*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.

*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.

*Marvel: In the early Marvel Age – when, you must recall, the halcyon days of the Golden Age were a mere 10-15 years in the past – Marvel received a lot of requests to revive their 1940s stars. They tested the waters with the Human Torch’s solo story in Strange Tales #114, wherein Johnny Storm appeared to meet and battle Captain America, legendary hero of World War II! Needless to say – oh, don’t give me ‘Spoilers’, it was more than half a century ago – it turned out to be a villain appropriating Cap’s costume, but the issue sold so well that it triggered the revival of the actual Captain America in Avengers #4, and the rest is history. This is not often seen in any condition, and this copy is an attractive FN cents copy, with only minimal corner and edge wear and bright, lustrous cover colours, on sale at £150.

*Marvel: Lee & Kirby, in Fantastic Four #66, laid the groundwork for another cult character, though this one turned out to be a bit of a slow burner. In issue #66, scientists calling themselves the Enclave created an artificial, perfect human, who the readers didn’t actually see until #67, when the new-born demigod initially called himself ‘Him’. After rebelling against his creators, ‘Him’ set out to discover the world, and decided to seek a mate – unfortunately, the mate he chose was Thor’s main squeeze Lady Sif! After a two-part confrontation with the Thunder God, ‘Him’ flew off to discover the universe, eventually coming back as Warlock – in which guise he’s had several solo series, and is scheduled to appear in the hit Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise! His (Him’s?) two-part origin and epic clash with Thor are all newly restocked: Fantastic Four #66 FN/VF £75 and #67 FN/VF £175 (both FFs pictured), and Thor #165 FA £35 and #166 VG- p £35.

*Marvel: Not quite enough for a proper ‘Return Of…’, but nevertheless we have a few of the pre-hero Marvel series with unfeasibly enlarged antagonists plotting to conquer the world, only to be discouraged by plucky scientists – a trope which made Marvel a mint before the Fantastic Four went up in their rocketship! Tales of Suspense #22 (VG £60 pictured) brings us Bruttu. Tales to Astonish #20 (GD+ £44) offers us X – The Thing That Lived! And Tales to Astonish #33 (VG+ p £56 pictured) varies the theme by having normal-sized and fully-clad alien monsters – but loads of ’em – in ‘Dead Storage!’

*Marvel: Thirty new issues added to the latter years of our Amazing Spider-Man listing, commencing with #141 (first appearance of the second Mysterio), and concluding with #297. Along the way, significant debuts and events include the second appearance of the Black Cat in #195, the second Black Cat storyline, a two-parter in #226 and #227, the debut of the Rose in #253, the Puma’s premiere in #256, the first appearance of the sultry Silver Sable in #265, and the first two chapters of the iconic ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ storyline in #293 and #294. All that, plus the usual web-swinging, wall-crawling action you’ve come to love!

*Marvel: One of the most peculiar corners of the Marvel Universe was inhabited by the Human Fly, a costumed stuntman in the manner of Evel Knievel, who inexplicably became the star of his own comics series in 1977. Although there was briefly a real-life performer of that name, later revealed as stuntman Rick Rojatt, we suspect the comics version’s origin – having 60% of his skeleton replaced by steel after a traumatic accident – was not Mr. Rojatt’s own background. At least we hope not, for his sake. The comics version interacted with Ghost Rider and the White Tiger, among other Marvel luminaries, but owing to the hero’s nomadic activities, the only supporting cast was plucky journalista Harmony Whyte, who Lois Laned our hero across the USA reporting on his activities while trying to reveal the man behind the mask. Like every other Marvel property this side of Willie Lumpkin, the Human Fly is now rumoured to have a movie in production; will it be a hit? Well, another Bill Mantlo creation, Rocket Raccoon, has done unexpectedly well for himself, so you never know! The complete 19-issue series, cents copies, averaging NM, is now available for the relatively bargainaceous price of £40; buy it now before the speculators jump in!

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Not long after House of Secrets’ ‘rebranding’ as a horror title (following its decades as a genteel sci-fi series), issue #92 saw a story that transcended the traditional one-off horror genre, and launched a character who became a major star for DC, culminating in his recent TV series. (We won’t talk about the movies. Ever.) In ‘Swamp Thing’, we were introduced to Alex Olsen and Damien Ridge, 19th-century best friends whose love for the same woman led Damien to murder Alex after Alex had married the beautiful Linda. Later, however, when Linda began to suspect the truth, Damien planned to murder her too: but her life was saved by Alex, returned from the swamp as a subhuman plant-creature. Linda fled from the creature in horror, never realizing that the beast who saved her was her beloved Alex. This classic tale of love, betrayal and revenge, masterfully told by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson, struck a powerful chord with the readership, and a 20th-century version of the character was launched in his own series, and has starred in some of the most critically-acclaimed stories in the comics medium. This copy of Swamp Thing’s first appearance is VF+; the distinctive greytone cover skilfully evokes a feeling of imminent menace, and is one of the most consistently ‘homaged’ images in comics. Staples are firm at cover and centrefold, minimal corner and edge wear, off-white interior pages. A VF+ cents copy with no pence price or overstamp, it is on sale for £2,000. Front and back covers and splash page are shown here; high resolution images are available on request.

*Marvel UK: Marvel UK’s experimental attempt to broaden their readership by generating a new British hero, Captain Britain was the subject of much controversy, not least because he was created by two Americans (Chris Claremont, Herb Trimpe) who, from the evidence presented here, had never met an English person, and whose interpretation of the UK’s manners and mores made the Austin Powers films look like documentaries. Be that as it may, the character endured to become a respected icon of the medium, and early issues are now attracting keen collector attention. We have a new copy in of the good Captain’s first issue, FN with the original Free Gift (a Captain Britain mask) in VF, at £35 for the comic & gift combo.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Micron’s Combat Picture Library, despite being overshadowed by its more famous brethren Commando, War, Air Ace and the like, had a very respectable 1,000+ run from 1959 to 1985. The early issues particularly are much less commonly seen than contemporary Air Ace or Battle Picture Libraries, and have quite a bit of visual appeal, with intricate interior art and striking painted covers. This newest selection is consecutive from #101 to #184, then #189-192, and #195-200, missing only a handful of issues. This sequence is in truly remarkable grade, with only a few of them dipping below VF. From an uncirculated newsagent’s inventory, never to our knowledge sold, displayed, or read, these are beautiful copies. Pictured are #101, #150, and #200, all VF at £5 each.

*Clearance Corner: Following on from our Beano clearance last month, it is with regret that we follow up with a huge Dandy clearout, Beano’s ‘older brother’. Just like the Beano, we love the Dandy too — it’s another British comics institution and features classic, immortal characters. But there’s no doubting that with the decline of the UK comics industry in recent decades, later Dandys are less collected than their classic period and the title itself shuffled off  a few years back. So the time has come for us to dispense with our 1981 upward stock. Here’s a batch of 97 issues from the years 1981-1983, no duplicates, all in reasonable condition from GD to FN, on offer for just £20 the lot. UK postage (if required) would be an extra £8. SORRY, THIS LOT HAS 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 file in our British section:
*Rupert
As of the time of writing, this category is bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: The Black Canary had recently crossed over from Earth-2 to Earth-1 in JLA #75, following an unfortunate sequence of events, and her formidable self-defense and detective skills were augmented by an ‘instant-mutation’ – known then as the ‘Sonic Whammy’, later as the ‘Canary Cry’ – which established her as a true super-being, fit to stand among the metahuman JLAers. (and Batman, ahem ahem). That being said her membership, though debated, wasn’t formally announced for several issues, but this is the one in which she started acting as a member of the JLA. This new copy is a highly attractive FN+, cents copy with no pence overstamp, tight, firm and glossy, and the high grade, plus the iconic cover image (which was regarded as a wee bit saucy back in the day) prices it at £100. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: A selection of Batman (from #107 to #113) and Detective Comics (from #239 to #250) in lower grades, battered, creased, and ‘well-read’, official grades ranging from Poor to the dizzying heights of Good, but most previously unrepresented in our stock, and all with all story pages complete and readable. Weird costumes, bodily transformations, aliens and robots galore – give them a good home!

*Marvel: Lee & Kirby’s Fantastic Four added to its many innovations in 1966’s FF #52, when they introduced the first black super-hero in comics. The Black Panther was the head of a highly sophisticated and technologically advanced African nation, Wakanda, and was in time to become not only one of the FF’s greatest allies, but a mainstay of their fellow heroes, the Avengers. Following his spectacular big-screen success, T’Challa’s earliest appearances have never been in higher demand, and we have a FN copy, cents, with no UK price stamp or overprint, new in stock. Tight at staples, sharp corners, with strong, largely unbroken black cover background, only a few very faint corner creases, and a few light breaks in the spine colour. This FN key debut is on sale at £500. Front and back cover and splash pages shown below; high resolution images are available on request.

*Marvel: In 1970, Marvel tried something different from their familiar super-heroics; at the urging of writer Roy Thomas, they put out a sword & sorcery title adapting the Robert E. Howard stories of Conan the Barbarian, and, bucking the trend, it was smash hit – thanks in no small part to the illustration of Barry (not-yet-Windsor) Smith, a talented young British artist who gave Cimmeria’s favourite son grace and feral power, filling Conan’s world with mystery, menace and beauty as monsters and maidens competed for our hero’s attentions. Conan’s first series at Marvel ran 275 issues and multitudinous specials and spin-offs, and after a long sojourn over at Dark Horse, he’s back! To celebrate, we release this CBCS slabbed copy, graded 7.5 (VF- equivalent). This late Silver-Age debut is rarer than most – by this time, print runs were dropping from the 1960s heyday – and this is perhaps the second-nicest we’ve seen in our 25-year trading span. CBCS 7.5 on sale at £200. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: In Strange Tales #126, the Torch & Thing team-up still held cover sway, as the ‘hot’ half of the Fantastic Four squared off against the Thinker and the Puppet Master – but let’s be real, the long-term money was always on Doctor Strange, and the Master of the Mystic Arts (capably guided by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko), delivered in abundance this issue, with the first appearances not only of perhaps his greatest nemesis, the deadly Dormammu, but also the mystery woman who would become the love of Strange’s life, Clea. (Who was also Dormammu’s niece. Which would make the atmosphere around the Christmas dinner-table a tad frosty, to say the least.) This copy of the double debut is FN, cents with no UK pricing. There is a very faint shallow diagonal crease on the right side of the cover, from the mid-point to the lower edge, but otherwise the cover colour is unbroken, and unfaded. On sale at £125. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: When the Ant-Man name was unclaimed in the late 1970s, a brainier-than-average sneak-thief, Scott Lang, stole Hank Pym’s old apparatus and became the second bearer of that title! But it’s okay – he did bad things for good reasons, specifically to find a cure for his dying daughter, as was revealed in Marvel Premiere #47 and #48, the two-part tale which (after a non-costumed cameo in Avengers #181) was Scott’s first full appearance. John Byrne and David Michelinie created this different take on the hero, and since then, Scott has had his ups and downs – been in jail a few times, been dead a few more, been a love-slave of the Purple Man (No, really. Google it. Better yet, don’t) – but he’s fought his way back to respectability, and has achieved cinematic stardom in two eponymous movie hits, plus pivotal roles in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’. This double-dip debut for our loveable scientist scofflaw consists of a VF+ #47 at £60, and the conclusion in #48 NM will run you a mere £30. Both are cents copies with no UK price overprint.

*Marvel: We’re too good to you Spiderphiles this week as we present our second Spidey update, featuring high grade issues from the above range, in which our hero tangles with the Scorpion, the Rhino, Sabretooth, the Red Skull, Magneto, Boomerang, Venom and Cardiac, to name but a few, and also featuring many guest stars such as the Hulk, Captain America, Silver Sable and others. Includes #345 (NM p £20), the 1st full appearance of Cletus Kasady, the man who would be Carnage. 

*Marvel: Another visit to the Marvel Silver & Bronze ages for the following titles: Amazing Adventures (both Inhumans/Black Widow split book and Killraven), Astonishing Tales (Ka-Zar/Dr. Doom split book), Captain America (inc #111 by that man Steranko again), Captain Marvel and Daredevil (inc #11 by Wally Wood and #50 & #52 by Barry Smith). As always, full details in our catalogue.

*Horror 1940-1959: We conclude our Atlas Explosion Horror category with one of Atlas’ earliest entries into the horror genre, and one of the most enduring; Uncanny Tales ran from 1952 to 1957, with the first 28 issues being unfettered by the Comics Code authority. We have 18 of those 28 Pre-Code editions new in stock, with some of the most disturbing and imaginative covers by Everett, Heath, Maneely and others really pulling out the stops for lurid, attention-getting images. Contributing artists, in addition to the aforementioned trinity of Everett, Maneely and Heath, include Briefer, Crandall, Sekowsky, Drucker, Colan, Powell, Robinson, Romita, and Wildey, among many others. Illustrated here are #1 FA £89, #5 FA/GD £51; #9 GD- £53; #12 VG+ £115; #13 GD+ £75; #19 GD+ £63; #20 GD £50 and #23 GD+ £57. As always, prices on the others – many very affordable ‘reading copies’ – may be found in our online catalogue. Our Horror Mega-Fest has one more trick up its sleeve which we’ll be playing very soon!

*Western: We conclude our Atlas event in the Western category, bringing our entire Atlas Explosion to a satisfying conclusion. Unlike many western heroes of the 1950s, Tex Dawson, the Western Kid was neither an outlaw nor seeking revenge; instead, the squeaky-clean adventurer wandered the Old West with his ‘Savage Stallion’ Whirlwind and ‘Miracle Dog’ Lightning, doing good just because…. well, it was the good thing to do. Sounds a bit dull? Not so. Western Kid’s adventures were lively and charming, and beautifully drawn by a young John Romita towards the start of his career, who was the primary artist on all seventeen issues. Maneely, Everett and Shores contributed cover images – and some very striking ones – but the interior art was virtually all Romita, and well worth seeing. We have a complete run of the series, #1-17, new in stock. Pictured are #1 VG+ £40, #3 VG+ £22 and #8 FN £30. Prices and grades on the rest of the series in our online listings. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed bringing you these Atlas titles over the last nine months, and, although there’s sure to be more Atlas in our future, we doubt we’ll ever see the like of the Atlas Explosion again! 

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: While more famous for its horror titles, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella, Warren did in 1965 attempt to diversify with Blazing Combat, a war-themed anthology mag written (almost entirely) by Archie Goodwin, with the same stellar roster of artists – Toth, Wood, Colan, Severin, and cover artist Frank Frazetta – used in the horror line. But while the work was of superb quality, the politics, representing the human cost of war, were at odds with zeitgeist of the times, and in particular the anti-Vietnam story, “Landscape”, in issue #2, ensured that after #3, PXs across America stopped carrying the series, with a record zero copies of #4 ordered by military bases. With that chunk taken out of circulation – and with threats that PXs would stop stocking the rest of Warren’s line in protest against Blazing Combat – Warren cancelled the series with issue #4 in 1966. Generally acknowledged as the finest war comic since the EC days, we have the entire 4-issue run back in stock. Pictured is #1 (FN- p £55); others in our online catalogue.

*Annuals: Continuing our pedigree collection of ‘Immaculate Annuals’, this week, we join the ladies – and the first ladies of the British comics world were Bunty and her younger sister Judy, the backbone of D.C. Thomson’s girls’ weeklies. As with other ‘Immaculate Annuals’ updates, these are uncirculated 1960s and 1970s stock from a newsagent’s inventory, never sold or even displayed, so the only flaws in any of them occur from long-term storage. No prices clipped, no gift dedications, ‘This Book Belongs To’ inscriptions or other interior markings, solid spines, tight corners and generally bright colours. However, the format of Bunty and Judy Annuals – non-slick hardcovers with slick dustjackets – has meant that a very small amount of dustshadow and edge grubbiness, particularly on lower edges, has occurred over the years, meaning that these Annuals – while still superior to the general run of second-hand items – are perhaps not quite as shiny as other entries in this collection. Nevertheless, as remarked, much better than the average, with no interior flaws. We have Bunty from 1965 to 1970 (Missing only ’67), and Judy from 1965 to 1969. Illustrated are Bunty Annual 1970 (VF DJ FN, £13.50) and Judy 1965 (FN DJ FN, £12).