing the story to Smilin’ Stan for #11 and the pencils to Bob Powell, but Wood’s inks on #11 are so definitive that it looks just like a Wood issue.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL
#10 VG+ p £50 Pence printed with ‘Pop Art’ logo in masthead. Nice unmarked cover with rich colour. Minimal edge wear. Tight firm staples and supple off-white pages. Tiny chip off top back cover corner and moderate to heavy tanning to inside cover edges (not brittle), which brings down the grade of this otherwise lovely copy.
#11 VG+ p £30 Pence printed. Rich colour cover. Minimal edge wear. Tight firm staples and supple off-white pages. Moderate to heavy tanning to inside cover edges (not brittle), which shows faintly on the white background front cover edges. 

*Marvel: Following Kirby’s tabloid-sized Special, Marvel green-lit an ongoing series exploring the milieu of 2001: A Space Odyssey, giving artist/writer Kirby a free hand – perhaps too free a hand, as while time-transcending spectacle there was in abundance, the lack of a central cast left the readership feeling ‘unanchored’ to the series. This was remedied to an extent with issue #8, and Kirby’s introduction of X-51 (later known as Mister Machine and his final (so far) identity of Machine Man), a humanoid robot in search of his soul, who became the protagonist for the rest of the series, spinning off into his own title and becoming a prominent part of the main Marvel Universe. This copy of 2001 #8 is a high grade pence-printed example, with just the faintest of marks at spine, not breaking colour. 
PICTURED: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY #8 VF/NM p £55 SOLD

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Some oddball comics from the Bute Collection this week, so odd in fact that we felt it necessary to feature them all with images:
PICTURED:
BIG SHOT #88 VG £19 Adventure and comedy anthology with such characters as Tony Trent, Dixie Dugan and Sparky Watts.
BUSTER BROWN #40 VG £16 Shoe brand promotional with 2 jungle stories of Gunga by Reed Crandall and one comedy strip of the Buster Brown gang. Small cover scuff
BUSTER BROWN #41 VG+ £18 Content as #40
CLASSIC GIVEAWAY: A CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE VG+ £10 Store promotional fantasy Christmas story with delightful painted cover.
FAMOUS FUNNIES #201 GD- £8 Long running anthology title of famous comic strips. Chip out bottom cover and a few page margins. 
FOOTBALL THRILLS #1 FA/GD £22 Does what it says on the tin. Long spine splits top and bottom; small piece of tape inside spine.
FUTURE WORLD #2 GD- £26 Adventure and factual illustrated pages with an emphasis on technology. Single staple all but off comic. SOLD
SCIENCE COMICS: TRUE SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED #1 GD- £17 Adventure and factual illustrated pages with an emphasis on science. Long spine splits top and bottom SOLD