*Marvel: One of the most frustrating and enigmatic Bronze Age the 1970s was 1976’s Omega the Unknown, by Steve Gerber (then ‘hot’ author of Howard the Duck) and co-author Mary Skrenes. A young boy, James-Michael, is hospitalised after the discovery that his parents are robots, and becomes linked with a mysterious and mute super-powered man who appears from nowhere whenever James-Michael is in danger. James-Michael, rather than Omega , is the focal character, and Gerber and Skrenes’ deployment of common adolescent psychological tropes (isolation, the feeling that one is the only ‘real’ person, desire for rescue) proved a little… challenging for the readership, who were baffled and frustrated by the series, even if occasionally intrigued. The illustrations by veteran artist Jim Mooney also subverted reader expectations; associated more with traditional super-heroics, his art seemed at odds with the gritty, everyday horrors of James-Michael’s schooldays. The series ended abruptly with issue #10 and the hero’s seeming death: Gerber’s dismissal from Marvel shortly thereafter seemed to put paid to any resolution, though a two-part wrap-up was bodged together in Defenders by Steven Grant. Now, it’s regarded as one of the more intriguing cul-de-sacs of the Marvel Universe, and one of the very few Marvel properties not yet optioned for Film or TV (but give it five minutes…)! We have the complete 10-issue original series in stock, all cents copies, averaging NM, on sale for £50 the set – more than a third off the individual retail. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Created by Will Eisner, Doll Man was the first super-hero to have shrinking powers, preceding the Atom and Ant-Man by two decades. Darrell Dane ‘concentrated his mighty will power’ to shrink from six feet to six inches in height, and battled the underworld from underneath, with the assistance of Elmo the Wonder Dog (who didn’t shrink, but was a Great Dane who provided transportation), and later, his shapely helpmate Doll Girl. Although the Doll Man series is often collected these days for the notorious ‘Good Girl’ strip Torchy, by Bill Ward and Gill Fox, which ran as back-up (and is present in all these issues), the main event is much underestimated, with Ruth Roche, Reed Crandall and Alex Kotsky among the creators delivering ingenious and beautifully-illustrated action tales. Doll Man #24, #27, #28 and #44 are new in this week; pictured are #24 VG+ £80 and #28 VG £70.

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: This week, a much overdue visit to Marvel’s horror titles from the 1970s, and the famous monsters that inhabited them. All the following are issues previously missing from our stock: Creatures on the Loose (with Man-Wolf, including the start of his series in #30), Fear (with start of Man-Thing series in #10 and Morbius in #23), Frankenstein, the Monster of, Man-Thing (1st series and Giant-Size, with 1st Howard the Duck solo in GS #4), Supernatural Thrillers (with the Living Mummy), Tomb of Dracula (#43 high grade with Wrightson cover), Werewolf By Night (many issues from #3, inc  2nd Moon Knight in #33 and Giant-Sizes with Morbius in GS #4). All the famous monsters covered!

*Marvel UK: After far too long a gap, an update of just under 100 copies to our stocks of the 1970s Marvel UK titles, which introduced a new generation to these classic characters. We have substantial additions to Savage Sword of Conan weekly, which reprinted the Roy Thomas/Barry Smith early years, Dracula Lives (including #20 & #21, which reprint Tomb of Dracula #10, debut of Blade the Vampire Slayer), and the founding title Mighty World of Marvel, selected issues from #37 to #166, plus a light scattering of Spider-Man Comics Weekly from #21 up. Depicted are Dracula Lives #20 VG £15 & #21 VG £15; details on all the others may be found in our online catalogue. SORRY, PICTURED ITEMS HAVE NOW SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Tarkan was created by Turkish cartoonist Sezgin Burak while he was resident in Milan, and was a great success, being serialised over Europe and inspiring two feature films in the late Sixties and early Seventies. The story of a Hun warrior who defied Roman oppressors, the series continued until the artist’s death in 1978. We have acquired a selection of the short-lived English edition, which launched (and we suspect ended) in 1973. Although the full-colour comics bore a resemblance in size to US comics such as Conan, the slightly more mature subject matter confused and deterred the bulk of the audience, and some newsagents refused to distribute them. We open with Tarkan #1 (FN £5 pictured) and end with #16, with many (though not all) issues in-between.

*Girls’ Comics: Launched in 1967 in the wake of her elder siblings Bunty & Judy, Mandy, despite the relentlessly can-do attitude of its eponymous heroine, seemed to specialise in stories which were generally moralistic in tone, with long-suffering heroines finally achieving happiness, while villainous relatives or girls who were liars, cheats and bullies received their comeuppance — good hearty fare for its intended audience! We’ve recently acquired the second and third issues of Mandy accompanied by their original Free Gifts. In the case of issue #2, the comic itself is Fine, with the Free Gift – a ‘Mandy bracelet’ beaded on elastic to stretch to size – still in the original polythene pocket at VF. Issue #3’s gift was a little more complex: a ‘Mandy Mini-Kit’, it had a brush, nail file and comb all in one. The copy of #3 is GD, with a bit of ‘bumpiness’ from the gift having been stuck inside its pages, but no significant flaws. The gift itself is VG – the contents are immaculate, but the paper envelope, while never technically opened, was removed from its place between pages 10 and 11 of the comic, and the envelope is slightly torn at one end. Nevertheless, Free Gift early issues of one of the leading girls’ comics of the 1960s are not commonplace; £60 for #2 FN with Free Gift VF, and £40 for #3 GD with Free Gift VG. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

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:
*Marvel  D – L
and in our American/British section:
*Undergrounds
and in our British section:
*Girls’ Picture Libraries
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: From 1945, an issue of the anthology All-American Comics starring the original Green Lantern, his Justice Society colleague Doctor Mid-Nite, aviator Hop Harrigan, and funsters Mutt & Jeff! This is from the brief period where the All-American side of National Periodical Publications separated from DC ‘Proper’ and struck out as an independent publisher (and you thought Image did it first…) therefore it carries the ‘AA’ branding rather than the more familiar DC symbol. This copy, sadly, has seen better days; The cover is torn, worn, stained and heavily taped. One third of one page of the Green Lantern story is missing, and there are small corners, not significantly impacting the stories, on a further three pages. In addition there is extreme wear throughout the entire issue at corners and edges. Ordinarily, we would not sell something this damaged, but since Golden Age DC super-hero issues are rare in any condition – and with the caveats noted above, all pages are present and readable – we are offering this PR copy for £20. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: Jack Kirby’s Fourth World saga at DC has its detractors, but the fact remains that its epic grandeur caught the imagination of a generation, and the characters it generated continue to resonate throughout the DC Universe today. Cornerstone of the Fourth World was the series New Gods, the story of dual worlds – Apokalips and New Genesis – locked in an internecine struggle for the galaxy, one world striving to protect it, and the other to rule it. The first issue of this series introduced Orion, Lightray, Metron and other key figures, and the second issue brought us the second full appearance (after a series of cameos) of Darkseid, ruler of Apokalips and seeker of the Anti-Life Equation. We have outstanding copies of these new in stock: Issue #1 (debuts Orion, Lightray, Metron) is FN+ cents with very light corner wear and a few tiny breaks in spine colour, on sale at £90; #2 (2nd ‘Full Darkseid’) is VF/NM, outstandingly bright with sharp corners, at £80. Both are cents copies without UK price markings. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*DC: A second helping of Batmania this week as we feature issues #202-231 (almost all in that sequence) freshly added to our stock in superior grades; almost every issue is Fine or considerably better. A nice run full of Giants (Secrets Of The Bat-Cave, Women in Batman’s Life, 30th Anniversary Special, Batman’s Crime File, Danger Around The World, Deadly Traps), the debut of the Ten-Eyed Man in #226, a delightful Catwoman caper in #210 and a Neal Adams short in #219, presaging what was to follow. Full details as always in our catalogue.

*DC/Marvel: In 1976, after some delicate negotiations, Marvel and DC decided to 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 event! Superman and Spider-Man (as well as guest-villains Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus) are note-perfect in this mega-sized saga. This triggered a series of cross-overs between the two companies, with DC and Marvel alternating on the publishing chores. DC was at the helm for DC Special Series #27, an apparent mismatch between Batman and the Hulk – which, owing to the intervention of the Joker and the Shaper of Worlds, isn’t the one-panel wonder you’d expect! Superbly illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, the Bat/Hulk clash is less frequently encountered ‘in the wild’. Marvel was at the production helm by 1981, when Marvel Treasury Edition #28 was released, with Superman and Spider-Man’s ‘second date’, this time co-featuring Wonder Woman and the Hulk and the villainy of Doctor Doom and the Parasite! We are delighted to have all of these epic editions back in stock: Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, to give the first its full title, is VG, moderate corner and edge wear but clean and unmarred interiors. DC Special Series #27 is VG+, light corner wear and a few small breaks in cover colour at the spine. Marvel Treasury Edition #28 is FN, minimal corner wear, clean interiors, vivid unimpaired cover scene. Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man is VG £45; DC Special Series #27 is VG+ £40, and Marvel Treasury Edition #28 is FN £50. All three are cents copies with no UK pricing. SORRY, FIRST 2 PICTURED ITEMS HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Amazing Spider-Man #252, like many Secret Wars ‘epilogue’ issues, featured a major ‘twist’ only explained retroactively. In Spidey’s case, it was a dramatic black & white costume which would eventually be revealed as an alien symbiote, which in turn would evolve into to Venom, who eclipsed most longer-established villains to become Spidey’s crucial nemesis for ensuing decades, and eventually the star of his own hit film franchise – without Spidey! Although the first appearance of the symbiote in internal continuity was Secret Wars #8, its debut in real time was this very issue. This is an outstanding CGC Blue Label (no restoration) copy graded at 9.6, a NM+ equivalent, on sale at £150.

*Marvel: The polymath skill-pilferer Taskmaster has proved one of the more popular characters from the later 20th Century Marvel Universe, achieving the status of reluctant anti-hero through nuanced and well-written stints in the series Avengers: The Initiative and Avengers Academy. Now announced as the villain in the forthcoming Black Widow film, Taskmaster’s star is rising, and we have his first appearances in stock: Avengers #195, in which he makes a suitably menacing last-page cameo having overcome both Hank Pym and Scott Lang, and #196, in which he makes his full nefarious debut. #195 is NM p £40; #196 is a cents copy, VF/NM at £150. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: One of comics’ biggest events of the final decades of the 20th Century was Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos, the megavillain Starlin had been building up for nearly twenty years, armed with the reality-altering Infinity Gauntlet, faced down the Marvel super-beings en masse, in a struggle for the fate of the universe! Infinity Gauntlet was such a huge success that Starlin wrote two equally cosmic sequels, Infinity War and Infinity Crusade, each taking in most of the Marvel super-stars of the time. Hugely popular ever since their inception, but with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet at the centre of the current Avengers: Endgame cinematic juggernaut, demand for these issues is at its height. We have the first issues of all three series in stock – Infinity Crusade #1 NM p £8, Infinity War #1 NM p £10 and Infinity Gauntlet #1 (pictured) VF p £30, as well as Infinity Gauntlet #2 and #3 and the entire remaining series of Infinity War #2-6. SORRY, INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Well, if you can’t have Ditko, his successor is the next best thing! John Romita brought a new style to everyone’s favourite wall-crawler, with a dynamic sense of layout, design and style, featuring some classic covers. A whole range of Romita issues this update, nearly 20 issues between Amazing Spider-Man #47 and #97, featuring Spidey’s tangles with Kraven, the KIngpin, Doctor Octopus, Ka-Zar (& Zabu), the Vulture, Silvermane, the Lizard, the Schemer, Iceman, the Prowler and, of course, the Green Goblin. A mix of grades, many nice and some cheap readers!

*Horror 1940-1959: Thanks for sticking with us throughout this long, long Mega-Fest of 1940s and 1950s Pre and Post Code Horror we’ve been running since last Autumn. This week we at last reach the final entries in this category for the time being. From Harvey, we have Chamber of Chills #24, with a gripping Lee Elias cover; from Fawcett, Strange Suspense Stories #4, with a literal death-cheating cover and lead tale; from Avon, #17 of the early horror series Eerie (GD+ £55, pictured) and a quartet of Atlas: the Post-Code World of Mystery #1 and World of Suspense #5, and two more Pre-Code beauties, both depicted: Spellbound #20 VG+ £110, with a stunning Russ Heath cover, and Suspense #15 VG+ £95, with Joe Maneely at his most menacing.

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: In 1971 Marvel, still trying to broaden its readership, tried again to crack the black & white magazine market which Warren had successfully exploited. Savage Tales #1 was rated ‘M’ for the Mature Reader (translation; a bit of swearing and occasional boobs), and set out to slightly repackage some of their existing properties – Conan and Ka-Zar – and introduce some new concepts. Of the latter, ‘Black Brother’, a ham-fisted race relations piece, is best forgotten, and ‘The Femizons’, a cringe-making take on Women’s Liberation which served as the basis for Thundra, does at least supply some (albeit unintentional) laughs; but the very first appearance of Marvel’s ‘Man-Thing’ is stylish and evocative, despite the character being a shameless Swamp Thing rip-off. While the writing is hit & miss (though the Conan and Man-Thing stories are definitely hits) the artwork is stunning throughout: Barry Smith, John Romita, John Buscema, Gene Colan and Gray Morrow, all at their respective peaks. Never distributed in the UK, and far from commonplace in the USA, we’ve only seen Savage Tales #1 a handful of times in our 25 years of trading. This is a lovely FN/VF copy, unmarred cover image, tight squarebound spine with only minimal lower spine wear, with excellent interiors, on sale at £250. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Annuals: Continuing our ‘Immaculate Annuals’ event, we revisit TV & Film Related Annuals, from the same pedigree source. As with previous ‘Immaculate’ selections, these are from a newsagent’s inventory, never circulated or read, no prices clipped, no gift dedications, ‘This Book Belongs To’ inscriptions or other interior markings, solid spines, tight corners and bright, vibrant colours. A couple of them, because of slightly marred laminate or a tiny bit of cover fading, do dip to FN/VF, but mostly these are VF to VF/NM, truly lovely items, virtually able to pass for new. Added this listing: Doctor Kildare 1965 and 1966, Emergency Ward 10 1964, Follyfoot 1975, Man From UNCLE 1967 to 1969, No Hiding Place 1966, Orlando 1968, Roger Moore’s Adventure Book 1966, Saint 1968, Star Trek 1970 and 1973 and TV Tornado 1968 (1st) and 1969. Pictured are Man From UNCLE 1969 VF/NM £22.50, Saint 1968 £22.50 and TV Tornado 1968 VF/NM £50. For details on the others, please see the appropriate section of our catalogue listings.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Chunky updates to four favourite titles this week. From the 1950s, Lion 1952/53 the first two years of publication, as earfly as the 4th issue, and from the 1970s, a trio of thrills: Battle from 1975 (its first year) and 1976, including first appearances and the first combo issue with Valiant (23/10/76), Bullet 1976 (from #3) and Roy Of The Rovers, many issues in FN condition from its first year 1976. Many gaps in our inventory now filled (at least temporarily!)

*TV & Film Related Comics: From 1974, Marvel UK’s repackaging of the licensed material spun off from the then-megahit movie franchise, Planet of the Apes. Given the weekly schedule, however, demand for anthropoid antics soon outstripped the sedate bi-monthly pace of the American edition, so even with new material being developed for UK consumption first, the publishers were forced by issue #23 to repurpose the Killraven/War of the Worlds series, rebranding Martians as apes and rechristening the hero ‘Apeslayer’, in one of the more bizarre bodge-jobs of comics history. You can read more about all that in the Extras section of our catalogue. A selection – 28 of the first 36 POTA weeklies – is restocked from #1 upwards, in affordable low to mid grades. Prices and grades in our online catalogue, Get your hands on these damn dirty apes!

*Girl’s Comics: Our spotlight on previously listed stock this week falls on the quintessential Girl’s comic/Magazine Jackie. In 1964, Jackie was launched to bridge female readers between Bunty and Woman’s Own, a brief playtime with the ‘England Swings’ zeitgeist of the day, before girls were expected to settle into consumerist conformism. This debut issue, 11 Jan 1964, features Pin-Ups of Cliff, Elvis and the Beatles, Perfume Tips for a More Kissable You, Dreamy Picture Love Stories and Way-Out Exclusives on all the Popsters – for pity’s sake, what more could you want? Well, how about the original Free Gift – a ‘Twin Heart’ Love Ring – still sealed in its original packaging, never having had a chance to turn anyone’s finger green in the intervening decades? Plus – the Power! The Fury! The senses-shattering debut of Cathy and Claire, Jackie’s indefatigable advice page oracles, dispensing wisdom on bras, boys, and (hushed voice) ladyproblems. Jackie became a watchword for a generation, not bowing out until 1993 with number #1539 (also still in stock, kids!), and is well-remembered today. This Jackie #1 is FN+, just falling short of a higher grade on account of a tiny amount of upper right soft corner creasing. The Free Gift, never opened, is NM. Together, comic and gift can be yours for £175.

*Collected Editions: Those lovely people at Rebellion, bless them, continue to collect and respect the vast and still largely unexplored history of British Comics with their sequential compilations of classic strips, and occasional revivals. This week, we welcome into stock Death Wish Volume 1 by Barrie Tomlinson and artist Vayo, the tale of a Formula 1 driver who, tragically disfigured in a crash, lost the urge to live, taking on ever more outlandish challenges in an attempt to court death. Launched in the short-lived Speed weekly, ‘Death Wish’ carried over into Tiger for a much longer life than in its original home. This is a brand-new softcover at £15. Sweeny Toddler, the gremlin-like two-year old, was the creation of classic comedy artist Leo Baxendale, and Sweeny’s horrendous parental abuse made him a firm favourite in the short-lived Shiver & Shake – from which he leapt to a long run as the lead in Whoopee weekly, finally jumping to Whizzer & Chips! My, he did lead a full life, and Baxendale’s manic invention chronicles every misdeed in obsessive detail! The first volume of Sweeny’s collected misadventures is hardcover, brand new at £15. Finally this update, a companion to the previous all-new Scream & Misty and Buster & Cor Specials, comes Tammy & Jinty Special 2019, in which venerable series from the girls’ comics of yesteryear are given a modern twist in all-new tales of ‘The Justice of Justine’, ‘Maisie’s Magic Eye’ (hang on, weren’t those two originally from Sally?) ‘Bella at the Bar’ and more. This full-colour 48-page mag is brand new at £5.

*DC: While all early issues of Hawkman are superb, with high-flying sci-fi stories by Gardner Fox and luminous Murphy Anderson artwork (not that we’re prejudiced witnesses or anything… ), the most sought-after in recent years is issue #4, featuring the debut of the Princess of Prestidigitation – Zatanna! Zee (as she’s familiarly known), a personal favourite here at 30th Century, is the daughter of DC’s Golden Age magician Zatara, and took her quest for her missing father through the pages of Green Lantern, Atom, Detective Comics and the Justice League of America in one of DC’s earliest ‘story arcs’, but this is where her illustrious career – which has branched out into both animated and live-action TV – began. (And yes, they did miss a bet by not having her featured on the cover – foolish mortals!). This latest copy of Zatanna’s debut is an attractive VG, with light to moderate wear at spine and corners, but tight staples, unmarred cover scene, and flexible off-white interior pages. VG p £140. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: A new selection in of the classic series of Justice League of America, ranging from #58 all the way through to the end of the series #261 plus annuals. Not every issue in that run, but every one of the dozens of issues new in was previously missing from our inventory. Giant issues, anniversary issues and Justice Society crossovers aplenty in this update to DC’s premier team title. As always, see our catalogue for details. 

*Marvel: Ghost Rider had been the title of a short-lived Western series of the 1960s, and in 1972, writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog reinterpreted the cowboy trope with the nearest modern equivalent – a motorbike rider! In the wake of ‘Easy Rider’ and adding in lashings of the then-popular Satanic-possession movies, they came up with Johnny Blaze, stunt-rider turned emissary of Satan, having sacrificed his soul to save his loved ones. But this being a Code-Approved Marvel comic, Johnny’s battle of wills with his demonic master usually led to his actions coming down on the side of good, despite Old Nick’s best efforts. Ghost Rider went on to 80+ issues of his original series after a successful run in Marvel Spotlight, and despite two truly execrable Nicolas Cage-starring movies, remains a mainstay of the Marvel Universe today. This copy of his first appearance is a CGC Blue Label (unrestored), at 4.0, VG equivalent, on sale at £280. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD