*Clearance Corner: Our bargain basement offerings are back with a difference this week! Rather than bundling up a lot for your consideration, we’re offering you a chance to pick any issues you want from our listing of Rover, the UK comic story paper that ran from 1922 to 1973, for just 50p each! Ignore the individual prices shown in our catalogue. We have hundreds in stock from 1933-1973, all listed in our Boys’ Adventure & War Comics category. One of D C Thomson’s Big Five, Rover thrilled generations of boys through the middle of the 20th Century, and absorbed stablemates Adventure & Wizard along the way (all issues known as Rover & Adventure and Rover & Wizard are included in this offer). Shop visitors can of course pick up any quantity; mail order is for a minimum of 20 issues (£10) plus p&p. As with all Clearance Corner lots, this is only available by mail order to UK addresses, since the cost of shipping elsewhere is unviable. This offer will remain available while stocks last but once they’re gone, they’re gone!
Category Archives: What’s New
American Update: A Miscellany of Batmania
*DC: A chiropteran cornucopia in this week’s Batmania instalment, as we add to Batman ‘proper’ (including issues from #109 through to the special 200th Anniversary issue (pictured VF p £60), to issues #492 and #497 – issues beyond our usual listings, but included as, being a Platinum edition and a signed copy respectively, they’re out of the ordinary. Not content with that, Batman Annual is topped up at the end of the Silver Age range, Batman Adventures #28 brings us an early appearance of Harley Quinn in the comics realm, DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular delivers Batman as the lead backed up by other non-powered adventurers such as Black Canary and Dr. Mid-Nite, and finally, Detective Comics #476 brings us a definitive issue of Englehart and Rogers’ ‘Joker Fish’ saga!
American Update: Living on Borrowed Time – Challengers of the Unknown
*DC: Originally co-created by Jack Kirby in Showcase #6, the Challengers of the Unknown were four adventurers who were brought together by a plane crash that ought, by all reason, to have killed them. Since they were ‘living on borrowed time’, the quartet decided to use their special skills to fight all threats, terrestrial and otherwise, to the betterment of humankind. Later joined by two honorary lady members (it was the Sixties…), the Challengers mainly ended up fighting monsters, aliens, robots, and at least one monster alien robot woman! Fondly recalled by many as sporting some of the goofier nemeses of the Silver Age, we have added 16 new issues to our listings of the Challengers’ own series, from #21 through to #74. Highlights include their crossover with the other Champions of the Bizarre, the Doom Patrol, in #48, and a Deadman guest-appearance illustrated by Neal Adams in #74, but each and every issue has a distinctive quality you won’t find anywhere else.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of the Mighty Thor! Journey Into Mystery #83 at £1,250
*Marvel: One of the major milestones of the early Marvel Age, Journey Into Mystery – like several companion titles, previously devoted to what we’ve termed ‘Big Panty Monsters’ – had an epiphany with its 83rd issue, and introduced timid Doctor Don Blake, who assumed (or, as it was later revealed, resumed) the mantle of Thor, God of Thunder. Although the creators hedged their bets by having Thor fight Big-Panty Monsters in his first issue – the Stone Men of Saturn – they needn’t have worried, as Lee & Kirby’s creation was an instant hit, and spawned countless more comics, plus an ever-increasing number of successful movies in later years. This copy is Pence priced, and graded as Apparent VG-. The ‘Apparent’ is because at some time in the comic’s past, attempts have been made to erase a heavy-handed pencilled figure ‘6’ on the front cover; the original figure was written so ham-fistedly that it has creased and almost penetrated a segment of the cover (the curved corner at the lower right of the ‘mighty Thor’ blurb), and the faint pencil erasure mostly affects the area around the Stone Men’s landing craft, mid-upper cover. The deep crease on the front cover blurb, however, does not impact upon the splash page. Despite these drawbacks, the overall appearance of the issue is extremely attractive, with bright colours, moderate spine wear and off-white flexible interior pages. Scans of the front and back covers and the splash page of this hotly-pursued collectors’ item are reproduced below. High resolution images are available on request. Journey Into Mystery #83 App. VG- p £1,250. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania: Amazing Spider-Man #50, with Kingpin debut and iconic cover scene
*Marvel: Of the post-Ditko run of Amazing Spider-Man, one of the most in-demand issues is #50, wherein artist John Romita hit his stride and started doing some of the finest work of his career. The cover to #50, with Peter’s temporary abandoning his Spider-Man identity, has become etched in the minds of a generation, endlessly imitated and ‘homaged’, and as if that wasn’t enough, this epic issue featured the first appearance of the Kingpin, one of Spider-Man’s most significant villains! (Later shoplifted by Daredevil, but that was a decade or two in the future…) Our newest copy of ASM #50 is GD, a pence copy with light spine and corner wear. Centrefold is loose, cover firmly attached. Largely unimpaired cover scene, with only a few tiny flecks of broken colour on Spidey’s torso. Interiors clean, off-white, flexible, a mid-grade copy with considerable eye appeal. GD p £65. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Some Assembly Required! Silver Age Avengers from #11 to #67
*Marvel: A selection of the ever-popular Avengers, now bigger than ever following several popular cinematic smashes; this is the ‘proper’ series, from the 1960s, a dozen new issues including #11 (first Avengers cross-over with the Amazing Spider-Man), #15 (death of Baron Zemo), #18 VF £65 (pictured; a beautiful copy with deep cover colour and gloss), #19 FN+ £55 (pictured; Debut of the Swordsman, small lower cover edge tear) #52 (first Grim Reaper), #54 (1st Ultron cameo) and more!
American Update: ‘This Female Fights Back!’ – Ms Marvel from 1977
*Marvel: ‘This Female Fights Back!’ was the tagline of Ms Marvel, Marvel Comics’ attempt to publish a solo heroine with a bit more longevity than 1972’s Claws of the Cat. Spinning out of Captain Marvel, former background character Carol Danvers got her own set of super-powers and a whole new supporting cast (including new boss J. Jonah Jameson) as she attempted to discover the mystery behind her own origins. Although moderately successful, the series was attacked by critics who derided Carol’s derivative costume, which made her look like Captain Marvel’s sidekick, and the fact that Marvel were offering a ‘powerful, confident’ heroine who suffered from blackouts and amnesia. Despite these jibes, Ms Marvel has been a prominent member of the Marvel Universe for nearly forty years in one guise or another – whether as Ms Marvel, Binary, Warbird, or most recently the latest Captain Marvel, her chequered history has provided many intriguing plotlines. With the Captain Marvel movie, starring the Carol Danvers iteration of the character, launching in 2019, early appearances of the character are hotting up, and in view of extensive recent sales, we’ve taken the opportunity to completely refresh our listing for ‘Captain Carol’, deleting sold items and adding in 18 new listings for numbers between #2 to #23, the final issue of her original series, mostly in respectable and affordable mid-grades. Buy ’em while you can!
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Speed Carter, Spaceman
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: In the 1950s, Atlas, like most publishers, was scrambling around different genres to find the next ‘big thing’, and one such experiment was 1953’s Speed Carter, Spaceman, Flash Gordonesque space opera as Speed, accompanied by plucky sidekick Johnny and the shapely Stellar Stone, went where no man had gone before. These pulpy adventures were high on action and tinged with horror, as the publisher tried to cover all bases, but Speed Carter Spaceman, (technically, in the indicia, ‘Spaceman’: On the cover, ‘Speed Carter Spaceman and the Space Sentinels’ – no possible confusion there…) didn’t catch on with the public despite some quality work, and had only a short 6-issue run, initially illustrated by the superb Joe Maeely. We have four of the six back in stock: #1 (FA/GD £70 pictured), #2 (GD/VG £75 pictured) and #4 & #5. Whenever we’ve had Speed before (‘scuse the expression), he’s left the premises with appropriate alacrity, so don’t hang about!
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Mega-Fest: Shocking Black Cat #50 ‘White Heat’ Cover – Infamously Lurid Pre-Code Classic
*Horror 1940-1959: Following its modestly successful run as a super-hero title, Harvey Comics’ Black Cat jumped on board the horror trend, and rapidly became known for some of the most gory and lurid stories of the Pre-Code Era. While generally acknowledged as one of the most consistent in terms of quality, with artists such as Powell, Fujitani, Elias and Nostrand, Harvey was never afraid to go for the gross-out shocker, and none of their covers had more notoriety than this issue’s featuring an unfortunate gentleman who has apparently mistaken a tube of radium for a tube of Polos. As you can imagine, it doesn’t end well. Widely vilified at the time by Doctor Wertham and his censorious associates (and many copies consequently destroyed), this is one of the rarest and most sought-after Harvey Pre-Code horror issues. This copy is in reasonable shape, with a loose but present centrefold, moderate edge and corner wear, and one horizontal tear mid-cover (approx 3″), which nevertheless does not detract from the cover scene. Images of this item’s front and back covers and splash page are reproduced below. High resolution images are available on request. Graded at GD- and priced at £700. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Vintage Love – A Quartet of Romances
*Romance: Sadly, Romance is one of the poor relations in our incoming Atlas haul, with only a fabulous foursome of low-to-mid grade Atlas romance comics, but featuring the storytelling finesse of Jay Scott Pike, Al Hartley, Werner Roth and, okay, Vince Colletta, but you can’t have everything! Girl Confessions #33, Love Tales #52, Secret Story Romances #18 and True Tales of Love #27 bring us moonlight-dappled sagas such as ‘His Kind of Girl!’, ‘The Truth About Trudy Lester!’, ‘A Man Of My Own!’ and other vignettes from yesterday’s battle of the sexes – today!
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Wild Western – Starring Black Rider, Ringo Kid, Kid Colt and more
*Western: Heading up the Western branch of our Atlas Explosion event comes one of Timely/Atlas’ earliest Western series, Wild Western (Wild West for its first two issues), an anthology title which ran from 1948 to 1957. Occasionally spotlighting one character in several stories, more often it presented a variety of features, with many of Atlas’ established Western heroes – Apache Kid, Black Rider, Gunhawk, Two-Gun Kid, Ringo Kid, Kid Colt Outlaw and more we’ve forgotten – stopping by for a spell! We have 39 of the series’ 57 issues new in stock, commencing with issue #13 and concluding with that final issue, #57. Artists involved include Colan, Berg, Maneely, Heath, Severin, Powell, Romita and Shores, to name but a few. Pictured are #14 (VG+ £34) and #21 (FN £32); for grades and prices on the others, see our online catalogue, and check in again in the near future for more from our Atlas Western Round-Up!
British Update: First Quenchers with Free Gift Farrago: Action #1 with ‘Red Arrow’ Flyer
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: From 14th February 1976, the first issue of the notorious British Boys’ weekly, Action, home of Hookjaw the cuddly man-eating shark, and several other strips of unprecedented violence at the time, provoking such outraged maidenly shriekings from censorious protestors that the comic was suspended later that year, to come back in a muted version. This is the real deal, pre-ban #1, in respectable VG; moderate corner and edge wear, but very clean and presentable – and the original free gift of a Red Arrow Flyer – i.e., bit of plastic in the vague shape of an aircraft – in VF. Our price for the comic (VG) and the accompanying Free Gift (VF): £75. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: Fleetway Super Library Stupendous Series! Extra-length adventures of the Steel Claw and the Spider
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: After too long an absence we’re delighted to welcome a few issues of the Fleetway Super Library Stupendous Series! Entitled Fantastic Series for the first two issues (rebranded, we believe, to avoid confusion with Power Comics’ Fantastic weekly, which was in publication at the time) this ran from 1967 to 1968. Originally published fortnightly, these extra-long digests provided 100+ pages of (as far as we know) all-new adventures, not reprinted from the weekly comics. Like its companion Libraries (Front Line and Secret Agent), Fantastic/Stupendous alternated its cover stars, and here we have alternating tales of Valiant’s Steel Claw – intermittently invisible super-agent Louis Crandell – and from Lion, the Spider, megalomaniac anti-hero and scientific genius! Seven new issues in, from #5 to #19. ‘The Man Who Stole New York’, ‘March of the Gorillas’, ‘City Beneath the Sand’ and other extra-length epics can be yours – if you’re quick! Pictured are #10 and #14, both FN/VF £22.50 each. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: Long Hot Summer: Look-In Specials and Extras from the 1980s
*TV & Film Related Comics: The eternally-popular ‘Junior TV Times’ is refreshed this week with some Summer Extras and Winter Specials from the 1980s, the decade of Wham!, The A-Team, Christopher Reeve, Worzel Gummidge, and, hey, even some people who are still alive! Pop, TV tie-ins, and comic strips galore, plus a bonus Danger Mouse solo Special from 1982!
British Update: Bunty and Judy Picture Libraries – many from the first 50
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A nice substantial update to our stocks of the D.C. Thomson Girls’ Picture Libraries: Bunty and Judy, the ‘Big Sisters’, are represented by 22 of each from their respective first 50 numbers, Bunty commencing with #8 (VG £12) and Judy from #2 (GD £10). There’s also a scattering of their younger sisters, Debbie and Mandy Picture Libraries, added in this week. Join ‘Ballerina Behind Bars’, ‘Becky’s Buffalo’, ‘Bess of the Black Arrows’ and the ‘Slaves of the Staring Eye’ for fun and adventure!
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 Books Section:
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.
Clearance Corner: 12 issues of Blighty from 1958 for £15
*Clearance Corner: Not strictly a comic, so a little outside our normal bill of fare, Blighty magazine from the 1950s presented a slice of British life and was quite highly regarded in its day. A precursor of later magazines such as Tit-Bits and Parade (which is what Blighty migrated into), Blighty pervaded humour, sports, cartoons, glamour, show-biz etc in its 32 pages and the issues featured in this bargain lot all sport very attractive painted good-girl covers by Tomkins. All 12 on offer date from 1958 and are in reasonable condition. Yours for just £15 (UK postage if required will be an extra £3.50). SORRY, THIS LOT HAS NOW SOLD
What’s Old: Champion #1 (1966)
Our spotlight on previously-listed stock this week falls on one of the less well kn own British comics from the 1960s, when IPC/Fleetway launched not one, but two weekly adventure comics that were heavily promoted as ‘Companion papers to Valiant’, neither of which, peculiarly, ended up merging with Valiant; one such was Hurricane, which merged with Tiger and the other was Champion. 1966’s Champion #1 looked a bit odd to contemporary audiences, because more than half its content (though the readers had no way of knowing it at the time) was reprinted from European sources. Among the new material, though, was some imaginative stuff, including ‘Return of the Stormtroopers’, ‘School for Spacemen’, and a bona-fide superhero, ‘The Phantom Viking’. Readers didn’t take to the imports, though and after only fifteen issues, the title folded into Lion, with ‘Phantom Viking’, ‘Stormtroopers’ and a couple of humour strips making the leap across. This debut issue of a now-collectible short run is a lowish grade FA/GD at £25, with a small cover tear and spine wear. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
British Update: Third Time’s The Charm! Misty and Halo Jones – 3rd Collections for both acclaimed series
*Collected Editions: The renaissance of classic British comics continues, with this week’s release of two new collections: Ballad of Halo Jones Volume 3, with Alan Moore and Ian Gibson’s futuristic everywoman ending up on a decaying ghostworld, with no hope for a future, and no way out except by joining the military! Meanwhile, in Misty Volume 3, the archive from the popular girls’ mystery weekly collects ‘Wolf Girl'”, by Eduardo Feito and Jordi Badia Romero, together with a selection of shorter subjects from the anthology, many of which themselves have a lycanthropic theme. Both of these are brand-new retrospective paperback collections, Halo Jones at £10 and Misty at £14.
American Update: Batmania Golden Age! Batman #34 (1946)
*DC: Golden Age issues of Batman are seldom seen even in his native USA, let alone the UK, where wide-scale distribution was unheard of until the late 1950s. We’ve been very lucky with some of our previous Bat-Acquisitions, and that lucky streak continues with Batman #34, April-May 1946, a post-war classic featuring three Batman tales: ‘Marathon of Menace!’, ‘Ally Babble and the Four Tea Leaves!’ (no, it’s not Cockney Rhyming Slang… ) and a Robin Vs. Batman story, ‘Master Vs. Pupil!’, as well as a solo Adventure of Alfred, ‘Tired Tracks’. A very small lower spine split and a slight irregular tear at the bottom back cover edge are the only drawbacks for this stunning copy with vivid cover colour, flexible off-white interiors, and firm staples at cover and centrefold. FN- at £350. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: The Silver Age of Action Comics
*DC: A nice top-up to our stocks of Action Comics from the classic SIlver Age (mainly), with Superman at his best, running from #279-439, with the emphasis on the earlier part of that range and mostly featuring issues previously missing from our listing. All the earlier issues co-star Supergirl, with a few later Legion of Super-Heroes and other back-ups.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: The Galactus Trilogy! Fantastic Four issues #48-50 with Galactus and Silver Surfer Debuts
*Marvel: One of the most sought-after story arcs of the 1960s is the trinity of Fantastic Four issues which introduced the Silver Surfer, a cosmic-powered being the equal of the combined FF… and the Surfer’s master, Galactus, an entity of even more monstrous might! Both became major figures in the Marvel Universe, with the Surfer repenting his role as Galactus’ herald and choosing the side of justice, while Galactus’ insatiable hunger drives him ever onwards to heinous acts. Issue #48 is Good, a cents copy with no pence overstamp, with moderate spine wear and corner creasing, but an unimpaired cover scene. #49 is Fine, a pence copy with beautiful cover colour and very light edge wear and #50 is the brightest of the three at FN+ p. A chance to get one of the groundbreaking early Marvel epics in its entirety. Fantastic Four #48 GD £150; #49 FN p £110 and 50 FN+ p £155. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania: Amazing Spider-Man #10 – Lee/Ditko Classic, with the debut of the Enforcers
*Marvel: In Spider-Man’s tenth issue, the mysterious ‘Big Man’ sought aid in his goal to become the king of the underworld, and enlisted the assistance of a trio of career criminals known as the Enforcers. One of them, the Ox, went on to become a nemesis of Daredevil, and enjoy a villainous career in his own right, but still ‘got the band together’ from time to time with his cohorts, Dapper Dan and Montana to battle the Human Torch, Dazzler and multiple clashes with Spider-Man and Daredevil. This vintage issue is a highly attractive VG pence copy, the only immediately visible flaw being a patch of spine wear around the ‘Big Man’s right side. However, full disclosure, there is a light colour touch (not immediately apparent) on Spidey’s thighs, which does not bleed through to the inside front cover. Because of this very minor restore, we have graded this copy, which in every other respect would be a Fine or better, at VG p at £130.
American Update: Iron Man #1 – Shell-Head’s First Solo Issue
*Marvel: After a long run as the co-star of Tales of Suspense, Iron Man was given his own title in 1968, when the ‘Berlin Wall’ of Marvel’s distribution was broken down, and they were allowed to expand their range of titles. New in this week, a lowishgraded copy of Iron Man’s first stunning solo issue, continuing from where his strip in Tales of Suspense left off, with Gene Colan’s hyperkinetic art driving the drama onward! A key item for collectors and investors alike, this is a pence copy, with moderate corner wear and a light middle crease, with a small ‘scuff’ in Iron Man’s, ahem, swimming-trunk area. Otherwise, a very sound and presentable GD- p at £75. Iron Man’s pivotal status in the Marvel Universe means that demand for this issue is only going to increase as the years go by, so this is a tempting relatively affordable key copy. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: New Mutants #87 – First Full Appearance of Cable
*Marvel: The 87th issue of the ‘junior X-Men’ series, New Mutants, featured the first full appearance (he had made a fleeting walk-on in the previous) of the man named Cable, the man from an apocalyptic near-future, son of Scott Summers by a cloned replica of Jean Grey, who came back in time to prevent his own future from coming to pass. Or something like that. His powers include metal bits, a strappy costume, really big guns, and glaring a lot. With a shiny eye, for no very good reason. Anyway, he took over the stewardship of the New Mutants from Magneto, and eventually honed the survivors into X-Force, a dubious achievement for which no-one should thank him. He’s since bobbed back between ‘now’ and the future, interfering with his own and the world’s time stream, and accosting various mutant children to become the Hope of the World. Kind of like Mary Poppins, he’s a super-powered nanny with metal limbs. Confusing back history and ambiguous abilities or not, his co-starring role in the record-breaking second Deadpool film has caused interest in the character’s early appearances to peak. This copy of the mulleted marvel’s debut is FN p £55, but – because we’re too good to you – we also have the sold-out second printing available in NM at £17.
American Update: Strange Things! Huge update on Doctor Strange (second series)
*Marvel: Following his revival in Marvel Premiere (and boosted by his co-starring role in the Defenders), Marvel’s Master of the Mystic Arts returned to his own series in 1974, in all-new adventures illustrated by some of Marvel’s finest artists. Frank Brunner, Gene Colan, Marshall Rogers, Paul Smith, Steve Leialoha, Mike Golden, Mike Mignola – all contributed to this series at various times, making it one of the most consistently reliable visual treats for the discerning punter. We have 50+ issues new in, including many not represented in our stock (which took an understandable beating after the Doctor’s recent cinematic triumph) from#4 of the second ongoing series to the final issue, #81, and including the 1976 Doctor Strange Annual, a rather lovely non-distributed extravaganza superbly delineated by P. Craig Russell.
American Update: Everything’s Archie! Catalogue Expansion and ‘New’ Vintage Stock
*Archie: We’ve always been keen supporters of Archie here at 30th Century, and with the Archie series’ recent relaunch in a teen-soap style emulating the popular ‘Riverdale’ TV series, we’ve decided to upgrade our catalogue listing for Archie’s own title up to the final issue of the traditional, original series. This includes such attention-getting stories as the ‘Archie Marries Betty/Marries Veronica’ seven parter and its follow-up ‘Archie Marries Valerie’: ‘Obama Vs. Palin’: ‘Occupy Riverdale’: the charming gender-flip comedy ‘Reversedale’: and many more experimental issues, including crossovers with Glee, Kiss, Thor (well kind of) and Dilton Doiley’s epic battle with… Mark Zuckerberg? This catalogue expansion goes all the way up to the final issue #666, including, at the time of writing, all the #666 variants, plus other sought-after later Archie issues such as the scarce Adam Hughes variant cover on Betty & Veronica, and the debut of Riverdale’s first gay character, Kevin Keller, in Veronica’s solo title. But not content with that, we also have additional vintage Archie issues from Archie Annual, Betty & Veronica, Jughead as Captain hero, Laugh, Life With Archie, and Reggie and Me. See you at the Chok’lit Shop!
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Lorna the Jungle Queen/Girl
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Our Atlas Explosion event continues this week with a personal favourite. Created by Don Rico and Werner Roth, Lorna the Jungle Queen (later Girl) made her debut in her own series commencing in 1953. Heavily patterned after Fiction House’s Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, (possibly prompting the title change after FH protested) it told the tale of a Caucasian baby girl whose father, after her Mum died in childbirth, took the baby to Africa where he promptly got killed by a lion. As you do. Raised by kindly Chief M’Tuba (he was a big noise), the infant Lorna developed formidable physical skills and an almost mystical rapport with jungle critters. Lorna grew up to be the protector of the wilds, aided and occasionally hindered by her helpless doll-like boyfriend Greg Knight, who often got his own spin-off stories. So far, so cliche; but what distinguished Lorna from the pack was the often very striking artwork – including Roth, Russ Heath, Joe Maneely, Syd Shores, and several lush covers by Bill Everett. Lorna’s own series ran for 26 issues, and we have 24 of them (lacking only #2 and #6). Issue #1, pictured, is GD+ at £55; the grades and prices of the rest may be seen in our online catalogue.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Pre-code Horror Mega-Fest continues with Suspense
*Horror 1940-1959: Suspense (1949-1953), not to be confused with the later Tales of Suspense, was one of Atlas’ most popular horror series – though, oddly, it began not as horror but as crime, adapted very loosely from a popular radio series (later television) of the era. After the first two crime issues, it switched to supernatural mysteries rather than criminal mysteries, but for the first nine issues still proudly proclaimed its media tie-in status on the front cover. The publishers also seemed unafraid to experiment with the format, fluctuating between 48 and 32 interior pages, so most of the early issues are good value for money in terms of page count. As one of Atlas’ earliest horror titles, and the first to go monthly, it’s fascinating to watch the evolution of the series, aided, as always, by the top-notch stable of artists – Maneely, Heath, Everett and more, who produced some splendidly lurid and imaginative work, particularly on the covers! we have 25 of the 29-issue run now in stock, commencing with #4 and ending with the final issue #29. Most of these are in very affordable low to mid grades, respectable reading copies, complete, clean and with varying degrees of wear. A handful, however, do achieve higher grades and are illustrated below – #12 VG+ £82, #13 VG+ £82, #16 VG £73, #18 GD/VG £56. All of Suspense was Pre-Code, not subject to the later censorship that trammelled the genre, so here’s a rare opportunity to grab most of a renowned series – if you’re quick!
American Update: The Atlas Explosion! Hedy Devine – Classic Golden Age Funny Girl Antics
*Teen Hunour/Funny Girls: Of the myriad comics in our Atlas Explosion event, only one of them, sadly, falls into the popular ‘Funny Girl’ sub-genre – Hedy De Vine #32, from 1949, featuring, in addition to the wacky antics of Hollywood actress Hedy and her gal-pals Tessie the Typist and (apparently-unemployed) Lana, an editorial from the Timely/Atlas management decrying the then-prominent movement by Dr. Frederic Wertham and his chums, who blamed comic books for juvenile delinquency and eventually led to the formation of the censorious Comics Code Authority. So you get girls, giggles and political commentary in this issue – there’s a bargain for you! This is a FA/GD copy, generally sound but with several small cover tears and a small hole in the cover, around Hedy’s knee. For sale at £22.
American Update: Alter Ego: First 60 issues of Roy Thomas’ ‘Prozine’ Back In Stock
*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: In the latter days of the 20th Century, Roy Thomas parlayed his long career as writer and editor to revive his former fanzine Alter Ego, now as a slick semi-pro ‘zine in which he could exploit his network of contacts to gather data from all aspects of the Golden and Silver Age of comics, including conducting interviews with all the surviving veterans he could reach. This labour of love proved successful, and is still running today – but we have acquired the first sixty issues of AE (2nd series), with a plethora of interviews, retrospectives, commentaries and seldom-seen or never-published artwork, covering not only Marvel and DC, but all of the companies of the Golden and Silver Ages. Issue #1, pictured, is NM £25; prices on the others, as always, to be found in our online catalogue.
British Update: Behold… The Wolverine! Logan’s Early Appearances reprinted in Mighty World of Marvel #197-199
*Marvel UK: Key Marvel issues reprinted in British publications have become very sought after collectables in recent years, and have risen in price significantly. Such an example is Mighty World Of Marvel #197, #198 & #199, the first reprints of the earliest appearances of Wolverine! #197 represented Wolverine’s first cameo appearance from Hulk #180, and the first ‘Full Wolvy’, from Hulk #181, was divided over MWOM #198 & #199. These issues sliced the original stories in half, slapped a new splash page (don’t get too excited, it’s usually Ron Wilson) on the second segment, and gave readers all the black & white excitement they could stand! Issue #197 is VG/FN at £15, issue #198 FN £60 and issue #199 FN £30.
British Update: First Quenchers – Low to Mid-Grade Boys’ Adventure Titles (and Bonus Bullets)
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A captivating quintet of first issues from various eras of the UK comics industry: from 1988, in the wake of the ‘Comics Aren’t Just For Kids’ hullaballoo, Crisis #1, looking at the planet’s nihilistic future VG £4; from 1970, the first issue of the footie-themed Scorcher, PR at a mere £7.50 – a corner off the back cover impedes the ‘Big Match Review’, but all other features intact; also from 1970, the first ‘reboot’ issue of the Wizard FA/GD £12.50 with a small corner off the lower front cover not affecting the story content and from 1974, Warlord #1 VG £15. Finally, Bullet #1 from 1976, home of the mulleted and moustachioed ‘Medallion Man’ Fireball and his chums, GD £20, plus issues 2 and 3 for those of you who just can’t get enough!
British Update: Long Hot Summer – All-War Holiday/Summer Specials
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: From the 1980s, Specials of the short-lived All-War Monthly, which, like the publishers’ Tarzan/ERB titles, gathered up European material and translated it for a UK audience. New additions are the 1980 Holiday Special in FN/VF at £4.50, and the 1981 Summer Special in GD £2.25. Whether the series lasted long enough to have a 1982 Special is, as yet, one of the undiscovered mysteries of British Comics… SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
British Update: First Quenchers with Free Gift Farrago! Tina #1 (and her Troll)
*Girls’ Comics: From 1967, the trans-European Tina, launched in multiple language editions, was so heavily pre-sold prior to its launch that it could legitimately claim, even on the front of its debut issue, ‘More copies sold than any other girl’s paper in the world!’ With a strong adventure-oriented line-up, curvaceous secret agent ‘Jane Bond’ illustrated by Michael Hubbard, was the lead, and the ‘Space Girls’ (in colour, by Dan Dare illustrator Keith Watson) added a sci-fi touch. Other features which debuted here were ‘Moira – Slave Girl of Rome’, exotic island drama with Brenda Burn and ‘My Chum Yum-Yum’, pop musicians ‘Jackie and the Wild Boys’, western adventuress ‘Glory Gold’ and ‘Barbie’. Yep, that Barbie. After thirty issues, Tina merged with Princess and lived a long and happy life as Princess Tina, but the pre-Princess issues remain scarce. This copy of #1 comes with its original free gift, ‘Gold Plated’ Troll Brooch! (bear in mind that in 1967, phrases like that were understood not to imply that there was any actual gold involved…) The ‘gold’ of the brooch has partially flaked off over the intervening decades, giving the badge a slightly grubby aspect, but the comic itself is Fine; the troll brooch, structurally sound, we have graded as GD/VG. Our price for the two together: £50.
British Update: When Tammy Met Sally – ‘combo’ issues from 1971
*Girls’ Comics: Sally, the ‘Comic For the Adventurous Girl’, started strongly but lost traction with interrupted publication owing to print strikes, and a major editorial ‘about-face’ mid-stream, so it was sad but unsurprising when she fell under the wheels of the upstart Tammy, whose grittier stories, mostly concerning working-class heroines who were cruelly treated, had made it a smash hit. Less than two months after Tammy’s launch, she picked up Sally’s survivors – ‘Cat Girl’, ‘Sara’s Kingdom’, and the big hit ‘Maisie’s Magic Eye’ – to add lustre to her line-up, and didn’t look back for almost a decade and a half! We don’t have the first Tammy/Sally combo issue in stock, but we do have a respectable selection from this period, twenty new issues from April to September 1971, mostly previously unlisted in our stock.
British Update: Eagle fanzines and stock relocation
*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics: We’re pleased to announce a significant update to this small category, comprising the Eagle/Dan Dare fan magazines Spaceship Away! (Nearly complete run of #1-#43 fresh in — a title still being published today!) and, from an earlier era, an extensive run not only of Eagle Times, the Quarterly Journal of the Eagle Society, but also its precursor, Eagle Days. Started in 1986, when many of the original Eagle contributors were still around, these magazines contain a plethora of information about the classic weekly and its companion papers, and, being a club journal rather than a general-audience publication, have never been widely circulated. We have several issues of Eagle Days, from the very first, and most, though not all, Eagle Times from Volume Four onwards, with a scattering of earlier issues. Due to the expansion, this category has now been relocated to our basement, where you’ll find it between Younger Readers’ Comics and Boys’ Adventure & War Comics.
What’s Old: Whizzer and Chips First Holiday Special from 1970
Our spotlight on previously listed stock this week falls on a fan favourite. Among the last of the great and long-running humour launches, Whizzer & Chips began in 1969 with the inexplicable but oddly effective concept of having two rival ‘comics’ in the same magazine, and locked in a deadly rivalry. Whether you were a ‘Whiz-Kid’ or a ‘Chip-Ite’ caused many a playground scuffle back in the day! From 1970, this friendly rivalry was expanded into extra-length Holiday Specials (some called ‘Summer Specials’), and we are have the very first, in an attractive VG at £25. ‘Sid’s Snake’, ‘Shiner’, ‘Wear ‘Em Out Wilf’, ‘Odd Ball’, ‘The Toughs and the Toffs’, ‘Fuss Pot’, ‘Sweet Tooth’, and more are waiting for you to join them! Whizzer & Chips Holiday Special 1970 VG at £25.
Clearance Corner: 13 Giant Marvel reprints from the 1960s for just £20
*Clearance Corner: This week’s bargain in Clearance Corner is another of our irresistible Marvel reprint job lots from the 1960s — those (mostly) giant issues featuring classic tales from the dawn of the Marvel Age (or even earlier, in some cases). 13 issues included in this £20 selection: Fantasy Masterpieces #1-4, #6, #7, #9 & #10, Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics #1 & #4 and Marvel Tales #6, #8 & #10. Mostly in decent shape, one a bit ragged, one missing a back cover. These always sell very fast indeed, so get your order in early! (UK postage, if required, will be an extra £3.50). SORRY, THIS LOT HAS 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 American section:
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.
American Update: Beware… The Creeper! Debut of Ditko’s Creation in Showcase #73
*DC: After his abandoning Marvel, Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, moved over to DC, where one of his earliest assignments was the Creeper, a bizarre anti-hero created when TV reporter and commentator Jack Ryder, fired for his outspoken views, falls in with scientist Dr. Yatz, whose knowledge gives Ryder greatly enhanced strength, agility and damage resistance, which he uses to terrify monsters and enforce his own kind of justice. Although ostensibly scripted by Denny O’Neil, the plot and opinions carry strong flavours of Ditko’s own libertarian views, and present a considerably more politically-motivated hero than was commonplace at the time. The art, though, is what sells the book, a newly refreshed and remotivated Ditko turning out moody, vertiginous artwork fully exploiting the character’s agility. The Creeper remains a recurring figure in the DCU, and this copy of his premier appearance is a stunning VF, bright and lustrous with only minimal spine wear. VF p £50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Batmania: Watching The Detectives
*DC: This week’s Batmania update features Detective Comics, the title where it all started, with a nice new run in, in a mixture of grades straddling the old and new look which dominated the 1960s, and the 10 cent to 12 cent price change. Issues between #245 to #382 filling our boxes with many now in a choice of grades.
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: 1st full Wolverine appearance in Hulk #181
*Marvel: Our Mighty Marvel Firsts sequence continues this week with the most sought-after comic of the 1970s. Hulk #181 features the first full appearance of Wolverine, the Canadian super-hero who, outstripping everyone’s expectations, became the most popular Marvel character created since the dawn of the Marvel Age. Created by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe (from a John Romita design), Wolvy was revived by Wein when he put together the ‘New’ X-Men who debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and since then, Wolverine has become the star of the lucrative X-Men franchise, and a multi-media darling in his own right. This issue, where it all really kicked off following a one-panel cameo in the preceding ish, has good interior page quality, excellent cover colour and a number of faint fine creases at cover edges and corners which do not in any way detract from the cover scene. There is light spine roll, causing the back cover to ‘lean’ slightly, but staples are attached at cover and centrefold and, most crucially, the Marvel Value Stamp (probably the most important appearance of Shanna the She-Devil, bless her!) is still in place. This promotional coupon is the blight of Marvels from a certain period, often clipped and missing – but not in this instance! Between the frequently-missing Marvel Value Stamp, and the fact that this issue was never distributed in the UK, intact copies of Hulk #181 in any grade are at a premium. We have graded this full debut of Marvel’s most popular mutant at VG-, and the price is £950. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Captain America’s Relaunch with issue #100
*Marvel: Following his return to active service in Avengers #4, Captain America became a companion feature of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense. Following 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 (though between the retelling of his origins and his ongoing plotlines, he certainly had enough pals along in his first issue!). This copy is a very respectable VG pence edition, with moderate spine wear and a light book centre stamp just below the faint distribution mark at the cover’s right edge. A clean, appealing copy of a premier issue, VG p £70. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD
American Update: Behold… A Stranger! Cosmic Entity Debuts in X-Men #11
*Marvel: In the 11th issue of the X-Men, Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants accosted a mysterious figure who appeared to be a mutant possessing power to dwarf even Magneto’s own – but the Stranger was soon revealed to be much, much more, a cosmic entity rivalling the Watcher in might, but, unlike Uatu and his chums, all too willing to use that power! A chain of events began which led to the dissolution of the Brotherhood, and the beginning of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch’s road to heroic redemption, all in this Lee/Kirby classic – oh, and Chuck X. and his merry mutant students are in there too! This is a very lovely FN- cents copy on sale at £90.
American Update: Low Grade Daredevil #2 & #3
*Marvel: Two early Daredevils in very affordable low grades this week: his second issue, featuring crossover Spidey villain Electro and a fleeting appearance by the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing, and his third issue, with the debut of one of DD’s most enduring villains, the Owl, a seemingly harmless portly gent about whose evil schemes our hero swiftly learned to give a hoot. They’re ropey, but complete, so swoop in while the getting’s good! DD #2 is FA p £25, #3 PR/FA p £11. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD
American Update: Marvel’s Space-Born Super Hero, Captain Marvel
*Marvel: One of many new titles launching for Marvel in 1968, we present a chunky run of Captain Marvel, most of the first 20 odd issues starting with #2, including the costume change in #17, and #28 (4th Thanos) and #29 when the good captain attained true cosmicosity at the hands of Jim Starlin.
American Update: The Sound of Thunder… Tower’s THUNDER Agents and associates newly restocked
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: In the 1960s, the spy craze and the super-hero craze were both in full swing – so what could be better than a series about spies who were superheroes? Enter the THUNDER Agents – The Hugher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserve, for those of you who were wondering – Dynamo, NoMan, Menthor, Lightning, Raven and their non-enhanced support team the THUNDER Squad, fronted by the lethal and lovely Katherine ‘Kitten’ Kane. This crack team took down threats domestic, foreign and extraterrestrial, in team and solo adventures illustrated by the very finest artists of the day – Wood, Ditko, Whitney, Sekowsky, Kane, Crandall and more, with characters who, despite their powers, still had human foibles – Dynamo’s romantic lucklessness, the android NoMan’s mourning for his lost human identity and so on. Charming, inventive, and superbly depicted, the THUNDER Agents are still fondly remembered today. We have most of the twenty-issue run back in stock, as well as issues of NoMan’s solo book and the companion title, Undersea Agent.
American Update: The Atlas Explosion: Pre-Code Horror Mega-Fest with Adventures Into Weird Worlds
*Horror 1940-1959: Leading off our Atlas Explosion event, and continuing with our Pre-Code Horror Mega Fest this week, we turn of course to Atlas Horror. When Atlas embraced the Horror genre, they embraced it with a vengeance! 1952 saw the launch of several horror anthologies, including this week’s spotlit series, Adventures Into Weird Worlds! We have twenty of the thirty-issue run (it faltered in 1954, just shy of the advent of the Comics Code Authority) new to our listings, commencing with #2 and ending with the final issue #30. The stellar line-up of artists we’re accustomed to is present – Everett, Heath, Williamson, etc. – but it has to be observed that they excelled in producing a number of gloriously lurid covers for these shock-fests. (A particular favourite being #9…talk about ‘putting your face on’!) This selection runs from low to mid-grade, with some hitting VG or nicer. Depicted are #6 VG- £68, #9 GD/VG £59, #11 VG £73, #12 VG £73, #15 GD/VG £55, #16 FN £110, #28 VG £73 and #29 VG+ £72. This title, entirely Pre-Code, offers a plethora of delights to connoisseurs of the arcane and macabre.
British Update: Long Hot Summer – 2000 AD Special Editions 1977 to 1990
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A zarjaz selection of 2000 AD Summer/Holiday Specials! From 1977, the very first 2000 AD Summer Special, featuring several of the iconic series and – because the weekly hadn’t been going that long – some other features that looked decidedly quaint to the discerning reader. But the pace picked up the following year, as 2000 AD’s stars – Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Halo Jones, Ro-Busters, DR & Quinch, Tyranny Rex and more – joined the fun at various times over this sequential run of what became known as the Sci-Fi Special, complete from 1977 to 1990 apart from a missing 1986. There are even duplicate copies of many, to give a selection of available grades! The 1977 Summer Special ‘Supercomic’ – to give it its full title – is FN/VF at £22.50; for details of the others, see our online catalogue.