‘BUT,’ I hear the cries of non-footie fans (including Dr Evilla), ‘surely the football season is over!’ They haven’t reckoned with the forthcoming World Cup. Despite her lack of respect for the beautiful game Dr Evilla has been cajoled into producing a window display celebrating the doyen of British football (and comics), Roy Of The Rovers, even going so far as to find the issue where Roy wins the World Cup (in his dreams).

As usual, we shall be closed on the Bank Holiday Monday 28th May. All email orders submitted before then will be dealt with on Tuesday morning when we re-open, and prioritised in order of receipt. 

*DC: Star of this week’s Batmania is Batman #169, the second Silver Age appearance of the Penguin, and his first post the launch of Batman’s ‘New Look’. One of the ‘Big Four’ villains featured regularly in the Batman TV show, embodied by Burgess Meredith, the Penguin clicked with the mainstream audience, and thanks to the updated incarnation portrayed by Robin Taylor in ‘Gotham’, he’s more popular than ever! This key appearance of a major villain is a beautiful FN, pence copy, with vivid purple background unfaded and unbroken by the ravages of time – and also one of Carmine Infantino’s most eye-catching designs of the era! On sale at £65. But the Bumbershoot Bandit brought along friends – appearances by the Joker, Clayface, the Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Getaway Genius (pardon?) festoon this update of around 20 Silver Age issues new in, from #159 (‘Clayface/Joker Feud!’), to #189 (return of the Scarecrow).

*Marvel: This week’s look at Marvel’s debut issues in 1968 features a gamma-infused milestone, with the first issue of the Hulk’s own series, eccentrically numbered #102, as he assumed the numbering of Tales to Astonish, the split-book which had been his home for several years. This was Brucie’s big break, his comeback vehicle after his early-60s 6-issue flop, and the start of the long-running series most associated with him. Mirthful Marie Severin illustrated not only a recap of Bruce Banner’s irradiated origin, but also a new story thread with Jade-Jaws frolicking with some of Thor’s Asgardian chums. (Bonus points for the appearance of guest-villainess the Enchantress (obviously)). This is a gorgeous copy: clean, tight at staples, sharp corners, excellent cover colour and gloss, VF p £140. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: As befits its status as the premier series of the Marvel Universe, the Fantastic Four has launched many secondary careers of the FF’s foes and friends who first appeared as guest-stars, then graduated to their own series. The Silver Surfer, the Inhumans, the Black Panther and many others have debuted this way, and in Fantastic Four #66, we were introduced to a mysterious cocooned figure who emerged the following issue as ‘Him’, a being of almost godlike power. Later, he would be named Warlock and would enjoy a chequered career of critical acclaim, but haphazard commercial success, coming into his own with Jim Starlin’s controversial series of the 1970s. These two issues see the first appearance of the character, though he was not fully revealed until the second half of the two-part story. Issue #66, the prelude as it were, is VG+ p at £32; the ‘big reveal’ comes in #67, a VG+ p copy with a striking white-background cover (only slight right-edge discolouration due to age) spotlighting all of our cavortin’ cast of characters. This debut issue is VG+ p £75. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: One of Marvel’s most enduring characters, and still tearing up a storm in the Marvel cinematic universe, Thor, God of Thunder, is significantly restocked, with issues commencing from Journey Into Mystery #112 (the scarce early Thor/Hulk clash) through to Thor #173 (the title having become eponymous with #126, but keeping the Journey Into Mystery numbering) and JIM Annual #1, which introduced Marve’s take on Hercules! Highlights along the way include the premier appearances of the Warriors Three, Mangog, and the Destroyer. For grandeur and glory, Lee and Kirby’s Thor remains unmatched.

*War: The early 1970s were a schizoid time for the DC war line; still popular sellers, but, with the zeitgeist of the American nation still reeling from Vietnam, tales of combat had to be less straightforward and gung-ho than they used to be. The writers and artists rose to the challenge, producing fine and often overlooked work. We have new listings from this period for Our Army At War (starring Sgt. Rock, from #236), Our Fighting Forces (featuring the Losers, from #131), Star Spangled War Stories (home to the Unknown Soldier, from #159), and the war/horror hybrid Weird War Tales, commencing with #5. These are mostly higher-grade additions, averaging Fine+ or better, and featuring the best artists working in the genre – Joe Kubert, of course, but also Russ Heath, Sam Glanzman, John Severin, Alex Toth and relative newbie Neal Adams!

*Mad & Other Parody: We refresh our lists of the premier parody magazine with half a dozen of the UK Mad Specials, ranging from the 1970 “Collected Ravings From”, through a selection of numbered Specials (#11, #12, #13 and #15) from the 1970s, and closing out with the 1985 ‘Worst From’ Special (#53). Backing them up, there’s a single vintage issue of Cracked, the shameless Mad-imitator which ran from 1958 to 2007. This is #17, from 1960, and features the artistic talents of John Severin, Jack Davis and Russ Heath, amongst others.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: In 1974, D.C. Thomson launched Warlord, a harder-hitting weekly devoted entirely to war in its various guises; the company had of course always played up WW II and other famous battles in its other adventure weeklies, such as Victor, Hotspur, Hornet et al., but this was the first all-war weekly they had tried, and it caught on big time with the public, running more than a decade for a total of 627 issues, and inspiring competitors IPC/Fleetway to retaliate a year later with Battle. Warlord was fronted by Lord Peter Flint, code-named guess-what, as a WWII spy, and other popular features included Union Jack Jackson and Bomber Braddock. This copy of #1 is a GD, with an upper spine tear being the predominant flaw. The accompanying Free Gift – a ‘For Valour’ Medal holder with shiny paper ‘medals – is Fair, partially completed with 18 out of 24 ‘medals’ stuck in. (obviously the original purchaser missed a week!) It’s not pretty, but it’s complete, it’s the first issue of a long-running series, and it’s very affordable at £15. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*TV & Film Related Comics: Early and key issues of Transformers, the much-loved shape-shifting robots who fought a covert war to save Earth while disguising themselves as common vehicles, according to the popular toy & cartoon series from the 1980s! The Marvel UK title started out as a simple reprint of the US series, but demand proved so huge that a great deal of new material was produced for the UK market to satiate the desires of a generation of rabid Transfans! Included in this update are thirty issues new to our listings, all of them bearing Free Gifts ranging from posters to stickers, badges, transfers, iron-on t-shirt transfers, plastic planes, mini-comics and a ‘Data Scan’ – what’s that, exactly? Only Optimus Prime knows for sure! #2 is FN with the gift – action transfers NM £30; #3 is FN with the iron-on t-shirt transfer in NM £30: and issue #28, featuring the debut of the Dinobots, is VF with poster VF at £30. For details of all the rest, please see our online catalogue.

*Girls’ Comics: Around 80 issues of Judy from the years 1968 to 1971 new in, in affordable mid-grades, with science-fantasy – ‘Beneath the Blue Iceberg’, secret-agent adventure -‘The Girl From DORSET’ – and the Judy holy trinity of ‘Bobby Dazzler’, ‘Wee Slavey’, and ‘Sandra of the (fill in the blank) Ballet’ in full force! Christmas issues etc included. This concludes our massive Judy extravaganza for the time being.

*Clearance Corner: This slender volume – as Swift only lasted until March of 1963 – encompasses the final issues of the former ‘Junior Eagle’. By this time, however, its original brief of younger protagonists and cross-gender appeal had been abandoned, and the line-up was primarily well-done boys’ adventure strips including ‘Phantom Patrol’, ‘Tarna’ (no longer a jungle boy, as he had been in earlier years), ‘Blackbow the Cheyenne’, and ‘Max Bravo’. From the IPC Magazines Central Reference Library, the hardcover binding is sound, but a bit worn and grubby. The comics (all 9 issues), allowing for the necessary trimming to bind them, are in decent shape, equivalent to FN. This is on sale at £12. UK postage on this, if required (small parcel) would be an additional £3.50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

This week’s spotlight from our previously-listed stock falls on a comic from recent times (only 13 years old!) Yes, we can see you all reclining on your fainting couches at the thought of us spotlighting a comic published in the 21st Century, but trust us, Dan Slott and Juan Bobillo’s She-Hulk series is worth the attention! A delightful blend of comedy, drama and pathos, it follows the former Jennifer Walters, superheroic stunner and lawyer at large, dealing with the complexities of a world where ghosts, aliens, clones, robots and more are everyday matters. Can a deceased superhero who’s had a resurrection reclaim his estate from his heirs? Who’s legally liable if a person has an unwanted origin? is the testimony of a murder victim’s ghost admissible in court? Fun and imaginative stuff as Jen has to re-start her life after being kicked out of Avengers Mansion – again! This copy of #1 from 2005 is CGC 9.8 (NM/M), at £40.

*DC: It all began so routinely. Yet another bunch of super-powered teens arriving in Smallville, a quiet town which had seen so many brightly-clad youths streak across its skies, only to vanish and never be seen again. But this trio of guest-stars were different. Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, from the far future’s Legion of Super-Heroes, travelled back to invite Superboy, the most legendary teen hero of all, to join their ranks – and a legend began. After multiple guest-appearances in various Superman family titles, the Legion gained its own series with Adventure Comics #300, and despite setbacks along the way, remains an important presence in DC’s history. We are admittedly prejudiced witnesses, huge Legion of Super-Heroes fans, to the extent we named our business after their home era. Therefore we are especially delighted to welcome the Legion’s first three appearances into our lists. Adventure #247, dated April 1958, brought the founding trio to Smallville for the first time. This is an attractive GD copy, with an iconic cover scene endlessly homaged since; the interior pages are exceptionally white, with no creasing, tears or discolouration. The spine is sound, staples firm, and only light wear at the spine and edges. However, there has been a cover colour touch – the black area at Cosmic Boy’s side of the podium. Nevertheless, a lovely copy of a major debut. The team’s second appearance was in Adventure #267, the following year, sales reports having spiked on the team’s debut. Again, this is a GD copy with considerable eye appeal. Light creasing on the back cover precludes a higher grade, but overall a strong sound copy with light to moderate wear, and one diagonal cover crease which breaks the colour across the logo. The team’s third appearance was in 1960’s Action #267, where we saw the roster expand for the first time, with the on-panel debuts of Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid and Colossal Boy, as Supergirl was invited to audition (better luck next year, Kara…) This copy of Action #267 is only FA, with considerable edge and corner wear, a small tape ‘patch’ on lower front cover, and minor writing on the front cover. Adventure #247 is GD £625; Adventure #267 is GD £80 and Action #267 is FA p £25. SORRY, ADVENTURE COMICS #247 HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: Issue #54 of Brave & Bold teamed up three junior partners of DC’s major super-heroes – Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin – against the villainy of the sinister Mr. Twister, as a kind of junior Justice League. Written by Bob Haney, ilustrated by Bruno Premiani, this proved to be such a hit that issue #60 of the same title got the band back together as the “Teen Titans”, with the addition of Wonder Girl, against the staggering Separated Man! Often overlooked is the fact that B & B #60 is actually a double debut: not only the premier of the Teen Titans title, but the first appearance of Donna Troy as Wonder Girl – previous appearances of WG had just been stories of Wonder Woman’s younger adventures, a la Superboy, but this was the first WG as an independent entity. The team got one more tryout in Showcase #59, against the funky but forgettable Flips (“We’re Just A Babe, A Board, And A Bike”…), most notable for Premiani yielding the artistic reins to Nick Cardy, the artist most associated with the classic Titans. And finally, comics’ other Fantastic Four got their own ongoing series commencing in 1965, and despite cancellations and setbacks, some iteration of the Titans has almost always been on DC’s roster of stars. Our Brave & Bold #54 is VG/FN p, with a very slight cover tear, less than a quarter-inch, at lower spine; Brave & Bold #60 is FN p, with an unmarred black cover border bearing only the faintest of cover colour breaks; Showcase #59 is a lovely FN/VF p, minimal corner blunting being the only flaw and Teen Titans #1 is FN+ p, unmarred white cover background and excellent interior pages. Brave & Bold #54 VG/FN p £225; Brave & Bold #60 FN p £225; Showcase #59 FN/VF p £50; Teen Titans #1 FN+ p £120.

*Marvel: By the time of Spider-Man’s 50th issue, ‘new’ artist John Romita had made the series his own, and this special issue was marked with the debut of a new villain, the Kingpin – so long associated with Daredevil, in the post-Miller years, that many people overlook the fact that he originally belonged to Spider-Man’s Rogues’ Gallery! This landmark issue also saw a crisis of confidence in Peter Parker, his temporary abandoning of the Spider-Man identity immortalised in the iconic (and often imitated) cover. Our newest copy of ASM #50 is VG, a cents copy with no pence price or overstamp. There is some browning and spine wear, but the overall appearance of the book is very attractive, with excellent cover gloss and unfaded cover colour. On sale at £125. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: One of the phenomena of the last decade of the 20th Century was Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos, the megavillain Starlin had been building up for nearly twenty years, was unleashed against the massed forces of the Marvel Universe, armed with the reality-altering Infinity Gauntlet, in a struggle for the sake of the universe itself! Hugely popular, the mini-series spawned many, many crossover issues, and two direct sequels, Infinity War – in which the Marvel Heroes were forced to confront their own dark duplicates – and Infinity Crusade – in which ‘The Goddess’ separated the Marvel Heroes into a super-powered jihad. These three series have been hugely popular ever since their inception, but with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet at the centre of the Avengers: Infinity War movie, demand for them is at its height, and we consider ourselves very lucky to have acquired both Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War in their entirety. Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 average NM p, and are sold as a set of six at £100; Infinity War #1-6 are averaging NM p, and sold as a set of six at £50; as a bonus, we also have the first issue of Infinity Crusade NM p £6. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: In 1975, in the spirit of the Defenders, Marvel rounded up a disparate group of heroes who didn’t have any ‘homes’ and banded them together as the Champions: Ghost Rider, Hercules, Black Widow, Iceman and the Angel. The series floundered a bit in its early issues in diverse hands before gaining some nice quality when John Byrne took over — but even he, at the height of his powers, couldn’t save the series from cancellation after 17 issues. Every issue new fresh into stock in decent grades. 

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: In the 1950s, Atlas, like most publishers, was scrambling around different genres to find the next ‘big thing’, and one such experiment was 1951’s Space Squadron, tales of derring-do as plucky adventurers went where no man had gone before. These pulpy adventures were high on action and tinged with horror, as the publisher tried to cover all bases, but Space Squadron and its companion, Speed Carter Spaceman, didn’t catch on with the public despite some quality work, and had only short runs. Nowadays, they’re highly sought collectibles, and we’re delighted to have Space Squadron #4 in stock in VG+, with only a detached staple precluding a grade of FN+ or better. On sale at £95. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Western: We open with Geronimo #1 (sub-titled Indian Fighter) – that’s Geronimo, an Indian who’s a fighter, rather than Geronimo who fights Indians, for the grammatically punctilious. Avon in the 1950s wasn’t exactly PC, and while Geronimo may have been the protagonist of this pre-Code series, he’s hardly the hero, as the title of the first story – “Geronimo and His Horde of Indian Devils” – makes clear. Three stories of Geronimo himself, and a Texas Ranger tale, in this debut issue of a popular title. This is an exquisite Fine+, with very vibrant cover colour, on sale at £50. Atlas, of course, was an early adopter of the Western genre; before the advent of Marvel’s famous ‘Kids’ – Rawhide, Two-Gun and Colt – they had tapped into the booming Western market with a plethora of rough-ridin’ cowpokes, and one of the earliest, getting his start in 1950, was the Black Rider. Illustrated predominantly by Syd Shores, the Black Rider was one of the company’s longest-running Western heroes, (in effect a super-hero, with a secret identity and everything) and we have his 19th issue, from 1953, in a truly remarkable FN/VF condition, on sale at £50.

*Alan Class Reprints: Continuing our periodic spotlight on Alan Class comics which reprint classic Marvel tales – often the very first reprinting of these stories, within a year or so of original publication – we turn to Uncanny Tales #3, which reprints the Ant-Man story from Tales to Astonish #36. TTA #36 was the third appearance of Hank Pym/Ant-Man, his second in costume, and introduced the first ‘super-villain’ of Hank’s Rogue’s Gallery in Comrade X! (Don’t worry, it did get better – though one has to admit, Comrade X’s gimmick was genuinely unexpected.) This early Marvel Universe story by Lee & Kirby is re-presented in full, as well as a selection of Charlton sci-fi one-offs, including no fewer than four illustrated by Steve Ditko! The comic itself is in a superb VF condition, tight corners, vibrant covers, and the squarebound spine suffering from none of the ‘puckering’ effect owing to glue contraction which is very familiar to Class collectors. This lovely early AC item, complete with certification that it is from the Alan Class Private Collection, is on sale at £50.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A quartet of Summer Specials from the well-remembered adventure weekly, home of ‘Captain Hurricane’, ‘Billy Bunter’, ‘Raven on the Wing’, ‘Kelly’s Eye’, ‘House of Dolmann’ and scores more. We open with 1971’s Valiant & Smash! Summer Special (Valiant recently having gobbled up a flagging stablemate), VG at £25 – a very nice copy with only minor wear towards the lower spine. 1976 is GD at £15 – respectable, but moderate general wear, especially at spine. 1977 is a tight & bright FN at £25, and 1980 is probably the most sought-after of the later Summer Specials because of a new story of the classic hero ‘Kelly’s Eye’ illustrated by Dave Harwood, and a stunning Brian Bolland cover featuring the ‘House of Dolmann’ gang. 1980’s Summer Special is VG/FN at £25. SORRY, 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:
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards

and in our American/British section:
*Flash Gordon
*Spirit
*Modesty Blaise
*Classics Illustrated
*Memorabilia & Esoterica

and in our British section:
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material
*Marvel UK
*Power Comics
*Younger Readers’ Comics
*Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics

As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*Marvel: The latest in our series of key Marvel issues from 1968! After a long run as the co-star of Tales of Suspense, Iron Man was given his own title in 1968, when the ‘Berlin Wall’ of Marvel’s distribution was broken down, and they were allowed to expand their range of titles. New in this week, a beautiful FN+ copy of Iron Man’s first stunning solo issue, continuing from where his strip in Tales of Suspense left off, with Gene Colan’s hyperkinetic art driving the drama onward! A key item for collectors and investors alike, Iron Man’s pivotal status in the Marvel Universe means that demand for this issue is only going to increase as the years go by. This is a pence copy, with unblemished deep purple cover background, excellent gloss, superior inside page quality, and only minimal edge wear with one tiny ‘nick’ at the cover’s right edge (towards the base of the logo). #1 FN+ p £250.