Tag Archives: Vintage Marvel

American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts! Tales of Suspense #39 – the First Appearance of Iron Man

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*Marvel: Iron Man’s very first appearance, in the pages of Tales of Suspense #39; abducted by Reds behind the Bamboo Curtain and forced to manufacture advanced weapons to crush capitalism, Tony Stark turned the tables on his captors by devising a cybernetic suit of armour which transformed him into an unstoppable juggernaut of justice – but at the cost of a near-fatal injury to his heart, which required constant contact with his robotic armour to keep beating! Under the artistic talents of (usually) Don Heck (who devoted special attention, bless him, to the many shapely ladies Tony Stark romanced), the sophisticated world of Tony Stark vied with the action-adventure of his Iron Man persona for the readers’ attention. Following the blockbuster success of Iron Man in the MCU, demand for this issue has never been higher.

We’ve graded this pence printed priced copy as Apparent VG. It lies tight and fairly flat with considerable cover gloss, a totally unmarred cover image and only very minor edge wear. The original staples are non-rusty and are firmly attached at both the spine and the centrefold with minimal wear. Additional (but unnecessary) staples have been added at upper and lower spine, but these could easily be removed leaving just unobtrusive tiny holes. The corners are mostly square, although the bottom of the spine has a very slightly rounded edge and a very tiny chip out. There is a barely noticeable crease across the bottom right corner which is flat but very slightly breaks the colour. A couple of other soft creases which don’t break colour run from the centre bottom cover up to Iron Man’s leg. Page quality is an excellent off-white to cream. The reason we have applied the ‘Apparent’ term is due to the extra staples and what we believe may be a micro-trim to the right edge. Finishing was a little erratic in those days, and comparison with other copies and contemporary issues is inconclusive. However, this does not detract from the considerable eye appeal of this very presentable copy, and we have priced this as a restored copy to protect the investment of a potential buyer. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 App VG p £5,000 SOLD

 

American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: X-Men #17 & #18 Vs Magneto

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*Marvel: A nice two-parter from the Good Doctor this week. Fond memories of this encounter with Magneto: the striking red and black cover for #17, the last page where Magneto introduces himself to Jean’s parents (‘!? I am power! Men call me — Magneto!’) and Iceman up alone against the Big Bad.
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN
#17 VG/FN p £120 (PICTURED) Nice copy with good cover gloss and unmarked image, firm staples, off-white pages. Spine ticks and spine reading crease break colour; otherwise just very minor edge wear. SOLD
#18 GD/VG p £32

American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Post-Steranko Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD

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*Marvel: We conclude The Good Doctor run of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD with issues #8-15 (#15 being the end of the series apart from 3 reprint issues). Steranko was a hard act to follow, and those that came after him didn’t produce bad comics, but Frank Springer, Herb Trimpe and even a fledgling Barry Smith suffered from being in Steranko’s wake. Still, entertaining stories that riffed on the secret agent vibe, #15 introducing the first version of Bullseye (not the same as the Daredevil villain). Full details as always in our catalogue. 
PICTURED: NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD #15 FN £55 SOLD

American Update: Spider-Mania: Marvel Team-Up #2-20

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*Marvel: In 1972, Marvel came up with the brainwave of the team-up title (that DC had been doing in Brave & Bold for many years by then); ostensibly this was starring Spidey or the Human Torch with the guest star of the month, but it soon transformed to just Spidey with Johnny Storm making fewer and fewer appearances. We have an almost complete run of non-UK distributed issues fresh in (#2-20, excluding #12), mostly in decent grades. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: MARVEL TEAM-UP
#5 VF+ £48
#15 VF+ £48 SOLD

American Update: The Force Is With Us: Marvel’s Star Wars

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*Marvel: The original and, we’re fairly sure, the best loved Star Wars series from Marvel which debuted hot on the heels of the original film in 1977. 9 mostly early issues new in this week, all cents copies. Not my personal cup of tea but the Holy Grail for generations that came after me.
IN THIS UPDATE: STAR WARS
#3 VF £33
#6 FN/VF £32
#7 VF- £29
#8 VG/FN £10.50
#9 VF- £20.50
#10 FN £20
#11 FN/VF £22
#12 VF- £14.75
#64 FN £16.25

American Update: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Electro in Amazing #9

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*Marvel: We’re pleased as punch this week to be able to present the first appearance of one of Spider-Man’s most nefarious foes, Electro, the master of electricity, in Amazing Spider-Man #9. From this original clash with Spidey, Electro has gone on to appear throughout the Marvel Universe, and indeed in the MCU as well. This is a solid pence printed copy with staples firm at spine and centrefold. The cover image has strong colour and is unmarred but for some (appropriate) spidery creasing for a few cms along the mid-right edge, which break colour but are unobtrusive. Other edge and spine wear is fairly minor, although there is a very slight spine roll. Pages are supple and a decent cream colour. Some corner blunting and the inner covers have tanned edges. High resolution images are available on request. 
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9 VG- p £665

 

American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Captain America by Kirby & Steranko

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*Marvel: Starring from the Good Doctor Collection this week, some landmark issues of Captain America by Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko early in the run of Cap’s own title which started in 1968. #109 featured a new re-telling of Cap’s origin by Kirby; #110, #111 and #113 featured a trilogy by Steranko, featuring Rick Jones as Bucky, the Hulk, the debut of Madame Hydra and the ‘death’ of Captain America; #112, Kirby’s swan-song, was an album issue illustrating the story of Captain America to date. 
PICTURED: CAPTAIN AMERICA
#109 VF £195 Flat and unmarked copy with great cover colour and gloss. Tight, firm staples at centrefold and spine. Supple off-white to white pages. Minor taning to inside covers bottom edge which shows very faintly at very bottom of front cover. A gorgeous copy. 
#110 VF £215 Great cover colour and excellent gloss. Tight, firm staples at centrefold and spine. Supple off-white to white pages. No marks or creases except very tiny dink bottom right edge. A touch of ‘white spine’ where the cover was printed slightly off-centre (see scan). Offered with a FREE copy of #111, which is a decent but incomplete copy, missing story page 6.
#112 VF+ £180 Fabulous condition with vibrant cover colour and gloss, shiny black cover background. Tight, firm staples at centrefold and spine. Supple off-white to white pages. Square corners, flat with just a couple of small stress marks at upper staple. A beauty.
#113 VF £95 Great unmarked cover colour. Tight, firm staples at centrefold and spine. Supple off-white to white pages. A few minor stress marks at spine do not break colour.

American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of the Owl in Daredevil #3

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*Marvel: The debut of one of Daredevil’s key nemeses and enduring villains in the third issue. The Owl was a seemingly harmless portly gent about whose evil schemes our hero swiftly learned to give a hoot about. This is a decent flat pence printed copy with an unmarked cover scene with good colour. Staples are good if slightly loose at spine. Slight corner blunting; pages are a decent cream colour. Slight short crease at bottom cover edge only very faintly breaking colour. Small stain mark to the left of that is almost invisible. Inside covers have tanned edges, non-brittle, which just show through to the edges of the outer covers at extreme edges. Presents well. 
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL #3 VG p £220

American Update: The Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection: Spidey vs the Hulk in Amazing #119/120

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*Marvel: If you’re looking for really nice copies of Amazing Spider-Man for your collection, then look no further than this Collection. All high grade; even the few that fall below VF (and most are above) are really good-looking copies – no duds here, and nearly all cents copies. Against a Canadian backdrop, Spidey comes up against the Hulk in this action-packed two-part slugfest.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#119 VF £185 Flat, tight, glossy, square corners, all you’ve come to expect from this collection. Just the smallest amounts of handling edge wear.
#120 VF £110 Flat, tight, glossy, square corners, all you’ve come to expect from this collection. Just a couple of small pressure marks on the cover.

American Update: Conan The Barbarian #6-10

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*Marvel: Robert E Howard’s Conan has been published in comics and magazine form virtually consistently over the last 50 years, but for my money, the original run by Roy Thomas & Barry Smith is still the best, bringing the power, fantasy and sheer magic of Conan and his milieu to the comic page. Five consecutive early issues this update from #6 to #10 in various grades.
IN THIS UPDATE: CONAN THE BARBARIAN ALL SOLD
#6 VG/FN p £11
#7 VF+ £70 (PICTURED) Lovely tight, flat and colourful copy with just the most minor edge wear.
#8 VF £55 (PICTURED) Tight, flat and glossy but top staple just very neatly off cover.
#9 VG £10 Ballast ink and cover crease
#10 VG- £10 Ballast ink and small cover scuff