*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Warlord weekly had a very respectable run, lasting in excess of 600 issues from 1974 to 1976, and in keeping with most popular series of the time, it issued extra-sized Summer Specials for the typical holiday market. But 1976’s Warlord Peter Flint Special was a bit different, focusing on Flint, the eponymous Warlord of the title. This one-off, with family-friendly features like the ‘No-Mercy Spy-Game’, is available in VG for £15. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
Category Archives: What’s New
British Update: Here Comes The Sun (With A Smattering Of Comets)
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Just as the winter solstice approaches we’ve added a whole bunch of Suns in an effort to banish the winter blues. Ranging from #187 to the very final issue (17/10/59), just under 100 have been added, including the 1st appearance of the Happy Hussar (#263) and #490, the first issue with the new format. Join Billy the Kid and Battler Britton for thrilling tales of derring-do! Just to add spice we’ve also added 5 of the Sun’s companion paper, Comet (in the range #399 to #406).
British Update: Return of the Warrior! Complete Ground-Breaking Series Restocked – Moore, Lloyd, Bolton etc
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Launched in 1982, Warrior revolutionised the concept of the British comic, aimed squarely at a mature audience with intelligent and thought-provoking series and an A-List line-up of creators: Alan Moore, Garry Leach, Steve Dillon, Alan Davis, David Lloyd, John Bolton, Steve Parkhouse, John Ridgway, Jim Baikie and more pooled their collective talents for a genuinely stunning line-up of strips, including Marvelman (later Miracleman) and V For Vendetta. Unfortunately, threats of legal action from Marvel Comics and arguments between creators and publisher meant that many of the major ‘draws’ left, to be replaced by lesser talents or European reprints, and the series ground to a halt with issue #26, in 1985, a brief but glorious run. We have the entire 26-issue series in stock, in very affordable low to mid-grades but complete, as well as the one-off Marvelman Special.
British Update: First Quenchers: Pick Up A Pixie! 1972 Premiere Issue Back In Stock
*Girls’ Comics: Pixie was a short-lived title from IPC which commenced in June 1972 and merged with June after 30 issues in early 1973. Printed on better quality paper than most of its contemporaries, and with more colour pages, the star strips mostly featured famous characters from literature, including Black Beauty, The Naughtiest Girl In the School, Marion of Sherwood and Secret Garden. Issue #1 of this short achievable run is now back in stock, in FN at £20. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: Our Friend of the Mists Returns
*Girls’ Comics: Half a dozen VG or FN copies of the nest-selling Misty fresh to pour catalogue this week from 1978/79, mostly issues previously missing from our listings.
Books Update: Smeg! More TV / Film Books
*TV / Film Tie-Ins: A mixed bag of TV and Film books join the ranks, all UK PB and mainly with a Science Fiction theme, but see if you can spot the odd one out. We’re particularly pleased to have our first Red Dwarf book, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, but we also have Alien and Aliens, The Prisoner, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Joe 90 in Revenge, Till Death Us Do Part and Edge of Darkness. Many are 1st PB editions and nearly all have TV or movie images.
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/British section:
*Classics Illustrated
*Undergrounds
and in our British section:
*Humour Comics
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Reminder: Last Posting Dates for Christmas
Orders requiring posting paid for by 4 pm on Saturday 15th December will be posted on Monday 17th and should arrive in time for Christmas (if in the UK), according to Royal Mail. After that, we will continue to post out before Christmas, but cannot guarantee pre-Christmas delivery.
Clearance Corner: Classics Illustrated Junior – 37 issues for just £25
*Clearance Corner: A charming bargain lot in Clearance Corner this week. Classics Illustrated Junior, the companion to the famous Classics Illustrated series, commenced in 1953 and ran for 77 issues, featuring many famous (and some not so famous) fairy tales with brightly painted cover illustrations. Included in this lot of 36 different issues are Sleeping Beauty, Jack & the Beanstalk, Puss In Boots, Rumplestiltskin, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Rapunzel, Snow White & Rose Red and many more. The UK version of this was called Pixi Tales and there is one issue of that included in this lot of otherwise US versions, making 37 in total, all in a mix of FA to FN grades. We have to clear something to make room for our Atlas Explosion, so these, with regret, have to go. Here’s your chance for a real bargain — just £25 the lot (UK postage if required would be an extra £7).
Books Update: Arthur C Clarke Replenished
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A dozen of Clarke’s novels join the bookshelves, ranging from A (A Fall Of Moondust) to V (Voices From The Sky; non-fiction) and published from the 1950s to the 1980s. Apart from the titles pictured we also have Earthlight, Imperial Earth, Islands In The Sky, Reach For Tomorrow, Rendezvous With Rama and 2010 Odyssey Two. Widely admired for both his scientific and literary ability, this set of novels and short stories amply display the range of his talents.
What’s Old: Morpheus, Master of Dreams – Neil Gaiman’s Sandman #1
For our previously listed spotlight this week, we feature a modern classic. In 1989, Neil Gaiman, not yet the superstar author he would later become, took the venerable DC superhero the Sandman and completely refurbished the concept – revamping the titular hero as an immortal embodiment of the Dreamworld, Gaiman opened the door to a myriad of adventurous possibilities, modernising the concept without invalidating or discarding either previous Sandman series (the 1940s and 1970s strips), but instead enfolding them into a larger meta-narrative. The Neil Gaiman Sandman series ran for 75 issues and a Special, and won an insane array of awards. This is where it all began, in this instance in a beautiful NM/M pence copy, on sale for £135. You know us, we’re very picky graders and believe if submitted to a third party grader, this would qualify as a 9.8.
American Update: Batmania returns! Detective Comics #71 – Golden Age Batman/Joker cover and story
*DC: We kick off a new round of our ever-popular Batmania events with a real gem. From 1943, Detective Comics #71 brings us ‘A Crime A Day!’, a calendar-themed tale of Batman and Robin versus their most notorious enemy, the Joker! Illustrated by Jerry Robinson, this has the Prince of Plunder undermining Batman’s confidence by giving clues to crimes too difficult for even Batman to solve. This use of ‘headology’ almost causes the Caped Crusader to quit, but (Spoiler Alert!) all ends well. Also featured in this issue are the Boy Commandos by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby, Air Wave, Slam Bradley and Bart Regan, Spy, plus the Crimson Avenger. However, the centrefold of this comic is missing, rendering the Crimson Avenger story incomplete, but all other features intact. This copy of Detective #71 is Poor; in addition to the missing centrefold, comprising four story pages, the spine has been glued, restapled and heavily taped. There is also a neatly-taped tear approx. 3″ on the logo, in a reverse-‘L’ shape. Nevertheless, the cover image is largely unimpeded, the page quality of the remaining interiors is off-white with no brittleness or browning, and the overall visual appeal is greater than the stated grade. This was at one point a slabbed CBCS 0.5 copy, but has been ‘liberated’; the original CBCS label is included with the comic for reference. Detective #71 PR £200. More Batman next week… SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Crisis On Infinite Earths – Complete 12-issue Set, with Deaths of Supergirl, Flash, Scores More
*DC: In 1985, for the company’s 50th Anniversary, DC released Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 12-part series in which all the multiple parallel Earths of the DCU, long established ever since ‘Flash of Two Worlds’, faced annihilation, in an attempt to reconcile the conflicting alternate realities, and result in a more comprehensible DC Universe. Marv Wolfman and George Perez delivered a truly epic story, sending shockwaves through fandom as veteran characters perished, mostly permanently. (Well, until reality rebooted again, but in fairness that was decades later…) For all its flawed legacy (it was unevenly followed up by other creators, resulting in a ‘streamlined’ DCU that was actually more confusing, and it set the precedent for sprawling cosmic crossovers to become a tedious annual occurrence), COIE was an epochal event in the evolution of comics. Marvel’s Secret Wars may have done it first – but Crisis did it with style, expertise, and a genuine air of consequence. This 12-issue set averages NM- condition (some NM, a few VF/NM), mostly pence copies. Pictured are the two best-remembered issues of the series, #7 (VF/NM) and #8 (NM p), with the demises of the Silver Age Supergirl and Flash, respectively. This is being sold as a complete set of 12 only, at £125. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania Bonus: Superman Vs Spider-Man – Ground-Breaking Tabloid Crossover from 1976 NM
*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 that 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, Wiki 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. We have had several copies of this tabloid through our hands in our decades of trading, but this is the nicest: a cents copy, no pence price or overstamp, in immaculate Near Mint condition. On sale at £175. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts Meets Spider-Mania: 1st Punisher in Amazing Spider-Man #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 first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129 is rare in any condition in the UK, where, owing to the presence of Spider-Man Comics Weekly, the US title was embargoed for several years. This is a cents copy (there are no pence copies, of course), bright and glossy, with considerable visual appeal. Firm corners, staples tight at cover and centrefold, this looks at first glance to be a higher grade than its assigned GD+, but there are three flaws: a barely-visible Book Centre Stamp over the logo, a small ‘7p’ handwritten above the Punisher’s head, and minor warping throughout the lower inch of the book owing to water exposure in the past. However, the page distortion is very light and is unaccompanied by any of the staining, discolouration or odour that often goes with watermarking, so it doesn’t interfere with enjoyment of the story. This GD+ copy of a very high demand comic is on sale at £300. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Slab Happy: A Trinity of Treats, Sealed for Freshness – Hulk, Iron Man and X-Men
*Marvel: Three slabbed items this week from different periods in Marvel’s history. Cover-dated September 1964, X-Men #7 brings us the return of the bombastic Blob, plus Magneto and his Evil You-Know-Whats, tackling our teenage mutant non-ninja heroes in a Lee/Kirby classic. This is a CGC Blue Label 3.0 (GD/VG) at £85. Iron Man #47, dated June 1972, is a retelling of Shell-Head’s origin, by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith (as he was then); a CGC Blue Label 8.5 (VF+), this stunner is on sale at £110. And last, but far from least, Incredible Hulk #182, dated December 1974. This is a hotly-pursued item, not, alas, for the villainous debut of Hammer and Anvil, but because the early pages feature the third appearance of the previous issue’s co-star, Wolverine, waving bye-bye to the Hulk before showing up in Giant-Size X-Men #1 the following year. This is a CBCS copy, also 8.5 (VF+), and is on sale at £125. SORRY, HULK & X-MEN HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: ‘Out of the Holocaust… A Hero!’ Captain Marvel’s #1 issue
*Marvel: Following his tryouts in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 & #13, Mar-Vell, the Kree warrior sent to conquer Earth from within, got his own series in Marvel’s 1968 expansion year, chock-a-block with intrigue as his superior officers schemed to overcome the planet, and Captain Marvel played a double game. Overtly a good soldier following orders, he secretly strove to thwart their agenda, as he came to sympathise more with Earthlings, particularly one Carol Danvers, the security agent who would, decades down the line, take over the role of Captain Marvel herself. Although the upcoming cinematic Captain Marvel release stars Carol, Mar-Vell is rumoured to be among the supporting cast, and interest in his earlier appearances is consequently rising. This copy of Captain Marvel #1 is a VG p copy, clean and highly presentable with only light cover creasing, not affecting the primary cover image. On sale at £50.
American Update: Cyclops Vs. Havok in X-Men #97
*Marvel: Claremont and Cockrum’s ‘New’ X-Men continues to be one of our (and everybody’s) most popular back issue selections and issue #97 brought two of the original X-Men, Havok, and Lorna Dane (now under the nifty new pseudonym of Polaris), back into the fold, albeit briefly. The reunion wasn’t fond, however, but more a fraternal free-for-all – brainwashing’s an occupational hazard for the super-set – kicking off a storyline that led into the return of the Sentinels and the coming of the Phoenix! This high grade, VF/NM pence copy is on sale at £77.
American Update: Catalogue Expansion: Thor – Mightier Than Ever! Includes Simonson Years
*Marvel: From time to time, as the years advance, we add to our catalogued ranges of stock, and it’s the turn of the Mighty Thor for a ‘boost’, as we increase our range of listed issues to include the run written and (mostly) drawn by Walt Simonson, who revitalised the series commencing with #337. Almost 100 issues new to our listings, including #337 itself, which 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. #337 is VF p at £50. For details of the rest, please see our online catalogue. You can’t go too far wrong with a giant frog, now can you? SORRY, #337 NOW SOLD
American Update: The Invincible Iron Man – Early Issues Restocked
*Marvel: Around twenty copies of issues of Iron Man between #2 to #16 (including some duplicate copies in varying grades), newly listed, over half of them previously unrepresented in our inventory. Elegantly illustrated, at first by Johnny Craig (and then, yes, later by George Tuska, but back when he was making an effort…), these issues see clashes with several of Shellhead’s classic bad guys, including the Unicorn, the Freak, the Gladiator (imported from Daredevil), and the ever-malevolent Mandarin, plus the debut of the Controller, and a guest-fistfight with the Incredible Hulk!) Mostly pence copies, grades range from GD+ to VF, but average VG/FN, very nice presentable and affordable copies of Iron Man’s early exploits in his own series.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25
*Marvel: In the Seventies, Marvel was experimenting with a wide range of genres, and the dystopic near-future science-fiction field showed promise, with ‘Killraven’ over in Amazing Adventures and, here in Astonishing Tales #25, the premier of Deathlok, a cyborg assassin who rebelled against his programming and searched for his purpose – while shooting people a lot. The creation of Rich Buckler and Doug Moench, Deathlok has remained a fixture in the Marvel Universe – including his portrayal by August Richards in the Agents of SHIELD TV series – and this copy of his debut issue is VG p £20, with his second appearance (in AT #26, in case you couldn’t guess), also new to our lists at VF p £9.75. Completist bonus: AT #25 also features a two-pager with George Perez’s first Marvel artwork! SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Mega-Fest continues with EC’s Haunt Of Fear & Tales From The Crypt
*EC: We break from our Atlas horror event this week, but stay with our Pre-Code Mega-Fest theme. By now, of course, you’ve been told so much about the EC line from so many sources that we don’t really need to stress the high quality of the artwork, the innovativeness of the storytelling, or the controversy surrounding them. So really, all we have to say is that we have a small selection of the EC horror titles – predominantly Haunt of Fear, but with a token Tales From The Crypt – new in, in affordable low to mid-grades, and we’re confident you’ll succumb. Macabre twist-ending tales illustrated by the finest talents in the field at the time – what more to you need to know? Depicted are Haunt of Fear #27 GD/VG £50 and 28 GD+ £60, the scarce final issue of the title; for more listings, and more detail regarding conditions, see the online catalogue.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! The Black Knight — 1950s Joe Maneely Cult Classic
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: In mediaeval times, Sir Percy of Scandia fought the evil Modred in a Hollywood version of King Arthur’s Court, as reinterpreted by Stan Lee and doubtless created in the hope of riding the coattails a range of cinematic successes. However, illustrator Joe Maneely gave the predictable tropes vivid life and vigour with his exquisite linework, which, although reprinted many subsequent times, has sadly been generally badly produced, losing much of the beauty and detail of the original comics. This character’s connection to the mainstream Marvel Universe has been established through his villainous and heroic descendants (one Master of Evil, one Avenger), so there will always be demand for this series, but mostly it’s hotly pursued for the sheer quality of the work. We have three of the five-issue run in stock, all in mid to low grades, making them uncommonly affordable, proportionately speaking. Issue #1 is PR at £35, #3 FA £30 and #5 GD- £45. For more detailed descriptions, please see the online catalogue listing. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Navy Action – Waterlogged Adventures Ahoy
*War: 1954’s Navy Action featured a series hero, ‘Battleship Burke’, and his shapely enemy ‘Hungnan Hannah’, chasing each other across (and sometimes under) the seven seas, in stories entitled ‘The Red Admiral’s Secret!’, and ‘The Commies’ Challenge!’ at the height of the Cold War, backed up by other tales of aquatic antics. We have a complete run of this series – #1-11, and #15-18, (Sailor Sweeney shoplifted the title for issues #12-14) new in stock, featuring Berg, Drucker, Maneely, Sale and other stellar artists of the era. Pictured is issue #1 (VG £61), with the debut of ‘Battleship Burke’, the movie debut of whom, given Marvel’s habit of strip-mining their inventory, surely can’t be long delayed.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Quick-Trigger Western – A-List Artists A’Plenty
*Western: Formerly Cowboy Action (#1-11), Quick-Trigger Western featured in its short run rather superior artwork from the Atlas bullpen – which, it has been noted many times elsewhere, was already a cut above the average. Although devoid of ongoing characters, Quick-Trigger made up for it by presenting outstanding artwork by Williamson, Crandall, Torres, Baker, Orlando, Kirby and others behind very striking covers by Heath, Maneely and Severin. While this was no doubt unplanned – the story assignments were almost certainly random, and shuffled into any title that needed filling – Quick-Trigger’s line-up is particularly serendipitous, and a treat for fans of the Atlas artistic stable. We’re missing only the debut issue, #12, from an otherwise complete Q-T run. Pictured are #15 FN £34, and #17 FN+ £41.
British Update: More Alan Class File copies inc. Secrets of the Unknown #1 and many Marvel reprint issues
*Alan Class Reprints: A substantial update to our Alan Class stocks, pre and post decimal issues and each one from the archives of the publisher with certificate of authenticity signed by Alan Class himself. Titles include: Astounding (inc #60 with SHIELD cover and story and #61 with debut of Loki from Journey Into Mystery #85, although not cover featured, shown below); Creepy Worlds (inc #119 with Torch & Thing from Strange Tales, #123 with Avengers, #130 reprinting Fantastic Four #6, #131 with Giant-Man and #133 reprinting Avengers #6); Secrets Of The Unknown (inc #1, jointly the first Alan Class comic with Creepy Worlds #1 FA £65 as shown below, #38 reprinting second Thor app from Journey Into Mystery #84 as shown below, #47 reprinting X-Men #8, #62 with Torch & Thing from Strange Tales, #63 with story from Fantastic Four #11, #67 reprinting Reed & Sue’s wedding from FF Annual #3, #68 reprinting Amazing Spider-Man #3, #85 & #86 with Phantom covers and stories, #112 also reprinting X-Men #8 & #118 with Daredevil) and Suspense. Grading and pricing information in the Alan Class Private Collection section of this category in our website catalogue listing.
British Update: First Quenchers Plus – Scorcher #1-3
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Football has always been a popular theme of British comics, but Scorcher, launching in 1970, was one of the earliest weeklies to make it an all-consuming theme. Given its respectable five-year run, the creators did a decent job of it, even if there was a lot of imagination-stretching to introduce variations: ‘Lags Eleven’ (footballing convicts), ‘Lord Rumsey’s Rovers’ (footballing aristocrats), the superbly bonkers ‘Kangaroo Kid’ (footballing feral child raised by marsupials) and ‘Billy’s Boots’, in which a klutzy young lad finds a magically-endowed pair of boots belonging to a legendary player, and gains his skills from them – so, cheating, basically. ‘Billy’s Boots’ was the strip that Would. Not. Die., running for many years after Scorcher’s demise in Tiger, and reappearing in the 1990s in Striker. This is the first appearance of the popular series, and in addition to the #1 (FN £30), we also have the second and third issues new in stock. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: First Quenchers: Tabloid-Sized Titters – Big One and Buzz – premier issues
*Humour Comics: Two extra-sized premier issues this week: Big One, launched in 1964, was Fleetway/IPC’s response to D.C. Thomson’s Beezer and Topper and went those tabloid-sized weeklies one better by being even bigger – approximately 14″ x 22″. Sadly, this worked against it, being a real nightmare for newsagents, stored and sold – when it was put on display at all, as it would have occupied a huge amount of space – horizontally folded like broadsheet newspapers. We’ve never seen a copy without such a fold, and indeed we store and sell them that way. This copy of Big One #1 is FA, with a small taped tear at mid-spine, but also with a promotional sheet distributed to newsagents at the time of its release. The promotional sheet is illustrated separately below, and the price for both comic and promo is £40. Almost a decade later, in 1973, D.C. Thomson decided to introduced a stablemate to Beezer and Topper and Buzz joined the lineup for a respectable 100+ issue run, and packed a lot into the oversized pages, fronted by ‘Hop, Skip and Jock’, wherein our inventive but impecunious trio coined an outlandish money-making scheme each week. This copy of Buzz #1 is VG £40.
British Update: Melanie – Pop ‘N Love Stories from the Sizzling Seventies with Free Gift Farrago
*Girls’ Comics: A younger sibling to Mirabelle, Melanie grabbed the pop & love stories market with a fresh, upbeat style that compared favourably with its stablemates. The highlight of Melanie was its comic strips – this was before the ‘photo-love’ era – which were often very beautifully drawn, by a range of artists unknown but leaning heavily, we suspect, on the Romero studios. We have a range of Melanie, none previously in stock new in, averaging Fine, from 1973 to 1974, including the first issue in Fine with Free Gift! The Free Gift, also Fine, is a flexi-disc in which David Cassidy talks exclusively to Melanie readers! #1 FN with FG Fine is £20; for the other issues, please see our online catalogue.
Books Update: No Zzzzzz’s With Zelazny
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re delighted to have a large influx of books by one of our favourite Science Fiction authors, Roger Zelazny. A winner of multiple Hugos, Nebulas and other awards, with such stellar talent that he could probably get an award nomination simply by writing a shopping list, his name is not as well recognised now as other authors such as Asimov, Clarke or Dick. If he’s not an author you’ve read before, we’d recommend you start with A Rose For Ecclesiastes, Four For The Future or The Doors Of His Face, The Lamps Of His Mouth, all collections of short stories, or a book from the Amber series (Sign Of The Unicorn, The Guns Of Avalon or The Hand Of Oberon). After that you’re spoilt for choice: Changeling, Creatures Of Light And Darkness, Damnation Alley, Eye Of Cat, Isle Of The Dead, Jack Of Shadows, Madwand, My Name Is Legion, Roadmarks, The Dream Master, This Immortal, To Die In Italbar and Today We Choose Faces. Nearly all of the books are 1st UK PB or 1st US PB, dating from the 1960s to early 1980s.
Technical Update: Spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam!
We’ve been getting a lot of incidence lately of our emails to customers going into their spam/junk folders, which it seems a lot of you don’t check regularly. If you’re waiting for an email from us, please check your spam/junk folder and if you find it there, mark us as a safe sender on your system for future use. Remember, sometimes email is the only way we have of communicating with you, and we’ll always reply to genuine emails — we don’t want you to think we’re ignoring you!
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 file in our American section:
*DC
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.
American Update: Swamp Thing #37 — 1st John Constantine, Hellblazer
*DC: Although it seems like only yesterday, John Constantine aka Hellblazer, occult troubleshooter, has ‘haunted’ the DCU for 33 years now, star of multiple ongoing titles of his own and numerous guest appearances. It all started here, in the pages of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing #37 from 1985. This nice VF- pence copy can be yours for a bargainaceous £35. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: DC Silver/Bronze Sweep with Oddities
*DC: Another sweep through the DC Universe from the Silver/Bronze Ages, this time featuring some unusual items among old regular favourites. New stock for: DC One Hundred Page Super-Spectacular (Superboy & Flash), DC Special (inc horror issues #4 & #11), Hawk & Dove, Metamorpho (final issue), Steve Ditko’s Shade the Changing Man, Mike Kaluta’s Shadow, Strange Adventures with Neal Adams Deadman, classic Teen Titans (inc. final issue), The Three Mousketeers (!) and Welcome Back Kotter (the obscure TV tie-in).
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Black Panther debut in Fantastic Four #52
*Marvel: Well, T’Challa, the Black Panther, has been all the rage since his smash hit movie and his first appearance in Fantastic Four #52 has rocketed up in price accordingly. So here’s a chance to grab a decent lower graded copy while it’s still at a price that’s (hopefully) within reach. This GD/VG cents copy is a little worn along the spine (and to a lesser extent the edges), but the cover image is totally clean and unmarked. There is slight looseness at the staples, but they hold firm and the centrefold is well attached. Page quality is nice (with minor scribble on lower splash margin only). Priced at £250.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts Meets Slab Happy! Captain America #117 – 1st Falcon CGC 6.5
*Marvel: The next item in our Slab Happy event is another Mighty Marvel First. This time it’s the turn of the Falcon aka Sam Wilson, debuting in Captain America #117. Cap’s sidekick for many years and sometime Avenger, the Falcon has been a mainstay of the Marvel Universe ever since his inception. This lovely cents copy is encased and certified by CGC as 6.5 (FN+), unrestored blue label and priced at £125. We’ll be back ‘on the slab’ again very soon! SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania: 4 consecutive Amazing Ditko issues #28-31
*Marvel: It’s a Ditko mini-extravaganza in this week’s Spider-Mania prime update, with the following 4 consecutive issues from1965. #28 features the debut of the Molten Man, a decent copy of this notorious black cover background issue that has sustained some spine wear and a small patch of moisture discolouration to the bottom right edge of cover and first few pages (mainly visible inside). #29, featuring the Scorpion, is a superior apparent FN+ copy, but the interiors have been printed/collated off centre and are a bit wonky, so we’ve priced it down accordingly. #30, the Steve Ditko plotted ‘Claws Of The Cat’ story is a beautiful high grade cents copy. #31 is another lovely copy featuring the first appearances of Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn and Prof Warren, as well as being the first part of the classic Doc Ock/Master Planner trilogy. #28 GD+ p £80, #29 App FN+ £50, #30 VF+ £240, #31 FN+ £185. SORRY, #28, #29 & #31 NOW SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania Bonus: Bulk update of Amazing
*Marvel: A huge update to our stock of Amazing Spider-Man this week, just because you can’t get enough of your friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler. On offer are dozens of new issues in, ranging from #59 to #404, plus Annuals #2 and #3. A mixture of grades, with very many superior high-graded copies, and most issues previously missing from our listings. Highlights include #200 (VF/NM £25, illustrated) plus #265 (1st silver Sable) and Annual #2, with Steve Ditko teaming up Spidey with Doc Strange in a fabulous adventure. But also along the way we encounter the Kingpin, Medusa, the Vultures, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, Ka-Zar, Doc Ock, the Punisher, Dazzler, the Black Cat, Madame Web, the Sandman, Moon Knight, the Red Ghost & his Super-Apes, the Juggernaut, the Cobra, Hobgoblin, the Puma, Daredevil, the Hulk and the Avengers. Something for Spideyphiles everywhere!
American Update: Together Again For The First Time! – Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (and only!)
*Marvel: ‘A Special Once-In-A-Lifetime Issue’, the cover of this one-shot boasted, and its unique position is simply a result of a scheduling tangle which arose when Marvel was finally allowed by its distributors to increase its range of titles. The Hulk took over the numbering of Tales to Astonish and Captain America the numbering of Tales of Suspense, but that left ‘orphaned’ chapters of the Iron Man and Sub-Mariner serials languishing, so they were used in this oddball one-off so that both Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner could start off their #1 issues with clear storylines. This new addition is FN+ pence, clean & bright, sound staples, good cover colour and minimal edge & corner wear. One of the easiest Silver Age Marvel titles to complete – buy one and you’ve got the set! FN+ p at £65. This is exactly the same grade and price as a previous copy we had in October, which sold instantly… SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: A Spider-Woman Double-Header: Marvel Spotlight #32 and Spider-Woman #1
*Marvel: There have been a few to wear the mantle of Spider-Woman, but Jessica Drew was the first. Empowered by the High Evolutionary and manipulated by Hydra to take on SHIELD, Jessica soon evolved into her own series with its offbeat blend of horror and super-heroics. Here we have her 1st appearance in Marvel Spotlight #32 FN cents £45 and the first issue of her own series, Spider-Woman #1 VF+ cents £25; both issues explain and expand upon her origin. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: X-Men’s Days Of Future Past
*Marvel: From 1981 and the days when alternate future storylines were not really as cliched as they’ve since become, one of the most compelling of them all: the classic Days Of Future Past two-parter from X-Men #141/142 by Claremont & Byrne. This was virtually Byrne’s swan song on the title. Featuring an aged X-Men line-up against the Sentinels (and the first appearance of Rachel Summers aka the second Phoenix), this really is the story where, as the cover proclaims “Everybody Dies!” Even a huge DC fans such as us thoroughly enjoyed this classic and if you’ve not read it, you owe it to yourself to do so. Both cents copies; #141 FN/VF £35, #142 FN+ £20. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Crime Must Lose
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Another brush with Atlas crime in this update. Crime Must Lose was a short run title lasting 9 issues (#4-12) from 1950-1952. Typical of Atlas tough guy crime series, and notable for having Ann Brewster art in all issues. We have 8 out of 9 issues fresh in (just missing #10) in a mixture of grades. #12 pictured FN+ £45.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Pre-Code Horror Mega-Fest continues with Menace
*Horror 1940-1959: One of the greatest of Atlas’s horror series is also one of the shortest to collect. Menace ran a scant 11 issues from 1953-1954, right at the peak of the pre-code extravagance and infamy. Famous perhaps for Bill Everett’s contributions to several issues, ironically, we have the four issues to which he did not contribute: #7, #8, #10 and the last issue #11. But you still get Heath, Katz, Maneely, Powell, Romita, Shores, Sinnott and others, in a festival of fear in lowish grades that are still affordable! #7 FA/GD £55, #8 GD+ £95, #10 GD £75, #11 FA/GD £55.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Indian or White Man — the Apache Kid
*Western: The gimmick with Atlas’s Apache Kid was that in reality he was a white man, scout Aloysius Kare, who disguised himself as a red man to fight injustice in the old west as the Apache Kid. We have 9 issues fresh in from our Atlas event, between #10 & #19, all in low to mid-grade and thus very affordable.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Near complete run of Battle (#1-70), Atlas’s premier war title
*War: Lovers of War comics have hit the jackpot this week, as our Atlas Explosion event gets down and dirty with Battle, the leading and long-lived War title, starting in 1951 and concluding in 1960. We have all but 2 or 3 of the complete run fresh into stock in a variety of grades from PR to FN/VF. The first 37 issues are Pre-Code. The roster of artists on show reads like a Who’s Who of comic art from the 1950s: Check. Krigstein, Everett, Kubert, Colan, Ayers, Williamson, Torres, Berg, Heath, Maneely, Orlando, Powell, Robinson, Romita, Severin, Tuska, Moskowitz, Sinnott, Whitney, Woodbriage and, during issues #63-70, a certain Mr Kirby and Mr Ditko also appear. One of the jewels in the crown of our Atlas event.
Selected issues illustrated here as follows:
#1 VG+ £100, #2 FN+ £95, #3 FN+ £78, #6 FN+ £78, #11 FN+ £62, #20 FN+ £62, #24 FN+ £56, #25 FN+ £56, #34 FN/VF £66, #61 FN+ £50, #63 FN £56, #64 VG/FN £52, #67 FN+ £83.
American Update: More Complete EC Library Hardcover Volumes inc Slipcase Editions
*Modern Reprints: Following last week’s very well received update from the Complete EC Library, we have some more for you this week! Titles this time are: Aces High, Panic, Valor, Vault Of Horror & Weird Science. For grading and pricing information, see our website listing. NB If you’re ordering by post or planning to buy in person, these are heavy!
British Update: Enhanced Alan Class Comic/Printing Plate sets
*Alan Class Reprints: We are delighted to present both an update to our stocks of these unique and popular items, and an enhanced format for them. We are now, wherever possible, as well as the original comic, including as many of the later comics that used the same printing plates in each set, thus presenting a more complete history of the plates’ use. In addition, each set also now comes with a colour information sheet on Alan Class and his comics, with a picture of the man himself. New this update are 13 plate sets, 1 Amazing Stories and 12 Astounding, including many early issues. Extras galore, including interior plates, printer’s instructions, cover proofs and sheets and even flongs! (Flongs are impressions of the original plate used for reprinting as an alternative to the plate itself). Particularly worthy of note are the sets for Amazing #1 (shown here), Astounding #17 which reprints a story from Amazing Spider-Man #8 and Astounding #29 (also shown here) which reprints the Giant-Man story from Tales To Astonish #50 (inc. cover).
British Update: Pow! Smash! Wham! (with Free Gift Farrago!)
*Power Comics: No, you haven’t wandered into the middle of an episode of the Batman TV show from 1966, although Odhams Press truly tapped into the zeitgeist of the times when they launched their part reprint/part original series in the 60s with those names. We have over 30 issues of Pow new in, including issue #54 (£25 VG with Free Gift VG Tattoo Transfers — all present but two detached from backing sheet), plus the final issue #86. There’s also over 40 issues of Smash, which ran the TV show inspired Batman newspaper strip of the time, including the merger issue with Fantastic (following the earlier merger with Pow) and the Christmas issue 1968. Plus just a solitary issue of Wham, #145.
British Update: Boys’ 1950s Annuals
*Annuals: Ten 1950s Boys’ Annuals new in this week, including Eagle Vol 6, a couple of Okay Adventure Annuals, an Ajax Adventure Annual, an Adventure Annual and a Spaceways Annual (the latter two featuring Swift Morgan by Dennis McLoughlin) and four Robin Hood Annuals from 1957-1960 reprinting stories from Thriller Picture Library.
British Update: More Judge Dredd
*Collected Editions: Three more Titan Judge Dredd collections from the 1990s in NM: The Complete Judge Dredd in Oz (1994) at £15, Mechanismo (1993) at £5 and Top Dog (1993) at £5.