*Marvel: A Nifty Nineties Triple-Threat this update, as we venture out of our vintage zone to present the first appearances of a trio of characters who defined the decade of big hair, implausible musculature and a superabundance of weaponry! First up, New Mutants #87, the first full appearance of Cable, the telekinetic mercenary who was sent back from the future to prevent his present becoming the X-Men’s past. Or something like that. This VF/NM pence copy (£40) has excellent white pages, and only the tiniest spine roll precluding a higher grade. Following on, another New Mutants, this time #98, with the palpitating premier of everybody’s favourite Merc-With-A-Mouth, Deadpool, as well as the accompanying debuts of the delightful but deadly Domino and the villainous Gideon. This is a Fine cents copy (£50), in decent shape but with light label residue at the upper cover corner. Rounding out, Uncanny X-Men #266, with the least plausible French accent since the cast of ‘Allo ‘Allo, the debut of Gambit, soon, if rumour is to be believed, the star of his own movie franchise! (As soon as anybody works out exactly what his powers are.) A very decent VF pence copy here (£50). SORRY, NEW MUTANTS #98 HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Marvel’s most controversial hero of the Silver Age, the Silver Surfer, restocked this update! Issues from #2 to the final issue #18, of his original series are now back in stock, mostly mid-high grade copies up to Very Fine+. By John Buscema at his most awesome, and Stan Lee at his most loquacious, these well-remembered and highly acclaimed tales express the Sentinel of the Spaceways’ despair about humanity’s propensity for intolerance and violence – usually just before he turns around and twats someone with the Power Cosmic! Dramatic highlights from this selection include #2 (debut of the brutal Badoon), #3 (first appearance of Surfy’s arch-nemesis Mephisto), #4 the rare Thor crossover issue), #14 (battle with Spider-Man) and #18 (in which our peaceful hero finally loses the plot and decides he’s at war with planet Earth – so it’s just as well his book was cancelled! Phew!)

*DC: Several issues of Detective Comics new in from #349 upwards, including many 100 Page issues and culminating in the 500th Giant Anniversary issue.

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: For this week’s magazine update, we turn to 1975 and feature 6 out of the 8 issues of Marvel’s Doc Savage magazine, the pulp favourite hero in beautifully-rendered adventures. All issues present except #1 & #4, mostly in Fine condition.

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
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*Humour Comics: A substantial update to our Humour stocks, covering the following titles: Buster 1961, Giggle 1967 (#2), Hoot #1 & 2, Krazy 1977, Magnet 1937, Monster Fun 1975, Nipper 1987 inc final issue, Shiver & Shake 1973/74, Topper 1955 & 1981-83, Viz and Whoopee 1974 (from #3), 1976 & Best Of Monthly.

*Power Comics: A long overdue update to the Odham’s Press titles with small amounts of Fantastic & Pow and quite a few more Smash & Wham.

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Titter ye not Missus! It’s not that type of adult fantasy, instead it’s fairy stories for grown-ups, the sort that Lin Carter and C S Lewis would have approved of. Around 1970 Pan/Ballantine issued a set of adult fantasy books that are considered to be the definitive collection of the genre. We are delighted to add a number of them to our Books section, including The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle, Don Rodriguez and At The Edge Of The World by Lord Dunsanay, The World’s Desire by H Rider Haggard & Andrew Lang, Evenor by George MacDonald, The Wood Beyond The World by William Morris (taking time off from wallpapering) and three by Evangeline Walton, The Children Of Llyr, The Song Of Rhiannon and The Island Of The Mighty. The books mainly range from GD to FN and all have beautiful and distinctive cover art.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A big update to our classic Eagle stocks, starting in 1950 with a few issues from Volume 1, then substantial amounts from Volumes 17-20, right up to and including the final issue Volume 20 #17 26/4/69.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A small selection of early numbers of War Picture Library new in between #5 & #20, mostly in VG to FN condition.

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: This week’s magazine update features, from 1980 onwards, a complete run (34 issues) of Epic Illustrated, Marvel’s shameless attempt to tap into the Heavy Metal market – but with fewer airbrushed boobies and a bit more, you know, actual content. This slick full-colour mag showcased a galaxy of star talents, and really needs no better sales pitch than a list of the illustrious contributors: Ellison, Moorcock, Corben, Byrne, Adams, Windsor-Smith, Sim, Starlin, Vess, Gulacy, Claremont, Bolton, Austin, Moore, Bode, Sienkievicz, Wrightson, Williamson, Veitch, Totleben, Steranko, Russell, Bode, Kaluta, Steranko, and scores more! This run averages VF, with a scattering of Fine and nothing less than VG.

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980’s: Werewolf By Night, featuring the adventures of the lycanthropic Jack Russell (yes, someone must have been having a laugh…) had a respectable run and is reasonably commercial, but one issue almost never found is #32, which is sought-after not for our hairy hero, but for the guest mercenary hero-villain, Moon Knight. Created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin, the silver-clad avenger proved such a hit with the readership that he made numerous return appearances all over the Marvel Universe before gaining his own series, which has appeared intermittently to the present day. This is the first appearance of the character known as “Marvel’s Batman”, and copies in high grade command wince-inducing prices; this GD/VG pence copy is marred by light creasing of the lower right cover and some mild spine wear, but is much more affordable at £35.

*DC: From the days before UK distribution, we have two early issues of Brave & Bold from the late 1950’s. In those days, before it later became a try-out series for new characters in a similar vein to Showcase, Brave & Bold featured tales of heroes of bygone years, namely the Silent Knight, Robin Hood, and, in particular the Viking Prince, the latter superbly illustrated by the incomparable Joe Kubert. These two issues, both a very presentable VG at £50 each, are the earliest Brave & Bold we now have in stock, and wonderful comics they are too!

*Girls’ Comics: A couple of dozen issues of material aimed at older girls this week, which means fashion, pop & romance! Romeo, the long-running DC Thomson romance weekly for young women, is scarce as the proverbial hen’s teeth, so we’re particularly chuffed to have ten new issues for our stock, ranging from 1959 to 1972, in grades from Good to Fine. The psychedelic fashion covers from the ’70’s are worth the price of admission alone –  But we don’t stop there! Other new listings in this category include Roxy from 1958 & 1959, Mirabelle from 1961 to 1969, and Valentine from 1969 & 1970 – the latter providing a particularly intriguing contrast, as Valentine swaps its blue & white comic-strip covers for the ubiquitous photo-covers during this time. We also have one issue of Go-Girl from 1969 (no, we’d never heard of it either – learning all the time!), and, in an experiment, several issues of Petticoat from 1969, a young women’s magazine with no comics content. These provide a kaleidoscope of fashions, hairstyles, dating rituals and tactical strikes in the battle of the sexes over three decades – and the art, by Romero and other European illustrators, is often very lovely indeed. If you’re going to catch Cupid’s arrow, move sharpish – these are never on our shelves for very long!

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 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.

*DC: Two lovely Golden Age items from DC this week that have both seen better days, but still have much enjoyment left in them. First up, from 1944, Leading Comics #12, with a classic book-length Seven Soldiers Of Victory story; heavy spine wear but decent page quality and unmarred cover image; GD+ £45. Secondly, from 1954, World’s Finest #69, with solo stories for Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Tomahawk & others; heavily taped spine, heavy cover scuff over Superman figure; worn and torn but complete; PR £25.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Most of the 36-issue run of War At Sea Picture Library now in stock, including many multiple copies in a variety of grades to suit every budget. Many of these are in an unprecedented FN/VF or even VF condition, highly unusual for an item of this vintage, (1962-1963) and feature very sharp glossy covers and crisp white interior pages, but there are also plenty of comfortably-priced reading copies. #1-3 pictured, all in VF.

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Seven books to strike terror into your heart/organ of choice whenever anyone mentions spare parts surgery. We start with a copy of the original story, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. After enough time to forget that Frankenstein created the monster (rather than that the monster was called Frankenstein), we find four of Donald F Glut’s New Adventures of Frankenstein, including the imaginatively titled Frankenstein Meets Dracula (it had to happen!). We conclude with two more continuations of the monster’s story by Robert J Myers. All copies are GD to VG, apart from a FN grade Slave Of Frankenstein. After reading these you may feel like tearing up your organ donor card!

*Girls’ Comics: One of the most popular Girls’ titles, Tammy, is extensively re-stocked this week from the very first issue (6th February 1971) right through to 1982, including the Tammy & Misty and Tammy & Jinty years. We have 2 copies of #1: GD/VG £35 pictured (discoloured right edge and small tear last few pages) and FA £20 with a faded cover. Issues #2 & #3 are FN but with the pull-out supplements missing (otherwise complete). This is just the beginning of a massive update to Tammy to follow in the weeks ahead, so keep watching!

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A small selection of romantic Picture Libraries from the 1950’s for bigger girls from the following three series: Confessions Library, Famous Romance Library and Love Story Library. Wonderfully evocative covers that speak for themselves as in the examples here:

*War: A small update to our war stock from three decades and numerous publishers: from Ajax-Farrell: Battle Report and GI In Battle; from Fawcett: Bill Battle; from DC: GI Combat & Weird War Tales; from Dell: Combat; and from Charlton: Fightin’ Navy.

*Younger Readers’ Comics: Just yesterday we had a customer at the shop reminiscing about Twinkle from her childhood and that a copy of it was among her prized possessions. So, if you’re like her and have a soft spot for the premier comic for little girls, we have lots of Twinkle new in for you, an almost unbroken run of 1970 and 1971, plus issues from 1972 & 1973. And let’s not forget Nurse Nancy…

*Marvel: Tons more Amazing Spider-Man new into stock from #241 up towards the end of the run of the first series. Lots of Venom, Carnage, the Hobgoblin and many, many other foes featured. What’s not to like?

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: Something a little special in this week’s magazine update. In the early Seventies, Marvel, anxious to expand its market share, tried a number of new formats in an effort to broaden its readership. One such was to attempt a revival of the old pulp format with 1973’s Haunt of Horror, text stories by name writers, heavily illustrated by the best in the Marvel Bullpen. Despite the quality of the work, the format didn’t catch on, and only two issues of the digest series were released, though Marvel repurposed the title for a magazine-sized comic the following year. The two digest issues are rarer than average for their period, but we’re lucky to have acquired both recently, issue 1 being FN+ at £20, issue 2 VG/FN £15. With names like Lafferty, Ellison, Howard, McCaffrey, Morrow and O’Neil attached, they have quite a high pedigree, and make for one of the most interesting detours along Marvel’s path to triumph.

*Girls’ Comics: The traditional British Summer/Holiday Special editions of the weekly comics are always scarce, and the girls’ titles, we’ve found over our years of trading, particularly so, so we were chuffed to add to our inventory nine such Specials. We have Bunty from 1985, 1989, and 1994; the Bunty-Judy combo Special from 1978 and 1979 (the latter twice, in differing grades); Jinty from 1980; the uncommon June and School Friend Holiday Special from 1971; and Tammy 1983. In a variety of grades from Fair to Fine, there’ll be something to please every browser of this popular category.