*DC: Whilst Batman is very rarely a horror title, you can’t have Halloween without a bat, can you? A most significant copy from the Midas Collection this week, with the debut of the classic Batmobile on the cover – indeed, appearing to burst through the cover and coming right at you! Wonderfully depicted by Dick Sprang. The lead story is The Centuries Of Crime by Don C Cameron and Jack Burnley, wherein the Joker enlists the aid of a fraudulent scientist and swami, convincing them that they can successfully carry out their “fleecings” of victims in the past and the future. In the second story, by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Batman and Robin investigate the case against a suspected criminal to uncover the real culprit. Then, in the 2nd story of a series involving various police divisions, Batman and Robin team-up with the Harbour Patrol to track down harbour pirates, by Bill Finger and Jack Burnley. And in the final story by Finger and Kane, a couple show up at the Wayne mansion claiming to be the Aunt and Uncle of Dick Grayson, and they successfully get custody of the boy. But Batman smells a rat when the couple call up Bruce Wayne and offer him the opportunity to “buy” Dick back. This lovely issue is CGC 5.0 (VG/FN) blue label unrestored, case perfect, white to off-white pages. CGC Ref: 0222808002. High resolution images are available on request. 
PICTURED: BATMAN #20 CGC 5.0 VG/FN £2,350

*Marvel: Marvel must have known they were on to a winner when they brought back the Green Goblin just three issues after his debut. This week we have one of the less common issues of Amazing Spider-Man: #17, the second-ever appearance of perhaps Spidey’s greatest enemy, the Green Goblin – with a decidedly stoned-looking (judging by the cover image) Human Torch thrown into the mix! This classic tale is a less frequent visitor to our stock than its contemporaries. This is a decent-looking copy, pence printed, with good cover colours and nice reflectivity. A little nick at right edge, some subtle stress marks at spine and a little wear along the top edge. There is a narrow dust shadow along the right edge and some non-brittle tanning to the inner cover edges. Strong, firm staples, off-white to cream pages.   
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #17 VG/FN p £235 

*Horror 1940-1959: From the Bute Collection, a good quality copy of Atlas’s Mystic #29, with a stonking cover by Joe Maneely. Interior art by Vince Colletta, Sheldon Moldoff, Tony Mortellaro and others. This is a nice above average copy, solid and intact with an unspoilt cover image (skeleton, corpse), good reflectivity and strong colours. The spine has some relatively minor wear, but is complete. There’s a slight short crease from the left edge, but not colour-breaking and very shallow. Staples are tight and firm, pages are a supple off-white. A very presentable example. 
PICTURED: MYSTIC #29 FN £250 

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Dave Stevens, creator of the Rocketeer, was a true fan favourite artist and superb exponent of what was (and maybe still is?) called Good Girl Art. His work graced the covers (but few interiors) of dozens of comics from the late 1970s on into the 1990s and beyond, as he grew more into the areas of portfolios, prints and commercial art. Much of his work bordered on the risqué and exploitative (and sometimes crossed that border), but the best of it was truly stunning. A great loss to the comic world when he died at 52 in 2008. These days comics with his covers are in demand at premium prices. Here’s his take on Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the iconic horror hostess, in her run on the House Of Mystery title in its Giant-Size Halloween Spectacular. This is a nice copy, with only very minor spine stress and edge wear, glossy with great colours, white pages and tight, firm staples. It is slightly marred by a couple of short colour-breaking creases across the bottom right corner, but these are over blurb and do not detract from the striking cover image. 
PICTURED: ELVIRA’S HOUSE OF MYSTERY #11 FN £70 

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: In the early 1950s, a small number of horror comics (around 40) were produced by a variety of UK publishers reprinting US pre-code horror stories in black and white. Just as in the USA, these became notorious and subject to censorship which led to their discontinuation. There’s a lot of information online about the banning of UK horror comics if you want to know more, and I particularly recommend a youtube video by Canadian Dave Dustin on the subject (see the Links page in our Extras section for more information). These UK horror comics have become both extremely rare and much sought after in recent years, and we’re delighted to have the first four issues of the five-issue run of Arnold’s Frankenstein from 1953/54 available, reprinting Dick Briefer’s Frankenstein stories from American publishers Prize plus other material (since these were thicker than the Prize originals).
PICTURED: FRANKENSTEIN
#1 GD/VG £220 Reprints Prize Frankenstein plus Airboy. Cover creases, edge and spine wear, but nothing horrible. Spine nearly intact, some deterioration at bottom.
#2 FA/GD £55 Reprints Prize Frankenstein plus Airboy, Atlas Astonishing. Spine taped, but otherwise okay; edge wear with minor chipping to right edge.
#3 GD £60 Reprints Prize Frankenstein plus Airboy, Atlas Astonishing. Upper spine split 4 cm, some chipping and small tears at right cover edge. Small chips out back cover. Some cover creases.
#4 VG/FN £155 Reprints Prize Frankenstein plus Airboy, Atlas Mystic & Young Men. Solid copy with intact spine. Glossy colour cover. Just minor edge and spine wear.

This week’s Newsletter was sent out around 9:30 am this morning (Saturday 24th). Due to a glitch in our email supplier’s systems, we have lost some contacts’ details. So if you haven’t received the Newsletter, and still want to do so (including future Newsletters), please get in touch. Full details of the contents of this week’s Newsletter are now shown below. 

(And there’s no cause for security concerns – no data has leaked anywhere, and we only store your name and email address on our email system – no other information about you.)

*DC: Justice Inc was a four issue series from 1975, starring the pulp hero The Avenger and set in the 1930s. The first two issues were adapted from the novels by Kenneth Robeson, creator of Doc Savage. Art on #1 is by Al McWilliams, on #2-4 by Jack Kirby. Covers on #2-3 by Kirby, on #1 & #4 by Joe Kubert. All four issues presented here as a complete set.
IN THIS UPDATE: COMPLETE SET OF JUSTICE INC #1-4 £20 Av VG/FN; #1 Pictured SOLD

*Marvel: It had already been a busy time for Marvel’s newest team, the merry mutant X-Men, when, in issue #9 of their own series, they faced up against the might of the Avengers for the first time, although, truth be told, it was more of a skirmish here than a battle royale, as the real threat in this issue was the mysterious Lucifer. Still, there’s nothing quite like Lee & Kirby pitting two teams of their creations against each other! This Bute Collection copy is pence stamped, solid with great colours and good reflectivity. There is minor spine wear and very minor handling wear, with tight, firm staples and crisp white pages. 
PICTURED: X-MEN #9 FN p £285 

*Marvel: Lovely copies of Captain America #141-150 from the Bute Collection, all at least VF, most either VF+ or VF/NM. These are relatively scarce in the UK as this period was not distributed over here. Cap & the Falcon with SHIELD and Femme Force against the Grey Gargoyle, Hydra, the Red Skull, the Kingpin, Batroc, the Stranger and others. 
IN THIS UPDATE: CAPTAIN AMERICA
#141 VF+ £30 inc ad insert
#142 VF/NM £38 inc ad insert
#143 VF £27 Giant SOLD
#144 VF+ £33 (PICTURED) SOLD Falcon’s new costume
#145 VF+ £18.75 SOLD
#146 VF/NM £22.75 SOLD
#147 VF £14.75 SOLD
#148 VF £14.75 inc ad insert, with extra staple
#149 VF+ £18.75
#150 VF+ £18.75 SOLD

*Horror 1940-1959: From the Bute Collection, and Atlas in 1953, issue #16 of Spellbound. Atlas always provided a superior quality of art and story in its many pre-code horror titles from a famous bullpen. Cover here by Russ Heath, with interior art by Heath, Bill Everett, Joe Sinnott, John Forte, Vic Carrabotta and others. This is a great-looking copy, flat and glossy, with a virtually unblemished black background. There is slight wear to the top edge, very minimal wear at the spine and tiny chip off the bottom right cover corner. Staples are tight and strong, pages a supple off-white. There is a tiny chip off the back cover bottom spine (not visible from the front), which leads to a lower spine split of 2.5 cm. Presents really well. 
PICTURED: SPELLBOUND #16 VG/FN £215

*Alan Class Reprints: From the Alan Class Personal Archive, we’re delighted to present ten post decimal issues of Astounding this week, all in very high grade, never read or circulated, and each with a certificate signed by Alan Class.
IN THIS UPDATE: ASTOUNDING
#111 VF £4.75
#135 VF/NM £5
#143 NM £5.50
#145 VF- £4.25 (PICTURED)
#146 VF+ £5
#154 FN+ £3.75
#156 VF £4
#157 NM £5.50
#159 VF/NM £5
#161 VF- £5

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: This week, we return to the famous and long-running Sexton Blake Library. Often dubbed ‘the poor man’s Sherlock Holmes’, there’s still no doubting the popularity of Sexton Blake, who has probably had far more fiction written of him than the world’s greatest detective. Five consecutive issues newly listed, from Fleetway from 1963, by which time they’d taken over publication. These are picture library sized, but mainly text. The series ran from 1915 to 1968. These issues follow the 1956 revamp by W Howard Baker when the covers took on a more gangster/sleazy mode. Written by a crew of notable writers, the longevity of the series is testament to the quality of the plotting and writing.
PICTURED: SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY: ALL SOLD
#517: THE IMPOSTER: PHILIP CHAMBERS & HOWARD BAKER VG £6
#518: THE SLAYING OF JULIAN SUMMERS: RICHARD WILLIAMS GD/VG £5
#519: CULT OF DARKNESS: DESMOND REID VG £6
#520: SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD: RICHARD WILLIAMS VG/FN £7
#521: LOTUS LEAVES AND LARCENY: PHILIP CHAMBERS VG £6

*DC: From the Bute Collection, some really nice condition copies of the Justice League of America in the range #67-80, all VF or better. In this post Gardner Fox era of the JLA, the team began to shake up its membership – for the first time original members left and new members came along to replace them. A volatile and popular period for DC’s premier super-hero team. 
IN THIS UPDATE: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#67 VF/NM £87 (PICTURED) 80 Page Giant with Neal Adams cover. Reprinting issues #4, #14 and #31, where Green Arrow, Atom and Hawkman join. A very high grade for a squarebound giant of this period.
#71 VF £29 Martian Manhunter leaves
#73 VF £44 (PICTURED) Guest starring the JSA
#77 VF/NM £40 (PICTURED)
#78 VF/NM p £37
#79 VF+ £33
#80 VF+ £33

  

*Marvel: Well, in over 30 years of trading, I can truthfully say that this is one of the very few key Marvel issues that we’ve never had in stock before. Tales Of Suspense #1 dates from January 1959. The stories are predominantly science fiction, with one historical. Artists include Don Heck (who also did the cover), Steve Ditko, John Buscema, Joe Maneely, Al Williamson & Roy Krenkel, plus others. The first four issues had science fiction covers, with Kirby’s Big Panty Monster covers kicking in with issue #5. This Bute Collection copy is structurally very sound, with glossy colours and a strong spine, tight, firm staples and supple, near white pages. There is a tiny chip out at the top of the spine and a very tiny tear in the top edge without loss. There is some creasing at the front spine, mostly not breaking colour and a soft slight vertical crease centre left, which is only just visible and does not break colour. The only significant defect is a small patch of fading centre logo, where some of the yellow letters of the logo are not as bright, and a curious patch of the red logo background has faded to an orangey yellow (see cover scan below). Nevertheless, the first issue of one of Marvel’s cornerstone titles, which doesn’t come along every day. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE #1 VG £1,400 

*Marvel: 10 consecutive issues of the Incredible Hulk from the Bute Collection: #191-200. This period includes Doc Samson (#193, #199), the Abomination (#195, #196), Man-Thing (#197, #198), plus the 200th Anniversary guest star spectacular and a lot more. Nearly all in nice grades, VF and above. 
IN THIS UPDATE: HULK
#191 VF £13
#192 VF £13
#193 VF/NM £33
#194 VF/NM £18.75
#195 VF £9 Marvel value stamp out; story not affected
#196 FN/VF £10.25
#197 VF £36 (PICTURED) Wrightson cover SOLD
#198 VF+ £24
#199 VF+ £16
#200 VF+ £30 (PICTURED)

*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: Dave Stevens, creator of the Rocketeer, was a true fan favourite artist and superb exponent of what was (and maybe still is?) called Good Girl Art. His work graced the covers (but few interiors) of dozens of comics from the late 1970s on into the 1990s and beyond, as he grew more into the areas of portfolios, prints and commercial art. Much of his work bordered on the risqué and exploitative (and sometimes crossed that border), but the best of it was truly stunning. A great loss to the comic world when he died at 52 in 2008. These days comics with his covers are in demand at premium prices. Here is his ultimate Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, on Blackthorne’s Jungle Comics #1 from 1988.  
PICTURED: JUNGLE COMICS #1 VF+ £75 SOLD Brilliant colours and gloss, with just minor handling wear and stress marks at spine. 

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for this books category, with an image for each book. Queen Of The States by Josephine Saxton is a novel about a woman who moves through time and space from a mental hospital to an alien spaceship, but is it reality or madness? Hank Searls’s The Pilgrim Project is a richly human thriller about the race to the moon. Arthur Sellings was a British author active in the 1950s/60s, who died at 47 in 1968. He left behind six novels and two short story collections. His first novel, The Silent Speakers (UK) / Telepath (US) (we have both versions in this update) is the best novel about telepathy I have ever read. One can only wonder what he might have gone on to achieve had he not died so young. 
PICTURED:
JOSEPHINE SAXTON: QUEEN OF THE STATES Women’s Press 1986 1st UK PB VG/FN £4 
HANK SEARLS: THE PILGRIM PROJECT Mayflower Dell 1966 1st UK PB VG/FN £4
ARTHUR SELLINGS: BOTH SOLD
TELEPATH Ballantine 1962 1st US PB VG £6 (UK title The Silent Speakers)
THE SILENT SPEAKERS Panther 1965 1st UK PB GD £4 (US title Telepath)

The Showcase Presents line was designed primarily to focus on the Silver Age DC stories, specifically the rich era from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s, which is widely regarded as one of DC’s most fertile and creative periods. Produced in black and white on newsprint quality paper, these were marketed as cheap alternatives to the more prestigious Archive editions, most volumes running in excess of 500 pages. Three volumes from DC’s horror/supernatural titles bundled in this week’s bargain:
HOUSE OF MYSTERY
Vol 1 NM Reprints #174-194
Vol 2 NM Reprints #195-211 
PHANTOM STRANGER
Vol 1 NM Reprints #1-21 plus Showcase #80
All 3 for £30 SOLD
Shipping to UK addresses only (post free)

*DC: Justice is a twelve-issue limited series published by DC Comics from August 2005, written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with art also by Ross and Doug Braithwaite. Its story involves the superhero team known as the Justice League of America as they confront the supervillain team the Legion of Doom, led by Lex Luthor and Brainiac. Set outside regular DC continuity, with fabulous painted covers by Ross, who also painted over Braithwaite’s interior pencils, the series provides both a visual treat and a stunning storyline. All 12 issues are available here in a complete set, averaging NM condition. 
IN THIS UPDATE: JUSTICE Complete Set #1-12 Av NM £40; #1 pictured.  

*Marvel: Amazing Spider-Man #300 is just about the most sought after post Bronze Age comic, so we’re delighted to present the Bute Collection copy. There were few more significant debuts, in the latter days of the 20th Century, than everyone’s favourite brain-eating symbiote Venom, who graduated from being a genetically modified costume in a jar to the Alpha Dog of Spidey’s Rogue’s Gallery! Having debuted in Secret Wars #8 as a semi-sentient blob which configured itself into Spider-Man’s new costume, the ‘symbiote’ became a regular feature in Spidey’s own series before being revealed as a malevolent alien parasite! Unlike a lot of copies we’ve seen, the right edge on this one is sharp and doesn’t have the ‘blunt guillotine’ defect that came about in the printing process. One or two miniscule ticks at centre spine can barely be seen. Flat, glossy and vibrant with tight staples, square corners and white pages.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #300 NM- £450 SOLD

*Marvel: From the Bute Collection this week, the venerable Marvel title Tales To Astonish comes to its conclusion after 101 issues. In its final days, the comic was shared between Sub-Mariner and the Hulk. Some really nice creators on these characters – Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Bill Everett, Marie Severin, Gene Colan and others. Included is the epic issue #100, where the two leads share one long story. These copies are among the nicest condition we’ve ever seen for comics from this period, with crisp, sharp edges, white pages and great colours.
IN THIS UPDATE: TALES TO ASTONISH
#94 VF+ £50 (PICTURED) SOLD
#95 FN p £15.50 Pence printed
#96 FN/VF £27
#97 VF+ p £46 (PICTURED) Pence printed
#98 VF £36
#99 VF+ £46 (PICTURED) SOLD
#100 VF- £47 (PICTURED) SOLD
101 FN £27Loose centrefold; final issue SOLD

*Gold Key/Whitman: Doctor Solar, Man Of The Atom was Gold Key’s first original character, debuting in 1962. Solar was created by writer Paul S. Newman and editor Matt Murphy, with accomplished illustrations from artist Bob Fujitani (later by Frank Bolle) and gorgeous cover paintings by Richard Powers and George Wilson. Doctor Solar gained his powers to convert his body into any kind of nuclear energy whilst trying to avert a meltdown in a nuclear power plant (don’t try this at home, kids!). It wasn’t until issue #5 that Solar gained a costume and became a recognisable super-hero. We have the first 8 issues of the series fresh in from the Bute Collection. 
IN THIS UPDATE: DOCTOR SOLAR, MAN OF THE ATOM
#1 VG+ £125 (PICTURED) Nice copy with just minimal edge wear, flawed by a few tiny specks of a black substance lower centre, which are not overly apparent. 
#2 FN/VF £60 (PICTURED) Really nice copy with just minimal edge wear.
#3 VF £50 (PICTURED) Excellent copy. 
#4 VG £14.75
#5 FN £30 (PICTURED) 1st in costume SOLD
#6 FN+ £19.25
#7 FN/VF £24
#8 FN+ £19.25

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Not seen too often, Nightmare Suspense Picture Library was a short-lived horror series from MV Features, lasting from 1966/67 for 16 issues. We have the first two issues in this update.
PICTURED: NIGHTMARE SUSPENSE PICTURE LIBRARY
#1 GD/VG £25 The March Of The Boneless Ones
#2 VG £20 Murderous Tide
BOTH SOLD

*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. This week we feature her most famous creation, Hercule Poirot, from his early cases through to his last case. 
PICTURED: BY AGATHA CHRISTIE ALL SOLD
POIROT’S EARLY CASES Fontana 1983 3rd UK PB thus FA/GD £3 Poirot short stories
POIROT INVESTIGATES Triad Grafton 1987 4th UK PB thus GD £3 Poirot short stories
CURTAIN: POIROT’S LAST CASE Fontana 1977 1st UK PB thus GD/VG £4

*DC: Another special issue of Batman from the Golden Age courtesy of the Midas Collection. Batman #17 features an iconic cover by Jerry Robinson (signed as by Bob Kane) with Batman and Robin aloft upon an American Eagle against a black sky and yellow moon, encouraging us to: ‘Keep the American Eagle flying! Buy war bonds and stamps!’  Four Batman stories within, including a Penguin caper, with art by Bob Kane and Jack Burnley. This is an okay copy with some specific flaws. The spine is worn with a 3 cm lower split with a small piece missing. There are firm creases which break colour across top and bottom right corners, all the way to the centre right edge. Small tears without loss to bottom edge. Previous owner’s name in very faint pencil towards bottom of logo. Some stress marks and short creasing from spine. But the central image is unspoilt and the comic holds together reasonably well with good staples. Some minor foxing to page margins which are otherwise a decent off-white. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: BATMAN #17 GD+ £600 SOLD