It’s never too early to plan and do your Christmas shopping. Here’s a list of relevant dates for our trading during the festive period.

Saturday 13th December: Last day for orders for pre-Christmas delivery. You need to place your order no later than 4 pm. Orders placed after this deadline will not be posted until the New Year. This is also the day we shall be issuing our last Newsletter before Christmas.
Tuesday 16th December: Last posting before Christmas for all orders placed by 4 pm on Saturday 13th and paid for by 4 pm on Monday 15th December.
Saturday 3rd January 2026: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 13th December (up to 4 pm on 3rd Jan) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 4th Jan.
Wednesday 7th January 2026: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.

*DC: One of the most esoteric DC series to collect, inasmuch as it isn’t DC, in a manner of speaking. In the Sixties, it was a common practice of the UK distributors Thorpe & Porter to return the covers of unsold copies for credit, then re-purpose the ‘destroyed’ coverless copies as Double Double Comics, four to an issue, under a new cover – usually an ineptly-recoloured stat of a US original. Thus the contents of any given issue are random (you’re just as likely to find a Marvel comic included!), so we list the issues contained within each copy in our stock. Four of these unusual gems fresh in from the Bute Collection this week:
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
ACTION DD #2 VG+ £25 Cover: Teen Titans #4. Content: Avengers #42, Brave & Bold #68, Metal Men #20, Wonder Woman #163.
ACTION DD #3 VG+ £25 Cover: Justice League of America #56. Content: Blackhawk #237, X-Men #38, Sub-Mariner #4, Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #2. 
BATMAN DD #2 VG £50 Cover: Batman #160. Content: Batman #181 (1st Poison Ivy, inc poster), Batman #184, Strange Tales #156, Teen Titans #6. Sticker residue and book shop stamps front & back covers. 
BATMAN DD #3 GD/VG £35 Cover: Batman #170. Content: Batman #188, Batman #189 (1st Silver Age scarecrow), Batman #186 (Joker issue), Batman #190 (Penguin issue; small corner off 1 page, no significant loss). 

*Marvel: Despite the cover of Strange Worlds #3, this is not quite a Big Panty Monster title – more a science fiction/supernatural set of stories. Starting in 1958 and lasting just five issues, Strange Worlds is a curiosity from before the dawn of Marvel Comics, and is pretty rare. It’s many years (way back before our records began) since we last had a copy through our hands. But there’s no doubting the artistic credentials of those included in this issue: Jack Kirby (inc cover), Steve Ditko, John Buscema, Joe Maneely and Joe Sinnott – a dream line-up. We have given this issue an Apparent grade, since it is missing an ad page, but all the stories are complete. This is reflected in the price. A very decent copy, with just minor wear at the spine and corners. There is a very faint (subscription?) crease down the centre which does not break colour, is hard to spot and does not detract from the general appearance of the comic. One further crease (also not breaking colour) at the end of the logo, which is easier to feel than see. Staples are firmly attached throughout and the off-white to white pages are of excellent quality. Demand is sure to be high for this.
PICTURED: STRANGE WORLDS #3 App VG £80 SOLD 

*Marvel: Two classic issues of the title that was the foundation of the Marvel Age of Comics. Fantastic Four #27 features a further encounter with the Sub-Mariner, with a special guest star appearance by Dr Strange; #29 is a return engagement on the Moon with the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes and an appearance by the Watcher.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR 
#27 VG+ p £95 Nice mid-grade copy. A couple of faint colour-breaking creases across the right side corners, minor edge wear, strong colours, no markings, pence printed. Tight, firm staples and supple off-white pages. 
#29 GD/VG p £70 Reasonable copy with good colour. No markings, but quite a lot of spine ticks and small creases breaking colour. Wear along top and right edges. Staples are good; pages are creamy-coloured.  

*Horror 1940-1959: Atlas’s Mystic was one of their prime horror titles, with the usual Atlas brand of quality art and storytelling. From the Bute Collection, here are three issues of Mystic from 1953 in varying grades, in all their pre-code loveliness. 
PICTURED: MYSTIC
#16 FA £35 SOLD Cover by Carl Burgos. Interior art by Carmine Infantino, Carl Hubbell, Sam Citron, George Roussos and others. Front cover all but detached, hanging on by bottom staple. Almost total spine split with back cover detached. Other edge wear; decent pages.
#19 FN £360 Great skeleton swamp girl cover by Carl Burgos. Interior art by Mort Lawrence, Vic Carrabotta, Werner Roth and others. A superior copy with great colour and gloss. Minimal corner blunting, tiny tear top edge, with a handful of minor spine ticks and creases. Tight, firm staples and excellent white to off-white pages. 
#20 FA £35 SOLD Ubiquitous girl in red dress cover by Russ Heath. Interior art by Ed Winiarski, Sam Kweskin, Tony DiPreta and others. Cover detached and separated, but good cover image with nice gloss. All round edge wear with minor creasing. Staples otherwise good; cream pages with edge tanning. 

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries. Four of the earliest issues of the most famous and longest running Picture Library of them all this week, still going strong after nearly 65 years! This week, we’re pleased to present issues #10-13 from that very first year of publication in 1961. These are all from the same source, where a previous owner had added two extra staples near the spine, which have rusted to varying degrees over the years. They make the copies a little tight to open, but don’t impair the reading of them. The spines were also taped, and some tape remains on some issues, with a residue on others. Nevertheless, the cover colours remain vibrant, with little other wear or creasing (unless noted) and well-preserved pages. Previous owner’s name in biro and small lettering top of back covers. Highly collectable.
PICTURED: COMMANDO ALL SOLD
#10 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine, with moderate puckering. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages. Very small cover scuff.
#11 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages.
#12 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages. Several scuffs of varying sizes at right edge. 
#13 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages. Moderate puckering. 

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was surely between the 1920s and the 1950s, and in this period several women dominated the genre. We refer to them collectively as the Queens of Crime, but of them all, Agatha Christie is surely the High Queen. The most read author in the English language, her works continue to populate our media, whether on TV, in films and theatre and, of course, books. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more books by her in circulation than anyone else. Four offerings from Ms Christie this week in 1970s Fontana editions: three Poirot mysteries (including The Big Four, a spy thriller and The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, a famously unique murder mystery, plus The Hound Of Death, a book of mostly occult short stories, but including the short Witness For The Prosecution, famously filmed).  
PICTURED: ALL BY AGATHA CHRISTIE ALL SOLD
THE BIG FOUR Fontana 1978 3rd UK PB thus GD £4
CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS Fontana 1976 UK PB GD/VG £5
THE HOUND OF DEATH Fontana 1976 UK PB GD/VG £5
THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD Fontana 1976 UK PB GD/VG £5

*DC: Also from the Midas Collection this week, three issues of Gang Busters, a long-running crime series ‘based on the smash radio hit!’ Tough, violent and uncompromising. These date from 1949-1951. With atmospheric art by Dan Barry, Nick Cardy, George Papp, Carmine Infantino, Curt Swan, Win Mortimer, Howard Sherman, George Roussos, Ruben Moreira, Leonard Starr and more. 
IN THIS UPDATE: GANG BUSTERS
#8 VG+ £38
#9 FA/GD £13 (PICTURED) SOLD Photo cover. Cover off staples; tape and a couple of chunks missing at spine. Tears and chips out at edges. 
#20 VG £25 

*Marvel: From the Bute Collection, two excellent issues smack in the middle of the wonderful Wally Wood run on early Daredevil. #8 features the debut of the Stilt-Man, an oft-recurring DD foe. #9 has an off-beat thriller set in Europe, with Wood’s layouts pencilled by the versatile Bob Powell.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL BOTH SOLD
#8 FN £85 1st Stilt Man. This is an outstanding copy, with great colours and reflectivity, square corners, tight, firm staples and off-white to white pages. It would in fact grade as VF+ or better were it not for a very, very faint mug ring between the logo and the Stilt Man’s figure. This is only visible if you catch it in the right light.
#9 VF £95 Great copy with excellent colours and reflectivity. Square corners, unmarked cover, tight, firm staples and off-white to white pages. Just a slight dink to the bottom spine corner and a tiny bit of wear at bottom edge. 

*Marvel:  If you’re looking for really nice copies of Amazing Spider-Man for your collection, then look no further than the Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection. All high grade; even the few that fall below VF (and most are above) are really good-looking copies – no duds here, and nearly all cents copies. Creators J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr interrupted their regularly scheduled Spider-Man for a 911 World Trade Centre commemorative issue (Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 #36) in the wake of 11th September 2001 and the destruction of the twin towers. Focusing on the aftermath, this story features the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe and stars the emergency workers. Otherwise known around these parts as ‘Dr.Doom has a good cry, bless’. This example is a pristine Near Mint (not usually seen, since the jet black cover normally shows every finger mark). 
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (VOL 2) #36 NM £45 SOLD

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Around about 1970, DC did a short series of Gothic style covers in House Of Secrets (you know the thing — terrified woman in diaphanous nightgown flees from creepy old house in the background). The most famous of these was on the cover of House Of Secrets #88, with a glorious Neal Adams painting. This is a very nice example, with just minor edge and handling wear and a small lower spine split (less than 2 cm) detracting. A pence-stamped copy with the stamp on the moon (as is so often the case).  
PICTURED: HOUSE OF SECRETS #88 VG+ p £110

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Issues #2 and #69 of the popular Schoolgirls’ Picture Library fresh in this week, both involving role-playing heroines, touching on familiar tropes for this series. #2, Imposter Princess, does what it says on the tin; in #69, Maid Marian’s Dangerous Quest, Marian disguises herself as a page boy (as you do). Both in very reasonable condition, with varying degrees of rust and wear at staples. 
PICTURED: SCHOOLGIRLS’ PICTURE LIBRARY 
#2 GD/VG £22.50
#69 VG £15

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: The Belgian author Georges Simenon was a very prolific writer. He aspired to be known as a serious writer and produced nearly 400 novels plus short stories, memoirs and autobiographies. His most famous creation, the French detective Jules Maigret, featured in 75 novels and 28 short stories and has become immortalised in international film, TV and radio. This week however, we have six volumes that do NOT feature Maigret, but show Simenon’s range in psychological thrillers and mysteries. All in green Penguins and vintage Pans from the 1950s and 60s, in English translations (natch). Half of them feature two novels in one book. These have varying degrees of wear and tear, as described in our catalogue. 
PICTURED: ALL BY GEORGES SIMENON ALL SOLD
INQUEST ON BOUVET Penguin 1963 2nd UK PB thus FA/GD £4
IN TWO LATITUDES Penguin 1952 1st UK PB thus FA/GD £5 (two novels)
LOST MOORINGS Penguin 1962 2nd UK PB thus GD £4 (two novels)
MAGNET OF DOOM Pan 1956 1st UK PB thus FA/GD £7
ON THE DANGER LINE Penguin 1952 1st UK PB thus GD £7 (two novels)
STRANGE INHERITANCE Great Pan 1958 1st UK PB thus FA £6

*DC: A rare gem from the Midas Collection this week. Some years ago, Green Lantern #30 (1948) was reported in Comic Book Marketplace as the rarest DC Golden Age super-hero comic. We have no way of knowing if that is true, but we’ve certainly never come across one before. This issue featured the debut of Streak the Wonder Dog, who went on to star in the last few issues of Green Lantern, eclipsing Alan Scott himself. In the 1950s, Streak’s creative team, Bob Kanigher and Alex Toth, re-booted him as Rex the Wonder Dog, a DC star throughout the decade in his own title. Cover and two lead stories drawn by Alex Toth, with third GL story and detective filler by Irwin Hansen. 
We believe this copy has probably been trimmed and have awarded it an Apparent grade. The trimming appears to be on the right and bottom edges. It’s slightly shorter and narrower than contemporary issues of other DC titles, and the edges are too sharp with no overhang on the right edge. On-line images are inconclusive, and although precise finishing wasn’t exactly a science back in 1948, we’ve opted to allow for trimming in the price of this issue. The question is further complicated by the left side of the cover being slightly wrapped around the spine for a few mms into the back cover. The condition itself is pretty good, with an unmarked cover with good colour, just small nicks at top and bottom spine, a tiny tear at bottom edge, tight, firm staples and lovely white to off-white pages. A piece of comic canine history! High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: GREEN LANTERN #40 App VG £800 SOLD

*DC: A gang of misfits endowed with strange powers and led by a guy in a wheelchair… sound familiar? Yes, you knew it was the Doom Patrol, didn’t you? Debuting in My Greatest Adventure #80 (June 1963, a few months before the X-Men), the Doom Patrol took over that title, as eventually it morphed with #86 into their own title. Five consecutive issues in lower grade this week, including the debut of future Teen Titan Beast Boy in #99.
IN THIS UPDATE: DOOM PATROL ALL SOLD
#98 VG p £14.75
#99 FA p £25 (PICTURED) 1st Beast Boy; worn and creased
#100 GD- p £9
#101 PR p £1.75 Spine clumsily taped
#102 GD p £5.25 Guest-starring Challengers Of The Unknown. Book shop stamps. 

*Marvel: Three very affordable examples of classic Amazing Spider-Man Annuals from the 1960s this week. #2 features a memorable crossover between Spidey & Dr Strange, with Steve Ditko on his two most famous creations. #4 features a long story with the Human Torch and two guest villains. #5 is the long-awaited tale of Peter Parker’s parents.
IN THIS UPDATE: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL ALL SOLD
#2 FA/GD p £25 (PICTURED) Pence stamped; 8 cm lower spine split. 
#4 GD- p £10 Pence stamped.
#5 GD £7 Pence stamped.  

*Horror 1940-1959: Atlas’s Men’s Adventures was a title that covered various genres in its 25 issue run (#4-28, #1-3 being True Adventures). Issues #21-26 were horror-themed issues, similar to the Atlas output of the time in that genre, with great artistic line-ups. Two of these rare horror issues new in this week.
PICTURED: MEN’S ADVENTURES
#24 GD+ £120 Pre-Code. Cover by Sol Brodsky. Interior art by Tuska, Heath, Maneely, Romita. Great cover image, with defects at edges only. Very small piece missing at top edge (see scan), with most of the missing chip stuck to the splash page. Minor to moderate wear along spine and edges, narrowly breaking colour. Some creasing above logo at top right corner, not breaking colour. Tiny lower spine split and front cover off bottom staple, otherwise staples firm throughout. Page quality is pretty decent off-white, but there is some margin staining throughout. 
#26 GD- £100 SOLD Pre-code. Cover by Russ Heath. Interior art by Ayers, Colan, Gil Evans, Sale. Classic morgue cover image, with minor wear and a couple of tiny chips out at edges. 3 cm upper spine split and 8 cm lower. Cover off lower staple and front off upper. Staples firm at centrefold. Pages off-white to cream. 

*Teen Humour/Funny Girls: DC’s Debbi was a relative latecomer to the genre, starting in 1969. However, she made up for lost time with two titles: Debbi’s Dates and Date with Debbi (that gal sure had a one-track mind). It’s the latter that concerns us here, with five consecutive highish grade copies from the Bute Collection. The usual sort of fun and hi-jinks you would expect. 
IN THIS UPDATE: DATE WITH DEBBI ALL SOLD
6 VF- £19 
7 VF £22 (PICTURED)
8 FN/VF £16 
9 FN+ p £11.75 
10 VF- £19

*Humour Comics: Continuing our policy of providing more information for Beano and Dandy, we have a new batch of Dandy in this week from 1946. That year is now annotated with details of strip and prose debuts: Dad’s Got A Broken Leg (#324), Julius Sneezer (#330), Dangerous Duff (#332). We also have the April Fool and Christmas issues for 1946. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: DANDY #334 GD/VG £50 Christmas issue

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’ve been fortunate enough to acquire a selection of British Library Crime Classics, a contemporary series which reprints classic novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, bound in attractive uniform editions which feature period paintings as their covers. A celebration of famous and forgotten authors and a milestone in publishing for the British Library. All books are in like new, unread condition at a uniform price of £5 each. Further information is shown in our catalogue. Here’s four more of them, including two mysteries by the unconventional Mary Kelly, and one from Ellen Wilkinson (one of the first women to be elected to Parliament) set around the House Of Commons, with a preface from Rachel Reeves. 
PICTURED: BRITISH LIBRARY CRIME CLASSICS ALL SOLD
GEORGE BELLAIRS: THE BODY IN THE DUMB RIVER British Library Crime Classics 2019 UK PB Originally published 1961 Like New £5
MARY KELLY: THE CHRISTMAS EGG British Library Crime Classics 2019 UK PB 
Originally published 1958 Like New £5
MARY KELLY: THE SPOILT KILL British Library Crime Classics 2020 UK PB
Originally published 1961 Like New £5
ELLEN WILKINSON: THE DIVISION BELL MYSTERY British Library Crime Classics 2018 UK PB Originally published 1932 Like New £5

*DC: From the Midas Collection this week, another slabbed gem with the Caped Crusader. Issue #39 has an amusing seasonal cover by Jack Burnley, with three long Batman stories, including Catwoman in ‘A Christmas Tale.’ Scripts by Don C Cameron and Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane. This CGC encapsulated copy is graded at 4.5 (VG+), unrestored blue label, case perfect, cream to off-white pages. CGC Serial number 0033453005. 
PICTURED: BATMAN #39 CGC 4.5 VG+ £475 

*Marvel: There are two great lines in Spider-Man history. The first – ‘with great power there must also come — great responsibility!’ was not original to Stan Lee, but as far as we know the second – ‘Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot!’ is entirely Stan’s own work. Well, we’re not offering you the first this update (fresh out of Amazing Fantasy #15 for now), but we do have the second in the shape of Amazing Spider-man #42. In this issue, the astronaut offspring of J Jonah Jameson gained super-powers and posed a threat to Spider-Man… but let’s be honest, who really cares? Because the Big Deal this time was the revelation, finally, of Mary Jane Watson, the mysterious lady who’d been hovering in the odd panel, her face always obscured, for several previous issues! When Stan Lee and John Romita finally showed us the ‘Full MJ’, it was like all Peter’s Christmases came at once, with one of the most famous intro lines in the history of comics! This is a nice, superior copy with good colour and reflectivity. Edge and spine wear are at a minimum; there is a dink at both top corners, very small and not breaking colour. Very small printed arrival date on Jameson Jr’s thigh, tough to spot. Tight, secure staples and excellent white to off-white pages. NB: there was a UK dock strike on at the time, and for two months, no Marvels were imported through normal channels. 
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #42 FN/VF £225

*Marvel: What a great title Strange Tales was after Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD joined Dr Strange to share the title. Stan Lee was on writing duty for both (ceding to Roy Thomas and Denny O’Neil eventually on Dr Strange), with Kirby at the artistic helm on Fury, while Ditko continued on Dr Strange.
IN THIS UPDATE: STRANGE TALES ALL SOLD
#136 FN- £20.25
#138 VG+ £40 (PICTURED) 1st Eternity
#142 GD/VG £8.75
#143 VG £11.50
#145 VG+ £13
Special Bonus: We have an incomplete copy of #135, the first appearance of Nick Fury as Agent of SHIELD. This is missing the centrefold, including the last page of the SHIELD story and the first page of the Dr Strange story. This will be given free of charge to anyone ordering and winning all the above five issues.   

*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: Gosh, I still remember the thrill when an issue of Thunder Agents came out in the mid-1960s. Wow – you got 5 stories each issue in an extra-thick comic! Of course, at age 11, I barely knew who Wally Wood was, but I knew I liked the artwork. And the writers for these super-powered secret agents (a unique hybrid of the super-hero and spy genres) kept the words to a minimum, letting the art tell the stories. And it wasn’t just Wood: Crandall, Ditko, Kane, Sekowsky & Whitney were also represented, along with less notable but mainly competent others. We have a new selection in, complete from #14 to #19 (the final issue with new material): Dynamo, Noman, Lightning, Raven, Kitten, etc. Highly recommended. 
IN THIS UPDATE: THUNDER AGENTS ALL SOLD
#14 VG £8.75
#15 FA £4 Cover detached
#16 GD/VG £6.25
#17 FN+ £16
#18 FN £11.50
#19 FN/VF £20 (PICTURED)

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Emphasis on the horror part of this category this week, with two novels and two anthologies from the 1950s to the 1970s, all uncommon. C S Cody provides a tale of black magic, supernatural murder and satanic ritual. Doris Miles Disney’s novel has ‘a whisper from a corpse, a cry from the dead.’ Christopher Evans edits stories of terror from as famous a selection of writers as M R James, J G Ballard, John Sladek etc. The celebrated anthologist Peter Haining presents a vampire anthology with contributions from Stoker, M R James, Derleth, Matheson, Wellman, Bradbury, Copper, Bloch, Leiber & eight more. As always, condition notes may be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED: 
C S CODY: THE WITCHING NIGHT Corgi 1953 1st UK PB thus GD/VG £10
DORIS MILES DISNEY: VOICE FROM THE GRAVE MacFadden-Bartell 1970 US PB GD/VG £10
CHRISTOPHER EVANS (Ed): MIND AT BAY Panther 1969 1st UK PB GD/VG £8
PETER HAINING (Ed): THE MIDNIGHT PEOPLE Everest 1975 1st UK PB VG £15 SOLD