*DC: Detective Comics #327 famously heralded the ‘New Look’ for the Gotham Guardians – streamlined, modern, and devoid of aliens, robots, monsters and sundry Bat-clad ladies and animals which had characterised the series from the mid-Fifties onwards. Batman’s own series followed suit, and from #164 onwards, all silliness was eschewed – until the Batman TV series hit big, whereupon the silliness returned with a vengeance, but initially, at least, it was more-or-less straight crimebusting under the hands of Fox, Herron, Giella, Infantino, and others. We have a substantial run of Batman issues new in from #164 to #199, in high grades, averaging Fine or better; lovely copies with bright glossy covers and creamy, off-white interiors. Included are many 80 Page Giants reprinting classic Batman stories of yesteryear. Illustrated are #166 FN+ £50. #167 FN+ £50, #168 FN/VF £63 and #198 VF £53. Prices and grades on the others in our online listings.

*DC: 1984’s Ronin was quite a feather in DC’s cap, having acquired white-hot artist/writer Frank Miller after his ground-breaking run on Daredevil. Printed on the same high-quality paper as Camelot 3000, aimed at the higher end of the comics market, it took place in a near-future New York City, in which a ronin is reincarnated. According to Miller himself, the ideas came together while he was doing extensive research into kung fu movies, martial arts, samurai comic books and samurai ethics for his work on Daredevil. Synthesising those tropes into a dystopic Blade Runner-esque setting, the series crystallised the influences of manga and bande dessinée on Miller’s style, breaking him away from his acclaimed but firmly mainstream body of work to that date. The entire six-issue series, averaging NM, is on sale at £25.

*DC: After extensive sales, we’re delighted to be able to replenish the Vizier of Velocity with new issues from #130 in the 1960s, to #310 in the 80s. Thirty+ new listings this week, highlights including multiple team-ups with Jay Garrick the Flash of Earth-2, Green Lantern, Kid Flash and other heroic chums, the wedding of Barry & Iris, a brief flurry of the acclaimed Neal Adams GL/GA as backup, and of course, villains, villains, villains! The Flash’s Rogue’s Gallery is one of the most diverse in comics and Gorilla Grodd, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, Pied Piper, Captain Cold and all the lads turn up individually and together in these issues! The Flash TV show remains popular, and the character, after big-screen appearances in ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘Justice League’, is scheduled for his own feature film, so now’s the time to emulate Barry Allen and move fast – before these are gone!

*Marvel: They don’t come much hotter these days than Iron Man #55, wherein the cosmic arch-villain Thanos, nemesis of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, made his first appearance, the brainchild of fan favourite writer/artist Jim Starlin. Thanos has of course gone on to plague Marvel’s heroes in comics and movies ever since, but here is where it all started. This landmark issue also features the debuts of Drax the Destroyer, Mentor, Eros (later Starfox of the Avengers) and Kronos. It’s getting more and more difficult to find a comfortably affordable copy of this, but our new copy is Fair, with considerable edge wear, particularly at the upper left and lower right corners. With the imminent release of Avengers: Endgame in cinemas worldwide, in which Thanos is the villain, the character’s debut is only going to become more sought after. FA p £95.

*Marvel: With Jolly Jack Kirby leaving the art chores of the X-Men after issue #11, Stan Lee realised he had to crank up the excitement to keep readers’ attention, and he certainly achieved it with this dynamic story introducing one of the X-Men’s most formidable opponents, the Juggernaut! Cain Marko, the hitherto unsuspected step-brother of the X-Men’s mentor Professor Xavier, dabbled with arcane forces and was transformed into the embodiment of an irresistible force! This VG p copy of a major villain’s debut has light spine wear, and some slight ‘chipping’ at cover edges and corners, but the cover image itself is unimpaired, with the vivid red background entirely unfaded, staples tight at cover and centrefold. Juggernaut’s re-entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with ‘Deadpool 2’ has once again piqued interest in this character. This VG p copy is on sale at £140.

*Marvel: Around thirty vintage Hulks new to our listings this week, from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, with several signed copies (no verification available, but we’re pretty sure they’re kosher) autographed by artist Herb Trimpe, with occasional co-signatures by writers Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart. Other highlights include the first appearances of villains Zzzax, the Bi-Beast and the winsome Wendigo, and the first deaths (hey it’s Marvel Comics) of the Mimic and Warlock. In affordable mid-grades on average, and with many issues filling gaps in our inventory, these aren’t going to stay in our possession long – grab ’em before they’re gone!

*War: 1952’s Battle Action mined the lurid field of violence and stereotyping, enlivened by artistic contributions from Pakula, Robinson, Krigstein, Everett, Heath, Check, Maneely, Shores and more. Interestingly, the series was actually cancelled with issue #12, but revived over a year later, running until 1957’s issue #30. Although mostly anthology war tales with no recurring characters, one of Atlas’ more enduring combat stars, Battle Brady, (whose catchphrase, ‘Remember the Alamo!’ must have confused the heck out of the Korean enemy) made his debut in issue #5 of this series and featured in most numbers thereafter. We have a virtually complete run, lacking only numbers #11 and #17 – though an incomplete #11 is included as a bonus with issue #12. Illustrated are #2 FN- £50 and #12 FN/VF £56; for grades and prices on all the others, please see our online listings.

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: A 1957 series from UK repackager Len Miller, Confidential Romances ran 13 68-page issues, reprinting mainly material from the American love comics published by Archer St. John. This ensured a high quality of art and story, and most issues featured at least one story by legendary illustrator Matt Baker – sometimes several! Unfortunately, Miller, for reasons unknown, didn’t use any of the St. John cover art, commissioning new, and sadly lacklustre, covers, but we promise the interiors are much more enticing! We have half-a dozen of the series between #3 to #12, all other than the last containing Baker artwork. Depicted: #11 VG £12.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Just like the weather, our Long Hot Summer event really hots up this week! We are delighted to have five scarce Lion Holiday and Summer Specials back in stock, commencing with the first proper Lion Special from 1968 (a 1967 “Lion Summer Spectacular Epic” had been used as a pilot the previous year, but featured no content from Lion weekly); 1968’s Summer Special, like the ‘Epic’, had a movie cover and theme, but most of the content was from Lion, and with 1969 onwards, the publishers felt confident enough to let the stars of the comic carry the covers. Robot Archie, The Steel Commando. Captain Condor. Adam Eterno, Gadgetman and Gimmick Kid, the Spider: a plethora of adventures awaits! This selection is unusually high-grade for items of this vintage, with only minimal edge & corner wear and lustrous cover colour. 1968’s Lion Summer Special is FN/VF £50, with free bonus (slightly misprinted) 1970 edition; 1969 Summer Special is FN/VF £35; 1971 Lion and Thunder Holiday Special FN/VF £35; 1972 Lion and Thunder Holiday Special VF £40 and 1975 Holiday Special VF £40.

*TV & Film Related Comics: Although all of TV Century 21’s first series is sought after, there is particular attention paid to the handful of issues which cover-star Terry Nation’s famous creation, the Daleks. Normally relegated to the (admittedly superbly-illustrated) back page, the most famous Doctor Who villains seldom got the chance to grace the front cover, and those issues are eagerly snapped up. We have five Dalek-starring covers – out of only six, we believe, which ran during the Dalek’s 104-issue sojourn in TV Century 21, all in very affordable low to mid grades, but with the Dalek cover images themselves unmarred. #23 is GD £40; #28 (the only one on which Dr. Who also appears, though it’s only the movie version) FA/GD £35; #36 FA/GD £35; #47 FA/GD £35; and #50 PR £20 (3″ horizontal tear through the second half of the comic, but cover image unharmed).

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: A dozen titles join the bookshelves, half of them 1st PB editions, and several in less commonly seen editions. First in this set are four titles by an unfairly overlooked author, Daniel F Galouye, consisting of Lords Of The Psychon, Project Barrier, The Last Leap And Other Stories Of The Super-Mind and The Lost Perception. Next is William Gibson with Burning Chrome, Count Zero and Neuromancer. M John Harrison is represented by The Centauri Device and The Pastel City (with Bruce Pennington cover art), and Raymond F Jones has The Alien and The Non Statistical Man. Ward Moore has Bring The Jubilee and, co-written with Avram Davidson, Joyleg, which has front and back cover art, and an interior picture, by Ed Emshwiller. Finally, the great John Wyndham with a classic Penguin edition of The Day Of The Triffids. 

*Clearance Corner: This week, we offer two separate complete mini-series of the famous Lee Falk creation: 2009’s The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks commenced with issue #0 and ran until issue #12, and Dynamite’s The Last Phantom ran 12 issues from 2011. Both complete series are in this package, averaging Near Mint condition, and as bonuses, you get an additional #1 (variant cover) of Last Phantom, plus Annuals#1 & #2 (2007 and 2008) of the Phantom’s ongoing Moonstone series. All this can be yours for a mere £20. UK postage (if required) will be a further £4. 

This Easter, our hours are as follows:
Good Friday 19th April Open Normal Hours 11-6
Saturday 20th April Open Normal Hours 11-6
Easter Sunday 21st April Closed
Easter Monday 22nd April Closed

*DC: Almost 100 issues of Batman added to our stock this week, in fact nearly all issues between #301 and #400, and nearly all in high grade. A very popular period for the Caped Crusader this, as can be attested by the previous paucity of these numbers in our catalogue. Plenty of appearances by classic villains in this time, with many Joker covers and lots of Catwoman. Perhaps the most significant event in this range is the debut of Jason Todd in #357 (shown here NM p £100); also pictured is the giant 400th Anniversary issue (NM p £27).

*Marvel: In 1972, Marvel launched many reprint titles, one of which, Jungle Action, featured 1950s stories of scantily clad white people bringing justice to the African wild, surrounded by grateful and subservient black folks. Realising belatedly this was a bit politically tone-deaf, Marvel abruptly swerved from #5, reprinting a Panther-centric issue of the Avengers, then from #6 presenting an all-new series starring T’Challa surrounded by political intrigue in his secret super-scientific society of Wakanda. Although writer Don McGregor’s style could charitably be described as ‘overwrought’, the series won loads of acclaim at the time, and introduced key characters such as Killmonger who would prove important later, not least in the Panther movie smash. We have a virtually complete run of Jungle Action new in, missing only #5 from the series, but including #6 (VF+ £160), the first Killmonger and the first new Panther solo, #8 (VF+ £55), Panther origin, plus an array of bizarre and disturbing villains, including Venomm (not that one), Lord Karnaj and a bunch of other people whose names are actually spelled correctly!

*Marvel: Forget the Frank Thorne drawn daft ha’p’orth in the chainmail bikini – the proper Red Sonja, who, you know, wore clothes and had a brain, made her first appearance in issue #23 of Conan’s title (Marvel rather dropping the ball by not having her on the cover, but we promise you, she’s in there) and co-starring in #24’s epic ‘The Song of Red Sonja!’ – though our heroine does a great deal more than just sing, proving herself Conan’s equal, if not superior. Sadly, the popularity of Sonja’s appearances in these two issues led Marvel to produce a more sexualised and less competent version of the character for her solo series – but these two issues, by Roy Thomas and superbly drawn by Barry Smith, remain as good as ever! Both are cents copies, no UK pricing; #23 is VF at £100, and #24 VF+ £100.

*Marvel: X-Men issue #129 introduced not one, but two, characters who were to become major players in the lives of the X-Men. Kitty Pryde, the young immaterial ingenue, made her debut as a pupil at Xavier’s school, and went on to become a central part of the series, eventually becoming the leader of the team, while Emma Frost, White Queen of the Hellfire Club, dedicated her telepathic prowess to the X-Men’s destruction – though that dedication hasn’t prevented her from occasionally joining the group herself, and seducing Cyclops whenever Jean Grey happens to be dead for a while! This copy of X-Men #129 is a sparkling NM-, with only a tiny lower corner crease, tight staples, bright covers with excellent gloss. A Pence copy, it is on sale at £120.

*Horror 1940-1959: While the huge Atlas collection we acquired months ago remains our ongoing project – plenty to come yet, folks! – it’s by no means our only source of vintage material, and some Atlas horror has arrived from other avenues, so we’re taking the opportunity to catch up with a selection of incoming items. We open with Journey Into Mystery, with three Post-Code issues added this week, move along to Journey Into Unknown Worlds #5, a Pre-Code sci-fi/horror hybrid, a selection of low-grade but extremely tempting Spellbound from #19 on, with gloriously lurid Pre-Code covers by the likes of Everett and Heath; and close with a single Suspense #27, which innovatively ‘trails’ an interior story with prelude panels on the front cover. Illustrated are Journey Into Mystery #27 GD/VG £100 and #43 VG £78; for all the rest, check out our online catalogue.

*Power Comics: Following his success with Wham!, Leo Baxendale was drafted by Odhams to devise a companion, using skills honed by his many years on the Beano. Smash debuted in 1966 with the first appearances of Baxendale’s ‘Bad Penny’, ‘Grimley Feendish’, ‘The Nervs’ and ‘The Swots & The Blots’, and Ken Reid’s ‘Queen of the Seas’, and went on from strength to strength with both humour and adventure strips; Jordi Bernet’s ‘Legend Testers’, Baxendale’s ‘Man From BUNGLE’, ‘Rubberman’, Mike Higg’s ‘The Cloak’ are all some of the well-remembered strips which originated in this series, plus reprints of Marvel super-heroes (The Hulk, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man) and the Batman newspaper strip – making Smash! unique in its occasional later strapline, ‘The comic with Spider-Man and Batman!’. We have the first ten issues back in stock, and most of the 192-issue original series (before the title was taken over by IPC/Fleetway and relaunched as a pseudo-Valiant). Illustrated are the first three numbers: #1 is complete but Poor, with a long horizontal back cover tear and a small corner off the upper left back cover corner, on sale at £25. #2 is VG £30, with a small spine tear and #3 is also VG £30, with some lower edge wear and light creasing. SORRY, MOST ISSUES OF SMASH NOW SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Alongside Air & Ace and War, Battle formed the other part of Fleetway’s triumvirate of long-running war-themed picture libraries, starting in 1961 and finally ending in 1984. New in this week, issues #1-9 of this classic title. Illustrated here are #1 (The Rats Of Tobruk) VG £50, #2 (Devil’s Cauldron VG £20) and #3 (Trained To Kill) FN £25. For grades and prices on the others, as always please refer to our catalogue. 

*Humour Comics: A light sprinkling of popular titles from recently received stock: Ally Sloper, Alan Class’ experimental 1970s anthology featuring a cornucopia of talent including legendary creators Frank Hampson, John Richardson and Harry Bishop; issues #2-4 restocked. The final Dandy, #3610, brought the venerable title to a close in 2012 with an extra-large finale including a Free Gift of a Facsimile of the very first issue. The anarchic Krazy is restocked from #3, and Sparky has additional issues listed from 1965 and 1970. Top of the shop, however, are early issues of Monster Fun from #5 upwards, all including ‘Badtime Bedtime Stories’ or other pull-outs and supplements.

*Girls’ Comics: Romeo, the romance weekly for older girls and ‘young ladies’, ran from 1957 to 1974, and remains a sought-after commodity today, having lower print runs than comics for younger girls, and the teens & twenties being more prone to chucking things out rather than saving them. Doubly scarce, of course, are the issues with Free Gifts, so we’re fortunate to have five such new in, spanning three decades. From 1957, issue #83 offers a rather sinister colour portrait of Frankie Vaughan – comic is FN gift VF at £30. By 1968, the comic had abandoned numbers for dates and the Feb. 17th issue promises a ‘Pop Key Ring with Six Pix of your Fave Raves’; comic is VG Gift is VF in original never-opened envelope for £25. September 19th 1970 brings us a free ‘Romeo Midi Bag, which the cover (rather unrealistically we feel) promises will ‘Carry All Your Gear!’; the comic is VG, gift VF in original unopened envelope, both for £25. February 6th 1971 displays a rather pretty Cameo Choker, VF with the comic itself FN, on sale together at £30; and the cornucopia empties with February 5th 1972’s ‘Signet Seal Ring, again in original never-opened envelope VF, with the comic itself FN, both on sale at £30. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Clearance Corner: On offer in our ‘bargain basement’ this week is a batch of 71 Girls’ text and photo libraries (like picture libraries with text or photos instead of strip art) for just £20. These are nearly all pre-decimal in nice condition with attractive illustrated covers. The emphasis is firmly on romance (in hospital and elsewhere) but there are also a small number of pop, film & TV libraries. Titles are: from Fleetway: Hospital Romances x6, Woman’s World x12, Oracle x2, Woman’s Weekly x2, Cameo Romances x1, Fans’ Star Library x4; from Pearsons: Hospital Romances x9, Silver Star x2, Doctor Library x1, Mirabelle x1; from D C Thomson: Secrets Story x6, My Weekly x2; from Newnes: Hospital Romances x13; from World Distributors: Photo Romance Novels x10.  UK Postage on these if required would be an additional £8. SORRY, THIS LOT HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: One of the biggest hits of the 1980s was the New Teen Titans, in which Marv Wolfman and George Perez took a moribund Sixties franchise and revitalised it into DC’s sales powerhouse of the decade. Introducing three brand-new characters – Cyborg, Raven and Starfire – Wolfman & Perez hewed very closely to the X-Men model of angst-ridden young heroes, and scored big points not only with DC’s readers; NTT became the DC Comic even Marvel fans bought! But the team made their first appearance, not in their own series, but in a ‘Bonus Book’, a supplement included with another title, DC Comics Presents #26. Here, for the first time, we met the new team, as they were gathered together to face a fearful menace – and the Jim Starlin-drawn Superman GL team-up’s pretty nifty too! Now the stars of a live-action TV show, the New Teen Titans’ popularity is soaring, so we’re pleased to be offering an nice copy of their debut issue. DC Comics Presents #26 is VF/NM, cents copy with no pence price, at £100. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: A round-up of DC titles starting with the letter ‘A’, specifically: Action Comics (inc 1st Adult Legion in #289, Supergirl Giant #334), Adventure Comics (inc 1st Black Orchid in #427, pictured VF- £27, Death of Earth 2 Batman in #462, pictured VF £35), Aquaman and Atom (inc #19 with Zatanna appearance).