*Marvel: Five of Carol Danvers’ first solo series, when she stepped out of the shadow of Captain Marvel’s supporting cast and became a hero in her own right, decades before assuming the role of the Captain herself! Issue #1 is CBCS 8.5 VF+ equivalent at £100; #12 is CGC 9.4 (NM) at £35; #13 is CGC 9.4 (NM) £30; #16, featuring the first cameo appearance of Raven Darkholme (who would become better known as the X-Men’s Mystique) is CGC 9.4 (NM) at £65 and #17, with the second Darkholme/Mystique cameo, is CGC 9.4 (NM) at £50. Carol, as Captain Marvel, was of course the central character of a recent eponymous movie hit, and is set to be a major figure in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame, so all the character’s earlier appearances are picking up value rapidly. SORRY, #1 NOW SOLD
Category Archives: What’s New
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Red Sonja in Conan #23 & #24
*Marvel: Forget the Frank Thorne drawn daft ha’p’orth in the chainmail bikini – the proper Red Sonja, who, you know, wore clothes and had a brain, made her first appearance in issue #23 of Conan’s title (Marvel rather dropping the ball by not having her on the cover, but we promise you, she’s in there) and co-starring in #24’s epic ‘The Song of Red Sonja!’ – though our heroine does a great deal more than just sing, proving herself Conan’s equal, if not superior. Sadly, the popularity of Sonja’s appearances in these two issues led Marvel to produce a more sexualised and less competent version of the character for her solo series – but these two issues, by Roy Thomas and superbly drawn by Barry Smith, remain as good as ever! Both are cents copies, no UK pricing; #23 is VF at £100, and #24 VF+ £100.
American Update: Cap’s Return to Solo Stardom – Captain America #100
*Marvel: Following his return to active service in Avengers #4, Captain America became a companion feature of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense. After the division of the Marvel double-feature books in 1968, when distribution embargoes were slackened, Cap gained his own series again, though it retained the numbering of Tales of Suspense, premiering with #100. Featuring the talents of Lee, Kirby and Shores, this re-introduced the Sentinel of Liberty in solo action to the modern age. This copy is a very respectable VG+ cents edition, with moderate spine wear, no pence distribution stamp or overprint, but a light book centre stamp just below the Captain’s shield. A clean, appealing copy of a premier issue, VG+ £140. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: X-Men #129 – A Double Debut of Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost
*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 sparkling NM-, with only a tiny lower corner crease, tight staples, bright covers with excellent gloss. A Pence copy, it is on sale at £120.
American Update: Spider-Mania: Spectacular Spider-Man
*Marvel: Something different for this week’s Spider-Mania instalment: in 1976, Marvel decided that one regular monthly Spidey title wasn’t enough, so notwithstanding his appearances in Marvel Team-Up (which was to all intents and purposes a Spidey title), they added a second monthly devoted to everyone’s favourite wallcrawler, so fans could get an even bigger fix of their hero every month. Fresh in this week, we have the first 20 issues of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man (later shortened to just Spectacular Spider-Man) in nice grades, mostly cents copies. Issue #1 (VF+ £40) is pictured here.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion: Pre and Post Code Horror Mega-Fest continues with a round-up of various titles
*Horror 1940-1959: While the huge Atlas collection we acquired months ago remains our ongoing project – plenty to come yet, folks! – it’s by no means our only source of vintage material, and some Atlas horror has arrived from other avenues, so we’re taking the opportunity to catch up with a selection of incoming items. We open with Journey Into Mystery, with three Post-Code issues added this week, move along to Journey Into Unknown Worlds #5, a Pre-Code sci-fi/horror hybrid, a selection of low-grade but extremely tempting Spellbound from #19 on, with gloriously lurid Pre-Code covers by the likes of Everett and Heath; and close with a single Suspense #27, which innovatively ‘trails’ an interior story with prelude panels on the front cover. Illustrated are Journey Into Mystery #27 GD/VG £100 and #43 VG £78; for all the rest, check out our online catalogue.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Texas Kid: Cult Western Series From 1951
*Western: Orphaned by Outlaws, young Lance Temple later took up the masked mantle of the Texas Kid, and, together with faithful sidekicks Emilio and Red Hawk and his horse Thunder, set out to balance the scales of justice in… well, you can guess from the title that he didn’t operate out of Rhode Island, right? This series was illustrated by George Tuska and Joe Maneely, among others, and ran for ten issues, with the character also appearing in Two-Gun Western and Wild Western among others. We have #1 (GD £25, pictured) and several others of the series new in stock. SORRY, #1 NOW SOLD
British Update: Smash! First ten numbers and most of the Odhams series back in stock
*Power Comics: Following his success with Wham!, Leo Baxendale was drafted by Odhams to devise a companion, using skills honed by his many years on the Beano. Smash debuted in 1966 with the first appearances of Baxendale’s ‘Bad Penny’, ‘Grimley Feendish’, ‘The Nervs’ and ‘The Swots & The Blots’, and Ken Reid’s ‘Queen of the Seas’, and went on from strength to strength with both humour and adventure strips; Jordi Bernet’s ‘Legend Testers’, Baxendale’s ‘Man From BUNGLE’, ‘Rubberman’, Mike Higg’s ‘The Cloak’ are all some of the well-remembered strips which originated in this series, plus reprints of Marvel super-heroes (The Hulk, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man) and the Batman newspaper strip – making Smash! unique in its occasional later strapline, ‘The comic with Spider-Man and Batman!’. We have the first ten issues back in stock, and most of the 192-issue original series (before the title was taken over by IPC/Fleetway and relaunched as a pseudo-Valiant). Illustrated are the first three numbers: #1 is complete but Poor, with a long horizontal back cover tear and a small corner off the upper left back cover corner, on sale at £25. #2 is VG £30, with a small spine tear and #3 is also VG £30, with some lower edge wear and light creasing. SORRY, MOST ISSUES OF SMASH NOW SOLD
British Update: These Valiant Few! New Valiant issues from 1966 to 1971, including Valiant/TV 21 merger
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A small selection of new Valiant back issues this week, beginning in 1966 and then jumping to 1971, including the first Valiant and TV21 merger issue, where ‘Star Trek’ and ‘The Tuffs of Terror Island’ joined ‘Captain Hurricane’, ‘Billy Bunter’ and all the Valiant regulars.
British Update: Battle Picture Library #1-9
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Alongside Air & Ace and War, Battle formed the other part of Fleetway’s triumvirate of long-running war-themed picture libraries, starting in 1961 and finally ending in 1984. New in this week, issues #1-9 of this classic title. Illustrated here are #1 (The Rats Of Tobruk) VG £50, #2 (Devil’s Cauldron VG £20) and #3 (Trained To Kill) FN £25. For grades and prices on the others, as always please refer to our catalogue.
British Update: TV 21 2nd series (1969) from #1
*TV & Film Related Comics: Although when it relaunched in 1969 with a second series, TV 21 came back in very much as it went out with the first series with covers dominated by football. However, that soon gave way to the more familiar TV science fiction strips that characterised the title: Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Star Trek, Tarzan, the Saint, Land of the Giants and more. New in this week, we have close to 40 issues, including #1, in a mixture of grades. The #1 (sadly) is only Poor at £20, with a large corner of the front cover torn but present and attached, pictured here. All other copies are in much better shape! SORRY, #1 NOW SOLD
British Update: Funny Business – Ally Sloper, Monster Fun, Sparky, Krazy and More
*Humour Comics: A light sprinkling of popular titles from recently received stock: Ally Sloper, Alan Class’ experimental 1970s anthology featuring a cornucopia of talent including legendary creators Frank Hampson, John Richardson and Harry Bishop; issues #2-4 restocked. The final Dandy, #3610, brought the venerable title to a close in 2012 with an extra-large finale including a Free Gift of a Facsimile of the very first issue. The anarchic Krazy is restocked from #3, and Sparky has additional issues listed from 1965 and 1970. Top of the shop, however, are early issues of Monster Fun from #5 upwards, all including ‘Badtime Bedtime Stories’ or other pull-outs and supplements.
British Update: Long Hot Summer: Sally Summer Special – Single Scarcest Sally Item
*Girls’ Comics: …And try saying that three times fast! Sally, the ‘comic for the adventurous girl’, has developed a bit of a cult following over the last decade or so; the line-up of strong adventure strips with touches of sci-fi and the supernatural made it stand out from the crowd, and whenever we get a batch of Sally here at 30th Century, it’s always hotly contested. Rarer still, however, is the single Sally Summer Special from 1970, which we’ve never had in stock before in our quarter-century in business; pre-dating the Sally Annuals, the line-up includes Cat Girl, the Ghost Hunters, Twangy Pearl the Elastic Girl, the Silent Shadows, and Maisie’s Magic Eye. This copy is absolutely lovely: FN/VF, with only the tiniest wear at the lower spine preventing a genuine VF, an accolade we seldom award to British Comics. Clean, crisp interiors with creamy pages, firm staples with no rust, sharp corners – it’s a corker. On sale at £100. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Romeo from 1959 to 1972 – Rings, chokers, key rings and more
*Girls’ Comics: Romeo, the romance weekly for older girls and ‘young ladies’, ran from 1957 to 1974, and remains a sought-after commodity today, having lower print runs than comics for younger girls, and the teens & twenties being more prone to chucking things out rather than saving them. Doubly scarce, of course, are the issues with Free Gifts, so we’re fortunate to have five such new in, spanning three decades. From 1957, issue #83 offers a rather sinister colour portrait of Frankie Vaughan – comic is FN gift VF at £30. By 1968, the comic had abandoned numbers for dates and the Feb. 17th issue promises a ‘Pop Key Ring with Six Pix of your Fave Raves’; comic is VG Gift is VF in original never-opened envelope for £25. September 19th 1970 brings us a free ‘Romeo Midi Bag, which the cover (rather unrealistically we feel) promises will ‘Carry All Your Gear!’; the comic is VG, gift VF in original unopened envelope, both for £25. February 6th 1971 displays a rather pretty Cameo Choker, VF with the comic itself FN, on sale together at £30; and the cornucopia empties with February 5th 1972’s ‘Signet Seal Ring, again in original never-opened envelope VF, with the comic itself FN, both on sale at £30. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
Housekeeping Update
On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following files in our British section:
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material
*Collected Editions
*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Clearance Corner: 71 Girls’ Text and Photo Libraries for just £20
*Clearance Corner: On offer in our ‘bargain basement’ this week is a batch of 71 Girls’ text and photo libraries (like picture libraries with text or photos instead of strip art) for just £20. These are nearly all pre-decimal in nice condition with attractive illustrated covers. The emphasis is firmly on romance (in hospital and elsewhere) but there are also a small number of pop, film & TV libraries. Titles are: from Fleetway: Hospital Romances x6, Woman’s World x12, Oracle x2, Woman’s Weekly x2, Cameo Romances x1, Fans’ Star Library x4; from Pearsons: Hospital Romances x9, Silver Star x2, Doctor Library x1, Mirabelle x1; from D C Thomson: Secrets Story x6, My Weekly x2; from Newnes: Hospital Romances x13; from World Distributors: Photo Romance Novels x10. UK Postage on these if required would be an additional £8. SORRY, THIS LOT HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Batmania: Batman #251 – O’Neil/Adams Classic Joker cover and story in high and low grades
*DC: While it’s not strictly accurate to say that this game-changing issue was solely responsible for the transition to the ‘Dark Knight’ iteration of Batman – he had been becoming more serious in the preceding few years – this definitely distilled all the elements which would become the template for the Batman as we know him. By Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams, this tense murder mystery draws the reader in from the stunning cover, and keeps the tension mounted high as the Joker, stripped of the lingering miasma of the TV series, transformed from a buffoon into once again a first-ranking menace. One of the best comics of the 1970s, by almost everyone’s assessment. We are lucky enough to have not one, but two, copies of this in stock, which clearly show the range of values according to grade. Our first copy is outstanding: a tight and sharp VF+ copy, vivid cover colour and gloss, bright interior pages and firm staples. The only possible deterrent, if you’re really fussy, is a pence price stamp on the white field of the playing card, as may be seen in the cover scan. This copy is £400. Our second is a cents copy with no pence stamp, considerable wear at the cover edges, a small chip from the lower right cover corner, and a small fragment torn from the lower spine. That being said, the cover image is unmarred, and the interior pages are clean, off-white and unharmed. This FA/GD copy is £50. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: Debut of the New Teen Titans in DC Comics Presents #26
*DC: One of the biggest hits of the 1980s was the New Teen Titans, in which Marv Wolfman and George Perez took a moribund Sixties franchise and revitalised it into DC’s sales powerhouse of the decade. Introducing three brand-new characters – Cyborg, Raven and Starfire – Wolfman & Perez hewed very closely to the X-Men model of angst-ridden young heroes, and scored big points not only with DC’s readers; NTT became the DC Comic even Marvel fans bought! But the team made their first appearance, not in their own series, but in a ‘Bonus Book’, a supplement included with another title, DC Comics Presents #26. Here, for the first time, we met the new team, as they were gathered together to face a fearful menace – and the Jim Starlin-drawn Superman GL team-up’s pretty nifty too! Now the stars of a live-action TV show, the New Teen Titans’ popularity is soaring, so we’re pleased to be offering an nice copy of their debut issue. DC Comics Presents #26 is VF/NM, cents copy with no pence price, at £100. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: With One Magic Word… Hollywood! Shazam! (1973) from #1 onwards
*DC: For many years largely overlooked by collectors, the 1973 Shazam! series – DC’s reboot of the original Captain Marvel, who was put out of business by a protracted lawsuit from DC in the ’50s – is now riding high because of the smash-hit film starring Zachary Levi as Billy Batson’s supernaturally-powered alter ego. In 1973 C.C. Beck, co-creator of Fawcett Comics’ Captain Marvel, teamed up with contemporary writers to produce new stories of ‘The Big Red Cheese’. Beck was followed by other distinguished artists such as Kurt Schaffenberger and Bob Oksner, creating lighter, friendlier but imaginative adventures, from which, in large part, the sensibility of the film has been derived. We have most of Shazam’s 35-issue run new in stock, including an unbroken run of the first ten issues. Depicted is #1 VF- £65: for grades and prices on the others, see our online listing. SORRY, #1 NOW SOLD
American Update: DC ‘A List’ sweep
*DC: A round-up of DC titles starting with the letter ‘A’, specifically: Action Comics (inc 1st Adult Legion in #289, Supergirl Giant #334), Adventure Comics (inc 1st Black Orchid in #427, pictured VF- £27, Death of Earth 2 Batman in #462, pictured VF £35), Aquaman and Atom (inc #19 with Zatanna appearance).
American Update: Spider-Mania! Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 – Debut of the Sinister Six
*Marvel: In 1964, Peter Parker’s arachnid alter-ego was rewarded with his own Annual, and a thing of beauty it was: an all-new Lee & Ditko extravaganza, with a 41 page feature length lead story introducing the Sinister Six, an alliance of Spidey’s deadliest enemies: the Sandman, Mysterio, Electro, the Vulture, Doctor Octopus and Kraven the Hunter. As if that wasn’t enough, this massive tome also featured a plethora of pin-ups, a 9-page ‘Secrets of Spider-Man’ feature, and the startling secrets of ‘How Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Create Spider-Man’ – the latter presented with tongue firmly in cheek. Ditko’s art is at its finest here, as he breaks free of the constraints of the standard comic format to indulge in full-page panels and epic action galore. This copy of Amazing Spider-Man Annual – not commonplace in any grade – is a FN+, one small diagonal crease lower right cover corner, spine still firm though slightly worn at top and bottom edges, very light wear to cover edge, but the cover scene is unimpaired. A cents copy with no pence price or overstamp, it is on sale for £750. Front and back covers and splash page are shown here; high resolution images are available on request.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, in Special Marvel Edition #15
*Marvel: One of Marvel’s most successful attempts at diversifying their line in the 1970s was their cash-in on the Martial Arts craze, with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu! His inauspicious debut in Special Marvel Edition, a series previously devoted to reprints, indicated that there wasn’t much faith in Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin’s co-creation, but readers took him to their collective hearts, and more than 100 issues ensued, with a star roster of creators including Doug Moench, Gene Day and Paul Gulacy. Here, however, was where it all started, in Special Marvel Edition #15, December 1973, with the Son of Fu Manchu discovering his villainous heritage, and setting out to oppose his father. This copy of Shang-Chi’s debut is an attractive VG/FN, with unbroken cover colour, tight staples, and only light spine wear. Never distributed in the UK, and therefore doubly sought after, this is on sale at £80. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Thor #337 – Beta-Ray Bill
*Marvel: Thor had fallen into a rut of recycling of the same tired old tropes by (dare we say it?) the same tired old creators when writer/artist Walt Simonson took everyone by surprise, revitalising the series commencing with #337. This introduced the horse-faced alien thunder god Beta Ray Bill, a concept which should never have worked, but oddly caught on with readers at large, as well as debuting the Enchantress’ previously-unsuspected younger – and against all odds, wilier – sister, Lorelei. Simonson’s run on the series, bringing new life to the elder gods, remains hugely popular today, and this is the pivotal relaunch issue, Cents copy VF/NM at £65. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: X-Men #137: The First Death of Jean Grey
*Marvel: The culmination of Claremont and Byrnes ‘Fate of the Phoenix’ storyline, following the cosmic empowerment of the former Marvel Girl, her gradual temptation to the dark side as Phoenix, and the heinous acts committed by her other persona. Arrested by cosmic peacekeeping force the Imperial Guard and put on trial for her crimes, Jean Grey and her teammates battle for her life – and lose, in a story that was genuinely shocking and epic at the time of its publication, and has lost only a little of its impact with Jean’s subsequent two (to date) resurrections. This square-bound extra-length issue was never distributed in the United Kingdom, as the distributors refused to handle non-standard copies, and has thus constituted an annoying gap for many British fans. This copy is VF+ at £50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Avengers Assemble! Mighty Marvel Firsts: A Trinity of Debuts – First Hellcat, Scott Lang and Taskmaster
*Marvel: The Avengers, like many long-running series, has featured supporting characters who become breakout stars in their own right, and three such are presented here. In Avengers #144, the former teen humour star Patsy Walker (one of Marvel’s longest-serving characters, having debuted in 1944) was given a super-heroic makeover and became the Hellcat, death-defying (sometimes literally) adventuress who’s starred in several solo series. In #181, an associate of Tony Stark’s, one Scott Lang, made his first non-costumed appearance, shortly before he became the second (and arguably the most famous, having starred in two big-budget movie) Ant-Man! And in #196, having made a cameo appearance in the preceding issue, the first full appearance of the Taskmaster, one of Marvel’s most popular later villains, occurred. Issue #144 is VF+ £40, issue #181 is VF £30 and #196 is FN/VF £35. SORRY, #144 & #196 HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: Strange Tales: Silver Age inc. firsts and last
*Marvel: A small but tasty update to Marvel’s famous Strange Tales series: starting off with the uncommon Annual #2 from 1963 in low grade, featuring a Human Torch/Spider-Man encounter by Lee, Kirby and Ditko, we move on to a low grade #135 with the debut of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, then several later issues with SHIELD by Steranko, including #151, the first Steranko art at Marvel, with the unverified signature of the man himself on the splash page. We conclude with #168, the final issue of the original series, before it was reborn as Dr Strange with the next issue.
American Update: John Buscema’s Fantastic Four
*Marvel: For those of you who prefer John Buscema’s art on the Fantastic Four to Jack Kirby’s (and we know you’re out there), we’re delighted to list a range of his issues new in and previously missing from our listings between #113 and #134. Included are the encounter with the Overmind, Galactus, the Silver Surfer and Gabriel, the first Thundra (#129) and a startling Steranko cover with issue #130.
American Update: Adventure, Horror, Romance and Danger on Other Worlds! A Golden Age Gallery
*IW/Super: IW/Super is a strange side street on the highway of comics history, Launched by Israel Waldman in the late 1950s, he acquired content for his comics line by buying out a defunct printer’s stock of printing plates, which included the interiors, but not the covers, of a few hundred 1940s comic books, from dozens of publishers. With a fine disregard for copyright – since most of the publishers had gone under anyway – he simply reprinted the comics under new covers, with a bizarre non-sequential numbering scheme that no-one’s quite figured out to this day. Since these were distributed, three to a bag, as ‘novelties’ to toy and drug stores, they weren’t treated as periodicals, and weren’t subject to the Comics Code, so the 1940s horror titles, unabridged, might have caused an extra frisson to kids raised on the Code-Approved era. This is a selection of the great, the good and the grotesque of the Golden Age, with new listings this update for Black Knight, Danger, Fantastic Adventures, Fantastic Tales, Firehair, Frontier Romances, Jungle Adventures, Robin Hood, Space Detective, and Strange Planets.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Amazing Crime Series – Amazing Detective Cases and Amazing Mysteries
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Two short-run crime series from the company which would become Marvel this update. Amazing Detective Cases ran from #3 to #14, commencing in 1950. Amazing Mysteries has the distinction of carrying from the numbering of Sub-Mariner’s original series with #32 in 1949, and ending with #35. Both of these are ‘transitional’ titles, straddling the gap between Timely and Atlas comics, and as such are still finding their direction, but the key tropes of excessive violence and still more excessive verbiage are firmly in play. Five issues of Amazing detective Cases are new in between issues #5 to #10, including #8 FN £41 (pictured), and a single issue of Amazing Mysteries, the photo-cover #34.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion: Post Code Horror Mega-Fest continues with Strange Stories Of Suspense
*Horror 1940-1959: When Rugged Action – added to our lists last week – growled its last with issue #4, the title transmuted into Strange Stories of Suspense from #5, treading the rather safer commercial path of aliens, robots and weird happenings, in done-in-one mystery twist-enders by some distinguished artists. Gray Morrow, Al Williamson, Reed Crandall, Angelo Torres, Bernie Krigstein, Bob Powell and the Atlas trifecta of Everett, Maneely and Severin – a lot of talent for a short-run series that ended with #16. Seven issues of SSofS are new in this update, commencing with #6 and ending with #15. Depicted are #7 VG/FN £75, #10 VG/FN £73, #11 VG/FN £65, and #15 VG £54.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Men In Action – Extreme Violence on the Battlefield
*War: Another of Atlas’ myriad war-themed series, 1952’s Men In Action featured Pre-Code brutality a’plenty in its pre-code nine-issue run, with illustrations by Heath, Maneely, Krigstein, Pakula, Robinson and Sinnott, a stellar line-up of talent. And a bit of Paul Reinman, but whoops. We have a complete run of Men In Action from #1 to #9. Pictured is #6 VG £23.
American Update: Slab Happy! A Jonah Hex Triple-Threat! First Appearance, First Weird Western Tales and First Solo Issue!
*Western: We’re heading way out West for this week’s third party graded experience. Three slabbed milestones – or more appropriately for the death-dealing Mr. Hex, tombstones! The first appearance of DC’s misanthropic scar-faced anti-hero was in 1972’s All-Star Western #10, marking a decided departure from the largely anodyne DC Western milieu. Heavily inspired by the grim n’ gritty ‘Spaghetti Western’ movement in cinema, Hex’s popularity proved so great that the series’ title was changed to Weird Western Tales with #12, reflecting the decidedly darker turn of the series. Completing the trio, Jonah was awarded his own solo series in 1977, bucking the trend to become an authentic Western superstar in an era almost completely dominated by the panties ‘n capes crowd! We have copies of all three newly in: All-Star Western #10 is CBCS verified 7.5 (VF- equivalent), at £175, Weird Western Tales #12, first issue of series, is CGC blue label (no restoration) 8.5 (VF+) at £75 and Jonah Hex #1 is CGC blue label 9.4 (NM) at £100.
American Update: Monsters & Heroes – Early Magazine by US Fandom Founder Larry Ivie
*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: In 1967, Larry Ivie had already been active in US comics fandom for several years, and decided to launch his own magazine, on higher-quality paper than the mimeoed or dittoed collations which were the norm. Monsters & Heroes had black & white interiors and full-colour covers, and, while focusing primarily on movie and occasional TV-related material, did also touch on comics, especially those which had been adapted into other media. Each issue also featured Ivie’s own art, illustrating various articles but also in large instalments of his Mac Raboy-influenced comic strip Altron-Boy. A curious hybrid of fanzine and early independent comic, we have what we believe to be the full run, 7 issues, of Monsters & Heroes in stock.
American Update: A Cavalcade of Comics Criticism and Scholarship – US and UK ‘Zines and Books from 1966 to the Early 2000s
*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: A virtual torrent of comics nostalgia and esoterica, with around 80 new entries ranging from fanzines of the 1960s to the ‘Prozines’ and scholarly paperbacks of recent times. Hailing both from the UK and the USA, this cornucopia includes (but is not limited to) Bemusing, Comic Art Convention Programmes, Comic Book Profiles, Comics Feature, Comics Forum, Comics Journal, Comics Unlimited, Fantasy Advertiser, Golden Age of Comics, Graphic Story Magazine, Heroines Showcase, Panels, Thing, Wonderworld, and a splendid selection of pioneering US fanzine, the Rocket’s Blast Comicollector, from 1966 to 1978.
American/British Update: UK-generated Tarzan comics with Free Gift Farrago
*Tarzan/ERB: With the worldwide popularity of Tarzan, the ERB estate was, in the mid-197Os, in the happy position of commissioning hundreds of pages of artwork and stories that initially saw print only in the European market – despite having been generated by American creators. UK publishers Byblos saw an opportunity to exploit this material by presenting it in English for the first time, and in 1977 launched Tarzan Weekly – followed, in fairly short order, by Tarzan Monthly. There are some impressive names among the creators credited in these issues: Dan Spiegle, Marv Wolfman, Will Meugniot, Russ Manning, Pat Boyette, Mike Ploog, Rick Hoberg, and Mark Evanier. We have the first issue of Tarzan Weekly, with the original free gift, a Survival Sick-Bag – I’m sorry, Tarzan Survival Kit Bag – for your protection when wandering the wilds of the Dark Continent! This is available in two grades; VF with Free Gift VF (£7.50, pictured) and FN with Free Gift VF £6. In addition, we have Tarzan Monthly #1 from 1977, and the 1980 Tarzan Autumn Special. SORRY, BOTH WEEKLY #1s NOW SOLD
British Update: Partners In Crime – Andy Capp and Modesty Blaise
*Collected Editions: Two iconic characters from British newspaper strips grace our listings today. Modesty Blaise is the creation of Peter O’Donnell and Jim Holdaway; a classy reformed criminal with a crusading streak, Miss Blaise (and her platonic life-partner Willie Garvin) roam the world righting wrong and sometimes doing very bad things – but for very good reasons! Described by the lazy as ‘A female James Bond’, Modesty’s adventures have a sight more warmth, wit and humour than Ian Fleming’s famous creation. This collection, The Gabriel Set-Up, dates from the late 1980s and collects Modesty’s earliest adventures in paperback form, VG £8. By way of considerable contrast Andy Capp, Reg Smythe’s epic Geordie slacker (no, American fans, he’s not a Cockney; there are regions of the UK outside London, you know…) is paradoxically the world’s most beloved chain-smoking, heavy-drinking layabout on record. Gracing the Daily Mirror since 1957, this is a collection of his strips from 1967 FN £5.
British Update: First Quenchers Plus with Free Gift Farrago: Premier issues of Battle, Buddy and Tornado
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Three debut issues this update. Battle – Battle Picture Weekly, to give it its full title – brought a new take to the traditional war weekly when it launched in 1975, a darker and grimmer contrast to the usual anodyne heroics. Although controversial, this proved hugely popular with the readership, carrying the title from 1975 to 1988, close to 700 issues. Buddy was a 1981 launch from DC Thomson, rebooting many of their old adventure franchises such as the Iron Fish, General Jumbo and Billy the Cat with new look stories, achieving a respectable 100-plus run before folding into Victor in 1983. And Tornado, though it lasted only 22 issues in 1979, brought ‘The Mind of Wolfie Smith’ ‘Blackhawk’ (not the DC one) and ‘Captain Klep’ to life, series which had a much longer run when Tornado merged with 2000 AD. Tornado #1 is VG £15; Buddy #1 FN £8; and Battle #1 is FN £20. As a bonus, this week we also offer Battle #2 GD with free gift poster GD at £15. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: Air Ace Takes Flight! (Most of) #1 to 100 of Air Ace Picture Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Launched in 1960, Air Ace Picture Library proved one of the more successful series from IPC/Fleetway, lasting a full decade, till 1970’s #545, before merging with stablemate War Picture Library. We have a huge influx of incoming Air Ace, too many for just one update, so we’re beginning with the first 100 – or rather 75 of them, as this run, while substantial, is not complete. We do, however, have issues #1 and #100, and the majority in between, characterised by generally high grades. Many of them, sadly, do have a degree of rust on the staples, but would otherwise grade around VF, so we have compromised on an average grade of VG or FN, with a handful falling to Good, and a reasonable amount at VF. Illustrated are the first five; #1 VG £60, #2 VG £25, #3 FN £30, #4 FN £30 and #5 FN £30. Details on the rest may be found in our online listings, but Air Ace flies out pretty quickly, so you’d better scramble to make sure of your choices! SORRY, #1-3 NOW SOLD
British Update: Long Hot Summer: Shiver & Shake Christmas and Holiday Specials
*Humour Comics: The relatively short-lived Shiver & Shake Weekly nevertheless generated a number of Specials, and three are new to our lists. The very first Shiver & Shake Special, oddly enough, was a Christmas Special for 1973, rather than the usual Summer or Holiday Specials (FN/VF £30), but the pachyderm & poltergeist co-hosts soon fell into line, with Holiday Specials for 1975 (VF £30), and 1976 (VF £30). These are attractive high grade copies of scarce items, usually discarded by parents when returning from holidays, so not turning up very frequently. Frankie Stein, Horrornation Street, Grimly Feendish and more await you! SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: Sandie – Obscure but charming girls’ title from 1972
*Girls’ Comics: Launched as a stablemate to Tammy in 1972, IPC/Fleetway’s Sandie mined all the topics beloved by pre-teen girls; enslavement, cruelty, betrayal, rejection and loneliness, in serials with titles like ‘The School of No Escape!’, ‘No-One Cheers For Norah!’, ‘Lornas’s Lonely Days!’ and ‘Anna’s Forbidden Friend!’. Despite this angst-sodden line-up, and some top-notch talent, Sandie never really caught fire, and after 89 issues folded into June, with ‘Wee Sue’ (plucky mite who despite her tiny stature is irritatingly good at everything) being the only long-lasting ‘transfer’. Nowadays, though, Sandie is highly collectible precisely for its woe-laden narratives. We have twenty new issues of Sandie in stock, from 4th March 1972 to 29th September 1973. Illustrated is 6th May 1972, (FN £4) with ‘Captives of Madam Karma’, one of the earliest IPC gigs of legendary writer Pat Mills.
Housekeeping Update
On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following files in our American section:
*Horror 1940-1959
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
American Update: Batmania: Holy Bat-Villainy! TV’s Four Foremost Bat-Nemeses Behind Iconic Covers
*DC: A large part of the Batman TV show’s popularity revolved around the appeal of its major villains- the Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman, who reappeared numerous times during the show’s run. This upturn in popularity was reflected in the comics, which featured the Crooked Quartet more often and more prominently, and just for fun, we have four high-grade Silver Age Batman issues, each starring one of the group, and each with an iconic cover by the Silver Age’s greatest artists: #169 stars the Penguin, with Carmine Infantino cover, VF- p £85; #179 features the Riddler, cover by Kane & Anderson, FN+ £54; #186 presents the Joker, cover by Murphy Anderson, VF p £70 and #197 had a double delight – not only the Catwoman, but guest heroine Batgirl, cover by Infantino, VF p £125.
American Update: Big Barda Begins! Scott Free’s Better Half Makes Her Debut in Mr. Miracle #4
*DC: Of Kirby’s ‘Fourth World’ series at DC, Mister Miracle was the best received by the readership at large, due to its relatable protagonist, who, despite his extraterrestrial origins, was an amiable if highly-skilled Everyman. But the pace really picked up with issue #4, when we were introduced to Scott’s old flame, Big Barda, former leader of the Female Furies of the hellworld Apokalips. The tough, no-nonsense Barda contrasted with Scott’s gentler affable persona, and the dynamic brought the characters lasting popularity, the occasional ‘dramatic’ attempt to separate them being met with universal disdain. This copy of Barda’s first appearance is a VF cents copy, no pence price or overstamp; bright colours, tight staples, superb interiors, and only slight blunting of the lower right corner and a very faint crease at the top left corner of the spine bringing it to a mere VF. On sale at £175. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Love For Sale… Scarce ‘Love 1970’ (Super DC Giant S-17) New In
*DC: DC’s Super DC Giant was a rotating anthology title, akin to DC Special, with a different theme or star each issue, mostly reprint but with occasional new material. Among the rarest issues is S-17, a.k.a. Love 1970, which, because of its romantic content, is deemed to have been eschewed by the predominantly male readership of the series and returned to the distributors for pulping. Which is a shame, as the reprint line-up includes some lovely work by Gil Kane, Novick, and Pike, among others, and the cover is a stunner by the phenomenally talented Nick Cardy. Now highly sought-after by non-prejudiced collectors (and Nick Cardy aficionados), and we’re chuffed to welcome this VG/FN copy to our stocks at £50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Action and Adventure: Pre-Distribution Superman, Superboy and Friends
*DC: From the 1950s, two classic anthologies this week featuring Smallville’s Favourite Son – Man and Boy! Superman, of course, was the lead feature in Action Comics from its beginning , and 1957’s Action #233 brought us one of the more charming Superman adventures when our hero travelled to Borgonia, the ‘Land of One Million Supermen!’; other features this issue included Congo Bill (pre-gorillafication), and Tommy Tomorrow. Superman’s adventures as a boy, meanwhile, had been occupying Adventure Comics since the late 1940s, and 1953’s Adventure #188 brought us yet another of Pa Kent’s wacky alter egos, as ‘The Bullfighter From Smallville!’, backed up by Green Arrow, Johnny Quick and Aquaman in a vintage super-hero showcase. Action #233 is VG+, with light lower corner cover creases and a small tear at the lower cover edge, but bright colours and excellent interiors. On sale at £87. Adventure #188 is VG, lightly glued spine, patch of erasure at upper right cover corner and, again, a small tear mid-cover edge, but extremely well-presenting; on sale at £75.
American Update: DC Silver/Bronze sweep R-W inc #1 issues
*DC: A wander through the DCU Silver/Bronze Ages for titles beginning with R-W, specifically: Ragman (#1), Rima the Jungle Girl (#1), Rip Hunter (#20 Hitler cover), Secret Origins (2nd series), Secret Society of Super-Villains (#1), Showcase (Inferior Five issues), Strange Adventures, Superboy (inc #100, #147 Giant with the Legion, #185 100 Pages, #195 1st Wildfire and Annual #1), Superman (inc 80 and 100 Pages, #233 with classic Neal Adams cover), Swamp Thing (1st series), Wonder Woman (inc #160 1st Silver Age Cheetah) and World’s Finest.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of New X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (High grade VF+)
*Marvel: In the distant days of 1975, the X-Men, once mainstays of the Marvel Universe, were a spent force. Reduced to a bi-monthly reprint comic and occasional guest-appearances, the merry mutants were without a home to call their own. Then two of Marvel’s young turks of the time, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, changed all that. In Giant-Size X-Men #1, the original X-Men were captured, and Professor X assembled a team of international mutants, some known to the readers (Sunfire, Banshee, and Wein’s own creation, Wolverine, who had made his debut in Hulk #181) and some brand new (Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird), and sent them out to rescue their mutant brethren. The ‘New’ X-Men were an instant hit: the team was restored to all-new adventures, and on their way to becoming the multi-media stars they are today! We are delighted to have the first appearance of the ‘New’ X-Men back in stock – the Giant-Size issues never being distributed in the UK, GSXM #1’s already cult collector status is exacerbated by its scarcity on this side of the pond. Our newest GSXM #1 is an exceptional VF+; cover tight and correctly aligned (these squarebounds tend to slip sometimes in the gluing process, resulting in offcuts and crooked alignments.) The condition of the spine is generally excellent, with minimal wear at lower and upper ends. Interior pages clean and bright, white cover background unmarred, no creases, pressure marks or discolouration. VF+, on sale at £1,350. Front & back covers and splash page shown here; high resolution scans are available on request. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Slab Happy Meets Spider-Mania: A Trinity of Lee/Ditko Classics! – Spider-Man #7, #8 and #10 CGC Blue Labels
*Marvel: Three memorable early Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Spider-Man issues this update! All three are CGC Blue Label slabbed items, the Blue Label designation indicating no restoration. We begin with #7, the second appearance of the Vulture, one of Spidey’s most enduring enemies, in 5.0 (VG/FN equivalent) on sale at £325. Issue #8 is the ‘Tribute To Teen-Agers’ number, guest-starring the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, again in 5.0 VG/FN equivalent, for £250; and #10 is the debut of the Big Man and the Enforcers, one of whom – the Ox – made quite a lengthy solo villainous career for himself. This copy of #10 is 5.5 (FN-), and on sale at £225. SORRY, THESE ARE NOW SOLD
American Update: The Return of the Sorcerer Supreme! Doctor Strange #1 (1974)
*Marvel: After a significant hiatus, Doctor Strange returned to the Marvel Universe with the Defenders, followed by a run as the lead in Marvel Premiere, which proved so successful that his own series was relaunched with a new #1 (back in the days when that sort of thing didn’t happen every other week, you understand). The team of Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner, who had done such outstanding work in returning the Doc to form, continued on into the new series, and this copy of #1 is both a tribute to their talents and an outstanding example condition-wise, clean and bright with creamy interior pages and only very faint wear at the outer cover edge. We have graded this as VF, and it can be yours for £75. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Hulk Annual #1 with iconic Steranko cover
*Marvel: 1968 saw Jade-Jaws’ first-ever Annual, a 50-page extravaganza by Gary Friedrich and Marie Severin in which our favourite not-so-jolly green giant travelled to Attilan and fell out with Black Bolt, leader of the reclusive race of super-beings known as the Inhumans. Needless to say – spoiler alert – wannabe usurper Maximus is behind the hostilities, and has assembled his own band of rebel Inhumans to further bedevil our hero. Featuring a striking Steranko cover, this is a beautifully-presenting Apparent VF, with lovely interior page quality, deep vivid cover colours, but, full disclosure, there is some paper tape reinforcement (approx. half an inch) of the lower spine, where a split was occurring. Nevertheless, a truly lovely copy on sale at £80. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD