*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. 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 John Broome scripts with pencils by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson. 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 is a low grade copy: the cover image is almost unmarked, although there are a few small chips out along the bottom edge, The spine has been glued along its length, so it’s difficult to assess the amount of spine wear, although there is some, with some puckering towards the bottom. Due to the glue, the covers are firmly attached and the staples are tight at the centrefold. Very slight chipping to upper right edge of cover, but good colour and reasonable creamy pages.
PICTURED: PHANTOM STRANGER #3 £170 SOLD
Category Archives: What’s New
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Silver Age Flash
*DC: When Flash was relaunched in 1959, with Barry Allen now in the lead role, the artistic duties fell to Carmine Infantino, who pencilled every issue from #105 to #174. If ever an artist was made for a title, it was here. His speeding hero, fabulous cityscapes, gorgeous women, dynamic and colourful villains characterised the Silver Age Flash. We have six issues new in from Infantino’s mid-period. #148 features one of my favourite comic stories Doorway To The Unknown, a ghost story classic, a rarity in a ‘straight’ super-hero comic.
IN THIS UPDATE: FLASH ALL SOLD
#146 FA/GD p £6.25
#148 GD/VG p £14.25 Off lower staple
#149 FN- p £20.50
#150 GD+ p £12
#152 FA p £4 Cover detached; long spine split
#154 VG- p £12.75
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania: John Romita’s debut with Goblin two-parter in Amazing #39/40
*Marvel: This week, this much sought after two-part storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #39 & #40. I doubt that Marvel could have picked a more anticipated story than the Green Goblin showdown to herald the replacement of Steve Ditko with John Romita on art duties. This is where Spidey and the Goblin learn each other’s secret identities and battle to ultimate victory and defeat (we suspect you know who wins…).
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BOTH SOLD
#39 VG+ p £160 Pence printed copy with beautiful colour cover, unspoilt and vivid. Minor edge wear along the top and some corner blunting, but otherwise the grade is only brought down by moderate tanning to the inside cover edges. A flat copy with tight staples and decent creamy page quality.
#40 VG+ p £100 Pence printed copy with strong, vivid colour cover. Very minor edge wear and corner blunting; tiny nick at centre top above logo. Moderate tanning to inside cover edges. A flat copy with tight staples and decent creamy page quality.
American Comics Update: Daredevil #8 & #9
*Marvel: 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
#8 GD/VG p £55 Pence stamped, structually solid with cover unmarked but for dust shadow along the right edge. Staples are tight and firm at spine and centrefold. Pages are supple and creamy coloured. Would grade higher but for the dust shadow and a fairly deep tanning of the edges of the inner covers. SOLD
#9 VG p £55 Pence printed, structurally solid with cover unmarked but for slight dust shadow along the right and top edges. Staples are tight and firm at spine and centrefold. Pages are supple and off-white to cream. Inner covers are slightly tanned at the edges.
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: X-Men #25, #27, #29, #30
*Marvel: Four quality issues of the X-Men from the Good Doctor this week, both in terms of quality of the story and art and the solid mid-grade condition. #25 features El Tigre, who morphs into Kukulcan; #27 has the re-introduction of the Mimic, the mutant who comes up against the Super-Adaptoid in #29 (virtually an Avengers vs X-Men battle!); finally #30 brings back Merlin from an early Thor story, here rebranded as the Warlock in a tale guest-illustrated by Jack Sparling with a Jack Kirby cover.
PICTURED: X-MEN ALL SOLD
#25 VG/FN p £48
#27 VG/FN £49
#29 VG+ p £40
#30 VG+ p £48
.
American Comics Update: Hulkinued: A small miscellany
*Marvel: Our regular Hulk feature ‘Hulkinues’ this week with a small 1970s miscellany between issues #126 and #166. To Be Hulkinued…
IN THIS UPDATE: HULK
#126 FA p £3 1st Barbara Norris, later Valkyrie. Worn, small corner off bottom right cover.
#132 FN/VF p £16.50
#138 VG/FN £8.25
#161 FN p £13.25 Death Of Mimic
#163 VG/FN p £5.75
#164 VF- p £10.25 1st Captain Omen
#165 FN+ p £8.25
#166 VF- p £11.25 1st Zzzax; Hawkeye app
American Comics Update: Marvel #1 issues: 3 Horror from 1969 & 1974
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: 3 #1 issues from the House Of Ideas this week. Arrgh #1 from 1974 is a vampire satire, among other things. Chamber of Darkness #1 from 1969 led the way for Marvel’s horror revival of the 1970s, along with Tower of Shadows #1 from the same year, with a classic Steranko story.
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
ARRGH #1 FN+ £10 Small creases on back cover.
CHAMBER OF DARKNESS #1 FN/VF £28 Slight ballast ink at top edge.
TOWER OF SHADOWS #1 GD- £17 Steranko art and story. Some wear and creasing.
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: 1940s/50s Westerns
*Western: From the Bute Collection this week, a small selection of real vintage Westerns. Hillman’s Western Fighters is from 1951, and various volumes of Zane Grey’s Stories Of The West (in the Dell Four Color series) are from 1948/49.
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
WESTERN FIGHTERS V3 #11 GD £9
ZANE GREY’S STORIES OF THE WEST:
FC #230 SUNSET PASS VG £13
FC #236 HERITAGE OF THE DESERT VG+ £15
FC #301 THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER VG+ £11 (PICTURED)
British Comics Update: Alan Class File Copies – Weird Planets
*Alan Class Reprints: From the personal archives of Alan Class, we’re delighted to present another selection of copies certificated by Alan himself. Half a dozen copies of the pre-decimal title Weird Planets, including #1. The file copies were used by Alan Class for reference and are sometimes in variable condition, but usually quite good. All Alan Class titles had an emphasis on horror and mystery science fiction and fantasy stories, but none more so than Weird Planets in its short 23 issue run. The work of Ditko and Kirby was also to the fore in this series. A reminder that you can view some detail of the contents in our Rough Guide to Alan Class Reprints.
IN THIS UPDATE: WEIRD PLANETS
#1 GD £32.50 (PICTURED) 5 Ditko stories plus cover, 1 Kirby. Mysterious Traveller ‘Secret Mission’ & others. At some point, this has been the top of a tied bundle and the string marks can be seen.
#2 GD £13.50 6 Ditko stories plus cover, Charlton, pre-hero Marvel (1 Kirby). Mysterious Traveller ‘The Old Fool’s Secret & others. Tape residue inside cover.
#3 FN £17 2 Kirby stories plus cover, pre-hero Marvel (4 Ditko), Charlton.
#3 VG £14 2 Kirby stories plus cover, pre-hero Marvel (4 Ditko), Charlton.
#10 FA £5.25 Charlton, 3 Ditko stories plus cover, Atlas, 1 Krigstein, pre-hero Marvel. Loose back cover.
#12 VG £6 Charlton SF, Atlas, 1 Everett.
British Comics Update: Dandy 1966 – new and improved!
*Humour Comics: Continuing our policy of providing more information for Beano and Dandy, we have a new batch of Dandy in this week from 1966, a year previously unrepresented in our listings. Almost 20 issues new in, including the Fireworks and New Year issue (dated 31/12/66, so for 1967). We would be annotating with details of strip and prose debuts, but there was only one in 1966 (Hank & His Mini-Tank) and we don’t have that debut issue. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: DANDY #1310 GD/VG £4.50 New Year issue (dated 31/12/66)
Books Update: The works of L Sprague de Camp
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Several books by the exotically named American L Sprague de Camp join our inventory this week. He was a prolific author, editor and collaborator, with a characteristic wry humour and a love of fantasy and sword and sorcery among his science fiction tropes. All aspects of this are included in the small selection of his works we have on offer, from his short stories in a hefty ‘best of’, his sci-fi in Lest Darkness Fall and Rogue Queen, a splendid fantasy anthology The Spell of Seven, with contributions from Moorcock, Howard, Smith, Leiber, Vance etc to two different editions of a Conan novel with Lin Carter.
PICTURED: ALL BY L SPRAGUE DE CAMP (CONAN OF THE ISLES WITH LIN CARTER)
THE BEST OF L SPRAGUE DE CAMP Del Rey 1978 1st US PB GD/VG £6
LEST DARKNESS FALL Pyramid 1963 1st US PB VG £5
ROGUE QUEEN Pinnacle 1954 1st UK PB FA £7
THE SPELL OF SEVEN (Editor) Pyramid 1965 1st US PB VG £7
CONAN OF TE ISLES Lancer 1969 1st US PB VG £3
CONAN OF THE ISLES Sphere 1974 1st UK PB VG £3
Books Update: Six Of The Best: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
*TV/Film Tie-Ins: A more than welcome restock for one of my favourite book series based on and contemporary with the original TV series as we add six books of the Man From U.N.C.L.E. fresh in this week. I wrote an appreciation of the Man (and Girl) from UNCLE novels during lockdown, which says (I think) everything you need to know about them. You can read that here. I was in UNCLE back in the sixties, had my ID card and everything. Appropriately enough, I was in section IV: Intelligence and Communications…
PICTURED: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
#2 THE DOOMSDAY AFFAIR by HARRY WHITTINGTON Souvenir Press/Four Square 1966 8th UK PB VG £4
#3 THE COPENHAGEN AFFAIR by JOHN ORAM Souvenir Press/Four Square 1966 7th UK PB GD £3
#5 THE FINGER IN THE SKY AFFAIR by PETER LESLIE Souvenir Press/Four Square 1966 1st UK PB GD £8
#10 THE DIVING DAMES AFFAIR by PETER LESLIE Souvenir Press/Four Square 1967 1st UK PB GD £3
#11 THE THINKING MACHINE AFFAIR by JOEL BERNARD Souvenir Press/Four Square 1967 1st UK PB GD/VG £7
#13 THE CORFU AFFAIR by JOHN T PHILLIFENT Souvenir Press/Four Square 1967 1st UK PB GD £12
Half Price British Comics Sale continues…
In case you missed it last week, just a reminder that our Mega Half Price British Comics Sale is now in full swing. Huge amounts of fabulous British comics can now be found marked down to half price or less in the following categories:
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics
*TV & Film Related Comics
*Humour Comics
*Girls’ Comics
While stocks last!
Mega British Comics Half Price Sale
Following up on our highly successful British Comics sale this time last year, we are now offering a huge amount of our British original weekly comics at half price or less. Comprising a much larger range than last year, these can be found in our online catalogue, with the half (or less) sale price marked in red, in the four main British weekly categories as shown below. Some titles are all at half price; others may just be selected years – if it’s not in red, it’s still full price.
The terms and conditions for this sale are as follows:
Unlike our previous sales, this sale is open to all customers worldwide
There is no minimum quantity required for an order, but the value (at sale prices) must meet our regular level, i.e.
In the UK: £10
In the EU: £50 (now reduced from £100)
Rest of the World: £25
Our regular postage and packing charges will be extra on top of these minimums; please note we cannot give a postage quote until you have made a selection.
Sale stock may be mixed with full priced stock in the same package.
Like last year, we expect very many sale items to sell quickly, so would advise quick ordering to secure any bargains that you spot. First come, first served.
Half Price Boys’ Adventure & War Comics
Either all of or selections from the following titles are now half price or less:
Action
Battle inc specials
Boys’ World
Comet
Crunch
Eagle
Express (inc TV Express)
Hornet
Hotspur
Lion inc Specials
Ranger
Roy Of The Rovers inc specials
Scorcher
Score ‘n Roar
Starlord
Sun
Super DC
Tiger
2000 AD inc specials
Valiant
Victor
Warlord
Wildcat
and more! Consult our catalogue for full details.
Half Price TV & Film Related Comics
Either all of or selections from the following titles are now half price or less:
Candy
Doctor Who including specials and classics
Film Fun
House Of Hammer/Halls Of Horror
Look-In including specials
Radio Fun
Star Wars & Return of the Jedi
TV21 (2nd series)
TV Comic
TV Fun
and more! Consult our catalogue for full details.
Half Price Humour Comics
Either all of or selections from the following titles are now half price or less:
Beano inc specials
Beezer inc specials
Buster inc. specials
Cor
Cracker
Dandy inc specials
Knockout (both series)
Krazy
Monster Fun
Plug
Shiver & Shake
Sparky
Topper
Whizzer & Chips inc specials
Whoopee
and more! Consult our catalogue for full details.
Half Price Girls’ Comics
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Batmania: Batman #26 (1944)
*DC: From the Bute Collection this week, another gem of Golden Age Batmania. Beneath a seasonal cover by Jerry Robinson, three superb Dick Sprang illustrated stories await. The first features the villain the Cavalier, the second has the tale of Bruce Wayne’s descendant in the year 3000, and the final story features Batman & Robin adventures among the Indians on a lost mesa. In between there’s also an Alfred solo on a case of his own by Jerry Robinson. This is a reasonable copy. There’s a faint bookshop stamp on the moon in the cover background, some wear and tear along the spine and right edge; nothing too bad except the bottom right corner is significantly creased with a small chip out at bottom edge. Staples appear okay except the centrefold is loose and tape has been skilfully applied inside the spine. Pages are okay, with margins a little dingy here and there, as is the snow scene at the edges of the front cover. But not too bad for an 80 year old!
PICTURED: BATMAN #26 GD £200 SOLD
American Comics Update: Zipsville! It’s the Inferior Five from the beginning!
*DC: Long time followers of our ramblings will know by now what great affection we have for the Inferior Five – I just wish they’d gone on for longer! You can read Will’s Lockdown article on this famed group at this link: The Short but Brilliant Life of the Inferior Five. We’re blessed this week to have not just their first three try-outs in Showcase, but also a couple of issues of their ongoing series. All together now: ‘We are the Five, the Inferior Five – we are not very hot but we try…’
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
SHOWCASE
#62 FN p £22 (PICTURED) 1st Inferior Five
#63 VG+ p £10
#65 VG/FN £12.25
INFERIOR FIVE
#5 VG p £4.75
#12 VG+ p £4.75 Reprints Showcase #63
American Comics Update: Silver Age Superman inc. Annuals
*DC: A big update to our Silver Age Superman stocks this week, between issues #150 and #182 plus Annuals #5, #7 & #8. A wonderful time for the Superman mythos, with all the expanding Superman family members to the fore. The Annuals are particularly evocative, with #7 being the Silver Anniversary issue, and #8 reprinting the very first story of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Full details as always in our catalogue.
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania: Amazing #100, the Anniversary Issue
*Marvel: We present Amazing Spider-Man #100, the Anniversary issue of Marvel’s solo super-star. Dated September 1971, this Stan Lee/Gil Kane epic features – behind an iconic John Romita cover – our tortured hero debating his roles in life, and endeavouring to choose, as the title suggests, between ‘The Spider… Or The Man?’ Ironically, the issue ends with him becoming an eerie amalgam of both! A very nice superior shiny, flat pence stamped copy with only very minor edge wear, no marking, no creasing and little corner blunting. Staples are firm and tight at spine and centrefold; supple pages are off-white to cream.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #100 VF p £175
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Marvel Premiere #47 – ‘Scott Lang, Scott Lang, Does Whatever an Ant-Man Can’
*Marvel: When the Ant-Man name was unclaimed in the late 1970s, a brainier-than-average sneak-thief, Scott Lang, stole Hank Pym’s old apparatus and became the second bearer of that title! But it’s okay – he did bad things for good reasons, specifically to find a cure for his dying daughter, as was revealed in Marvel Premiere #47, the tale which (after a non-costumed cameo in Avengers #181) was Scott’s first full appearance. John Byrne and David Michelinie created this different take on the hero, and since then, Scott has had his ups and downs – been in jail a few times, been dead a few more, been a love-slave of the Purple Man – but he’s fought his way back to respectability, and has achieved cinematic stardom in three of his own movies plus appearances elsewhere in the MCU. Our latest copy of Marvel Premiere #47 is pence printed, bright, colourful and glossy, with tight, secure staples and white to off-white pages. Very minor spine ticks and some edge wear at the top do not break colour. A VERY faint crease (like part of a subscription crease) extends from the top edge centre down to the logo, but there’s only a slight suggestion of a colour break.
PICTURED: MARVEL PREMIERE #47 VG/FN p £50
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Hulkinued/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Abomination in Tales To Astonish #90/91
*Marvel: Our ‘Hulkinued’ feature, um, hulkinues, this week starring the debut of the Abomination in Tales To Astonish #90 & #91 from the Good Doctor Collection. These are great packages art-wise. You get Subby stories illustrated by his creator Bill Everett, and Hulk stories by Gil Kane, both giants in the field; this was still in the day when Stan Lee wrote everything, of course. However, it is for the debut of the Hulk’s nemesis the Abomination that these issues are now chiefly prized, not the least due to his role in the MCU and the She-Hulk TV series. To Be Hulkinued…
PICTURED: TALES TO ASTONISH
#90 FN+ £95 1st Abomination. Very rich cover colour, supple off-white pages and firm, tight staples. There is a minimum of edge wear (mainly at top edge), a couple of soft dinks at top and bottom of spine (which are barely noticeable and do not break colour) and a very soft crease along the upper right edge (also non-colour breaking). This copy presents very well and looks nicer than the grade we’ve assigned.
#91 VG+ £50 1st Abomination cover. Glossy, flat copy with minor edge and handling wear. Firm staples; off-white to cream pages.
American Comics Update: Oh, Duck It! – Howard the Duck Restocked from #1
*Marvel: We’ve got all our ducks in a row here at 30th C., with a substantial restock of Howard the Duck, the cult satirical series created by Steve Gerber. Gerber took endless potshots at the wider world of the 1970s with his tale of a misanthrophic anthropomorph trapped in, as later taglines averred, ‘A World He Never Made’ (which is a damn silly tagline, if you stop to think – I mean, who do you know who has made a world lately? But I digress). Be that as it may; this cult series, illustrated at first by Frank Brunner, then (mostly) by Gene Colan, became a short-lived sensation, fizzling out only when Gerber, in his own words, decided that the political and social scene was beyond further satire, and lesser writers simply couldn’t make the Duck fly. We have every issue in of the first series from #1-31 plus the first annual (missing only #32 & #33, published years later); full details as ever in our online catalogue. Includes the first cameo and 1st full appearance of the band Kiss in #12 & #13.
PICTURED: HOWARD THE DUCK #1 FN/VF p £50 Pence printed, minor handling wear.
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania: Spectacular Spider-Man #101-262 plus Annuals #1-14
*Marvel: One heck of a Spider-Mania bonus this week as we present every issue of Spectacular Spider-Man from #101 to #262 (the penultimate issue), plus a full set of all 14 Annuals; everything in high grade. Too much ground covered in this gigantic update to go into too much detail here, but famous storylines include Spidey getting cosmic powers, Kraven’s Last Hunt etc plus the debuts of latter day villains such as Tombstone and Corona. And a whole kaboodle of gimmick covers: holograms, die-cuts, foil, flip books, acetate overlays etc. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #158 NM £24.25
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: X-Men from Cockrum to Smith
*Marvel: The artistic reins passed from one magnificent stylist to another within these six issues, as Dave Cockrum was succeeded by Paul Smith. Starjammers, the Imperial Guard, the Brood, Binary and much more!
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN ALL SOLD
#156 VF £6.75
#157 FN £5
#162 VG £5
#163 FN/VF £6.25
#164 VF+ £9
#165 FN/VF £7
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: ACG’s Forbidden Worlds
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Forbidden Worlds from ACG was their second major title, starting in 1951. It’s the Silver Age incarnation that concerns us here, when the horror of pre-code had given way to the more whimsical fantasy/mysteries for which ACG became known in the 1960s.
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
86 GD p £9 Flying Saucer cover
102 VG £6.75
106 GD/VG £5
107 VG p £6
108 VG+ £7.50
109 VG £6.75
American Comics Update: Creepy & Eerie: Warren Horror Classics
*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: In the 1960s, enterprising publisher Jim Warren, inspired by the success of classic monster movies on TV, decided to satiate the American public’s growing taste for terror by launching a line of horror comics. But there was that pesky censorship body, the Comics Code Authority. What to do? Why, launch them as magazines, aimed at an adult audience and not subject to the Comics Code! Beginning with Creepy, followed shortly by Eerie, Warren assembled some of the finest talents in the field, many of them alumni of the classic EC Comics line: Frank Frazetta, Johnny Craig, Reed Crandall, John Severin, Wally Wood – and some ‘new guys’ named Steve Ditko, Neal Adams, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson and Gene Colan! For the first few years – apart from an inexplicable weakness for Tony Tallarico – Warren’s publications offered the finest artwork comics had to offer, and paved the way for the eventual liberalisation of the Comics Code and the success of titles such as House of Mystery and House Of Secrets. We are chuffed to present dozens of issues of both Creepy and Eerie new in, filling many gaps in our stock. Three of the choicest examples are shown below. For full details of all issues with prices and grades, go to our catalogue listing.
PICTURED:
CREEPY #32 FN/VF £22 Frazetta cover
EERIE #17 FN £53 Low Distribution
EERIE #23 FN £140 Classic Frazetta cover
British Comics Update: Rounding Up UK Reprints of US Westerns
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints Of US Material: A big influx of 1950s UK reprints of American westerns this week, all from Miller and World Distributors, featuring the following titles: Daniel Boone, Gene Autrey & Champion, Giant Comic, Jace Pearson’s Texas Rangers, King Of The Royal Mounted, Lash Larue, Masked Raider, Red Ryder, Roy Rogers, Tom Mix, WDL Western Classic – Trumpets West & Western Roundup. Full details as always in our catalogue. Fill yer boots!
British Comics Update: Over 75 issues of Super-Detective Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A huge update to our Super-Detective Library stocks this week, with more than 75 issues added, many filling gaps. As this title developed, many more recurring detective characters in a variety of settings came on board in addition to those featured in the earlier issues. Joining the Saint and Lesley Shane, new regulars included Inspector Chafik, the Toff, Paul Darrow, Vic Terry, Blackshirt, Dirk Rogers, Temple Fortune, Rip Kirby, Buck Ryan & John Steel. A great standard of story and art in these done-in-one mysteries. Full details in our catalogue.
PICTURED: SUPER-DETECTIVE PICTURE LIBRARY
#59 GD/VG £11 The Saint’s Sunken Gold SOLD
#128 GD/VG £8.50 Rip Kirby: Fatal Target
141 GD/VG £8.50 Blackshirt And The Jewels Of Death
British Comics Update: Battle Picture Library: 60 issues from 1965-1969
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: If you’re looking to fill gaps in your Battle Picture Library collection, this update’s for you, with 60 issues newly added from 1965-1969 between #230 and #396. Nearly all these issues were missing from our listings, and nearly all are in pretty nice shape, clean, bright and unmarked, with just degrees of staple rust defining grade. Full details as always in our catalogue.
British Comics Update: Love Story Picture Library – Over 60 issues from 1970-1972
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: This week’s release of Love Story Picture Library, the longest running romance picture library from Fleetway, comprises over 60 issues from 1970-72, between #821 & #940. The series always maintained a high standard and the very accomplished art reflected the fashions and mood of the times. These new additions are mostly in excellent condition, with little wear or creasing, nearly all FN to VF. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: LOVE STORY PICTURE LIBRARY
#816 FN/VF £6
#925 FN £5 SOLD
Books Update: Re-Working Our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category: Cowper to Davis
*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 and authors/editors alphabetically from Cowper – Davis. An interesting mixture: from ‘traditional’ science -fiction from the likes of Richard Cowper and Avram Davidson, and great, old-fashioned space opera from Ray Cummings, to classic anthologies from Edmund Crispin, Davidson and Brian Davis and a slice of historical horror in a book from James Darke’s adult’ Witches series featuring the Witchfinder and his victims.
PICTURED:
RICHARD COWPER: PHOENIX Ballantine 1972 2nd UK PB FN £3 SOLD
RICHARD COWPER: THE ROAD TO CORLAY Pan 1979 1st UK PB FN £4
EDMUND CRISPIN (Ed): BEST SF 4 Faber 1965 1st UK PB VG £8
RAY CUMMINGS; TAMA. PRINCESS OF MERCURY Ace 1966 1st US PB VG £3
JAMES DARKE: THE WITCHES #4: THE ESCAPE Sphere 1984 1st UK PB GD £15
AVRAM DAVIDSON: RORK! Penguin 1969 1st UK PB GD £3
AVRAM DAVIDSON (Ed): THE BEST FROM FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION No. 14
Panther 1969 1st UK PB VG £3
BRIAN DAVIS (Ed): THE OLD MASTERS NEL 1970 1st UK PB VG/FN £3
Books Update: Re-Working Our Crime, Spies and Sleaze Category: Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason (with new addition)
*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 as we reach Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason (immortalised on TV by Raymond Burr). We have four classic Perry Mason mysteries plus (new in) a tale from Gardener’s DA series.
PICTURED: ALL BY ERLE STANLEY GARDNER ALL SOLD
THE CASE OF THE BURIED CLOCK Penguin 1961 2nd UK PB VG £3.50
THE CASE OF THE GLAMOROUS GHOST Pan 1963 UK PB FN £4
THE CASE OF THE LONG-LEGGED MODELS Pan 1966 UK PB VG £3.50
THE CASE OF THE MOTH-EATEN MINK Great Pan 1962 UK PB VG £3.50
THE DA BREAKS A SEAL Penguin 1964 1st UK PB GD/VG £5
Books Update: Two 1970s UK A4 pulps: Nebula and Vortex
*Pulp Fiction: Two A4 size British science fiction magazines from the 1970s very much in the pulp format this week. The first, Nebula, appears to very much an amateur production from 1975 (#5) full of articles, stories and reviews, profusely illustrated including a comic strip. The second, the better known Vortex (Vol 1 #1) from 1977 has high production values, colour as well as black and white illustrations, and contributions from Michael Moorcock, James Cawthorn, Robert Holdstock and others; with a Rodney Matthews cover.
PICTURED:
NEBULA: THE MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY 5 JUNE 1975 FN £10
VORTEX: THE SCIENCE FICTION FANTASY VOL 1 #1 JANUARY 1977 VF £25 SOLD
Books Update: Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons
*Children’s Books: Two volumes from Arthur Ransome’s beloved Swallows and Amazons series new in this week, both in lovely hardcover editions with dustjackets protected by removable archival film. The twelve books are set mainly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads and involve children’s adventures in the great outdoors, particularly sailing, with an interwar setting. Charmingly told, with a real sense of chidhood wonder.
PICTURED: BY ARTHUR RANSOME
GREAT NORTHERN? Jonathan Cape 1950 6th UK HC FN £10 With DJ (GD, tanned)
PETER DUCK Jonathan Cape 1948 21st UK HC VG £9 With DJ (FN, later)
Books Update: Six Of The Best: More From Mad
*Mad Books: This week, reinforcements for our Mad Books category, celebrating those fondly remembered paperback books featuring the best of Mad. Wit, sarcasm, parody and irony never go out of style. Six volumes new in (including a couple devoted to specific creators) as follows:
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
DAVE BERG: MAD’S DAVE BERG LOOKS AT PEOPLE Signet 1966 1st UK PB GD/VG £4
HOPPING MAD Signet 1969 1st US PB GD £3
AL JAFFEE MAD’S AL JAFFEE SPEWS OUT STILL MORE SNAPPY ANSWERS TO STUPID QUESTIONS Warner 1976 1st US PB VG/FN £6
LIKE, MAD Signet 1964 8th US PB GD/VG £5
THE MAD JUMBLE BOOK Warner 1975 1st US PB GD/VG £4
THREE RING MAD Signet 1964 1st US PB GD £3
Books Update: Postcard Books of Vintage Sleaze
*Books About Books: From 2000/2002, five postcard books, each collecting classic pulp era paperback covers as collections of postcards (23 or 31 per volume). These can be detached and used, but surely you’d want to keep them as they are to treasure and enjoy time and again. The covers and blurbs tell you what awaits within! All in beautiful ‘as new’ condition.
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
HELLCAT AMAZONS Prion 2000 £10 Tough girls and warped women
SHE TRIED TO BE GOOD Prion 2002 £10 Sirens and vamps
TEEN-REBEL DOPE FIENDS Prion 2000 £10 Drugs, mayhem and juvenile delinquents
THRILL-MAD PUSSYCATS Prion 2000 £10 High-voltage temptresses
TOO LATE TO RESIST Prion 2002 £10 Steamy clinches
Reduction of minimum order value for postage to EU countries
We’re reducing the minimum order value for EU destinations to £50 (previously £100).
Minimum order value (not including postage and packing) for postage destinations:
In the UK: £10
In the EU: £50
Rest of the World: £25
If you’re placing an order for postage to outside the UK, you should be aware that you may have to pay duty/VAT to your local customs authority on receipt. This is not included in the price we charge you, since it varies by country. Please note that payment of this charge, if imposed, is your responsibility. If in doubt, please check with your local customs authority. By placing an order for outside UK postage, you are agreeing to these terms.
Merry Christmas!
We’re closing down for the holidays after posting out on 13th December, although we’ll still be answering your emails.
So, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us here at 30th Century, including our Fab Feline Four. Oh, and from the minions, of course!
We’ll be back here on 30th December with what will probably be our biggest Newsletter ever. Stay tuned!
Reminder: Today 9th December is the last day to order for UK Pre-Christmas Delivery
Here’s a reminder of relevant dates for our trading during the festive period.
Today, Saturday 9th December: Last day for orders for UK 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 last Newsletter before Christmas.
Wednesday 13th December: Last posting before Christmas for all orders placed by 4 pm on Saturday 9th and paid for by 4 pm on Tuesday 12th December.
Saturday 30th December: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 9th December (up to 4 pm on 30th) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 31st December 2023.
Wednesday 3rd January 2024: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.
American Comics Update: Superman #233, pivotal issue with iconic Neal Adams cover
*DC: Superman #233 is something of a turning point issue; these days it would probably be called a re-launch. The iconic Neal Adams cover reflects the destruction of all Krytponite on Earth, Clark Kent switches to TV rather than newspaper journalism, there’s a fabulous Superman pin-up from Curt Swan, who also handles the interior art along with Murphy Anderson, Julius Schwartz edits and Denny O’Neill writes and there’s the first World Of Krypton story. All that for just 15 cents (back in 1971, of course). This wonderful copy has vibrant colour and brilliant gloss, showing off Neal Adams’ work at its best. There is a faint pence stamp over the ‘1’ beside the logo. There are some very small stress lines at staples and at the spine, but these do not break colour. Square corners, firm staples, lovely supple white to off-white pages. There is a soft, faint crease from the bottom edge up to Superman’s ankle, but this barely shows and does not break colour. All in all, a gem of a copy.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN #233 VF p £165
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Early Green Lantern Low Grade Reading Copies
*DC: There was a lot of quality going on in these early Green Lantern Silver Age issues: a 58th Century adventure, a Flash crossover, two Sinestro covers and stories, Sonar and much more. Bargain basement grades and prices in these flawed gems (but all complete!).
IN THIS UPDATE: GREEN LANTERN ALL SOLD
#12 PR p £4.75 Restapled; felt tip pen price and previous owner’s name on cover.
#13 PR p £7.50 Flash crossover; 3×4 cm hole in cover.
#15 GD+ £19.50 Sinestro cover; upper spine split
#17 FA p £7.25 Spine glued; crayon price on cover.
#18 GD- p £12.25 Sinestro cover; felt tip price on logo
#19 FA+ p £9 Long spine splits
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Amazing #50 with debut of Kingpin and iconic cover
*Marvel: By the time of Spider-Man’s 50th issue, ‘new’ artist John Romita had made the series his own, and this milestone number was marked with the debut of a new villain, the Kingpin – so long associated with Daredevil, in the post-Miller years, that younger readers are unaware that he originated in Spider-Man’s Rogues’ Gallery! The cover of #50, with Peter temporarily abandoning his Spider-Man identity, has become etched in the minds of a generation, endlessly imitated and ‘homaged’, in comics and other media. A classic design, shown off here to good effect on this unspoilt pence printed example, with strong colour, no markings and only tiny bits of edge wear and corner blunting. Staples are firm at spine and centrefold and the pages are a supple off-white to cream. Would grade higher, but we have allowed for the fact that the inner covers are tanned at the edges, although there are no signs of brittleness.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #50 VG+ p £450
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Fantastic Four Annuals #2-6
*Marvel: Back in the 1960s, Marvel Annuals were a real treat and contained not just new material (some with some reprints), but stories that were often very significant for our characters. Nowhere was this more true than with the Fantastic Four, whose annuals #2-6 are featured in this week’s selections from the Bute Collection. Annual #2 is a Dr Doom special, featuring not just the origin of the Bad Doctor, but also a full length tussle with the FF. #3 has the cataclysmic wedding of Sue & Reed, with just about everybody in the Marvel Universe, including Millie & Patsy and Stan & Jack. #4 features the return of the original Human Torch. #4 has the Inhumans and the Black Panther, the debut of Psycho-Man, and a Silver Surfer back-up. #6 is the debut of Annihilus and the birth of Franklin Richards. All essential reading for followers of the regular comic.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL
#2 VG+ p £200 Nice pence stamped copy with solid spine (just tiny split at base). Firmly bound and stapled. Minor edge wear with some corner blunting. Excellent page quality. There is a small felt tip pen price central cover above Dr Doom’s head.
#3 VG+ p £45 Clean and attractive pence stamped copy with solid spine (very slight glue puckering). Firmly bound and stapled. Minor edge wear with some corner blunting. Excellent page quality. SOLD
#4 VG+ p £25 Pence stamped copy; glue puckering causes some soft, fine creasing to the left of cover; nothing colour-breaking. Solid spine. Firmly bound and stapled. Minor edge wear with some corner blunting. Excellent page quality SOLD
#5 FN p £50 Superior pence stamped copy, glossy and colourful. Square corners, slight glue puckering at solid spine. Firmly bound and stapled. Excellent page quality. SOLD
#6 GD+ p £55 Pence stamped copy with moderate edge wear, breaking colour at top and bottom edges corner blunting and upper 4 cm spine split. Some reading and handling wear. Firmly stapled. Excellent page quality.
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Start of Sub-Mariner series in Tales To Astonish #70
*Marvel: As they put it, Marvel bowed to our demands and gave Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner his own series in the front of Tales To Astonish, replacing Giant-Man & the Wasp with #70 of that series. The pageantry and spectacle of Atlantis came to Marvel on a regular basis, with the start of this multi-part storyline ‘The Quest’, featuring Lady Dorma and the villainy of Warlord Krang. It also boasted Marvel’s newest artistic talent Adam Austin, who was later revealed to be none other than Gene Colan with his Silver Age debut. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Hulk continued in the same issue by Stan & Jack. The Good Doctor Collection copy is a nice one, pence stamped, with great colour and some gloss. Some spine ticks and a couple of short spine creases which do not break colour. Firm staples and supple white to off-white pages.
PICTURED: TALES TO ASTONISH #70 FN/VF p £60
American Comics Update: Hulkinued: Iconic Hulk cover on #377
*Marvel: The latest comic in our ‘Hulkinued’ event is the classic Hulk #377, the iconic cover with the fluorescent green background. The story features the 1st All-New (Professor) Hulk. Lovely bright copy where the colours ‘pop’. Firm staples, white pages, 1st printing. Just very minor stress marks at spine that do not break colour. To Be Hulkinued…
PICTURED: HULK #377 VF £30
American Comics Update: Charlton’s Haunted/Baron Weirwulf’s Haunted Library
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Charlton’s Haunted started life in 1971 by just that title, but by #21 had acquired Baron Weirwulf as our horror host and had updated to Baron Weirwulf’s Haunted Library. 7 issues in from both sides of that divide including the Baron’s debut in #21. Plenty of Ditko, Sutton and Newton in this title.
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
HAUNTED:
#10 VG p £3.25
#11 FN+ p £8
#16 FN p £6.25
#18 GD £2
#19 FN p £4.75
BARON WEIRWULF’S HAUNTED LIBRARY
#21 VG p £4.75 1st Baron Weirwulf
#22 FN p £4.75
British Comics Update: Alan Class: Sinister Tales with Spider-Man plus File copies
*Alan Class Reprints: Just three items this time. In our regular section, a low grade copy of Sinister Tales #98, reprinting Amazing Spider-Man #63. Plus two certificated File Copies of Uncanny Tales in our Alan Class Private Collection section: #36 with Wally Wood Dynamo and Iron Maiden cover and Thunder Agents interiors; #40 with Steve Ditko sci-fi cover.
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
SINISTER TALES #98 FA £12 (PICTURED) Spine partially split and torn.
UNCANNY TALES:
#36 VG £5.50
#40 FN/VF £5.50