*DC: One of the wackier titles of the Silver Age – and it had plenty of competition – was Lois Lane, the solo series of Superman’s gal who yearned for nothing so much as to throw off her humdrum life of international fame and award-winning journalism to trick and trap the Man of Steel into an open and honest marriage. In real life, most of Lois’ antics would have earned her a heartfelt restraining order or a jail term, but the exquisite art of primary illustrator Kurt Schaffenberger keeps you hooked in and sells this heap of insane tosh to even the most sceptical audience. We’re huge fans, as you can probably tell. We’ve restocked Lois’ series from the Pre-Distribution issue #10 through to #124. Highlight of this new influx is the first Silver Age appearance of the Catwoman in #70, returning from Limbo after almost a decade in a very classy variant of her classic costume; this is VG- p £50. Also of high interest is the first appearance of cult heroine (or given her schizophrenic state should that be heroines?) Rose & the Thorn in #105. In other newly added issues, Lois becomes a baby, becomes Insect Queen, marries at least three other super-beings who aren’t Superman, fights Wonder Woman, marries a death-row inmate, and goes blind. Goodness, I’m exhausted just writing about it. SORRY, LOIS LANE #70 HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: From the 1980s, the decade where the Dark Knight ruled the comics stores and the movie screens, a selection from Batman #401 onwards, including several story arcs that would resonate for years to come. Issues #404-407 featured Miller and Mazzucelli’s ‘Batman: Year One’; #408-410 presented a new and altogether darker origin for the second Robin, Jason Todd; #417-420 featured the epic ‘Ten Nights of the Beast’; and this run closes with numbers #426-429, ‘A Death In The Family’, a notorious and controversial tale in which readers were invited to phone in to determine the fate of one of the series’ supporting cast. In mid to high grades, averaging VF+, this is a run of Batman said to have inspired much of the popular ‘Gotham’ TV show, and demand is increasing.

*Marvel: One very successful latter-day addition to the Web-Head’s Rogue’s Gallery was the Hobgoblin, who made his debut in 1983’s Amazing Spider-Man #238. The path of carnage and mysterious identity of this suspiciously familiar evil-doer kept readers entertained for more than a year before the Big Reveal, with several red herrings and false ‘revelations’ along the way. Our newest copy of ASM #238 is NM- p at £135, proudly retaining the Free Gift – Lakeside ‘Tattooz’ – which baffle and frustrate so many completists. Then, venturing tentatively into the world of modern comics, 2018’s Amazing Spider-Man #797 sports an ‘homage’ cover to #238, Mayhew Variant with the Red Goblin (your guess is probably better than mine) in the Hobgoblin role. This is a CGC Blue Label (unrestored) 9.8 (NM/M equivalent) at £150. So just to avoid any possible confusion; Spidey #238, NM- p NOT slabbed, £135, Spidey #797 9.8 CGC slabbed, £150.

*Marvel: From 1981, and the days when alternate future storylines were not nearly as cliched as they’ve since become, one of the most compelling of them all: the classic ‘Days Of Future Past’ two-parter from X-Men #141/142 by Claremont & Byrne. This was virtually Byrne’s swan song on the title. Featuring an aged X-Men line-up against the Sentinels (and the first appearance of Rachel Summers, who became Excalibur’s Phoenix, (later Marvel Girl II)), this really is the story where, as the cover gleefully proclaims, “Everybody Dies!” Already a sought-after two-parter, but its popularity (and value!) skyrocketed after the release of the X-Men film, ‘Days of Future Past’, which adapted the narrative to the big screen (though, it must be said, Wolverine was very unconvincing in the role of Kitty Pryde…). #141 is FN+ p £25, #142 VF £25. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: In 1972, Marvel decided to issue a ‘tryout’ title, in which new concepts or popular supporting characters could be ‘auditioned’ for their own series. One such was Warlock, who had previously made only a handful of appearances as ‘Him’ in Fantastic Four and Thor before being forgotten, but with a new name and new look, he was pimped out by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane as a brand-new super-hero on a parallel world called Counter-Earth. After two issues of M. Prem., Warlock got his own series – perhaps prematurely, as it only lasted eight issues before he died in the pages of the Hulk – but don’t worry, he got better, revived by Jim Starlin before, oh, being killed again. Notwithstanding, Warlock is confirmed as resurfacing in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise, and these two issues, prior to his solo series, are the first appearances of him in full heroic guise. Marvel Premiere # 1 is VF+, a beautiful copy with only a few minor spine ticks, at £225; #2 is still nicer, a glossy NM at £62.

*Marvel: By the 1980s, Wolverine’s status as the breakout star of the ‘New’ X-Men had become evident, and an A-List team of Chris Claremont, Frank Miller and Josef Rubinstein was assembled to give him a solo spotlight in a four issue mini-series. Logan returns to Japan where he seeks to regain his lost honour and win the hand of his beloved Mariko, in an outstanding series which was the basis for the 2013 smash film ‘The Wolverine’ – instead of being merely an outline for the film, many of Miller’s striking visuals for the mini-series were meticulously re-created for the movie. This complete 4-issue series, the first Wolverine solo title, is available as a set only of all four, all pence copies, #1 NM- and the other three at NM, for £150. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: In this otherwise unremarkable issue, guest-hero Captain America (then going by the name of ‘The Captain’, prompting a lost generation to ask “Where’s Tennille?”, but I digress…) lifted and effectively deployed Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, something which no other entity had previously done. So what, you may well ask? Well, this scene was ‘homaged’, probably inadvertently, in the recent mega-hit movie ‘Avengers: Endgame’, and since then the Interwebs has been going insane with demand for this issue. No, we don’t pretend to understand it either. But here it is, VF- p £35, so, you know, snap it up if that’s your bag. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Horror 1940-1959: One of the longer-running and most respected Atlas mystery series, Uncanny Tales survived its transition into the reign of the Comics Code Authority by resorting more to imagination and creativity than viscera and bloodletting; Everett, Heath and Maneely, while admittedly the workhorses of the Atlas stable, turned out an astonishing amount of high quality work given the gruelling deadlines, and never more so than on this series, where all three are present in abundance. Other contributing artists during this period included Torres, Drucker, Morrow and Powell. Of particular interest to modern readers will be issue #52, claimed by guides as the first Iron Man prototype – for whatever weight one wishes to put on that sort of thing! Our range here runs from the first Post Code issue, 1955’s #29, to the final issue of the series, #56 in 1957. Illustrated; 29 VG+ £57, 37 VG £50, 39 VG+ £57, 45 VG+ £57 (with free incomplete #42), 46 VG £50, 47 VG+ £57 and the final issue, 56 VG £52. Details on the others, which include many in very affordable mid-grades, in our online catalogue.

*Modern Reprints: New additions to our stock of the ‘Big Two’s prestigious full-colour hardcover series featuring sequential reprints of their legendary characters. From DC, we have Adam Strange Archives Volume 1, with interplanetary adventures on the planet Rann and elsewhere, superbly illustrated by Mike Sekowsky and Carmine Infantino. Black Canary Archives Volume 1 features the blonde-by-request bombshell of the JSA and JLA, from her debut as a villainess in Flash Comics (by that Infantino man again) and her gradual reformation, with art by Murphy Anderson, Alex Toth and other A-List creators. Turning to the Marvel side of the fence, we have three volumes of Marvel Masterworks in the original livery, sequentially numbered by release rather than subject, which can be confusing for the uninitiated. They are the first volumes respectively of Silver Age Captain America, Fantastic Four and Hulk, compiling the earliest issues, and can be found under their series headings in the Marvel section of this category. All of these are now long out of print, and seldom come our way, so any interest should be expressed swiftly.

*Annuals: Following up our ‘Immaculate Annuals’ listings in the Boys’ category, we turn now to TV & Film Related Annuals, from the same pedigree source. A selection of mostly 1960s Annuals newly added to our listings, in immaculate condition; no prices clipped, no gift dedications, ‘This Book Belongs To’ inscriptions or other interior markings, solid spines, tight corners and bright, vibrant colours, most of these could pass as brand new but for very slight tanning of interior pages owing to age. A couple of them, because of slightly marred laminate or a tiny bit of cover fading, do dip to VF- or even FN, but mostly these are VF to VF/NM, truly lovely items, among the best examples we’ve seen in our quarter century in business. New this listing: Bewitched (1967), Burke’s Law (1966), Mission: Impossible (1968 and 1969), Outer Limits (1966), Persuaders (1973), Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (1967 and 1968), Z Cars (1963 and 1966 – the first and last Annuals for that series, respectively) and our three display items, of unusual rarity as well as high grade: Adam Adamant 1968 VF £60, Avengers 1969 VF/NM £50 and Avengers 1970 VF/NM £50. SORRY, MOST OF THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Small additions to our stocks of Longacre’s large (Eagle-sized) Boy’s Adventure comic Boys’ World from both volumes of its two year run. Many famous strips including Wrath of the Gods, John Brody, Iron Man, Brett Million, Merlo the Magician etc by the best British creators of the time, including Moorcock, Harrison, Embleton, Langford, Lewis, Burns, Bellamy et al. After its run it merged with Eagle; all our new additions are issues previously missing from our stock.

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: The 1960 launch of Valentine Picture Story Library followed on from the 1957 debuting weekly, where often beautifully illustrated love stories were ‘inspired by’ (read: had an otherwise irrelevant song name as the story title) pop hits. Taking a cue from its weekly parent, VPSL featured longer romantic tales entitled after Top Ten records, and, after the earliest issues, stuck the face of the recording artist in question on the front cover, to shift a few extra copies! We have 13 new issues in our lists – half of the 26-issue run – from the very first. Depicted are #1 VG £25 and #2 VG £12; as always, further details on the rest in our online catalogue.

*Clearance Corner: Concluding our farewell to the venerable story paper Hotspur, this second lot is 13 issues, again averaging Good condition, from the first two years of publication, 1933 and 1934. ‘Dead-Wide Dick’, ‘Peeping Percy’ and ‘The Phantom of the Fourth Form’ are among the features awaiting you in this nostalgic accumulation. Numbers 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 16, 18, 36, 38, 45, 49, 54, and 56; the original retail on these was in excess of £150, now reduced to £40. UK postage, if required, is an additional £5. SORRY, THIS LOT HAS NOW SOLD

*Clearance Corner: As you may realise, the purpose of our Clearance Corner lots is to clear space in our shop by discontinuing titles we’re no longer carrying to make way for new and incoming stuff. As such, they will only be offered for a short time. This Clearance Corner lot, listed on 19th April 2019, has not been snapped up and is nearing the end of its time with us. If not purchased by the weekend, we will have to dispose of it. Here are the details from our original listing:
‘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.’

*DC: After Superman’s first Annual in 1960, the Gotham Guardian followed suit in 1961, the first of many – oh, so many – reprint compilations, collections and compendia of the Dynamic Duo’s previous adventures. This 86-page tome (cover to cover) set the precedent for the 80-Page Giant series which rotated between various DC titles in the 60s, and this first collection hit on most of the key notes of the Batman mythos, bringing newer readers up to speed on the legend. This is a pence copy, and one of the nicer ones we’ve seen, as usually this issue, when available at all, is mid to low grade. This is a FN+, with only a small horizontal ripple – possibly exposure to moisture at some point, possibly glue ‘pucker’ – preventing a higher grade. On sale at £100.

*Marvel: By his 101st issue, Spider-Man had become temporarily encumbered with six arms, leaving him a true eight-limbed arachnoid hero; but more importantly, he met a foe who was destined to become one of the Marvel Universe’s prime anti-heroes. Following the 1971 relaxation of the Comics Code Authority (which had hitherto banned mention of vampires and werewolves in the wake of the 1950s horror comics scare), the floodgates were opened for all manner of supernatural beings; one of the first was Michael Morbius, tragic scientist who, while not a traditional vampire, gained many vampiric attributes after an experiment gone awry. Among said attributes: enhanced strength, speed, senses… and an uncontrollable craving for human blood. A big hit with the Spider-Man audience, Morbius the Living Vampire made a rapid reappearance in Marvel Team-Up #3, graduating to his own series in Fear thereafter. There have been several Morbius series in the intervening decades, and this very year, a big-budget movie starring Jared Leto as Morbius is now in post-production, leading to a heightened demand for his premier appearance. This copy of Spider-Man #101 is VG+; light to moderate wear and creasing at spine and cover corners, but no impediment of the cover scene, with bright unfaded colours and good gloss. Staples firm at cover and centrefold, interior pages off-white and flexible, with no stains, tears or markings. A cents copy, no pence price or overstamp. VG+, on sale at £200.

*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: In the wake of the hugely popular TV show, back numbers of the already highly-acclaimed Walking Dead comic continue to acquire interest, so we’re happy to have a batch shamble back into our shop – even if are a bit ‘recent’ for our usual tastes!. In mid-grades, between VG to FN with a couple VF, a run from #134 to #156 that saw a dramatically different direction for Rick Grimes and his merry band of post-apocalyptic survivors.

*War: Ringing the changes on the warfront, several Atlas battle-themed series took the action to the seven seas, and Navy Action was one of the longer lasting, running twenty issues from June 1955 to October 1958. With battling submariner (not the Sub-Mariner – this guy was crew on a submarine!) ‘Torpedo’ Taylor as the lead character, backed up by other naval adventurers, this had a roster of stellar artists including Berg, Colan, Drucker, Williamson, Torres, Crandall and Powell, with inventive covers by Maneely, Severin and Everett. We have a virtually complete run of Navy Combat, lacking only issues #5 and #15 from the twenty-issue series. Illustrated are #1 GD/VG £44 and #2 VG+ £45. Details on the rest in our online catalogue.

*Annuals: Following on from our ‘Immaculate Annuals’ listing of 21st April this year, another range from the same source. A selection of 1960s and 1970s Annuals newly added to our listings, in virtually immaculate condition; no prices clipped, no gift dedications, ‘This Book Belongs To’ inscriptions or other interior markings, solid spines, tight corners and bright, vibrant colours, most of these could pass as brand new but for very slight tanning of interior pages due to age. Truly lovely items, all at least VF and with several white & bright NM among the new additions, these are the best copies of these we’ve seen in 25 years in business – and several of them, we’ve never actually seen before! Titles are Champion (from 1967), Hurricane (from 1969 on), Jag (1970), Lion Book of War Adventures (1962), Roy of the Rovers (from 1967), Smash! (from 1967 on), Tiger (from 1966 on), and Valiant (from 1966 on). Illustrated are: Hurricane 1969 VF/NM £22.50; Roy of the Rovers 1967 VF/NM £22.50; Smash! 1967 VF £25; Tiger 1967 VF/NM £22.50 and Valiant 1966 VF/NM £22.50. Details on the others in our online listings – and keep an eye out for further ‘Immaculate Annuals’ listings in the Girls’, Humour and TV/Film sub-categories in the near future! SORRY, MOST OF THESE HAVE 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 files in our American section:
*Archie
*Charlton
*Dell
*EC
*Gold Key/Whitman
*Harvey
*IW/Super
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: One of the least explored of Batman’s classic villains is the sinister Scarecrow, who appeared but once in the 1940s, then stayed in limbo until resurrected for Batman #189 in 1967. Psychology professor Johnathan Crane used the mechanics of fear in his crime sprees, and despite numerous appearances since his revival, remains – certainly by comparison with the ‘Big Four’ Batman villains -enigmatic and compelling. This copy of Batman #189 does have a UK distribution pence stamp, but is otherwise virtually immaculate, an easy VF with bright cover colours, off-white flexible interiors and tight staples; VF p £275. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: A large selection of DC titles from across the decades this update, including: Blackhawk, Black Lightning, Boy Commandos (1970s reprint), Challengers Of The Unknown, Steve Ditko’s Creeper, DC Comics Presents (#27 with 1st Mongul), DC Special Series (Swamp Thing), Jack Kirby’s Demon, 80 Page Giant (featuring Flash & Batman), Firestorm (#3 with 1st Killer Frost), First Issue Special (#1 with Kirby’s Atlas), From Beyond The Unknown (sci-fi reprints), Hellblazer, House Of Mystery (inc early horror/mystery, Martian Manhunter and 1st Dial H For Hero issue #156), Inferior Five (from #1, a personal favourite), Isis (DC TV Comic), Kirby’s Justice Inc and Justice League of America (inc low grade #21 & #22, Crisis on Earths One and Two).

*Marvel: Last year’s demise of both Stan Lee and Steve Ditko has reawakened interest in their founding years of the Amazing Spider-Man, and while of course we regret the circumstances, we’re delighted that people are coming to a new appreciation of this period, which we’ve always regarded as the ‘real’ Spidey. Following significant sales on the Lee & Ditko Spider-Man run, we’ve added in several from this period between #21 and #33, in a range of conditions from very affordable low grades to highly collectible upper grades. Depicted are #30 FN £65, #31 (with the double debuts of Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacey) VG/FN p £110, and the iconic #33 VG/FN p £90; for grades and prices on the others, as always, consult our catalogue listings. SORRY, #31 NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Following his 1976 return to Marvel, the legendary Jack Kirby was anxious not to get trapped in the cycle of just illustrating super-heroes again, and one of his conditions was that he would be allowed to write and draw his own concepts. How much of the Eternals concept was his is, politely, open to debate; heavily ‘influenced’ (ahem, ahem) by the popular Erich Von Daniken paperbacks, which postulated that mankind’s ancient ‘Gods’ were alien visitors, Kirby’s Eternals portrayed the return of ancient immortal extraterrestrials, and the cataclysmic repercussions for humanity. Originally intended to stand apart from the Marvel Universe, it was shoehorned in at editorial insistence, which resulted in Kirby eventually abandoning the strip mid-narrative. Because of this dissonance, the Eternals have been comparatively overlooked by all but the most diehard Kirby Kollectors, but with the confirmation of an Eternals movie franchise starring Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, The Bodyguard) as Ikaris, prices are spiralling. We have a complete run of all 19 issues of Eternals, plus the one and only Annual, newly in stock, averaging VF with many better. Issue #1 is VF/NM £115; prices and grades on all the others may be seen in our online catalogue.

*Marvel: Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars, the brainchild of then Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter, was the first of the mega-crossovers in 1984, pre-dating even DC’s more famous Crisis On Infinite Earths, and setting a company-wide precedent for decades to come. The key issue of this series is of course #8, with the first in-timeline appearance of the black alien symbiote Spider-Man costume which would, eventually become Venom. (Its first chronological appearance was in ASM #252, but this flashback explained how Pete got it). However, other events this series included the first appearance of new heroine Spider-Woman II (Julia Carpenter, later Arachne) the premiere of two villainesses, Titania and Volcana, and the death of the Wasp! (It’s okay; she was only gone for a minute.) We have the entire original 12 issue series fresh into stock, averaging NM- grades, all but #3 pence copies, and being sold as a set for £160. Illustrated is issue #8  VF/NM p. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD