*Marvel: Following the smash hit of Secret Wars, Marvel revisited the theme with, rather unimaginatively, Secret Wars II in 1985; the Beyonder, the cosmic entity which instigated the first series, having become intrigued by humanity, visits Earth in human form, and inevitably comes into conflict with Earth’s superhumans and the cosmic entities that exist in the Marvel Universe. Featuring, as before, a multiplicity of crossovers with the rest of the Marvel Universe, this series didn’t have the epochal impact of its predecessor, but Jim Shooter’s script had plenty of intriguing moments, especially the Beyonder’s struggles to adapt to everyday human activities, such as eating, sleeping, using the bathroom – and falling in love! But don’t worry, there’s action aplenty too! This complete 9 issue series, all NM, is available as a set for £40.
PICTURED: SECRET WARS II #1 NM; COMPLETE SET 1-9 NM £40 SOLD

*Marvel: A chunky update for Marvel Bronze Age and later this week, inc the following titles: Avengers (#195, 1st Taskmaster cameo), the Cat, Civil War (inc Michael Turner variant cover #6), Daredevil (#254, 1st Typhoid Mary), Giant-Size Doc Savage, Marvel Premiere (with Iron Fist inc. 1st Colleen Wing in #19), New Mutants (1st Cable in #87 FA £17.50), Spectacular Spider-Man (inc #138 1st full Tombstone), Super Villain Team-Up (inc #5, 1st Shroud), What If (1st and 2nd series) and Wolverine Origin. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL #254 VF £30

*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 #9-13 of one of those titles: Strange Mysteries; mixed grade copies, with specific defects listed below.
PICTURED: STRANGE MYSTERIES
#9 FA £65 Several margin pieced torn out; stories OK
#10 VG+ £240 Nice copy, some corner blunting, tiny chip out bottom right cover SOLD
#11 FA/GD £60 Chip out by front upper staple; extra staples SOLD
#12 VG+ £190 Nice copy, no specific defects, just edge wear SOLD
#13 VG £165 Spine roll/mis-cut SOLD

*Modern Reprints: All 3 three issues new in of Greg Theakston’s Pure Imagination Buried Treasure reprint series, showcasing the art of Frazetta, Kirby, Kubert, Meskin, Toth, Ward & Wood etc in a magazine size black and white format to show off the quality of the art. #1 is general, featuring many artists, #2 is a romance special, with lots of Ward and others and #3 is a Toth special. Full details in our catalogue, in sub-category 6 of our newly re-worked file.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Lots of additions to popular Boys’ titles this week, including Hornet (1969, 1970, 1972), Hotspur (1969-1972), Lion (1969, 1970, 1972), Mark Tyme, Scorcher (1970), Swift (1961), Tiger (1969, 1970, 1972), Valiant (1970, 1972) & Victor (1969, 1970, 1972). Lots of gaps filled in our inventory.

*Humour Comics: A range of the large-size Dandy Summer Specials between 1968 and 1974 fresh in, cover-starring Korky the Cat and featuring such favourites as Desperate Dan, Black Bob, Corporal Clott, Winker Watson etc. Bought as seaside holiday reading so few of these survive, and didn’t wear well, particularly due to their large format. These copies though are unfolded, largely undamaged and nice bright examples, averaging between VG and FN. 
PICTURED: DANDY SUMMER SPECIAL 1968 VG/FN £50

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: June & School Friend Picture Library continued the numbering of Schoolgirls’ Picture Library from #327 onwards, and this week we have very many issues of J&SF PL fresh in between #400 and #497. Many favourite recurring characters are here: Zanna, the Grey Ghosts, Sue Day, Mam’selle X, Miss Adventure, the Silent Three and many others. By and large superior condition copies.
PICTURED: JUNE & SCHOOL FRIEND PICTURE LIBRARY
#401 FN £7
#440 FN £7

*Modern Reprints: Our Modern Reprints category covers a very diverse selection of classic American reprints from the Golden and Silver Ages, and as such it’s been difficult to set out in a cohesive format. We’ve now added a numbering system and more distinctive headers for the various sub-categories and hope you will be able to navigate this tableau of wonder a bit more easily.

*DC: Having quite startlingly revitalised the moribund Jimmy Olsen title with #133, writer/artist Jack Kirby took it up a notch by introducing Darkseid, the fiendish ruler of the hell-world Apokolips, in the very next issue. It was only a fleeting cameo – Darkseid’s image flashes up on a monitor screen while Facetiming with Morgan Edge – but it’s nevertheless the first appearance of the villainous fulcrum of the entire Fourth World Saga, and as such is in high demand. This tight, flat high grade copy is pence stamped and has great cover colour and gloss (Neal Adams cover), very minor edge and corner wear and lovely off white pages. It’s one of those issues where the cover is printed slightly off centre, so the edge of the image goes over the spine, but this doesn’t spoil it one bit.
PICTURED: JIMMY OLSEN #134 VF p £250

*DC/Marvel: In 1976, after some delicate negotiations, the two major publishers decided to pool their talents and create a team-up between their two iconic characters which proved too big for a regular-sized comic – so the tabloid-sized format, as seen in Marvel’s Treasury Editions and DC’s Limited Collectors’ Editions, was co-opted for this epic event! While Wizard of Oz is technically the first Marvel/DC co-production, that’s really just DC piggybacking onto a project Marvel had already produced, to avoid litigation (long story, Google it if you’re bothered). This was the first true collaboration between the titans of the comics industry, and it’s a tribute to the organisation involved that Superman and Spider-Man (as well as guest villains Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus) are note perfect in this mega-sized saga. This is a FN+ cents copy of this ground-breaking item, light to moderate edge and corner wear, but clean and unimpaired cover, nice interior pages, and the squarebound spine strong and intact; there is one tiny nick across the DC/Marvel logo top left.
PICTURED: SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FN+ £75

*Marvel: So, what do you do when one cuddly brain-sucking symbiote just isn’t enough? Well, the House of Recycled Ideas came up with letting it spawn (not ‘Spawn’!) and thus was born Carnage, offspring of Venom, who rapidly metastasised into one of the MU’s most popular villains. I know this to be at the top of a lot of wants lists, so we’re glad to have an affordable copy of Amazing Spider-Man #361 new into stock. This has all the cover gloss, sharp corners, tight staples etc you’d expect of a comic of this vintage, but there are a few defects worthy of note. Firstly, it is mis-cut (an original printing error, not a wear and tear issue), so that the rear cover is slightly ‘wrapped’ around to the front at the bottom of the spine (see scan); also there are non-colour-breaking horizontal creases near the bottom edge, which also has two tiny nicks/tears in it. Also new in in high grade: #362 and #363, the second and third parts of this initial Venom trilogy.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #361 FN £60 SOLD

*Marvel: Ms. (later Captain) Marvel, Carol Danvers, had left the Avengers in issue #200, in a controversial and rather offensive departure which raised the hackles of fandom assembled, utterly subverting the character’s independent agenda. In Avengers Annual #10, Chris Claremont ‘fixed’ the storyline, with an amnesiac and powerless Carol being rescued by Spider-Woman, and the discovery of her escape and reawakening commencing. It was a rather skilful job, assisted by the moody, evocative, and too-seldom-seen art of Mike Golden, plus, when the villains of the issue arrived – the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants – they had a spanking-new member, Rogue, who was the reason for Carol’s confused and powerless state. Rogue, of course, swiftly moved to the ‘light side’, joining the X-Men and becoming a key character in the comics and on the silver screen – and this is where she got her start, but the issue has more to offer than only that! Ignore the rather messy and bitty cover; the interior’s a gem! A lovely cents copy, with just extremely minor edge wear and corner blunting.
PICTURED: AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 VF+ £70

*Gold Key/Whitman: Like the earlier publisher Dell, Gold Key published an esoteric mix of TV & Film Related, Cartoon Animals, Science Fiction, their own Super-Heroes and just about anything they thought would sell, I guess. Comics from obscure TV series we never had over here rub shoulders with their more famous cousins and the Gold Key heroes have been revived numerous times in recent decades. This update: Captain Nice (#1 and only), Doctor Solar, Freedom Agent (#1), the Girl From Uncle (inc #1), Hanna Barbera TV Super-Heroes, Jet Dream & Her Stunt Girl Counterspies (#1 and only), Magnus Robot Fighter, the Man From Uncle, Mighty Samson (#1), Star Trek, Turok Son of Stone & Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories.   

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: One of the most startling success stories in the back issue world is the ever-spiralling popularity of Moon Knight’s premier appearance. The series Werewolf By Night had been toddling along, chronicling the adventures of young lycanthrope Jack Russell (no, really), when the boat was suddenly rocked in WBN #32 by a vigilante whose only goal seemed to be the annihilation of our hero – and his silver armour and weapons seemed likely to achieve it! The man who would later be revealed as Marc Spector had a deeper back story, of course, and in his multitudinous appearances since, has developed a complex background oscillating between ‘Marvel’s Batman’ and ‘Multiple Personality psychotic possessed by Egyptian Gods’. Be that as it may, he remains hugely popular, and a near-future Moon Knight TV series having been recently confirmed, demand for his debut is intensifying. Our latest copy of Werewolf By Night #32 is a lowish grade pence printed copy, the significant defects being a book shop stamp across the logo (although this is fairly faint) and two colour-breaking creases across the corner of the bottom right cover. There is some minor spine and edge wear, but the cover retains excellent colour and gloss, the staples are tight and the page quality good.
PICTURED: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32 GD+ p £290 SOLD

*Memorabilia & Esoterica: We present three Free Gifts from Valiant, the popular British Boys’ Weekly, which have all lost their comics. First up, from Valiant #2, 13/10/62, The Giant Book of World War II, an illustrated history of the war in black and white with colour covers and centrefold, 16 comic-sized pages in decent VG condition; secondly, 4th Division Football Club tags from 17/10/64, okay condition but with small corner off top right; finally, ‘My Favourite Soccer Stars’ an album with all 32 colour photos of footballers mounted inside, this package released in weekly instalments between 16/10/71 and 6/11/71, overall in VG condition. Give these orphans a home! 
PICTURED: 3 VALIANT ORPHANED FREE GIFTS £45 

*Power Comics: When Odham’s ceased publishing Smash in 1969, Fleetway IPC took over, changing both the size and content of the title, but introducing many great and fondly-remembered strips such as Janus Stark, Cursitor Doom and Simon Test. We have a small but perfectly formed update of a few copies from 1969/1970 fresh in, in superior shape.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Just a few issues of Commando added this week, all from the low 600 number range.

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A tiny update here this week from the long-running Love Story Picture Library: #776-778 from 1970, all in very nice shape.

*DC: One of the most enduring members of Batman’s Rogues’ Gallery, Black Mask debuted in Batman #386, August 1985. He is depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Not the sort of guy to go down the pub with then. This copy of his debut is a nice VF, with very minor edge wear and tiny spine stresses, but retaining cover colour and gloss and has tight and firmly attached staples and great page quality.
PICTURED: BATMAN #386 VF £60

*Marvel / Memorabilia & Esoterica: We conclude our Spider-Mania Max long-running feature with something truly unique. Not one but two pieces of original comic art by long-serving Spidey artist Ross Andru. The first is page 11 of Amazing Spider-Man #179 and features the Green Goblin; the second is page 12 of Marvel-Team-Up #3 featuring the Human Torch and Peter Parker changing into Spider-Man. Ross Andru was THE prominent Spider-Man artist of the 1970s, drawing many famous issues including the deaths of Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin, the debut of the Punisher and the whole clone saga, among many others. This represents a very rare opportunity to grab a piece of original art from the most popular comic character of them all, seldom if ever offered for sale from a UK dealer (and of course, we have the issues which feature those pages in stock too!). High resolution images are available on request. A fitting way to end our huge Spider-Mania Max event, but Spider-Mania will still continue at a less frantic pace!
PICTURED:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #179 PAGE 11 £3,000
MARVEL TEAM-UP #3 PAGE 12 £1,500

*Marvel: X-Men issue #129 introduced not one, but two, characters who were to become major players in the lives of the X-Men. Kitty Pryde, the young immaterial ingenue, made her debut as a pupil at Xavier’s school, and went on to become a central part of the series, eventually becoming the leader of the team, while Emma Frost, White Queen of the Hellfire Club, dedicated her telepathic prowess to the X-Men’s destruction – though that dedication hasn’t prevented her from occasionally joining the group herself, and seducing Cyclops whenever Jean Grey happens to be dead for a while! This copy of X-Men #129 is a striking VF+, with minor stress marks at spine, and tiny soft creases at top left and bottom right; tight staples, bright colours with excellent gloss. A cents copy, no UK stamp or overprint.
PICTURED: X-MEN #129 VF+ £100 SOLD

*Marvel: Two more editions in the popular Treasury-sized experiment of the 1970s this week: Giant Super-Hero Holiday Grab-Bag (Marvel Treasury Special Vol 1) features a wide roster of Marvel’s most famous heroes by virtue of including lots of team-up stories, whilst Savage Fists Of Kung Fu (less commonly seen) reprints adventures of the pick of the crop of Marvel’s then contemporary Kung Fu heroes and, interestingly, the inside covers feature original British artwork from the Marvel UK covers of the Avengers featuring Shang-Chi.
PICTURED:
GIANT SUPER-HERO HOLIDAY GRAB-BAG FN/VF p £15 SOLD
SAVAGE FISTS OF KUNG FU VF £30 SOLD

*Marvel: A run through lots of titles from Marvel’s Silver & Bronze Ages this week, including the following: Avengers (from #15), Captain America (from #104), Daredevil (from #37), Dr. Strange (1st series and 2nd series from #3), Fantasy Masterpieces (#2, reprinting Fin Fang Foom debut), Hulk (from #113), Iron Man (from #14), Master Of Kung Fu (early issues), Power Man (#17, the first issue to bear that title), Silver Surfer (1st series), Strange Tales (from #117, both Torch/Thing and SHIELD issues, but all with Dr. Strange), Tales To Astonish & X-Men. Check out our catalogue for full details. 

*Horror 1940-1959: The latest entry in our Pre-Code Horror Fest is The Dead Who Walk one shot from Realistic Comics 1952 (not sure how realistic it is…). A gruesome tale of love and lust from beyond the grave with an eye-catching cover. This low grade copy has plenty of faults: a torn and worn spine, loose but attached staples, edge wear with lots of little creases, some more significant soft creasing to the upper left corner and a small tear centre right cover which extends to diminishing effect through the first few pages. But it’s all there and the page quality isn’t bad; there’s no tape, glue or restoration that we can see. The only copy we’ve ever had in stock.
PICTURED: THE DEAD WHO WALK FA £250 SOLD

*Alan Class Reprints: A couple of special Alan Class listings this week. Astounding Stories #61 (in our Alan Class certificated sub-category) features the Thor story from Journey Into Mystery #85, with the debut of Loki, a nice copy with minor rumpling due to glue shrinkage. Suspense #26 (in our regular listing) reprints the very first Dr. Strange story from Strange Tales #110 (and a whole heap of Ditko mystery stories as well), a lower graded copy with some spine and edge wear and a small biro price centre cover. What a shame Thor and Loki and Dr. Strange didn’t adorn the covers this time!
PICTURED:
ASTOUNDING STORIES #61 FN £30
SUSPENSE #26 GD £50