*Marvel: This week’s Spider-Mania entry features two first issues. First up, from 1976, Spectacular Spider-Man #1, the second ongoing Spidey series with a tussle with the Tarantula, a VF pence copy with a slight bit of white spine syndrome i.e. with the cover printed slightly to the right of centre. Secondly, the gold version of the hugely successful Spider-Man #1 series by Todd MacFarlane from 1990 in sparkling VF/NM; there are a lot of variations of this issue to collect, and this is one of the less common ones, so here’s a good place to start.
PICTURED:
SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #1 VF p £30
SPIDER-MAN #1 (GOLD VARIANT) VF/NM £30
Category Archives: What’s New
American Update: The All-New, All-Different X-Men
*Marvel: The run of X-Men, from their relaunch in #94 through to the end of the John Byrne run in #143 are some of many people’s favourite comics, incorporating the Jean Grey/Phoenix saga and featuring the debuts of many characters who have gone on the become cornerstones of Marvel’s Mutant-verse. The success of the X-Men franchise as we know it today was built on these issues, and we have many of them fresh into stock, including the debut of Moira MacTaggart in #96, the double debuts of Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost in #129, 1st Dazzler in #130 and the entire Dark Phoenix sequence from #134-138.
PICTURED: X-MEN
#96 FN p £50
#129 VF p £90
#134 NM- £75
#135 NM p £75
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Nova #1
*Marvel: In 1976, the House Of Ideas came up with Nova, designed originally to be an ‘everyman’ character like Peter Parker/Spider-Man, but quickly developing into a cosmic ‘soldier’ more akin to DC’s Green Lantern – luckily, DC’s lawyers didn’t notice the parallels! Although the original run lasted a mere 25 issues, Nova has returned many times to the Marvel Universe, and where he shines is in the protracted cosmic crossovers of which Marvel is so fond. Our latest copy of Nova #1 is in nice condition, pence printed, with great cover colour and gloss, tight staples, and excellent page quality. Very minor wear at corners and tiny stress marks at spine; there is a short crease across the bottom right corner which barely breaks colour.
PICTURED: NOVA #1 FN p £50
American Update: Contest of Champions – the Unexpected Mini-Series
*Marvel: Marvel’s first published mini-series, issued in 1982, Contest of Champions came about almost by accident. Originally intended as a Marvel Treasury Special to tie-in with the 1980 Olympics, the project crashed & burned when the USA pulled out of said event, and the prepared pages, after a time in limbo, were re-edited into this three-parter, in which virtually every Marvel super-hero (and several brand-new international ones created for the Olympic tie-in) are drafted by the Grandmaster in a contest with Death to win back the life of the deceased Collector. Split into teams, the heroes are used as pawns to gain artefacts and therefore win points to determine which cosmic entity wins their goal. By Mark Gruenwald, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton, the unexpected success of this unplanned mini-series paved the way for more premeditated events, beginning, of course, with Marvel’s Secret Wars in 1984. This complete three-issue series averages VF/NM.
PICTURED: CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS #1 VF/NM; COMPLETE SET #1-3 VF/NM £40
American Update: Son Of Satan
*Marvel: In the wake of other Marvel hits starring occult characters, and with the Exorcist movie taking big box-office, Stan Lee had originally proposed a series starring Satan himself, but Roy Thomas commuted it to Satan’s offspring, a demon/human hybrid who used his evil-spawned power for good, in rebellion against his father. Daimon Hellstrom duly appeared in Ghost Rider #2 as an antagonist before moving into his own solo series in Marvel Spotlight, and then progressing to his own book. Daimon remains a prominent character today in the Marvel Universe, though he doesn’t use the Son of Satan soubriquet any more, and in these more sensitive times his origins are usually politely glossed over. New in, we have the first four issues of the Son of Satan’s own series.
PICTURED: SON OF SATAN #1 FN/VF p £20 SOLD
American Update: Strange Tales with Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD and Dr. Strange
*Marvel: A great update this week to the splendid title Strange Tales, during its Nick Fury/Dr. Strange period from #145-168 (the last issue for these two features before they got their own titles). Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD was initially drawn by Jack Kirby, then John Buscema and then by Jim Steranko, the defining artist for this series. Steranko’s small body of work is highly prized and collected, and nowhere is it more in evidence than here. Dr. Strange features initially the last couple of issues by Steve Ditko, but with the likes of Bill Everett, Marie Severin and Dan Adkins to follow, this comic was always a classy-looking publication. Full details of all the issues available in our catalogue.
American Update: Alan Moore’s acclaimed Miracleman
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: Starting life in the UK magazine Warrior, Alan Moore’s reimagining of the 1950s British hero Marvelman changed his name when crossing the pond to be taken up and completed by US publisher Eclipse. In the 1950s, Marvelman was created by the Mick Anglo Studios to fill the gap left when Len Miller’s rights to reprint Captain Marvel ran out, and Marvelman was very much in the same mould as Captain Marvel, complete with his own ‘family’. Alan Moore changed all that, creating 16 issues of adult and often horrific but always compelling story-telling that remains one of the pinnacles of the medium. Most issues from #1 onwards are now in stock, as well as #1 of the Miracleman Family series, reprinting some of those whimsical 1950s tales.
PICTURED: MIRACLEMAN #1 NM £15
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Rare Weird Horrors #7 with Ekgren cover art
*Horror 1940/1959: Just one item in our Pre-Code Horror Fest this week, but it’s a rarity. William Ekgren’s entire comics output was three covers for St John in the 1950s, but what covers they were, among the most distinctive in the genre, if not the medium with their hallucinogenic imagery. Weird Horrors #7 is the pick of the bunch in our opinion, and the insides aren’t too shabby either with accomplished art by Joe Kubert, Lou Cameron and others. This copy is only Fair, with a taped spine and several small chips out of the top and bottom cover edges, front and back. The pages though are quite decent, apart from a small corner off the margin on the splash page, and the staples are tight at the centrefold. The cover image remains relatively unspoilt.
PICTURED: WEIRD HORRORS #7 FA £100 SOLD
American Update: A Short Blast of 1960s/1970s Horror
*Horror/Mystery 1960s-1980s: A small selection this week from several publishers. From ACG, two issues of Adventures Into The Unknown (inc. #169 where Nemesis battles Hitler!); from Charlton, Ghost Manor and The Many Ghosts Of Dr Graves; from DC, Ghosts (#2) and The Unexpected; and from Marvel Fear (#1) and Where Creatures Roam. Full details as always in our catalogue.
American Update: More war! Sgt Fury & His Howling Commandos
*War: Our massive updates to our war category continue with just one title this week, but it’s a biggie! Marvel’s Sgt Fury & His Howling Commandos was the ‘war comic for people that hated war comics’. Launched in 1963 alongside the Avengers & the X-Men, Stan & Jack (and their successors) brought many of the qualities of Marvel’s team super-hero comics to tell the stories of Nick Fury and his diverse platoon in WWII. Nick himself (and some of his cast) famously reappeared in the then present day of the Marvel Silver Age universe, of course, primarily in Agent of SHIELD in Strange Tales. We have dozens of issues freshly added this week between #14 and #81, plus Annuals. War is still not yet over — watch this space.
PICTURED: SGT FURY ANNUAL #1 FN+ £39 SOLD
British Update: More Marvelous Alan Class
*Alan Class Reprints: A further update of mostly pre-decimal Alan Class issues reprinting classic Marvel Silver Age stories. In Creepy Worlds, Secrets of the Unknown, Sinister Tales & Uncanny Tales, in both our certificated Alan Class File Copies and our regular stock, you’ll find the Silver Surfer, Iron Man, the Human Torch, Dr. Strange, the Avengers & Daredevil. Consult our catalogue for full details.
PICTURED:
CREEPY WORLDS #120 VG £20
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN #71 FN/VF £28
SINISTER TALES #136 VF £15
British Update: Complete Run of Scream from 1984
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: We’ve lost count of how many sets of Scream we’ve sold over the years, but they never hang around in stock for long. The achievability of a short 15 issue run plus the horror subject matter make this an irresistible title for many. Another complete run fresh into stock, all 15 issues of this highly collectable series, all in decent VG or FN condition.
PICTURED: SCREAM #1 VG £20 ALL ISSUES SOLD
British Update: Jet-Ace Logan in Thriller Picture Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Just a tiny update here this week with three low-grade issues of Thriller Picture Library, all featuring Jet-Ace Logan of the RAF Space Command. (#383, #418, #442).
British Update: A Miscellany of TV & Film Related Comics with Free Gift Farrago & Long Hot Summer
*TV & Film Related Comics: A real mixed bag in this category this week, starting with two rare issues of Gerry Anderson’s Candy from 1969. #3 of Countdown has the Free Gift — Spacefact stamps, and there’s a Marvel UK Planet Of The Apes #1 without poster. Two Thunderbirds Holiday Specials are included, from 1971 & 1982, plus a TV21 (2nd series) from 1970. Finally, there are a few TV Comic issues, from 1972 (with the Avengers), from 1981 and from 1976 #1294 featuring Dr. Who and possibly the most underwhelming Free Gift yet (even less exciting than the Tarzan #1 ‘sick bag’); it’s the TV Star Chart, a piece of cardboard for you to stick on famous TV faces from inside the comic and enter a prize draw. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
PICTURED:
COUNTDOWN #3 GD WITH FREE GIFT VF £25 SOLD
TV COMIC #1294 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £8
British Update: A Miscellany of Girls’ Comics inc. early numbers
*Girls’ Comics: Some early issues among this week’s Girl’s Comics update from the 1960s/70s, featuring Bunty from 1965, 1967, 1971 & 1975, Judy from 1960 (#21, our current earliest issue) & 1967, Mandy #2 from 1967 and Tammy #2 from 1971.
PICTURED:
MANDY #2 GD £20
TAMMY 13/2/71 (#2) FN £20
British Update: Mandy Picture Library
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Dozens of issues of Mandy Picture Library added to our inventory this week, a handful of early issues, but mostly concentrating on later issues between #136 & #276. Great fun and excellent value.
Super-Housekeeping Update
Since we’re now trading by mail order only, it gives us the chance to maintain our catalogue even more accurately. All items sold since lockdown are now being deleted within a few days of sale. We are also working through our entire catalogue to delete those items that sold pre-lockdown since files were last updated. This means that as we finish updating a file, you can rely on the catalogue for that category being (and staying) as close to 100% accurate as it is possible to get, with virtually everything available, apart from items sold in the last few days (and just a tiny amount of human error). We have now completed this exercise for the following categories from our British section:
*Girls’ Picture Libraries
*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics
All categories down to this point in our Catalogue Index have now been Super-Housekept! We will continue to post here as we make progress.
30th Century & Lockdown 2: No change
Since we’ve been trading by mail order only since the first lockdown, the new lockdown restrictions will make no difference to our current operation. The shop remains closed to visitors (and this is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future), but we will be continuing to take and fulfill mail order. We are however taking a short planned break to attend to some personal matters at the moment. Stock updates to our What’s New page will recommence around 13th/14th November, and the next Newsletter will be around then as well. We are very grateful to all our customers who have stuck with us this year and to the very many that have joined us for the first time during the pandemic. Best wishes to everyone — keep well and stay safe.
American Update: Batmania/DC Debuts: 1st Harley Quinn in Batman Adventures #12
*DC: Introduced as a last-minute afterthought in the Batman Animated TV Show, a curvaceous minion of the Joker brainstormed to do a task thought inappropriate for ‘Mr. J’ himself, Harley Quinn caught on like wildfire, and after several reappearances in the show, crossed over into the comic books with Batman Adventures #12 in 1993. Since then, of course, she’s transferred from the DC Comics Animated Universe to the main DCU, had her own series and several spin-offs, and is now regarded as one of the big-earning ‘pillars’ of the DCU, alongside Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Margot Robbie’s performance as Harley in the ‘Suicide Squad’ movie was widely acknowledged as the only bright spot in that stinker of a film, and a Harley co-starring role is in the follow up ‘Birds of Prey’ movie from earlier this year, so now is the time to grab this hugely sought-after issue! This high grade copy has a few tiny stress marks at the spine, but is otherwise tight and flat, with sharp corners and great cover colour and gloss.
PICTURED: BATMAN ADVENTURES #12 VF/NM £350 SOLD
American Update: DC- the A List
*DC: A round-up of DC titles beginning with ‘A’, specifically All-Star Comics (the 1970s revival of the Justice Society of America), Aquaman (inc lovely artwork by Nick Cardy) and Atom (by the superb creative team of Gardner Fox and Gil Kane). Lots of issues added of all titles — see our catalogue for full details.
American Update: Slab Happy/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Thanos (& others) in Iron Man #55 8.0
*Marvel: They don’t come much hotter these days than Iron Man #55, wherein the cosmic arch-villain Thanos, nemesis of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, made his first appearance, the brainchild of fan favourite writer/artist Jim Starlin. Thanos has of course gone on to plague Marvel’s heroes in comics and movies ever since, but here is where it all started. This landmark issue also features the debuts of Drax the Destroyer, Mentor, Eros (later Starfox of the Avengers) and Kronos. With Avengers: Endgame, in which Thanos is the Big Bad, having broken box-office records in cinemas worldwide, the character’s debut is only going to become more sought after. This CGC unrestored blue label copy is graded at 8.0 (VF) and is a UK pence variant, as our American friends like to call it.
PICTURED: IRON MAN #55 8.0 VF p £575
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Black Knight in Avengers #48
*Marvel: The Black Knight has a long and distinguished history at Marvel. Originally, a heroic knight at the court of King Arthur in the Atlas series of the 1950s, the name was revived in the Silver Age, first as the villainous foe of Giant-Man, and later as the new Black Knight (Dane Whitman) in the Avengers and elsewhere in the Marvel Universe (both US & UK). Interest in the character has recently peaked with the announcement of the Black Knight’s debut in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Avengers #48 features the first full appearance of the Dane Whitman Black Knight (Dane Whitman himself having appeared in #47) and our latest copy is a decent mid-grade pence stamped example with only minor edge wear and tight staples, with unmarred cover scene and a tiny crease across the extremity of the bottom right corner. Good page quality and it’s one of those copies which is printed slightly off centre so that a very small piece of the cover image is shown along the spine edge of the back cover. This brings it to a very affordable VG+.
PICTURED: AVENGERS #48 VG+ p £85 SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania: Non-code approved Amazing #96 with the Green Goblin
*Marvel: Stan Lee decided to feature a drugs plot in Amazing Spider-Man #96, the first part of the Green Goblin trilogy when Norman Osborn remembers his sinister alter ego. This meant the Comics Code Authority seal was not used on this issue. There’s a whole load of interaction between Peter Parker’s growing cast and a story with a social conscience, culminating with a showdown with the Goblin and ‘continued next issue’. The art by Kane and Romita don’t hurt none, either. This superior cents copy is flat, tight and glossy with a clear and colourful cover image. The staples are tight and the pages off-white to white. Just some minor stress marks to the spine and miniscule bits of wear at the top and bottom left corners stop it grading higher.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #96 VF- £90
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Lorna Dane (Polaris) in X-Men #49 & #50 with Streranko art
*Marvel: Lorna Dane met up with the X-Men in #49, rescued by Iceman after being caught up in one of the bouts of anti-mutant hysteria which sweep Marvel-Earth twice a week, but it wasn’t until issue #50 that she had her Big Reveal and appeared in costume: she was the daughter of Magneto, Master of Evil Mutants and heir to all his power! It was some time after this that she adopted the code name Polaris. Jim Steranko contributed just the striking cover to #49, but he did the whole shebang for #50, including the dynamic green-tinted cover, one of the great iconic masterpieces of the later Marvel Silver Age; his innovative layouts, cinematic storytelling and nifty costume design for Lorna moved the series up a gear from what had gone just before. To say that Lorna’s history has been convoluted is an understatement – the ‘official’ position as to whether she’s Magneto’s offspring or not has changed many times but – except when she’s had psychotic breaks and become a villain, as you do – she’s been a stalwart member of the X-Men and/or X-Factor for decades now. #49 is a reasonable copy, quite fresh and bright with good staples and just minor edge wear, but there are a couple of vertical colour-breaking creases, one at left and one at right edges of the cover. #50 is sound, with good staples, though a little tired, with a couple of creases that just break colour across the bottom right corner. Both are pence stamped.
PICTURED: X-MEN
#49 VG p £50 SOLD
#50 VG- p £50
American Update: Classic Silver Surfer cover on Fantastic Four #55
*Marvel: The Fantastic Four certainly had some classic covers within the number range #40-60, and none more so than #55, which depicted the rooftop encounter between the Thing and the Silver Surfer, with a gorgeous deep purple sky above the cityscape background. The Surfer was very much the hit breakout character at Marvel at the time, and Stan and Jack lost no opportunity to exploit that. This reasonable pence printed copy has some corner blunting and edge wear (quite heavy along the top edge), and the upper staple is a little loose but well attached. The copy image is unmarred and has some residual gloss. Pages are decent; inside covers a little tanned.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #55 GD/VG p £35
American Update: A Bulk of Hulk
*Marvel: Several issues of the Incredible Hulk added to our inventory this week from #126 (1st Barbara Norris, later Valkyrie) up to #347 (1st Hulk in Mr. Fixit persona, 1st Marlo Chandler), with lots more in between. Full details as always in our catalogue.
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Eerie #14 & #15
*Horror 1940-1959: Avon Publications was an enthusiastic embracer of the Horror genre, witnessed by the fact that while most of their comic book output was one-offs, they committed to a proper ongoing series with Eerie, commencing with the debut issue dated May-June 1951. Having tested the waters with a one-shot in 1947, the company returned with a new series of lurid and horrifying tales, epitomised by the premier issue’s line-up: ‘King of the Living Dead’, ‘Werewolf of Warsham Manor’, ‘The Subway Horror!’, and ‘Monster from the Pit’, which are all reprinted in this very decent copy of #15 with a new cover; tight, flat, bright and glossy with good staples and nice page quality, just minor spine wear and negligible corner blunting. Also in this update, issue #14, the last to feature new material, a nice mid-grade copy with some spine wear, a colour-breaking crease across the bottom right cover corner, but nice cover colour and gloss and structurally sound.
PICTURED: EERIE
#14 VG £120 SOLD
#15 FN £250 SOLD
American Update: Man-Thing #1
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Although dismissed by many as a Swamp Thing rip-off, Man-Thing did actually premiere first, in Savage Tales #1 (May 1971), though Swampy’s debut in House of Secrets #92, dated July that same year, means that it’s one of those judgements that’s too close to call, and the nigh-simultaneous debuts of the duelling muck-monsters may have been mere coincidence. In any event, Man-Thing soon developed a following, as the mute, barely sentient plant-monster shambled his way through a solo series in Fear before gaining his own title. Primary writer Steve Gerber was ahead of his time in addressing ecological and social crises, even during the decade which embraced ‘relevance’, and the stories contained many genuinely horrific moments which skirted the edge of what was acceptable in the Comics-Code ruled years – though, in fairness, Gerber was even more adept at portraying psychological horror than the conventional viscera. This copy of Manny’s first issue (first series) also features the second appearance of Howard the Duck and is a lovely cents copy, tight, flat and glossy with just minor stress marks at spine.
PICTURED: MAN-THING #1 VF £55 SOLD
American Update: Captain Savage & His Leatherneck Raiders plus…
*War: we continue our big War comics additional listings with Marvel’s second Silver Age soldier team, Captain Savage & His Leatherneck Raiders. Cap Savage first appeared in the pages of Sgt Fury and graduated to his own title very much in the same vein as the Sgt Fury title with his own gang of sidekicks. We have a chunky update from first to last (#19) new in. And, as a bonus, a couple of issues of Marvel’s War Is Hell, with appearances by their version of Death, no less.
PICTURED: CAPTAIN SAVAGE #1 VG p £9 SOLD
American Update: The Skywald Horror Mood: Nightmare, Psycho & Scream
*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: In 1970, after the Warren horror comic magazines, Creepy and Eerie, had been successful for half a decade, the bandwagon jumpers were circling, and one of them was Skywald Publishing. Throwing together a bunch of Pre-Code reprints – artistically amended for added gore – and the occasional new story, they launched Nightmare, followed the next year by its companion Psycho. Successful enough to switch to all-new material, stories initially read like ersatz Warren tales, illustrated either by newcomers to the field – Jeff and Bruce Jones, Doug Wildey, Ralph Reese – or by folks whose professional careers were, by then, largely behind them (Syd Shores, Bill Everett). However, within a very few issues, writer/editor Al Hewetson’s – let’s call it ‘unique’ – writing style came to the fore, and the paranoid and often largely incoherent ‘Horror-Mood’, as he referred to it, became the norm. With a new, largely South American stable of artists, he created a miasmatic air of formless menace that challenged Marvel and Warren enough that they, according to Hewetson himself, colluded to deny Skywald distribution. We are delighted to have more of this oddball footnote in comics history in stock, some Nightmare, lots of Psycho and a single Scream; full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
NIGHTMARE #19 FN+ p £11.75
PSYCHO #14 FN+ p £11.75
SCREAM #10 FN/VF P £17
American/British Update: The Sound Of The Underground
*Undergrounds: A round-up of titles from both sides of the pond, including Aargh (the Gay & Lesbian anthology benefit issue by Alan Moore and a host of star names), Donna Barr’s Bosom Enemies, David Greenberger’s Duplex Planet Illustrated, lots of Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Honkytonk Sue.
American/British Update: Orphaned Free Gift: Vickers Vanguard model from Swift
*Memorabilia/Esoterica: Another Orphaned Free Gift this week, i.e. a gift without its accompanying comic. This handsome press-out model of the Vickers Vanguard Air-Liner was issued with Swift Volume 9 #8 1962 (one of three such models issued that year). The thick card is in immaculate VF condition, with all its press-out pieces still intact and attached.
PICTURED: SWIFT FREE GIFT VF £35
British Update: The 3D Zone: Rare British 3D Editions
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: If vintage comics are a niche market, and 3D comics a niche within a niche, then we’re not sure where this puts British editions reprinting American 3D comics, but we’ve never had them before, so they must be rare! Two issues available here: Adventures in 3D #1, reprinting the Harvey title of the same name, featuring science-fiction, horror, jungle and adventure stories, complete with glasses; and Three Dimension Comics #1, reprinting the St John title of the same name and featuring the adventures of Mighty Mouse, also complete with glasses (here dubbed ‘Mighty Mouse Space Goggles’). This update concludes our 3D Zone mini-event.
PICTURED:
ADVENTURES IN 3D #1 VG £20 SOLD
THREE DIMENSION COMICS #1 VG+ £15 SOLD
British Update: Slaine: The Horned God
*Collected Editions: From Rebellion Publishing, a new printing of the 2000 AD favourite by Pat Mills and Simon Bisley: Slaine: The Horned God. The story of a Conanesque Celtic warrior and his battles through a barbaric pre-history. Simon Bisley has a distinctive painted art style — not my cup of tea, but he has a legion of fans in the UK and Europe, in particular. The entire saga in one big volume.
PICTURED: SLAINE THE HORNED GOD SC NEW/MINT £20
British Update: Combat Picture Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Fresh in this week, 45 issues of Micron’s Combat Picture Library between #300 & #399, all pre-decimal. From a newsagent’s uncirculated stock, these have only minimal ageing wear from long-term storage and grade between FN & VF.
PICTURED: COMBAT PICTURE LIBRARY #300 VF £2.50 SOLD
British Update: TV Comic 1968 with Patrick Troughton as Dr Who
*TV & Film Related Comics: Although I watched Dr Who from its beginning in 1963, by the time Patrick Troughton took over as the second Doctor, I was old enough to really appreciate it and came to think of him as My Doctor (everyone’s got a Doctor!). Such a shame that so many of his TV episodes were junked by the BBC. His appearances in the contemporary TV Comic are fortunately still with us, although they rarely seem to turn up and are much sought after. Two examples this week from 1968, #863 and #864, both with full colour Dr Who strips as the centre spread. #863 is a nice copy with no faults; #864 has slight wear at the bottom spine and a 3 cm tear at the top right corner.
PICTURED: TV COMIC
#863 VG £20 SOLD
#864 GD £15 SOLD
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Diana 1966
*Girls’ Comics: In 1966, Diana remained very much a traditional girls’ comic, full of the adventures of plucky schoolgirls and the like, many in full colour. This copy of #187 from 1966 has much creasing to the top edge through the comic, but the accompanying Free Gift – ‘a lovely pearly blue ring’ – is still sealed in its original envelope.
PICTURED: DIANA #187 GD WITH FREE GIFT VF £35 SOLD
What’s Old: Books: Spotlight on J G Ballard
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: What’s Old is our feature where we highlight stuff from our catalogue that you may have missed. This week, we turn our attention to J G Ballard, one of the leading lights of the New Wave of Science Fiction which came to prominence in the UK and USA in the 1960s. Initially a writer of surreal and disturbing short stories such as in the collections ‘The Overloaded Man’ or ‘The Terminal Beach’, he wrote several haunting novels around themes of a decaying world such as ‘The Drought’ and ‘The Wind From Nowhere’ and later collections included ‘Low Flying Aircraft’ and ‘The Venus Hunters’. All of these and more can be found in our catalogue. Ballard’s work was often steeped in controversy such as in ‘Crash’ (adapted to film by David Cronenburg), but it is perhaps for the mainstream war novel ‘Empire of the Sun’ (filmed by Spielberg) that he will be best remembered outside the genre. Ballard is not a comfortable, easy read; rather he is unsettling and thought-provoking, playing with dystopias and the psychological effects of topographical catastrophes. He’d have had a field day with our present dystopia.
PICTURED:
LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT IST HC WITH DJ VG £45
THE OVERLOADED MAN 1ST PB VG £25
THE TERMINAL BEACH 1ST PB VG £12
THE VOICES OF TIME & OTHER STORIES 1ST US PB GD/VG £15
THE WIND FROM NOWHERE 1ST US PB GD/VG £15
Super-Housekeeping Update
Since we’re now trading by mail order only, it gives us the chance to maintain our catalogue even more accurately. All items sold since lockdown are now being deleted within a few days of sale. We are also working through our entire catalogue to delete those items that sold pre-lockdown since files were last updated. This means that as we finish updating a file, you can rely on the catalogue for that category being (and staying) as close to 100% accurate as it is possible to get, with virtually everything available, apart from items sold in the last few days (and just a tiny amount of human error). We have now completed this exercise for the following category from our British section:
*Girls’ Comics June – Z
All categories down to this point in our Catalogue Index have now been Super-Housekept! We will continue to post here as we make progress.
American Update: Showcase #35 & #36, 2nd and 3rd appearances of the Atom
*DC: Showcase #35 and #36 are the second and third try-out issues for the Atom, after which he graduted into his own title. The one thing that strikes me on reviewing these issues for this write-up is how wonderfully well-crafted they are by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson. Fox was obviously having a ball, using all his skills and ingenuity to come up with plots and situations to suit the modus operandi of the Tiny Titan. Kane’s pencils are dynamic, flowing and action-packed, while Anderson’s exquisite inking adds mood and atmosphere. These are quite reasonable copies with specific flaws which bring the grades down. #35 has minor light graffiti on part of the logo and some vertical and central creasing; staples, pages and edges are good and the cover is bright and colourful. #36 is structurally sound with good cover colour and gloss and good staples and pages; just a couple of small bits of graffiti. Both have great cover images and #35 has the bonus of short autobiographies by the creators. It’s been a joy to review these.
PICTURED: SHOWCASE
#35 GD/VG p £55
#36 VG- p £50
American Update: Batmania: Batman #244, Ra’s al Ghul by O’Neil and Adams
*DC: A finale of Batman’s struggle with the ‘Demon’, Ra’s al Ghul, in Batman #244 by his creators Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams; classic stuff. A nice pence stamped copy, glossy and unmarked with great colour and gloss, tight and flat, with very minor corner blunting and a tiny bit of wear at the bottom edge.
PICTURED: BATMAN #244 FN+ p £70 SOLD
American Update: High Adventure
*DC: Adventure Comics, that is — the biggest update we’ve ever made to this seminal DC title, with over 100 issues added between #294 and #479, right through the Silver & Bronze Ages, with an ever-changing roster of features, from Superboy and Bizarro World, through the Legion of Super-Heroes (our favourite), Supergirl, Spectre, Aquaman, giant $1 issues with an All-Star cast, Starman & Plastic Man and Dial H For Hero. This update adds a whole load of issues previously missing from our catalogue, plus alternative grades for many issues already in stock.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Vision in Avengers #57
*Marvel: A significant latecomer to the Silver Marvel Age, the enigmatic synthezoid, the Vision premiered in Avengers #57 as a villainous pawn of the evil Ultron. Rapidly being discovered to be misguided, he was offered membership the next issue, in one of the most rapid reforms ever, and became a mainstay of the Avengers and the MU in general, particularly through his convoluted relationship with the Scarlet Witch. Based on a Simon & Kirby character from the 1940s, Roy Thomas’ love affair with all things Golden Age stood him in good stead, as the Vision captured the hearts and minds of readers worldwide… though the exquisite art by John Buscema doubtless didn’t hurt! Now a pillar of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Vision’s star continues to rise. This pence stamped copy of his debut is not a nice copy: at some point in its life, sellotape has been applied to the spine (now removed), and although the spine is intact but for a 3 cm split at the top and a much smaller split at the bottom, the tape has left residual markings along the spine both inside and out. There is also a long, colour-breaking crease along the Vision’s figure, much corner blunting and some wear along the right edge. But the staples and pages are okay and it’s all there!
PICTURED: AVENGERS #57 FA+ p £65
American Update: X-Men Crossover Time I – Vs the Avengers in X-Men #9
*Marvel: It had already been a busy time for Marvel’s newest team, the merry mutant X-Men, when, in issue #9 of their own series, they faced up against the might of the Avengers, although, truth be told, it was more of a skirmish here than a battle royale, as the real threat in this issue was the mysterious Lucifer. Still, there’s nothing quite like Lee & Kirby pitting two teams of their creations against each other! This is a sound, bright, respectable cents copy, with good cover colour and gloss, unmarked, tight staples, nice pages and only minor edge wear. There are a couple of soft creases upper right cover which just break colour, a harder crease across the bottom right corner and a little foxing to the inside covers, but all in all a nice copy.
PICTURED: X-MEN #9 VG £175
American Update: X-Men Crossover Time II – Fantastic Four #28
*Marvel: And here’s another X-Men crossover issue, this time with Marvel’s other team of the time — the Fantastic Four. In issue #28 of the FF, the X-Men guest-starred in a packed issue with the menaces of the Mad Thinker & his Awesome Android and the Puppet Master. As is usually the case in these early crossovers, the two teams are pitted against each other as a result of the villains’ machinations. A pence priced copy that is worn, with colour-breaking creases on the cover, spine and edge wear and evidence of some historical but minor water damage. Still, not too bad and a classic issue!
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #28 GD+ p £55
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: What’s Old: 1st Black Widow in Tales of Suspense #52 in a choice of grades
*Marvel: What’s Old is our feature where we highlight comics from our catalogue that you may have missed. This week, two copies of Tales of Suspense #52, the debut of the Black Widow. In 1964, the adventures of Iron Man were enlivened by the appearance of the lovely but lethal Natasha Romanoff, code-named the Black Widow, one of the Kremlin’s deadliest operatives. Originally an appealing but unoriginal femme fatale in civvies, inspired by Caniff’s Dragon Lady and other Mata Hari wannabes, Natasha proved surprisingly adaptable, allying herself first with the second Crimson Dynamo (also premiering in this issue) and later Hawkeye, and trading her cocktail dress and veil for the first of many costumed ‘looks’ as she switchbacked from villainess to heroine, culminating, of course, in her live-action embodiment by Scarlett Johansson in the Avengers and other Marvel movies – and soon to star in a big-screen feature of her very own! This issue is where ‘Tasha’s career kicked off, and we have two mid to high grade copies available for your consideration. The first copy is FN/VF cents; no pence stamp or overprint. There is no defacement of the cover scene. Interior pages are off-white and sharp, no fraying, creases, tears or other defects. There is minimal edge and spine wear, with a trace of raggedness at the top cover edge owing to the cover being a smidge taller than the body of the book – an original printing aspect, not a defect as such. The cover colour is deep and unfaded, excellent gloss, still a fresh looking copy despite its vintage. The second copy is pence priced and is graded FN; light to moderate edge wear commensurate with age, but unfaded deep purple cover colour and a remarkable degree of gloss, with tight staples and sharp corners. Additional images for both are shown in our catalogue and high resolution versions are available on request.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE
#52 FN/VF £1,500
#52 FN p £750
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of New Warriors in Thor #411 & #412
*Marvel: Thor came up against the Juggernaut in issues #411 & #412 of his own title in the Acts of Vengeance event — not only that but the same two issues saw the debut of Marvel’s New Kids On The Block, the New Warriors, who went on to have their own series. Namorita, Firestar, Kid Nova, Speedball, Marvel Boy and Night Thrasher made their team cameo appearance in #411 and their first full appearance in #412.
PICTURED: THOR
#411 NM £35
#412 VF £22.75
American Update: Six Of The Best: Duck, Punisher, Sonja, Rom, Shogun & 2001
*Marvel: Another one of our hugely popular Marvel Bronze Age and beyond #1 issue updates. This time we feature Howard the Duck, Punisher (1987 ongoing series), Red Sonja (1977 series), Rom Spaceknight, Shogun Warriors and Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. #1 issues disappear fast from our listings, so we suggest you get a move on!
PICTURED:
PUNISHER #1 VF+ £28 SOLD
SHOGUN WARRIORS #1 NM- £30
American Update: Barry Smith Conan
*Marvel: It’s always good to get a batch of Barry Smith Conans through our hands, and this week we welcome issues between #5 and #24 (his last issue). It includes #14 & #15 (the crossover with Michael Moorcock’s Elric) and #17 & #18 (fill-in issues by the incomparable Gil Kane, by Crom!). Conan in comics has never been as good as this run!
American Update: Catalogue Expansion/Spider-Mania: Spectacular Spider-Man #102-150
*Marvel: Another expansion to our catalogue as we unleash more of the second Spider-Man title, Spectacular Spider-Man, with issues between #102 & #150 joining our inventory. Mostly with Spidey in the black costume in this period, notable issues include Sabretooth covers and stories in #116 & #119, Kraven’s Last Hunt in #131 and the 1st cameo of the new Hobgoblin in #147. You want more Spidey — we’ve got ‘im! All listed in our catalogue.