This is our last post of 2025, so we’d like to take the opportunity to thank you for your custom throughout the year. We’re looking forward to continuing to bring you the best in vintage comics and books in 2026. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Rob & Dr Evilla (and her Evil Minion and Feline Phalanx)

We’ll be back here on 3rd January 2026. 

Our Christmas and New Year trading arrangements are as follows:

Today – Saturday 13th December: Last day for orders for pre-Christmas delivery. You need to place your order no later than 4 pm. Orders placed after this deadline will not be posted until the New Year. 
Tuesday 16th December: Last posting before Christmas for all orders placed by 4 pm on Saturday 13th and paid for by 4 pm on Monday 15th December.
Saturday 3rd January 2026: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 13th December (up to 4 pm on 3rd Jan) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 4th Jan.
Wednesday 7th January 2026: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.

*DC: Also from the Midas Collection this week, two low grade issues of World’s Finest from 1955, featuring Superman & Batman together, with back-up stories of Green Arrow and Tomahawk.
IN THIS UPDATE: WORLD’S FINEST
#76 FA £32 (PICTURED) Cover detached and almost entirely split; otherwise not too bad with decent pages. 
#78 PR/FA £24 Heavy stain to top right quarter of cover; graffiti under stain. Chunks out bottom front cover and narrow strip off back cover. 

*Marvel: 2 non-UK distributed Giant-Size #1 issues from 1974 starring Spider-Man this week: 
PICTURED: 
GIANT SIZE SPIDER-MAN #1 VF- £90 Double-length new story with Spidey facing off against Dracula, plus classic Torch/Spidey reprint from Strange Tales Annual #2. Lovely condition copy apart from slight chipping to upper edge. 
GIANT-SIZE SUPER-HEROES (FEATURING SPIDER-MAN) #1 VG/FN £20 Book length new story with Spidey faced by Morbius and the Man-Wolf. Decent copy with just some handling wear.

*Marvel: Inferno is a sprawling storyline across the Marvel Universe, but the central parts of it occur in five issues of the the X-Men from #239 to #243. It is the story of a demonic invasion of New York and features the transition of Magik, the final fate of Madelyne Prior/the Goblin Queen, the menace of Mister Sinister and lots more. All five issues here, in tip-top shape.
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN 
#239 VF £6.75
#240 VF £6.75
#241 VF/NM £8.25 (PICTURED)
#242 VF/NM £8.25
#243 VF/NM £8.25 

*Western: From the Bute Collection this week, four Western issues rarely seen in the UK, all dating from the early 1950s. Best Of The West is an anthology title from Magazine Enterprises featuring its Western stars Tim Holt, The Ghost Rider, Straight Arrow and the Durango Kid. Border Patrol (the only issue we’ve ever seen), the third of three issues, is from PL. Ziff Davis’s Kid Cowboy (again the only issue we’ve ever seen), has a rich painted cover, a youthful vigilante protagonist and a singing cowboy; art by Andru, Colan, Matt Baker and Sparling. Prize Comics Western centres on Indian characters. 
IN THIS UPDATE:
BEST OF THE WEST #8 VG- £22.50
BORDER PATROL #3 GD/VG £25 (PICTURED)
KID COWBOY #5 VG+ £26
PRIZE COMICS WESTERN #99 GD- £10
 

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze:  No introduction to arguably the greatest American detective writer is needed from me here. Chandler’s books, such as The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye remain high in profile due to his fame and popularity, and their film versions are classics of film noir. He himself contributed screenplays to that genre such as Double Indemnity and Strangers On A Train. His creation, Philip Marlowe, is the quintessential American private detective, and the dry, sometimes laconic prose style of Chandler’s writing set the tone for generations of imitators to follow. He wrote seven novels and lots of short stories and we feature many of them in our catalogue. This week, we’re adding two books of short stories, the eighth novel Poodle Springs (incomplete on his death but masterfully finished by Robert B Parker) and an anthology of stories by others featuring Marlowe, which includes the last Chandler story. More information, as always, in our catalogue. 
PICTURED:
RAYMOND CHANDLER: SMART-ALEC KILL Penguin UK PB VG/FN £5
RAYMOND CHANDLER: TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS Penguin UK PB VG/FN £5 
RAYMOND CHANDLER & ROBERT B PARKER: POODLE SPRINGS Futura 1991 1st UK PB thus GD £4
BYRON PREISS (Ed): RAYMOND CHANDLER’S PHILIP MARLOWE Futura 1990 2nd UK PB VG £4

*DC: Arguably the first DC super-hero of the Silver Age – and for many years unjustly overlooked by comics historians – Captain Comet made his debut in 1951, in the 9th issue of the sci-fi anthology Strange Adventures. Adam Blake, a young man born with powers and abilities he didn’t comprehend, was revealed as a mutant (Ha! And you thought Marvel did it first!), not a throwback but an evolutionary ‘flashforward’ to humanity at its peak of physical perfection, with heightened intellect and the powers of telepathy and telekinesis in addition to his tireless physical prowess. Adopting the identity of Captain Comet, Blake vows to protect humanity against extraterrestrial menaces. By the time of issues #40 & #44 (1954) writer John Broome had been joined by artist Murphy Anderson to create some of the most exquisite science fiction/super-hero adventures ever, with the rest of the comic being filled out by equally lovely work by top-notch writers and artists. 
PICTURED: STRANGE ADVENTURES BOTH SOLD
#40 VG £50 A reasonable copy with some edge and handling wear. Intact spine and good staples. Pages are a nice white to off-white. 
#44 VG- £45 Cover slightly dingy at spine, with edge wear and small stamped arrival date above logo. Good staples and nice white to off-white pages. 

*Marvel: One of Marvel’s most successful attempts at diversifying their line in the 1970s was their cash-in on the Martial Arts craze, with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu! His inauspicious debut in Special Marvel Edition, a series previously devoted to reprints, indicated that there wasn’t much faith in Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin’s co-creation, but readers took him to their collective hearts, and more than 100 issues ensued, with a star roster of creators including Doug Moench, Gene Day and Paul Gulacy. Here, however, was where it all started, in Special Marvel Edition #15, December 1973, with the Son of Fu Manchu discovering his villainous heritage, and setting out to oppose his father. Never distributed in the UK, and therefore doubly sought after on these shores. This is an outstanding copy from an original owner collection, bought new in 1973 on a New York newsstand, and carefully preserved ever since. This is a sharp copy, with superb colour (solid black cover background) and gloss, square corners, tight, firm staples. The pages are off-white, with edges a very light shade of tan. Just very minor handling wear at top and right edges. 
PICTURED: SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #15 VF+ £200

*Marvel: The Silver/Bronze Age series of Sub-Mariner that started in 1968 featured from 1972 the last hurrah of creator Bill Everett on Sub-Mariner. Everett rejoined the character he had created for issues #50-55 & #57 (all featured here). He made contributions for a few later issues up to #61, but the issues in this update are essentially the last of this classic artist who died at 55. His work here was every bit as good as anything he had produced in the Golden Age and before this in the Silver Age. Particularly notable are the first appearance of Nita (later Namorita) in #50, and the revival of Venus (a character he had drawn in the Golden Age) in Everett’s masterpiece #57, pictured here. As you may have guessed, a great favourite here at 30th Century. 
IN THIS UPDATE: SUB-MARINER ALL SOLD
#50 VG £20 1st Nita (later Namorita)
#51 FN £5
#52 VG p £3.25 Sunfire
#53 VG £3.50 Sunfire
#54 VG/FN p £4
#55 FN+ £6
#57 FN+ p £20 (PICTURED) Return of Venus  

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Midnight Tales 1972-1976 was a relatively short run Charlton horror series, but one of the best. Created by writer/artist Wayne Howard, whose art was heavily influenced by Wally Wood, the hosts and protagonists were Professor Coffin (aka the Midnight Philosopher) and his attractive niece Arachne, who introduced and took part in every issue, which followed the familiar sequence of framing sections around short stories. We have a complete set of all 18 issues available, averaging FN grade; recommended. 
IN THIS UPDATE: MIDNIGHT TALES Complete Set #1-18 Av. FN £100; #1 PICTURED.   

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’ll soon be presenting all our Michael Moorcock stock in our newer format, with a picture for every book, but to whet you appetites, we present an item new in: James Cawthorn’s graphic adaptation of the climactic last adventure of Moorcock’s most famous and most tragic hero Elric. Published by the ‘underground’ and controversial Savoy Books in 1976, Moorcock said this: “Jim Cawthorn and I have been inseparable for over twenty-five years, sometimes to the point where I can’t remember which came first—the drawing or the story. It is his drawings of my characters which remain for me the most accurate, both in detail and in atmosphere. His interpretations in strip form will always be, for me, the best.”
PICTURED: MICHAEL MOORCOCK: STORMBRINGER SOLD
Savoy 1976 1st UK Over-sized softcover VG £20
Graphic adaptation by James Cawthorn of the final Elric tale
31 x 44 cm; black and white with colour covers
Spine has many ticks and small creases, breaking colour. Colour breaking creases across right bottom cover corner. 

It’s never too early to plan and do your Christmas shopping. Here’s a list of relevant dates for our trading during the festive period.

Saturday 13th December: Last day for orders for pre-Christmas delivery. You need to place your order no later than 4 pm. Orders placed after this deadline will not be posted until the New Year. This is also the day we shall be issuing our last Newsletter before Christmas.
Tuesday 16th December: Last posting before Christmas for all orders placed by 4 pm on Saturday 13th and paid for by 4 pm on Monday 15th December.
Saturday 3rd January 2026: Newsletter resumes. All orders placed after 4 pm on 13th December (up to 4 pm on 3rd Jan) will be filled this weekend and bills issued on 4th Jan.
Wednesday 7th January 2026: Posting for all paid orders outstanding.

*DC: One of the most esoteric DC series to collect, inasmuch as it isn’t DC, in a manner of speaking. In the Sixties, it was a common practice of the UK distributors Thorpe & Porter to return the covers of unsold copies for credit, then re-purpose the ‘destroyed’ coverless copies as Double Double Comics, four to an issue, under a new cover – usually an ineptly-recoloured stat of a US original. Thus the contents of any given issue are random (you’re just as likely to find a Marvel comic included!), so we list the issues contained within each copy in our stock. Four of these unusual gems fresh in from the Bute Collection this week:
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
ACTION DD #2 VG+ £25 Cover: Teen Titans #4. Content: Avengers #42, Brave & Bold #68, Metal Men #20, Wonder Woman #163.
ACTION DD #3 VG+ £25 Cover: Justice League of America #56. Content: Blackhawk #237, X-Men #38, Sub-Mariner #4, Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #2. 
BATMAN DD #2 VG £50 Cover: Batman #160. Content: Batman #181 (1st Poison Ivy, inc poster), Batman #184, Strange Tales #156, Teen Titans #6. Sticker residue and book shop stamps front & back covers. 
BATMAN DD #3 GD/VG £35 Cover: Batman #170. Content: Batman #188, Batman #189 (1st Silver Age scarecrow), Batman #186 (Joker issue), Batman #190 (Penguin issue; small corner off 1 page, no significant loss). 

*Marvel: Despite the cover of Strange Worlds #3, this is not quite a Big Panty Monster title – more a science fiction/supernatural set of stories. Starting in 1958 and lasting just five issues, Strange Worlds is a curiosity from before the dawn of Marvel Comics, and is pretty rare. It’s many years (way back before our records began) since we last had a copy through our hands. But there’s no doubting the artistic credentials of those included in this issue: Jack Kirby (inc cover), Steve Ditko, John Buscema, Joe Maneely and Joe Sinnott – a dream line-up. We have given this issue an Apparent grade, since it is missing an ad page, but all the stories are complete. This is reflected in the price. A very decent copy, with just minor wear at the spine and corners. There is a very faint (subscription?) crease down the centre which does not break colour, is hard to spot and does not detract from the general appearance of the comic. One further crease (also not breaking colour) at the end of the logo, which is easier to feel than see. Staples are firmly attached throughout and the off-white to white pages are of excellent quality. Demand is sure to be high for this.
PICTURED: STRANGE WORLDS #3 App VG £80 SOLD 

*Marvel: Two classic issues of the title that was the foundation of the Marvel Age of Comics. Fantastic Four #27 features a further encounter with the Sub-Mariner, with a special guest star appearance by Dr Strange; #29 is a return engagement on the Moon with the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes and an appearance by the Watcher.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR 
#27 VG+ p £95 Nice mid-grade copy. A couple of faint colour-breaking creases across the right side corners, minor edge wear, strong colours, no markings, pence printed. Tight, firm staples and supple off-white pages. 
#29 GD/VG p £70 Reasonable copy with good colour. No markings, but quite a lot of spine ticks and small creases breaking colour. Wear along top and right edges. Staples are good; pages are creamy-coloured.  

*Horror 1940-1959: Atlas’s Mystic was one of their prime horror titles, with the usual Atlas brand of quality art and storytelling. From the Bute Collection, here are three issues of Mystic from 1953 in varying grades, in all their pre-code loveliness. 
PICTURED: MYSTIC
#16 FA £35 SOLD Cover by Carl Burgos. Interior art by Carmine Infantino, Carl Hubbell, Sam Citron, George Roussos and others. Front cover all but detached, hanging on by bottom staple. Almost total spine split with back cover detached. Other edge wear; decent pages.
#19 FN £360 Great skeleton swamp girl cover by Carl Burgos. Interior art by Mort Lawrence, Vic Carrabotta, Werner Roth and others. A superior copy with great colour and gloss. Minimal corner blunting, tiny tear top edge, with a handful of minor spine ticks and creases. Tight, firm staples and excellent white to off-white pages. 
#20 FA £35 SOLD Ubiquitous girl in red dress cover by Russ Heath. Interior art by Ed Winiarski, Sam Kweskin, Tony DiPreta and others. Cover detached and separated, but good cover image with nice gloss. All round edge wear with minor creasing. Staples otherwise good; cream pages with edge tanning. 

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries. Four of the earliest issues of the most famous and longest running Picture Library of them all this week, still going strong after nearly 65 years! This week, we’re pleased to present issues #10-13 from that very first year of publication in 1961. These are all from the same source, where a previous owner had added two extra staples near the spine, which have rusted to varying degrees over the years. They make the copies a little tight to open, but don’t impair the reading of them. The spines were also taped, and some tape remains on some issues, with a residue on others. Nevertheless, the cover colours remain vibrant, with little other wear or creasing (unless noted) and well-preserved pages. Previous owner’s name in biro and small lettering top of back covers. Highly collectable.
PICTURED: COMMANDO ALL SOLD
#10 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine, with moderate puckering. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages. Very small cover scuff.
#11 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages.
#12 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages. Several scuffs of varying sizes at right edge. 
#13 FA £30 Extra staples, tape and residue at spine. Vivid colour cover; clean, crisp pages. Moderate puckering. 

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was surely between the 1920s and the 1950s, and in this period several women dominated the genre. We refer to them collectively as the Queens of Crime, but of them all, Agatha Christie is surely the High Queen. The most read author in the English language, her works continue to populate our media, whether on TV, in films and theatre and, of course, books. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more books by her in circulation than anyone else. Four offerings from Ms Christie this week in 1970s Fontana editions: three Poirot mysteries (including The Big Four, a spy thriller and The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, a famously unique murder mystery, plus The Hound Of Death, a book of mostly occult short stories, but including the short Witness For The Prosecution, famously filmed).  
PICTURED: ALL BY AGATHA CHRISTIE ALL SOLD
THE BIG FOUR Fontana 1978 3rd UK PB thus GD £4
CAT AMONG THE PIGEONS Fontana 1976 UK PB GD/VG £5
THE HOUND OF DEATH Fontana 1976 UK PB GD/VG £5
THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD Fontana 1976 UK PB GD/VG £5

*DC: Also from the Midas Collection this week, three issues of Gang Busters, a long-running crime series ‘based on the smash radio hit!’ Tough, violent and uncompromising. These date from 1949-1951. With atmospheric art by Dan Barry, Nick Cardy, George Papp, Carmine Infantino, Curt Swan, Win Mortimer, Howard Sherman, George Roussos, Ruben Moreira, Leonard Starr and more. 
IN THIS UPDATE: GANG BUSTERS
#8 VG+ £38
#9 FA/GD £13 (PICTURED) SOLD Photo cover. Cover off staples; tape and a couple of chunks missing at spine. Tears and chips out at edges. 
#20 VG £25 

*Marvel: From the Bute Collection, two excellent issues smack in the middle of the wonderful Wally Wood run on early Daredevil. #8 features the debut of the Stilt-Man, an oft-recurring DD foe. #9 has an off-beat thriller set in Europe, with Wood’s layouts pencilled by the versatile Bob Powell.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL BOTH SOLD
#8 FN £85 1st Stilt Man. This is an outstanding copy, with great colours and reflectivity, square corners, tight, firm staples and off-white to white pages. It would in fact grade as VF+ or better were it not for a very, very faint mug ring between the logo and the Stilt Man’s figure. This is only visible if you catch it in the right light.
#9 VF £95 Great copy with excellent colours and reflectivity. Square corners, unmarked cover, tight, firm staples and off-white to white pages. Just a slight dink to the bottom spine corner and a tiny bit of wear at bottom edge. 

*Marvel:  If you’re looking for really nice copies of Amazing Spider-Man for your collection, then look no further than the Totally Amazing Spider-Man 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. Creators J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr interrupted their regularly scheduled Spider-Man for a 911 World Trade Centre commemorative issue (Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 #36) in the wake of 11th September 2001 and the destruction of the twin towers. Focusing on the aftermath, this story features the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe and stars the emergency workers. Otherwise known around these parts as ‘Dr.Doom has a good cry, bless’. This example is a pristine Near Mint (not usually seen, since the jet black cover normally shows every finger mark). 
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (VOL 2) #36 NM £45 SOLD

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Around about 1970, DC did a short series of Gothic style covers in House Of Secrets (you know the thing — terrified woman in diaphanous nightgown flees from creepy old house in the background). The most famous of these was on the cover of House Of Secrets #88, with a glorious Neal Adams painting. This is a very nice example, with just minor edge and handling wear and a small lower spine split (less than 2 cm) detracting. A pence-stamped copy with the stamp on the moon (as is so often the case).  
PICTURED: HOUSE OF SECRETS #88 VG+ p £110

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Issues #2 and #69 of the popular Schoolgirls’ Picture Library fresh in this week, both involving role-playing heroines, touching on familiar tropes for this series. #2, Imposter Princess, does what it says on the tin; in #69, Maid Marian’s Dangerous Quest, Marian disguises herself as a page boy (as you do). Both in very reasonable condition, with varying degrees of rust and wear at staples. 
PICTURED: SCHOOLGIRLS’ PICTURE LIBRARY 
#2 GD/VG £22.50
#69 VG £15

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: The Belgian author Georges Simenon was a very prolific writer. He aspired to be known as a serious writer and produced nearly 400 novels plus short stories, memoirs and autobiographies. His most famous creation, the French detective Jules Maigret, featured in 75 novels and 28 short stories and has become immortalised in international film, TV and radio. This week however, we have six volumes that do NOT feature Maigret, but show Simenon’s range in psychological thrillers and mysteries. All in green Penguins and vintage Pans from the 1950s and 60s, in English translations (natch). Half of them feature two novels in one book. These have varying degrees of wear and tear, as described in our catalogue. 
PICTURED: ALL BY GEORGES SIMENON ALL SOLD
INQUEST ON BOUVET Penguin 1963 2nd UK PB thus FA/GD £4
IN TWO LATITUDES Penguin 1952 1st UK PB thus FA/GD £5 (two novels)
LOST MOORINGS Penguin 1962 2nd UK PB thus GD £4 (two novels)
MAGNET OF DOOM Pan 1956 1st UK PB thus FA/GD £7
ON THE DANGER LINE Penguin 1952 1st UK PB thus GD £7 (two novels)
STRANGE INHERITANCE Great Pan 1958 1st UK PB thus FA £6

*DC: A rare gem from the Midas Collection this week. Some years ago, Green Lantern #30 (1948) was reported in Comic Book Marketplace as the rarest DC Golden Age super-hero comic. We have no way of knowing if that is true, but we’ve certainly never come across one before. This issue featured the debut of Streak the Wonder Dog, who went on to star in the last few issues of Green Lantern, eclipsing Alan Scott himself. In the 1950s, Streak’s creative team, Bob Kanigher and Alex Toth, re-booted him as Rex the Wonder Dog, a DC star throughout the decade in his own title. Cover and two lead stories drawn by Alex Toth, with third GL story and detective filler by Irwin Hansen. 
We believe this copy has probably been trimmed and have awarded it an Apparent grade. The trimming appears to be on the right and bottom edges. It’s slightly shorter and narrower than contemporary issues of other DC titles, and the edges are too sharp with no overhang on the right edge. On-line images are inconclusive, and although precise finishing wasn’t exactly a science back in 1948, we’ve opted to allow for trimming in the price of this issue. The question is further complicated by the left side of the cover being slightly wrapped around the spine for a few mms into the back cover. The condition itself is pretty good, with an unmarked cover with good colour, just small nicks at top and bottom spine, a tiny tear at bottom edge, tight, firm staples and lovely white to off-white pages. A piece of comic canine history! High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: GREEN LANTERN #40 App VG £800 SOLD