*Marvel: Was Namor or was he not an Evil Mutant? Well, he joined them briefly in this issue as a result of Magneto’s machinations, but after a tussle with the X-Men, involving the BEM, he soon realised the error of his ways and returned to Atlantis. In a running theme here, I must remark on the cover colourist’s continuing faux pas. Although he got the Scarlet Witch in scarlet this time round (following the mysterious Emerald Witch on #4 & #5 covers), Subby is sporting a pair of red pants rather than the customary green he wears inside. A decent copy, with the pence printed price blacked out, some edge wear and corner blunting and a faint subscription-like crease down the middle which just breaks colour for a few cms. Reasonable pages and firmly-attached staples.
PICTURED: X-MEN #6 GD+ p £90 SOLD
Category Archives: What’s New
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Grey Gargoyle in Journey Into Mystery #107
*Marvel: We always liked the Grey Gargoyle – he had a hint of the classic movie monster about him, and is one of the more memorable villains in Thor’s Rogues’ Gallery. He went on to become a recurring menace across the Marvel Universe, after his first appearance here in Journey Into Mystery #107 by Lee & Kirby. This is a nice bright copy of his debut, pence priced, tight and flat with minimal edge wear and good staples (top staple very slightly loose at rear cover); it’s let down only by four tiny pin holes in the lower cover which do not carry over into the comic and are not easy to spot.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #107 VG/FN p £70
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Cloak & Dagger in Spectacular #64
*Marvel: Among the more popular of Spidey’s allies debuting in one of his titles are Cloak and Dagger, the light/darkness team who first appeared in Spectacular Spider-Man #64. They went on to star across the Marvel Universe, in their own strip and own titles, eventually getting their own TV series in 2018/19. We have a lovely high grade copy of their first appearance fresh into stock.
PICTURED: SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #64 VF/NM £65
American Update: Quirky Corner: Fox Giant: Variety Comics from 1950 (Double Double Prototype)
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Here’s an oddity. Technically a one-shot, Fox’s Variety Comics was made up of four coverless Fox comics. Since Fox often started their story on the inside cover, discarding the original cover removed the first page of the first story of each rebound book. Even more bizarre than the British rebound comics of the 1960s known as Double Double Comics which employed the same tactics (but with the stories complete). As with Double Doubles, the contents varied beneath the same cover and various combinations of content of this have been reported. I wonder (but doubt) whether anyone’s catalogued every possibility. Anyway, in this edition, there are issues of Blue Beetle, My Private Life, Black Tarantula and Jungle Lil; it certainly lives up to the variety tag. Not a great copy, but not a bad one either: a worn but attached spine with a couple of pieces missing at the back. Not too many of these on sale in the UK, we suspect.
PICTURED: VARIETY COMICS GD £50 SOLD
American Update: A Superior Pre-Code Horror Fest: Strange Mysteries
*Horror 1940-1959: Superior was a Canadian publisher active from 1945-1956 who mostly reprinted American comics from the same time period. They also published a number of original series that were distributed in the United States. Among these were three horror titles famous for their hallucinogenic covers and accomplished Fiction House style interior art. When you see a lot of these together, they have an almost hypnotic and uncomfortable effect. Our focus this week is on issues #1-3 of one of those titles: Strange Mysteries; mixed grade copies, with specific defects listed below.
PICTURED: STRANGE MYSTERIES
#1 GD/VG £300 Spine roll
#2 VG £230 Taped sealed small tears near both rear staples and right edge of cover SOLD
#3 FA £55 Spine has glue repairs; small piece of tape inside front cover RESERVED
American Update: Marvel Monsters: Frankenstein, Man-Thing, Dracula, & Werewolf inc key issues
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Famous names in this week’s selection of Marvel 1970s horror new in: Frankenstein – Monster Of, Man-Thing (1st series) inc #1 (2nd Howard the Duck) #3 1st Foolkiller, Giant-Size #1 and Giant-Size #2 (1st Howard the Duck solo), high grade Tomb Of Dracula issues inc #30 (Blade app), #50 (Silver Surfer app), #70 (final issue) and Werewolf By Night #15 (Dracula crossover) and #33 (2nd Moon Knight app). Consult our catalogue for full grading and pricing information.
American/British Update: Dan Dare/Eagle Memorabilia Pack
*Memorabilia & Esoterica: A whole load of Dan Dare/Eagle ephemera available this week in a bumper batch of goodness. You get:
1) The Horlicks Spaceman’s Handbook, from the early 1950s; 80+ pages of biographies of Dan and his friends and foes, a guide to his equipment, the ships and Space Fleet, the Planets and more with copious illustrations.
2) Eagle Passport with supplements enclosed from the comics on World Transport, Space, The Real Wild west and Underwater World
3) Dan Dare at 50 from 2000; a glossy illustrated guide to Dan Dare comics, artwork, toys and ephemera, introduction by Terry Jones (yes, that Terry Jones); 40 pages.
4) Eagle Convention Booklet from 1980; 44 pages of original sketches by Eagle artists and other info.
5) 2 Christie’s Auction Catalogues from 1993, the first on Book, Comic and Magazine artwork including Dan Dare (also comes with Christie’s catalogue alterations and auction results), the second totally devoted to Dan Dare.
6) A flyer for the Manchester Dan Dare Exhibition circa 1990
7) A booking form for the Eagle 1980 Convention
8) A print of a Dan Dare sketch by Frank Hampson
9) A poster for the 1980 Eagle convention
All this can be yours for the princely sum of £50. SOLD
British Update: Classic DC Reprints from K G Murray: Super-Adventure, Superboy & Superman
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: The desirability of key American series in early reprint form has risen greatly in recent times, fuelled both by the spiralling prices for the US originals, and US collectors who have everything who are looking for new things to collect. The DC series by K. G. Murray of Australia which reprint classic 1940s and 50s material are prime examples, and this week we have several issues of Super-Adventure Comic (reprinting Superman & Batman stories), Superboy and Superman. Although these series originated in Australia, they were also distributed in the UK. Many issues now in stock; consult our catalogue for full details.
PICTURED:
SUPER-ADVENTURE COMIC #50 VG £20 SOLD
SUPERBOY #49 FN £25
SUPERMAN #50 FN £25
British Update: Fleetway Picture Library Classics: Air War Stories, Jet-Ace Logan, John Steel, Larrigan
*Collected Editions: From our friends at the Book Palace, new stocks of the Fleetway Picture Library Classics series. We have restocked on the earlier volumes: Larrigan and Jet-Ace Logan, and added two new volumes: Air War Stories (classics from Air Ace & War with art by Ferdinando Tacconi) and John Steel (from Thriller Picture Library with art by Luis Bermejo & Reg Bunn). Four classic tales in each volume.
PICTURED:
AIR WAR STORIES NEW/MINT £25
JET-ACE LOGAN NEW/MINT £25
JOHN STEEL VF £20
LARRIGAN NEW/MINT £25
British Update: Ranger 1965/66 with Trigan Empire
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Although being the birthplace of Don Lawrence’s rightly celebrated Trigan Empire, the large format Ranger had a lot of other things going for it as well: nice paper quality, glorious painted covers and lots of other beautifully executed strips such as H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines & Allan Quartermain, Treasure Island , Space Cadet and many other stories of war, western, science fiction and historical adventure in a mix of colour and black and white. It had a short life before being subsumed into Look & Learn, but we have many issues fresh in from its 1965/66 run. Consult our catalogue for details.
British Update: Fleetway Super Library Secret Agent Series
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Like the other Fleetway Super Library series, the Secret Agent series focuses on two alternating features, in this case Barracuda and Johnny Nero. This update exclusively features Barracuda issues, five new in between #2 and #24. They’re in reasonable shape, but four of them have the previous owner’s name in biro on the cover (see an example with #10 pictured here).
PICTURED: FLEETWAY SUPER LIBRARY SECRET AGENT SERIES
#2 GD/VG £12 SOLD
#10 VG £10
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Topper #1153 from 1975 with Hootin’-Tooter!
*Humour Comics: It’s the turn of the tabloid-size Topper in our Free Gift spotlight this week, in the shape of #1153 from 1975. The comic itself is not a great example (these size comics seldom are!), and has been heavily horizontally folded earlier in its life, with a heavy centre crease and tears at margins. The gift however, the splendidly named ‘Topper Hootin’-Tooter’ is still in its sealed envelope and has thus never been used. Apparently, it hoots and it toots — two toys in one!
PICTURED: TOPPER #1153 GD WITH FREE GIFT VF £35 SOLD
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Jackie x4 1974 & 1976
*Girls’ Comics: A glossy big sister to Romeo aimed at a slightly trendier demographic, Jackie helped delight and inform (or brainwash, depending on your viewpoint) a generation of teenage girls and young women, with pop features and pin-ups, fashion and makeup tips, the ever-popular Problem Page, and scores of often beautifully illustrated romance comics stories. Free Gift issues of Jackie are uncommon, as the gifts were usually eagerly ripped away and consulted or applied in the hopes of snagging the Dream Boy, but these four are from a Newsagent’s uncirculated stock, and remain ‘gifted’. #523 has the Jackie Diary 1974 (pristine and unused), #634 has the Leap Year Love Brooch (still in unopened envelope), #667 has the Bluejean Bangles (still in original envelope) and #668 has an unused and near mint sheet of Starstickers. No more Free Gift Jackies on the horizon, so this will be your last chance for a while to grab some goodies!
PICTURED: JACKIE
#523 VG WITH FREE GIFT NM £30
#634 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £30 SOLD
#667 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £30 SOLD
#668 VG WITH FREE GIFT NM £30
British Update: Marty & Mirabelle from 1960
*Girls’ Comics: 2 very similar girls’ pop/story comics from April 1960 this week: two issues of Marty (‘The First Ever Photo Romance Weekly’), one an Elvis Presley special, and one of Mirabelle, which at this time was virtually indistinguishable. Both feature loads of pop photos and photo romance strips, with the odd drawn strip. See our catalogue for details.
British Update: A Jamboree of Schoolgirl Picture Libraries
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Dozens of issues of the hugely popular Schoolgirls’ Picture Library newly listed this week between #23 and #299. Most (though not all) are alternative copies of already listed issues in different grades, so if you were looking either for a nicer copy or a cheaper copy than what was already listed, there may be something for you!
PICTURED: SCHOOLGIRLS’ PICTURE LIBRARY
#143 VG £10
#178 FN £15
Books Update: A PKD Octet
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: What better author to resume the Books section following lockdown than with Philip K Dick, an author who specialised in surreal, hallucinogenic dystopias where the protagonist’s world is frequently turned upside down? He would have felt right at home during this strange time. But enough introduction, it’s time to let the books do the talking: we start with Lies, Inc., which has a convoluted back story of evolution from the novella The Unteleported Man. We continue with Now Wait For Last Year, The Crack In Space, The Divine Invasion, The Man In The High Castle, The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch, The Turning Wheel And Other Stories and The World Jones Made.
PICTURED:
LIES, INC. VG £5
THE WORLD JONES MADE VG £25
THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE GD/VG £15
Clearance Corner: Long Hot Summer with Beano & Dandy Summer Specials — 14 issues for just £25
*Clearance Corner: It’s been a funny year for holidays, hasn’t it? As the summer fades, we want to help prolong it for you with a selection of later Beano & Dandy Summer Specials. There’s 14 in this batch: 6 Beano (1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002), 7 Dandy (1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 #1) and, as a bonus, 1 Bash Street Kids from 1994. All in VF with one or two FN or VG. That’s about £100 value, yours for just £25 inc. free (UK only) postage to keep your summer rolling just a little bit longer! SOLD
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:
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics E-S
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: Batmania/Slab Happy: Batman #94 1955 CGC 7.5
*DC: A high grade for such a vintage Batman this week, a great-looking CGC 7.5 (VF-) copy of Batman #94 from 1955, Universal grade, blue label unrestored. With a dynamic Win Mortimer cover and three mystery stories (including one where Alfred plays Batman), this lovely item also has the distinction of being the earliest issue of Batman we have in stock at time of writing.
PICTURED: BATMAN #94 CGC 7.5 £350
American Update: DC Debuts: Zipsville – It’s the Inferior Five!
*DC: Long time followers of our ramblings will know by now what great affection Will and I both 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 the first five issues of their ongoing series — all the best ones in fact! All together now: ‘We are the Five, the Inferior Five – we are not very hot but we try…’
PICTURED: SHOWCASE #62 VG+ £13.25 SOLD
American Update: Batmania Bonus: 100 Page issues from 1974/75
*DC: A consecutive run of 100 Page Batman Giants between #254 & #261 new in this week. An excellent period this for the Caped Crusader: not only do you get a brand new story each issue, many of them featuring a classic villain such as the Joker, Penguin, Two-Face and Catwoman, plus the debut of Arkham Asylum and a guest shot by the Shadow, but you also get a whole load of classic Batman reprints from the 1940s to the 1960s, including many classic and favourite stories. A wealth of great reading at bargainaceous prices! See our catalogue for full details.
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Punisher in Amazing #129
*Marvel: One of the later breakout characters of Marvel, Frank Castle, aka bereaved urban vigilante the Punisher, became one of the company’s super-stars in the 1990s, but had spent most of the previous two decades ‘bubbling under’ as a guest-starring anti-hero. His media presence – and commercial appeal – has been heightened by numerous film and TV appearances. The Punisher’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129, February 1974, is particularly rare in the UK, where, owing to the presence of Spider-Man Comics Weekly, the US title was embargoed for distribution for several years. This is a cents copy (there are no pence copies, of course), tight and flat with cover gloss, without marks, creases or handling wear. Excellent page quality with just the tiniest bit of corner blunting. We’ve graded it down because there’s about 5 mm of white spine showing (see scan), where the cover has been printed slightly to the right of centre; some people find this an off-putting defect, although others don’t mind. It should be noted that the staples are centred exactly where they should be at the edge of the spine and are firmly attached at spine and centrefold, so the comic opens exactly as it should. As such, this represents a chance to get an otherwise high grade copy of a key issue on which prices are consistently rising. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129 FN/VF £775
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts – ‘When Gods Walk the Earth!’ – Eternals #1 by Jack Kirby
*Marvel: Following his 1976 return to Marvel, the legendary Jack Kirby was anxious not to get trapped in the cycle of just illustrating super-heroes again, and one of his conditions was that he would be allowed to write and draw his own concepts. How much of the Eternals concept was his is, politely, open to debate; reminiscent of the then-popular Erich Von Daniken paperbacks, which asserted that mankind’s historical ‘Gods’ were alien visitors, Kirby’s Eternals postulated the return of ancient immortal extraterrestrials and the cataclysmic repercussions for humanity. Originally intended to stand apart from the Marvel Universe, it was shoehorned in at editorial insistence, which resulted in Kirby eventually abandoning the strip mid-story, but with the confirmation of an Eternals movie – with Angelina Jolie, Selma Hayek and Game of Thrones star Richard Madden, among others – this series is heating up! This is a lovely high grade copy of their debut issue.
PICTURED: ETERNALS #1 VF+ p £75 SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: X-Men #107, Debuts of the Starjammers and the Imperial Guard
*Marvel: Two science-fiction based super-teams long associated with the X-Men are the Imperial Guard and the Starjammers, and both, oddly, were the result of artist Dave Cockrum’s impatience. Cockrum had illustrated a critically acclaimed and successful run of DC’s Legion of Super-heroes, but following altercations with editor Murray Boltinoff, Cockrum quit the Legion and DC to co-create the ‘New’ X-Men. By way of cocking a snook at DC, Dave came up with a suspiciously similar team of alien super-heroes, the Imperial Guard, each one of which was a (just barely) non-litigious clone of a Legionnaire. Similarly, the Starjammers had been created by Cockrum for a solo tryout in Marvel Premiere or Marvel Spotlight, but on being told those books’ schedules were filled years in advance, Cockrum offered the band of space pirates to X-Men scripter Chris Claremont, who bolted on a retconned relationship to an X-Man and threw them into the mix. This issue saw the first full appearance of both teams (the Starjammers having done the ‘enigmatic cameo’ bit since #104), taking the cast list – never forgetting our mutant heroes – to around 50, for a full-on free-for-all! A nice high grade copy available here, with just minor stress marks at spine precluding a higher grade.
PICTURED: X-MEN #107 VF £90 SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: 1st Full Living Tribunal appearance in Strange Tales #158
*Marvel: Strange Tales from the 1960s is sought after for myriad reasons, most often because of the dynamic, cinematic artwork of Jim Steranko, who brought a freshness to spy saga Nick Fury and The Agents of SHIELD which tapped perfectly into the zeitgeist of the era. But that doesn’t apply in this instance. No, the hoo and the hah this time is for the Marie Severin illustrated Doctor Strange co-feature, and more specifically for the Living Tribunal, a cosmic entity whose power outstrips the Watcher and may even match that of Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet! For years a relatively small part of Marvel’s cosmic tapestry, the Tribunal’s prominence has increased with his (its?) greater involvement in sundry cosmic sagas, to the point where interest in his early appearances is at its keenest. Strange Tales #158, with the first full Tribunal and his first cover appearance is a nice mid-grade copy, with deep colour cover, nice page quality and tight, firmly attached staples. There is some creasing along the spine and a couple of colour-breaking creases across the bottom right corner. (Only) in the right light, you can see a vestigial remnant of a circular mark at the bottom of the logo.
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES #158 VG+ p £50 SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania Max: Amazing #98, non-code approved with the Green Goblin
*Marvel: Spidey comes up against his most infamous foe, the Green Goblin, once again in Amazing Spider-Man #98, masterfully handled by Stan Lee & Gil Kane. This issue was famously not approved by the Comics Code Authority due to the drug pushing nature of the sub-plot. A lovely superior graded copy, pence stamped, tight and glossy, with good staples, white to off-white pages and sharp corners. The only defects are a couple of small creases at the spine above the upper staple and one very small one across the top right corner; none of them colour-breaking.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #98 VF p £75
American Update: Six Of The Best! Marvel #1 issues Bronze Age and later
*Marvel: Another of our very popular round-ups of Marvel #1 issues from the 1970s and later. This time we have Marvel Two-In-One #1, Moon Knight #1, Quasar #1, Shanna the She-Devil #1, Super-Villain Team-Up #1 and Wolverine #1 (ongoing 1988). Full grading and pricing information, as always, in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #1 VF £35
WOLVERINE #1 FN/VF £23
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Transformers #1
*Marvel: I suspect the love ’em or loathe ’em tendency with Transformers depends on your age. If you grew up with them in the 1980s, I’m sure you’re fondly remembering and maybe even collecting them today. What better place to start then than their first comic appearance in Transformers #1 from Marvel May 1984, a few months before the UK sister title got underway in September. Originally intended as a four part mini-series, it was such a hit that it spawned an 80 issue series in the US. This debut issue is a lovely VF+, tight and flat, glossy and sharp, with just a very thin soft crease at the top right corner stopping a higher grade.
PICTURED: TRANSFORMERS #1 VF+ £70
American Update: Spider-Mania Max: Amazing Annuals #3-10
*Marvel: A consecutive run of Amazing Spider-Man Annuals this week, from #3 to #10. #3-5 & #10 feature new material (#5 is a second printing), while #6-9 have classic reprints of early Spideys (NB #6 reprints Annual #1 with the debut of the Sinister Six) and are less commonly seen in the UK.
American Update: Atomic Sci-Fi: Attack On Planet Mars
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Another of Avon’s one-shot science fiction offerings, this one from 1951 adapts a Ray Cummings novel, ‘Tarrano the Conqueror’. Beneath an action-packed but (it has to be said) otherwise undistinguished Gene Fawcette cover, a feast of classic art and retro sci-fi romp awaits you. The main story is pencilled by Carmine Infantino; Joe Kubert contributes a dynamic inside front cover and inks the first chapter; Wally Wood adds the back-up horror story. All names to conjure with in the comic art Hall of Fame. This is a bright copy, with rich colour and a small amount of spine and edge wear, including where a few narrow chips are missing along the top and bottom edges, but nothing horrible or spoiling. Good tight staples and nice off-white pages. There is a slight vestige of a faint subscription crease down the centre, but it is hardly noticeable and does not break colour. One of the iconic classics of the period.
PICTURED: ATTACK ON PLANET MARS VG- £195
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Matt Hawk, the new Two-Gun Kid 1962
*Western: The Two-Gun Kid’s career had been running successfully at Atlas/Marvel, in his own title and others, for a considerable time as a blond, guitar-wielding peripatetic troubadour, but Lee & Kirby, apparently having a spare afternoon one day, decided to reinvent the character. With issue #60 of Two-Gun Kid, the old version was gone, and in his place was Matt Hawk, mild-mannered Western lawyer, who when he couldn’t achieve justice in the courtroom, donned a mask and fought the good fight as the Two-Gun Kid! The adventures of the former TGK were hand-waved away as pulp stories which ‘inspired’ Matt Hawk, and the new version, with his secret identity, supporting cast and fixed locale, fit much more into the Marvel Comics template than his dated predecessor. Matt Hawk went on to a lengthy career and thanks to the magic of comics science, even made brief sojourns to the present day, joining the Avengers for a time (but then who hasn’t?). Presumably owing to a production error (perhaps there was some pre-production debate as to whether the ‘new’ version should be #60 or #1, undecided until virtually the last minute?) there are two known versions of this issue’s cover. One is printed with an evidently handwritten issue number and one with a mechanically-generated issue number. This is the scarcer version, with the handwritten number printed on the cover. This copy of the New Two-Gun Kid’s debut is a superior FN- p copy, with rich colour cover, white to off-white pages and tight, firmly attached staples. There are a few stress marks at the spine and soft creases at the top left, bottom right and across the lower cover, but these are almost all non-colour breaking; a copy with great eye appeal that presents well. We also have #61 & #62, the Kid’s 2nd and 3rd issues, new in and listed in our catalogue.
PICTURED: TWO-GUN KID #60 FN- p £325 SOLD
British Update: Marvelous Alan Class! Five Plate Sets Including 1st Ultron, 3rd Iron Man, Steranko and more
*Alan Class Reprints: Five more plate sets from the Alan Class Private Collection, each one reprinting a story from the Silver Age of Marvel’s super-heroes – in most cases, as previously remarked, the first reprinting of these classic tales, very shortly after their first release! All five sets feature, in addition to publisher Alan Class’s file copies of the comics, a number of lead printing plate sets originally used in production, plus a hand-signed Certificate of authenticity from Alan Class himself, with the odd extra too! All sets are supplied in a plastic presentation/display case.
Secrets of the Unknown #106 reprints Nick Fury, Agent Of Shield #6 (Steranko cover) and has three plates; Secrets Of The Unknown #108 reprints Daredevil #45 & #46 and has five plates (including 1 duplicate); Suspense #31 reprints the 3rd Iron Man story from Tales Of Suspense #41 and has 3 plates, Suspense #108 reprints Silver Surfer #10 and has 2 plates plus a double-sided cover proof; Uncanny Tales #59 reprints Avengers #54 (1st Ultron cameo) and has 4 plates plus a double-sided cover proof. All comic images shown below with the grade of the comics shown as enclosed in the set.
PICTURED:
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN #106 VG+ £40
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN #108 GD/VG £35
SUSPENSE #31 FN- £40
SUSPENSE #108 VG £35
UNCANNY TALES #59 FN/VF £50 SOLD
British Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Captain Britain #8 – First Betsy Braddock (later the X-Men’s Psylocke)
*Marvel UK: In 1976, Marvel UK’s first attempt to generate a British-based super-hero was placed into the hands of Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, whose comic-opera interpretation of the UK has become a source of hilarity for generations. But after a shaky start, CB became inextricably linked with the mainstream Marvel Universe, not least because of his psychic sister, Betsy, who – years later and after many, many changes – turned Japanese and became the X-Men’s scantily-clad ninja mind-warrior Psylocke. As you do. This is Betsy’s first appearance in Captain Britain Weekly #8, a copy in VF condition; the rather flimsy stock of the Marvel UK weeklies has endured well in this instance, with no creases or marks, tight and flat with an excellent staple (it’s never had an upper staple), no delivery name or address or any other writing, and the puzzle page (often completed, to the later chagrin of collectors) is pristine and untouched. Beautiful white to off-white pages and sharp corners. The only (tiny) blemish is a minute nick at the bottom edge about 10 mm in from the spine, but you have to look really hard to see it. You don’t see as many copies of this surviving so well.
PICTURED: CAPTAIN BRITAIN #8 VF £200 SOLD
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Scorcher & Warlord
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Two very different comics in this week’s Boys’ Free Gift Farrago. The 5th issue of Scorcher (7/2/70) came with ‘My Favourite Soccer Stars’ album and a sheet of 8 full colour photos to stick in it. Our copy is a stunning VF with the gift (complete with uncut photo cards an immaculate NM. Warlord #69 (17/1/76) was issued with a ‘Warlord Dagger Badge’ and our copy is VG, mostly because of the ink stacking defect quite common in this series, where an imprint of the back cover of one issue is shown to varying degrees on the front cover of the one is was stacked on before the ink was dry. The Free Gift is a nice VF still in its original unopened envelope.
PICTURED:
SCORCHER 7/2/70 VF WITH FREE GIFT NM £35 SOLD
WARLORD #69 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £30 SOLD
British Update: Adventure, War, Western & Science-Fiction Picture Libraries
*Boy’s Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A chunky update to this popular category this week, featuring a wide range of titles and material, including several less often seen series: Attack Picture Library Holiday Specials, Battleground, Conflict, Cowboy Picture Library, Gemini 2000 Picture Library (#2), Lion Picture Library, Pecos Bill Western Picture Library, Pocket War Library, Pocket Western Library, Private-Eye Picture Stories, Sabre Library, Thriller Picture Library and Western Library Holiday Special. Mostly pre-decimal issues.
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Countdown #3 & #4
*TV & Film Related Comics: Countdown started out as very much the sucessor to TV 21, showcasing as it did Gerry Anderson series such as Lady Penelope, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, UFO and the Secret Service. But it also had Dr Who as well, and the cream of British artistic talent: John Burns, Gerry Haylock, Frank Langford, Don Harley and others. Issues #3 and #4 new in this week, both with their original Free Gifts: a set of four Space Stamps on uncut sheets to collect and stick into the album presented with the first issue.
PICTURED: COUNTDOWN
#3 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £35 SOLD
#4 VF WITH FREE GIFT VF £40 SOLD
British Update: Long Hot Summer: June & School Friend Special Extras
*Girls’ Comics: To add to the fun, Fleetway not only published Holiday Specials for June & School Friend, but in 1968-1970, they published Special Extra issues as well in the same format: 96 pages of stories, features, fun and adventure with Bessie Bunter and many of the regular strips from the comic. Vanishingly rare, we almost never see these and fortunately, the conditions of all three here are more than reasonable. 1968 is FN, with slight front cover edge fading (margins only), 1969 is VG, with a back cover tear (nothing missing) and slight looseness at staples, 1970 is FN.
PICTURED: JUNE & SCHOOL FRIEND SPECIAL EXTRA
1968 FN £90
1969 VG £75 SOLD
1970 FN £90 SOLD
British Update: Picture Romance Library 1957-59
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A round dozen of Pearson’s Picture Romance Library new in this week between #13 (1957) and #96 (1959). These feature beautiful painted covers and accomplished interior art. See our catalogue for full grading and pricing information.
PICTURED: PICTURE ROMANCE LIBRARY
#38 FN £12
#93 VG £9
Clearance Corner: 21 issues of Lassie from Dell & Gold Key for just £35
*Clearance Corner: Fans of Good Girl Art need look no further, provided that the girl is a dog, of course. Lassie, first appearing in the 1940s, is the star of radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels and other media. Hugely popular in the 1940s to the 1960s, the famous Collie had long-running comic series, first from Dell and then Gold Key, mostly with wonderfully painted covers and often accomplished interior art, including 2 issues in this selection by Matt Baker. This lot consists of 21 issues (19 Dell, 2 Gold key) between #6 (1952) and #68. Condition averages VG+, with many better and no dogs (if you pardon the pun). Overstreet Price Guide value on these is in excess of £160 — on offer here for just £35 including free (UK only) postage.
American Update: Batmania/DC Debuts: 1st Batgirl in Detective Comics #359
*DC: After the original Bat-Girl was swept away out of continuity with her aunt Batwoman following a change of direction for Batman in the 1960s, a new Batgirl was introduced, co-created by DC and the producers of the hit Batman TV show, as a boost to the third series of that iconic show. Barbara Gordon proved a hit as Batgirl both in comics and TV. Her comic debut came in Detective Comics #359 (1967) where she tangled with Killer Moth, just as she did in the pilot for her debut on TV. Barbara Gordon, amidst a history of adventure and misfortune, has gone on to become a mainstay of the DCU to this day. This is a low grade pence stamped copy with some long colour-breaking cover creases, edge wear and corner blunting, off lower staple at front only. Cover image is okay, colour is good and page quality nice.
PICTURED: DETECTIVE COMICS #359 GD- p £180
American Update: House Of Mystery Tabloid: Limited Collectors’ Edition C23
*DC: The House Of Mystery entry into DC’s tabloid range is a wonderful package; not only do you get seven superb stories by the very best of 1940s horror artists: Neal Adams, Bernie Wrighson, Gil Kane, Alex Toth, Jack Sparling and Segio Aragones (!), with their art on wonderful display in this tabloid size, but it’s also chock-full of games, cartoons, a 3D mystery cut-out, features and pin-ups. This VG+ copy has some spine wear and stress marks (black background) and some tanning on the inside covers, the odd crease and small scuff or two, but isn’t at all in bad shape. An uncommon item.
PICTURED: LIMITED COLLECTORS’ EDITION C23 VG+ £25 SOLD
American Update: Some favourite DC Silver Age titles
*DC: A smattering of some of our favourite DC Silver Age titles new in this week, featuring the following titles: Atom (#4), Hawkman (#19), a quartet of Mystery in Space with Adam Strange (#62, #64, #76 & #82), Strange Adventures (#157), Superman (#159) and Wonder Woman (#145).
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Avengers #1 (Poor)
*Marvel: Flush with success at the dawn of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee had an epiphany: if Iron Man, Thor and company were successful on their own – how much better would they be together? Thus was born the Avengers, in which Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp were brought together by the fiendish machinations of Loki and an heroic dynasty began which continues to this day! The Avengers has lasted myriad issues, with a plethora of spin-offs, and a veritable regiment of members (not to mention an extremely lucrative movie franchise), but this is the comic in which it all began! Make no mistake — this copy is a wreck: extreme spine roll, cover fading, browning, heavy edge wear, off top staple light interior staining; the right and bottom edges in particular are very heavily worn and creased. We don’t have a grade lower than poor, but otherwise this might qualify. And now the good news — it’s all complete! High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AVENGERS #1 PR p £500
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Slab Happy: A Brace of Ditko Amazing Spideys: #35 & #36
*Marvel: Your chance to grab a couple of Ditko classic issues of Amazing Spider-Man this week, preserved in plastic by CGC and in nice grades, both pence priced (or UK Price Variant, as CGC call ’em). #35 features the second appearance of the Molten Man, and #36 has the debut and origin of the Looter (known then as the Meteor Man). As time goes by, the desirability of the Ditko Spideys causes prices and demand to constantly rise, and Ditko’s work has never been better than on these issues.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#35 CGC 7.5 VF- p £135 SOLD
#36 CGC 7.0 FN/VF p £85 SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania Max/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Madame Web in Amazing #210
*Marvel: Well, everyone at Marvel gets their own movie, eh? Even being dead doesn’t appear to have stopped the clairvoyant precog Madame Web from having a film in development, and thus her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #210 has piqued in interest and accumulated value in the last year. We have a VF+ copy, with just a few minor stress marks preventing an even higher grade. Tight, flat and glossy and now an amazing 40 years old!
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #210 VF+ £75
American Update: Spider-Mania Max: Amazing #326-360 complete with plenty of Venom (and Carnage!)
*Marvel: A bumper bundle of Spidey this week, with every issue featured between #326 and #360. Many Venom appearances including #332, #333, #346, #347 (classic cover), plus the nascent Carnage — but how can that be, you ask, when Carnage didn’t appear until #361? Ah, but Kletus Casady (the man who would be Carnage) made a cameo appearance in #344 and a full appearance in #345, and Carnage himself made a cameo in #360. Plus of course a veritable army of Spidey’s friends and foes too numerous to mention.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #347 VF/NM £35
American Update: X-Men #5: ‘The Angel Is Trapped’
*Marvel: X-Men #5 marked the very swift return of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (now, there’s a slick bit of nominative determinism for you), following their debut in the previous issue. The Scarlet Witch however was still suffering from the same bout of colour blindness that afflicted her on the cover of #4, where she was also dressed in emerald. You’d have thought that the clue was in her name… Anyway, a merry romp ensues between Prof X’s mutant band and Magneto’s misfits. Not a great copy, pence priced with slightly more than moderate wear and some corner creasing and blunting; staples are okay and page quality isn’t bad. One page has a small strip out of the margin which doesn’t affect the story.
PICTURED: X-MEN #5 GD- p £85
American Update: A Fantastic Four Miscellany
*Marvel: From the latter years of Lee & Kirby’s time on Marvel’s flagship title, the Fantastic Four, a new selection fresh in within the range #73-100, all previously missing from our listings. Joe Sinnott’s fine inking lends a dynamic clarity to Kirby’s pencils in this period. All pence copies in nice mid-grades, with the anniversary issue #100 being a nice VF- at £39.
American Update: The Maze Agency (with Adam Hughes covers)
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: I’ve waxed lyrical about Mike Barr’s wonderful fair play whodunnit series the Maze Agency during our lockdown interlude and you can read my thoughts at this link: The Maze Agency: Detective Fiction In Comic Form (with Adam Hughes) Suffice it for now to say that we have three issues new in, all with Adam Hughes covers, including possibly the most sought after, #13, with Jennifer as Justice Girl.
PICTURED: THE MAZE AGENCY ALL SOLD
#7 VG+ £5
#10 NM £7.50
#13 FN £10
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: An Eerie Quartet #4-7
*Horror 1940-1959: Four consecutive issues of Avon’s Eerie in our Fest this week, from #4-7. A stylish and superior horror comic from the early 1950s, these issues feature two covers by Wally Wood (#4 & #5), and one (#7) with a Wood/Orlando cover and interior art by Joe Kubert. This was always a good-looking title, with evocative preludes in moody black and white on the inner front covers. #4 has a chip missing at top of spine and a few chips out upper edge; #5 has the previous owner’s name written on the cover heroine’s forearm and breast, but otherwise a very nice copy; #6 has quite a worn spine, but okay in other respects; #7 is nice and sharp, with a small crescent tear near spine (nothing missing).
PICTURED: EERIE
#4 FA/GD £120
#5 VG- £225 SOLD
#6 GD/VG £200
#7 FN- £250 SOLD