*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Adventures Into The Unknown from ACG was the earliest ongoing horror title, starting in 1947. It’s the Silver Age incarnation that concerns us here, when the horror of pre-code had given way to the more whimsical fantasy/mysteries for which ACG became known in the 1960s. Here, starting with #154, the series was headlined by the super-hero Nemesis, whose adventures were all of a supernatural nature, and he stars in all but the last of these seven issues.
IN THIS UPDATE: ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN ALL SOLD
#154 VF- £24 (PICTURED) 1st Nemesis
#160 FN £10
#161 VG £6.75
#162 VG £6.75
#163 FN £10
#164 VG £6.75
#173 FN £10 Penultimate issue

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: This digest-sized comics series, most famous under its later title of Thriller Picture Library, ran for 450 issues until 1963, and while it featured a plethora of characters during its lengthy run, the trend for the early years was for historical swashbucklers based on fictional (but serendipitously copyright-free) characters, but also featuring crime, war, western and science-fiction adventures and sometimes (almost) real people! The artists were all accomplished Fleetway professionals, and readers thrived on these beautifully-illustrated pocket adventures. Issues #71-78 featured this week, mostly mid-grade.
IN THIS UPDATE: THRILLER COMICS/PICTURE LIBRARY
#71 VG £15 No Dust On My Saddle
#72 GD/VG £12.50 To Arms. Musketeers
#73 GD £10 Secret Operator
#74 GD/VG £12.50 (PICTURED) Bold Robin Hood
#75 GD/VG £12.50 The King’s Captain
#76 GD/VG £12.50 The Covered Wagon
#77 VG £15 Greenwood Outlaw
#78 VG £15 The Red Rapiers

*Children’s Books: This week, we return to the adventures of Biggles. Written by Captain W E Johns, the wartime (and later) stories of James Bigglesworth gave us an iconic British hero, a highly competent fighter pilot with a characteristic gentlemanly air, who has gone on to represent an archetypal figure. Nearly 100 Biggles books were written and published and reprinted many times over, and we have a new selection now available, four Armada paperbacks from the early 1960s. And I wish Biggles, Algy, Ginger and Smyth were still up there now, looking out for us – we could do with them and their wizard prangs.
PICTURED: ALL BY W E JOHNS ALL SOLD
BIGGLES: AIR COMMODORE Armada 1963 UK PB GD/VG £7
BIGGLES LEARNS TO FLY Armada 1963 UK PB GD £4
BIGGLES: THE RESCUE FLIGHT Armada 1965 UK PB VG £4
BIGGLES: SGT BIGGLESWORTH CID Armada 1963 UK PB GD £3

*DC: Seven quality issues of the Atom this week, issues #1-6 plus #9, with highly imaginative stories by Gardner Fox and stylish artwork from Gil Kane and Sid Greene or Murphy Anderson. Covers feature the Atom in action and in dire predicaments (including imprisonment in a light bulb, pictured here) and there are some delightful back-up stories including the first Time Pool feature, where the Atom travels back in time. Villains include Jason Woodrue (debut), Chronos (debut) and Dr Light. These are all pence-stamped copies in a mix of grades. 
IN THIS UPDATE: ATOM
1 PR p £20 1st Jason Woodrue, 1st Maya. No back cover; tape at spine
2 FA p £11.75 Book shop stamps and felt tip pen marks to cover
3 GD+ p £23 1st Chronos. Restapled at upper staple.
4 GD- p £10 Restapled at lower staple
5 VG/FN p £27
6 VG+ p £18.25
9 VG p £15 (PICTURED)

*Marvel: A handful of vintage Tales To Astonish this week, starting with the debut of the villainous Black Knight in #52. The Black Knight has had a variety of incarnations throughout the MU. This version, the super-villain Nathan Garrett was a descendant of the original and uncle to Dane Whitman, the most famous version who debuted later. The villainous Black Knight went on to challenge the Avengers as part of Zemo’s Masters of Evil. Also in this update; the Porcupine returns for another tussle with Giant-Man in #53, the Hulk strip commences in #60, Madam Macabre menaces Hank & Jan in #66 and #69 features the Hulk up against the Leader, while Giant-Man and the Wasp bow out in this issue against the Human Top. 
IN THIS UPDATE: TALES TO ASTONISH
#52 GD/VG p £45 (PICTURED)
#53 GD/VG p £29 (PICTURED)
#60 FA p £15 SOLD
#66 GD p £11 SOLD
#69 VG p £16

*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week, 8 issues of Amazing Spider-Man, mostly not previously in our listings.
IN THIS UPDATE: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#180 FN- £7
#181 VF- £11.75
#182 VF £13
#183 FN/VF £10.25
#187 NM- £36 Captain America guest stars
#190 VG £5
#257 NM– £36 Puma cover
#258 VF £22 Spidey learns that the black costume is an alien symbiote

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: One of the most unlikely comics heroes ever, Herbie Popnecker first appeared in ACG’s Forbidden Worlds, later being promoted to his own series in 1964. Created by writer Richard E Hughes and artist Ogden Whitney, Herbie was an atypical hero: a short, obese, unemotional, terse, unstylish boy, deriving some of his powers from genetics and some from magical lollipops. Herbie could carry on detailed conversations with animals and sometimes even inanimate objects (who all knew him by name), quickly reach any location (including other galaxies) by walking through the sky, become invisible, cast spells, summon spirits from other dimensions, quickly dispatch all enemies with ease, and travel through time. Despite his appearance and terse personality, he was irresistible to women. He was nearly omnipotent and later adopted the super-hero identity of the Fat Fury. Here are two of his earliest appearances in Forbidden Worlds, including his first cover in #114; and if you think that Cleopatra on the cover of #116 looks a lot like Elizabeth Taylor, well, it almost is. Herbie stories backed up, of course, by the sort of supernatural material prevalent in Forbidden Worlds of the 1960s.
PICTURED: FORBIDDEN WORLDS BOTH SOLD
#114 VG- £15.75 1st Herbie cover
#116 VG- p £10.25

*Annuals: Our Mega British Half Price Comics Sale is still going strong, and is being taken advantage of every week. We’ve now sold thousands of items at half price; some titles are now sold out and others running low, but we still have an excellent selection left. To freshen the pot, we’ve expanded the scope of the sale to include about 90% of our stock of British Annuals: Boys’, TV & Film, Girls’, Humour, Western & Rupert. Titles include Action, Eagle, Lion, Smash, Tiger, Valiant, Victor, Film Fun, Look In, Radio Fun, Beano, Buster, Dandy, Dennis the Menace, Knockout, Topper, Bunty, Diana, Girl, Jackie, Judy, June, Princess, Buffalo Bill, Kit Carson, Rupert and loads more.

Full details as always in our catalogue. A selection is shown here. Still thousands of items on sale at half price in the following categories:
Power Comics
Collected Editions
Annuals
Boys’ Adventure & War Comics
TV & Film Related Comics
Humour Comics
Girls’ Comics
Magazines/Books About Vintage UK Comics

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies & Sleaze category for an intriguing mixture of material. There are a couple of hard-boiled sleazy crime novels by Fred Martin and Clayton Matthews, a lesbian tale from Midwood by Dallas Mayo with a Paul Rader cover, a cosy fun murder mystery at a science fiction convention by Sharyn McCrumb, a classic UK gangster pulp by Spike Morelli with stunning Reginald Heade cover and two short works from Ann Morrow and William Newton, romantic adventures published by Hamilton in the late 1940s, both with sophisticated covers by Oliver Brabbins. More detail, including condition notes, can as always be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
FRED MARTIN: VIOLENT DESIRES MB 1960 1st US PB GD £5 SOLD
CLAYTON MATTHEWS: THE CORRUPTER Monarch 1964 1st US PB VG £6 SOLD
DALLAS MAYO: WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW Midwood 1963 1st US PB GD/VG £45 SOLD
SHARYN McCRUM: BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN TSR 1987 1st US/UK PB VG £5 SOLD
SPIKE MORELLI: DEATH FOR A DOLL Leisure Library 1952 1st US PB VG £10 SOLD
ANN MORROW: MOONLIGHT IN VENICE Hamilton late 1940s 1st UK PB VG/FN £10
WILLIAM NEWTON: HIS SECRET REVEALED Hamilton late 1940s 1st UK PB VG £8

*DC: From the Bute Collection this week, three of the four try-outs for Aquaman in Showcase, issues #30-32 (Aquaman also appeared in #33). Unlike most features in Showcase, however, Aquaman was not a new character. He’d been around since More Fun Comics #73 in 1941, and like just a few other super-heroes, did not disappear between the Golden Age and the Silver Age, continually appearing as a back-up feature in Adventure and Detective Comics. Notably, when DC decided to try him out for his own solo series, Showcase #30 was his first ever cover appearance. That issue, written by Jack Miller and drawn by the exquisite Ramona Fradon, told the origin of Aquaman, as a launch for his solo ‘career’, and indeed, after three more try-outs in successive issues, that solo series began, lasting throughout the Silver Age and beyond. Aquaman remains one of the world’s most recognisable super-heroes, with a plethora of media appearances. Issues #31 & #32, also in this update, are by Miller and Nick Cardy, the artist who really captured the undersea atmosphere and arguably produced the best artwork ever to feature the Sea King and his world.
PICTURED: SHOWCASE
#30 VG- p £250 Origin of Aquaman. A decent pence-stamped copy with untarnished cover image, but probable tiny colour touch pinpoints at bottom spine (taken into account in grading and pricing). Tiny crease across bottom right cover corner does not break colour. Staples are firm at spine and centrefold and pages are a tidy and clean white to off-white. Short upper spine split of less than 2 cm; otherwise wear is minimal.
#31 VG p £100 Pence-stamped. A nice copy with unmarred cover and little wear, but probable tiny colour touches around the edges (taken into account in grading and pricing). Staples are firm at spine and centrefold and pages are a tidy and clean white to off-white; minimal wear. SOLD
#32 GD/VG p £50 Pence stamped. A reasonable copy with upper spine split of 2.75 cm. Cover image is untarnished except for a small stain at central bottom edge. Upper half of spine is somewhat worn and a little frayed. Staples are okay but bottom off centrefold. Page quality okay, but edges (including inside covers) a little tanned. Some chipping at bottom and right edge rear cover.

*Marvel: It’s not every day we get the first appearance of a major Marvel hero! Ghost Rider had been the title of a short-lived Western series of the 1960s (derived from a Golden Age original), and in 1972, writer Gary Friedrich and artist Mike Ploog reinterpreted the cowboy trope with the nearest modern equivalent – a motorbike rider! In the wake of ‘Easy Rider’ and adding in lashings of the then-popular Satanic possession movies, they came up with Johnny Blaze, stunt-rider turned emissary of Satan, having sacrificed his soul to save his loved ones. But this being a Code Approved Marvel comic, Johnny’s battle of wills with his demonic master usually led to his actions coming down on the side of good, despite Old Nick’s best efforts. Ghost Rider went on to 80+ issues of his original series after a successful run in Marvel Spotlight and remains a mainstay of the Marvel Universe today. This copy of Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider’s very first appearance in try-out title Marvel Spotlight #5 is a beautiful higher grade copy, with a glossy, reflective cover with strong colour. Tight and flat with staples firm at spine and centrefold and supple off-white pages. Wear is limited to very faint stress marks at lower staple which do not break colour and the merest suggestion of wear at lower and right edges. From an original owner collection, bought new in 1972 on a New York newsstand, and carefully preserved ever since. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5 VF £1,800

*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week, every issue of Strange Tales from #141-150, starring Nick Fury, Agent Of SHIELD and Dr Strange. Fury comes up against some wacky foes, including Mentallo and the Fixer, the Druid and AIM. John Buscema makes his Marvel debut in #150 on the Fury strip. Over in Dr Strange, a period of change as with #146, the first full Dr Strange cover on the title, Steve Ditko draws his final Strange story as we conclude the Dormammu saga, to be succeeded by no less than Bill Everett on art duties. There’s the origin of the Ancient One in #148 and the debut of Umar in #150. Pretty nice condition on most of these.
IN THIS UPDATE: STRANGE TALES ALL SOLD
141 FN £17
142 FN/VF £27
143 VF- £32
144 VG+ p £11.75
145 GD- £5.25
146 VG p £10.50
147 VG/FN p £12.75
148 VG+ £16.50 Origin of Ancient One
149 VG+ £13 
150 FN £29 (PICTURED) 1st Umar. Also, on Nick Fury, John Buscema’s first work at Marvel.

*Horror 1940-1959: From the Bute Collection (and from 1950), the third issue of the retitled Marvel Tales (formerly Marvel Mystery Comics) in the horror/suspense genre. Deemed by Overstreet a classic sci-fi cover (more like horror to me) thought to be by Carl Burgos, interior art has been credited to Colan, Shores, Burgos and unnamed others. Although there are science fiction elements to some stories, the emphasis is firmly on horror. This low grade copy, printed with only a lower staple, has the cover detached and a small staple-sized hole on the rear cover. The cover itself presents a strong image with good colours and what little wear there is restricted to the spine and edges only; some corner blunting. Pages are all attached by the one staple, and are a decent off-white to cream with a little wear at the long edges on one or two pages. Very slightly mis-cut  at the spine, with a tiny bit of image diagonally folded on to the back cover (4 mm at widest).
PICTURED: MARVEL TALES #95 FA/GD £225 SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: 18 issues of Battle Picture Library newly added from 1963-1967 between #113 and #284. Nearly all are in pretty nice shape, clean, bright and unmarked, with just degrees of staple rust defining grade. Full details as always in our catalogue.

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category and authors alphabetically from Matthew Grant to H Rider Haggard. Mainly science fiction from the 1960s and 70s from a variety of UK & US authors (Matthew Grant, Terry Greenhough, Wyman Guin, James Gunn) plus an entry in the famous Pan Ballantine Adult Fantasy series by H Rider Haggard (of Allan Quatermain and She fame) and Andrew Lang (famed folklorist and author of the Rainbow Fairies books and countless other volumes). As always, more information, including condition notes, may be found in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
MATTHEW GRANT:  HYPER-DRIVE Digit 1962 1st UK PB FA £5
TERRY GREENHOUGH: TIME AND TIMOTHY GRENVILLE NEL 1976 1st UK PB VG £4
TERRY GREENHOUGH: THE WANDERING WORLDS NEL 1979 2nd UK PB VG/FN £3
WYMAN GUIN: BEYOND BEDLAM Sphere 1973 1st UK PB GD £3
JAMES GUNN: THE IMMORTALS Bantam 1962 1st US PB GD £3
JAMES GUNN: THE JOY MAKERS Bantam 1961 1st US PB GD £3
H RIDER HAGGARD & ANDREW LANG: THE WORLD’S DESIRE Pan Ballantine 1972 1st UK PB GD £5 SOLD

Announcing the publication of Alan Austin’s Fantasy Unlimited #54, the final issue

Alan Austin (1955-2017) was one of the most respected figures in UK comic book fandom. He published a major fanzine about American comic books throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, at first named Fantasy Unlimited (later named Comics Unlimited). Alan also published the Golden Age Fanzine, Whiz Kids (devoted to the original Captain Marvel and other Fawcett heroes) and the DC and Marvel Comics Indexes.

His fanzines gave a showcase to a number of future professionals in the comic book business, including, amongst others, Stephen Baskerville and Kevin O’Neill. Alan also published the first Comic Book Price Guide for Great Britain. When it came to the prices commanded for back issues of comic books, Alan was always on the side of the comic collector. He published his UK Price Guide in an attempt to stabilise the market and give ammunition to the unwary fan against the odd rogue profiteering comic dealer.

Alan also wrote two books. One was about his life in comics, Comics Unlimited: My life as a Comic Collector and Dealer, the other about his experiences as a book dealer (in fiction form, as a series of short stories), The Adventures of Bernie Burrows, Bookseller. Both of these books are still available on Amazon as paperbacks and ebooks.

Now his Fantasy Unlimited fanzine has been revived for a final issue, re-titled Alan Austin’s Fantasy Unlimited, to include a celebration of his immense contribution to UK fandom in the 1970s and early 1980s.

“It was Will Morgan’s excellent idea to have this one-off issue, and try to involve as many of the original contributors as possible,” says Nigel Brown, who published Alan’s posthumous books. “I was doubtful it was a practical project after fifty years gone by, but I’ve been delighted at the response from names that will be familiar to regular readers of the fanzine, including Will himself (who contributed to FU/CU under his birth name of Howard Stangroom), Martin Lock, Allan J. Palmer “the Phantom Rambler”, Stephen Baskerville, Patrick Marcel, Jean-Daniel Brèque and many others. This has been an opportunity for previous contributors to Fantasy/Comics Unlimited to be back in the fanzine one last time, with personal memories and anecdotes about Alan,” Nigel adds. “But Alan Austin’s Fantasy Unlimited #54 will also offer its usual articles, and regular favourites like “We Want Information”, “The Worlds of Emlock”, and even a special sequel to a comic strip first published in the fanzine forty-nine years ago!”

Alan Austin’s Fantasy Unlimited #54 is a non-profit project, published with the permission of Alan’s literary estate.

It is now available on Amazon under the title Alan Austin’s Fantasy Unlimited, in a printed softcover edition only.

*DC: Just very occasionally, a comic surfaces where, following a production error, two identical covers are placed around it (there can be more than two, but instances of these are even rarer). We have such a double cover scenario here on Justice League of America #33 from 1965. The outer cover often bears the strain of the decades, with the inner remaining pristine. We are particularly blessed here with the outer being an excellent glossy FN/VF (pence stamped), with just minor edge wear and a thin dust shadow across the bottom cover right side. The inner is a vibrant VF+, unstamped of course. Staples are tight and firm, pages a crisp and supple near white. The issue itself is a cracking one of the JLA against alien foes, a classic issue in the midst of a classic run. There are collectors who specialise in these, so here’s a chance to join their ranks!
PICTURED: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #33 Outer FN/VF, Inner VF+ £100

*DC: Seven Silver and Bronze Age issues of the longest-running DC title Action Comics, the series where Superman debuted and starred virtually throughout. Here he is backed up by Supergirl, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Aquaman & the Atom.
IN THIS UPDATE: ACTION COMICS ALL SOLD
#346 FA/GD p £3.50
#381 GD/VG p £8
#392 GD+ p £3.25
#395 VG p £6
#398 FA/GD p £2.50
#402 VG+ p £5
#404 VG- p £5.25

*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week, in Avengers #87, we learned for the first time the detailed origin of the African Avenger, the Black Panther.
PICTURED: AVENGERS #87 VF+ £100 A beautiful slick copy with vibrant yellow background that really pops and great colour everywhere. Square corners, tight, firm staples and near white pages. Just some minor spine handling wear on the back cover only, and a small crease at bottom of back cover are the only defects.

*Marvel: Six more consecutive issues of the X-Men, as we continue John Romita Jr’s run on Marvel’s Merry Mutants. Includes the double-sized issue #193. Mostly nice grades on these.
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN ALL SOLD
#190 VF/NM £8.25
#191 VG £3.50
#192 VF £6.75
#193 FN/VF £6 Double-sized
#194 VF £6.75
#195 VF+ £7.50

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: A nice offering from the Bute Collection this week, with two early issues of the classic character Plastic Man: #3 & #6 from 1946 and 1947 respectively. Plastic Man debuted of course in Police Comics #1 (1941) and was granted his own series in 1943. These issues are wall to wall Jack Cole, Plastic Man’s creator, writer and artist, and feature four main stories of adventure, comedy and super-heroics. His adventures were known for their quirky, offbeat structure and surreal slapstick humour.
PICTURED: PLASTIC MAN BOTH SOLD
#3 FA £50 Cover detached with spine split up to bottom staple, small upper spine split and torn at upper staple area with small chip loss. Tears and chips at edges, but main cover image intact. Staples firm apart from spine and nice page quality, but for one long tear with no loss.
#6 VG- £85 Nice solid copy with minimal wear. Spine intact, staples tight and secure, nice page quality. There is one hard crease of about 8 cm across the bottom right cover corner which does not break colour; neither does a much smaller and slighter crease at that corner’s extremity. There is a small light brown stain at the bottom of the spine of the comic, slightly discolouring very small parts of front and back covers, but nothing horrible.

*Marvel UK: In 1976, Marvel UK’s unprecedented and experimental attempt to broaden their readership by generating a new British hero, Captain Britain, was the subject of much controversy, not least because he was created by two Americans (Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe) who, from the evidence presented here, had never met an English person, and whose interpretation of the UK’s manners and mores made the Austin Powers films look like documentaries. Be that as it may, the character endured to become a respected icon of the medium, and these issues are now attracting keen collector attention. This week, we present a full run of the jolly good Captain’s first series #1-39 (every issue). This is an exceptional run (the finest we have ever seen), with sharp corners, bright colours and white pages., with none of the Fun Pages filled in. You’ll find these copies in our catalogue graded from FN/VF (just a couple), with most VF or VF/NM, grades we seldom award to UK comics. #1 and #2 (including Free Gifts) plus #8 (1st Betsy Braddock) are included and have recently been previously listed, but are still available and included here for completeness; full details of those may be found in our catalogue. In addition, we have completely overhauled our stock of our already existing issues of this series and now every copy shows details of the Fun Page status.
PICTURED: CAPTAIN BRITAIN
#1 VF WITH FREE GIFT VF/NM £300
#2 VF WITH FREE GIFT NM £75
#8 VF+ £250

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies and Sleaze Category for authors alphabetically from Henry Kane to Helen MacInnes. A real mixed bag here, from hard-boiled US detectives (Murdered Madame and Ben Gates Is Hot), a thriller set in post-war Berlin (My Name Is Celia), a sleazy mystery (Gin Wedding), to psychological thrillers (Hold Back the Night and Above Suspicion) and an exposure of the white slave traffic (The Road To Buenos Ayres). Wholesome stuff for everyone!

PICTURED: ALL SOLD
HENRY KANE: THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MADAME Signet 1965 1st US PB thus VG £7
RAYNE KRUGER: MY NAME IS CELIA Ace 1960 UK PB GD £5
ROBERT KYLE: BEN GATES IS HOT Mayflower Dell 1966 1st UK PB FN £10
ANN LAWRENCE: GIN WEDDING Intimate Novels 1951 1st US PB VG/FN £15
DESMOND LESLIE: HOLD BACK THE NIGHT Digit 1958 1st UK PB GD £7
ALBERT LONDRES: THE ROAD TO BUENOS AYRES Digit 1960s? 1st UK PB VG £6
HELEN MACINNES: ABOVE SUSPICION Fontana 1967 UK PB GD £5

*DC: Four superb issues of the Justice League of America this week. #27 features a strange alien being/force. #28 has the JLA banned from using their powers by the machinations of Head Mastermind. In #31, Hawkman joins the team to help solve a mystery centering on the team’s Sanctuary. #32 features the menace of Brain Storm. Beautifully crafted tales of compelling excellence.
IN THIS UPDATE: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
#27 GD/VG p £16 Restapled at upper staple.
#28 VG p £24 (PICTURED) Restapled at upper staple. 
#31 FN p £27
#32 VG p £14.75 Restapled at upper staple. SOLD

*Marvel: Two more very nice issues of the X-Men from the Good Doctor Collection this week. #41 features the menace of Grotesk the Sub-Human (I fondly remember Grotesk picking his name after Hank McCoy had called him that); and #42 features the Death of Professor X (or so we thought at the time).
PICTURED: X-MEN
#41 FN £55 Nice bright copy with a little wear breaking colour narrowly along spine and right bottom edge.
#42 VF- £90 Solid black background copy with great colour and gloss; just a tiny colour breaking crease in very extremity of top right corner.