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.

*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. 

*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

*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

*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.

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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

*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.

*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

*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

*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

*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.

*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: I still remember the thrill when an issue of Thunder Agents came out in the mid-1960s. Wow – you got 5 stories each issue in an extra-thick comic! Of course, at age 11, I barely knew who Wally Wood was, but I knew I liked the artwork. And the writers for these super-powered secret agents (a unique hybrid of the super-hero and spy genres) kept the words to a minimum, letting the art tell the stories. And it wasn’t just Wood: Crandall, Ditko, Kane, Sekowsky & Whitney were also represented, along with less notable but mainly competent others. We have a new selection in, every issue from #1 and #19 (except #14); the final issue, #20 was all reprint. Plus all four of the solo Dynamo spin-off series and both issues of the Noman solo spin-off series; as a bonus, issue #4 of the companion title UNDERSEA Agent. Highly recommended.
PICTURED:
DYNAMO #3 VG- p £8.50
NOMAN #2  FN+ £16
THUNDER AGENTS #8 FN p £13.25
THUNDER AGENTS #18 FN+ £16

*War: A miscellany of War from two decades this week, including from Stanley Battle Heroes, from Dell Combat, from Charlton Fightin’ Air Force, Fightin’ Marines & Fightin’ Navy (inc 100 Page issues — Charlton were always Fightin’!), the complete three issue run of the seldom seen Fight The Enemy from Tower, the one and only G8 & His Battle Aces from Gold Key, and many issues of Harvey’s War Front. War is not yet over — more to come soon!

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Two very disparate Free Gifts with two consecutive issues of Hotspur this week from 1972. Issue #675 features a ‘Super-Duper Football Poster — Top Goal Scorers in Full Colour’, while #676 has the ‘Zoomer’, still mounted on its card. Both Gifts are in pristine condition.
PICTURED: HOTSPUR BOTH SOLD
#675 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £25
#676 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £35

*Humour Comics: Small top-ups to several titles this week inc. Beano (1968-1972), Buster (1970-1972 – New Year issue 1972), Cor (1971), Dandy (1968-1970, 1972 – Christmas issue 1968, New Year issue 1972), Knockout (1971 3rd issue), Sparky (1969-1970), Whizzer & Chips (1969-1972) and Whoopee (1st issue 1974 GD/VG £15). Full details as always in our catalogue.

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 A – Judy
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.

*DC: The 1970s revival of All-Star Comics, starring the legendary Justice Society (at first the ‘Super Squad’, but they dispensed with that nonsense quickly) had many creative highlights, and is a much-loved run. Two breakout characters, however, were what came to be called ‘legacy’ heroes. Power Girl, cousin of Earth-2’s Superman, premiered in the first relaunch issue, #58, and while Wally Wood’s artwork gave her the physique of a 1950s sex-bomb, she was anything but compliant eye candy, her no-nonsense, assertive personality gaining her many fans. Issue #69 brought us the Huntress, daughter of Earth-2’s Batman and Catwoman, combining the best traits of both her parents into a dynamic Darknight Detective for a new generation. For almost a decade, Power Girl and the Huntress’ popularity eclipsed the waning fame of their Earth-1 inspirations, Supergirl and Batgirl, and both characters have a keen following today. All Star #58 is a nice, superior copy with minor edge, spine and corner wear; #69 is a lovely high-grade copy.
PICTURED: ALL STAR COMICS
#58 FN/VF £70
#69 VF+ p £60

*Marvel: It’s always good to have a Steve Ditko issue of Amazing Spider-Man through the gates of 30th Century, and particularly so when that’s an issue featuring the Green Goblin. In this issue, Spidey gets caught up in a power struggle between the Goblin and the Lucky Lobo gang. This pence stamped copy has a nice white cover and good page quality; there is some spine wear and a very slight looseness at the upper staple, but staples and all pages are firmly attached.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #23 FN- p £100 SOLD

*Marvel: With the ever-spiralling cost of first appearances of major characters, many collectors are turning to second appearances as a way of obtaining affordable key issues. Here, therefore, is Fantastic Four #53, the second appearance of the Black Panther and the debut of his nemesis Klaw. Much of T’Challa’s background and beginnings are revealed in this issue. A nice mid-grade pence printed copy with some spine and edge wear and corner blunting, but a nice unmarred cover image.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #53 VG+ p £65