*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Post-war faux American gangster novels (often termed pulps due to their paper quality) written and published in the UK have become something of a collector thing over the last decade or so. Written mostly by house names and featuring sleazy dame covers, the most famous of these are by the Hank Janson/Reginald Heade combo, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea too, for all the rarity of editions that have survived the decades. This week we have four more examples as detailed below.
PICTURED:
IMPATIENT VIRGIN by DONALD HENDERSON CLARKE 1st UK PB 1950s John Long VG £40
(slightly grubby with minor foxing at cover edges; more a racy sex novel than a gangster thriller)
STICK OR BUST by RICKY DRAYTON 1st UK PB 1983 Scion GD/VG £40
(cover art by Roger Davis; slightly foxed)
TOO TOUGH TO LIVE by GRIFF 1st UK PB 1950s Modern Fiction VG £45
(cover art by Oliver Brabbins)
THE HOUSE OF SIN by ANDRE LATOUR 1st UK PB 1950s Kaye GD/VG £40 SOLD
(small spine split to rear cover bottom)

*DC: In Batman #294, the Joker testifies how he killed Batman. But did he really? Reader, what do you think? A nice cents copy, with no specific defects beyond minor edge and handling wear.
PICTURED: BATMAN #294 VF £55

*Marvel: In Fantastic Four #18, the Skrulls, sworn enemies of the FF since their second issue, developed their own super-soldier with all the powers of the FF – and one more! The Super-Skrull has been more seen on Marvel’s cosmic stage than with the FF in later years, but this is where he got his start. This is a pence printed copy with rich colour covers and nice pages with a couple of small edge tears. Minor edge wear, plus a couple of colour breaking creases across the bottom edge and right corner; there is also a 2 cm tear to the bottom cover edge. Small tears at the bottom staple have been skilfully sealed and the price reflects that; staples are firmly attached. 
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #18 VG p £160 SOLD

*Marvel: After a one-off black & white magazine in 1975, Legion of Monsters, used up a rag-bag of separate inventory stories starring Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, Manphibian and other horror heroes, someone at Marvel decided that the title was nifty enough to merit a further outing, and therefore the bizarre and otherwise inexplicable Marvel Premiere #28 came about. Unlike the Legion of Monsters one-shot, which featured unrelated stories, Marvel Premiere #28 brought Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf By Night and Morbius the Living Vampire together as an actual team, albeit one even more mis-matched than the Champions! From the team of Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins, it’s… everything you might expect! For decades discarded in bargain boxes everywhere, this issue has acquired white-hot collector’s status in the last decade. This is a nice, glossy cents copy with sharp corners, tight staples and off-white pages. No marks or creases. 
PICTURED: MARVEL PREMIERE #28 VF £85 SOLD

*Marvel: Hawkeye’s first mini-series from 1983 was the story in which he and Mockingbird became an item. Clint Barton has been a stalwart of the Avengers virtually since the beginning, epitomising them almost as much as Captain America, Thor and Iron Man and is a true fan favourite character. All four issues of this entertaining series by Mark Gruenwald now available in one set in VF/NM grade. 
PICTURED: HAWKEYE #1 VF/NM; COMPLETE SET 1-4 VF/NM £40 SOLD

*Marvel: We continue our series of spotlights inspired by the Disney+ smash series ‘WandaVision’ with Giant-Size Avengers #4. Remember how in the TV show, there was some doubt cast as to whether Wanda and Vizh had ever officially married? Well, no such question about their comic book union, which was solemnized in the this very issue, as a mutant sorceress and a synthetic human wed in a double ceremony with a Celestial Madonna and her dead boyfriend’s body which was inhabited by an intelligent tree spirit, the whole ceremony being conducted by a Ruler of Limbo and occasional villain who may or may not be a manifestation of Kang. Got that? So, all perfectly above board, then! Sadly, only a low grade copy on offer here, superficially okay but with a long spine split, about 3/4 up from the bottom.
PICTURED: GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #4 FA/GD £10 SOLD

*Alan Class Reprints: For many years now, we’ve been scouring the personal archives of legendary publisher Alan Class (who is still very much with us) and with his full co-operation, releasing for sale sets of the original printing plates that were used to print the covers of his comics from 1959-1989. We have now reached the final phase of these plate set releases, which will last us through 2021 and probably into 2022. These sets are time-consuming to prepare, so our release schedule will be staggered. But the good news is that all the sets we have left are among the best, either featuring a classic Marvel comic reprint, or else a very early fantasy/mystery issue. So, this final phase represents your last opportunity to add one or more of these unique pieces to your collection. Each set comprises the lead printing plates used in the original comic’s colour printing, a copy of the comic printed with these plates and a signed certificate of authenticity signed by Alan Class himself. These are packaged in a special protective presentation case. Several sets (as noted) have additional historical artefacts such as colour proofs, interior page plates, printers’ photostats etc. (Please be aware that these weigh a lot and postage will be expensive. Also note that due to the onerous paperwork required for customs declarations following Brexit, we can no longer post these Plate Sets outside the UK.) Full details as always in our catalogue. 
We start this week with the following:
PICTURED: 
ASTOUNDING STORIES #1 £100 Comic FA Reprints Charlton (mostly SF), 1 western story, 1 Nyoka story. Extra: several printer’s cover colour proofs and finished cover. SOLD
CREEPY WORLDS #103 £80 Comic GD Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #53 & #54, plus Atlas. Extra: cover print SOLD
CREEPY WORLDS #104 £85 Comic VG Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #55 & #56, plus Atlas plus pre-Hero Marvel (1 Kirby). Extra: interior plate of lead story splash page. SOLD
SUSPENSE #2 £50 Comic FA Reprints Atlas (1 Williamson)

*Girls’ Comics: Another brace of Free Gift issues from the UK’s longest running girls’ title this week. From 1972, #766 comes with ‘the Bunty Fairy Ring’, #767 with ‘The Bunty Blue Necklace’. Both comics are VG, having suffered some creasing in storage with their gifts over the years, but with no other defects. The Fairy Ring is VF, still sealed in its original envelope; the Blue Necklace is still mounted on its original card and is in great condition, although the card itself is a little worn, so FN.
PICTURED: BUNTY
#766 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £35 SOLD
#767 VG WITH FREE GIFT FN £35 SOLD

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Philip K Dick is one of our best-selling authors. I guess his themes of religion, drugs, counter culture and destructive relationships appeal. So we’re pleased to present five of his works this week in paperback. Clans of the Alphane Moon is about human survivors of a hospital moon and the family clans they comprise, Counter-Clock World is a story where time moves backwards, Eye In the Sky is a surreal tale of a personal world realisation with religious overtones, Our Friends From Frolix 8 is about a search for help for humans from the stars and the Penultimate Truth is about a feudal oppression of the masses in the future. Full details of all editions in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
CLANS OF THE ALPHANE MOON VG £7 US PB 1972
COUNTER-CLOCK WORLD VF £8 UK PB 1977
OUR FRIENDS FROM FROLIX 8 VG £7 1st US PB 1970

*DC: From Jack Kirby this week, that marmite of opuses, part of his Fourth World saga from DC in the early 1970s. Like it or loathe it, there’s no denying the power, majesty and ambition of vision by one of comics’ greats in his series of linked titles from this time. The Forever People from Super Town star in their own 11 issue series and are introduced in #1 along with the first full appearance of Big Bad Darkseid, following cameos elsewhere. All that plus Superman too! All 11 issues are present in this update; the #1 is a decent pence stamped copy with minor edge wear and corner blunting, good page quality and tight staples. For details on the rest, consult our catalogue as always.
PICTURED: FOREVER PEOPLE #1 FN- p £90 SOLD

*Marvel: What’s Old is our feature where we highlight stuff from our catalogue that you may have missed. This week, a jewel in the crown of the Square Mile Collection! In 1962, following the success of the Fantastic Four, Marvel were casting around for their next hit. Combining elements from popular TV shows of the time, Lee & Kirby brainstormed a ‘mash-up’ of Frankenstein and Jekyll & Hyde – the old horror movies then going great guns on late-nite TV – and threw in a jive-talking teenager a la ’77 Sunset Strip’s ‘Kookie’, leavening the mix with a hearty dose of Cold War paranoia. The result was the Incredible Hulk; mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner runs out into a gamma-bomb test to save the life of a feckless teen, and in consequence Banner becomes the Hulk, a creature of incalculable strength and uncontrollable rage! Most key components of the Hulk mythos were introduced here: Banner and the Hulk himself, perpetual hero-groupie Rick Jones, love interest Betty Ross and antagonist General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross – but several elements needed to be refined, including our hero’s skin colour. In this first issue only, he was grey, like the monsters in the black & white TV horror shows; from #2 onwards, without explanation, he became the emerald-hued behemoth we love today. But the main theme of the character – intelligence and compassion warring with brute strength – was evident from the beginning, as Bruce, not the Hulk, turns an enemy into an ally and saves the day. Curiously, the Hulk was an initial flop, cancelled after six issues, and condemned to a few years as a guest villain or back-up strip until the revival of his solo title in 1968, but this is where his long career began. This is a CGC Blue Label (no restoration) 3.5, a VG- equivalent, a pence copy (or ‘UK Price variant’, as our American cousins would have it). Several fine lines at the spine and corners do not detract from the central cover image, with beautiful unfaded midnight-blue cover background colour. Hulk #1 is regarded by many authorities as the second rarest Marvel key issue (behind Amazing Fantasy #15, with Fantastic Four #1 in third place); we have only been lucky enough to have three or four copies through our hands in our near 30 years of trading.
PICTURED: HULK #1 CGC 3.5 VG- p £10,000 SOLD

*Marvel: This week, a two part encounter with Mysterio, that most tricky of villains who benefits from a timeless and stylish design by Steve Ditko back in the day. Here again he’s trying to make our friendly neighbourhood web-slinger crack up in this harrowing story. Mysterio stories have become increasingly popular since his appearance in the MCU, so we expect demand for these two lovely condition issues to be high. Both nice flat glossy copies, #142 is just marred by ballast ink marks at the top and bottom edges which do not intrude on to the cover.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#141 VF £47 SOLD
#142 FN+ £37

*Marvel: Hey, it’s the early 1990s (gosh, 30 years ago) and the age of the polybag and trading card, as exemplified by the mega 12 part X-Men crossover ‘X-Cutioner’s Song’ which ran in Uncanny X-Men, X-Men Vol 2, X-Factor & X-Force and featured Stryfe as the central villain. The main issues of the crossover were sold polybagged with a special trading card that featured Stryfe’s personal views of key characters from the crossover. This week we have the first four parts of the crossover new in, all still sealed in their polybags and untouched by human (or mutant) hand, complete with trading cards. I’m sure if you were there at the time, these will have some nostalgic appeal for you.
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
PART 1 UNCANNY X-MEN #294 NM £23
PART 2 X-FACTOR #84 NM £10
PART 3 X-MEN #14 NM £13
PART 4 X-FORCE #16 NM £10

*Marvel: Several issues of Astonishing Tales new in this week from the early 1970s. Prominent are #1 with the debut of the Ka-Zar and Dr. Doom strips, plus #6, with the first appearance of Bobbi Morse, who would later become Mockingbird. We also have a couple of solo Ka-Zar issues, a couple of Deathlok issues and a nice #29, featuring a reprint of the first Guardians Of The Galaxy story. See our catalogue for full details.
PICTURED: ASTONISHING TALES
#1 VF- £35 SOLD
#6 FN p £40 SOLD

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Greer Nelson started her super-heroine life as The Cat, in her own short-lived series in 1972 and resurfaced here, in the one-off Giant-Size Creatures in 1974, as we learn how she was transformed into Tigra, the Were-Woman, who has since gone on to be a fan favourite in the MU. The double-length origin story also featured Werewolf By Night. We have a nice, above average copy, with minor edge and handling wear, a tight squarebound, very presentable issue. 
PICTURED: GIANT-SIZE CREATURES #1 FN+ £60 SOLD

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: A large intake of Westerns in this category this week, with several titles from several publishers. From Miller: Black Fury, Fawcett Movie Comic, Hopalong Cassidy, Kit Cowboy, Lash Larue, Rocky Lane, Tom Mix, Western Hero. From Gordon & Gotch Distributors (Aus): Black Rider, Hi-Yo Silver. From Streamline: Boys’ Ranch. From World Distributors: Hi-Yo Silver, Indian Chief, Roy Rogers, Wild Bill Pecos. From T&P/Jenson/Strato: Jesse James, Kid Colt, Tomahawk, Wild Bill Hickok. All now listed in our catalogue.  

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Battle Picture Library this week, one of Fleetway’s Big Three. From 1970 to 1972, straddling the chasm between pre- and post-decimal, 23 issues ranging from #417 to #657. Nearly all these new additions are a sparkling VF grade, with just a handful of FN. As always, please consult our catalogue for details.

*Humour Comics: A very large chunk of the 1956 issues of Dandy freshly listed this week. It was a year with a lot of strip debuts, and has prompted us to start annotating these, so look out for the first appearances of My Pal Baggy Pants, Willie’s Whizzer Broom, Just Jimmy, Big Bang Benny, Roly-Poly Joe, Turtle Boy, Kipper the Copper, Corporal Kim, Buster’s Battling Beetle & Rip Snorter (whew!). As well as all that, we also have the Fireworks issue, the Christmas issue and an issue with a Beezer promotional flyer. We’ll be adding first appearance data to all new Dandy issues listed from now on, and, if we ever have time, we’ll go back and look up that info for all our previously listed stock as well. 
PICTURED: DANDY #788 GD/VG £14 CHRISTMAS ISSUE

*TV/Film Tie-Ins: Two iconic and very different cultural classics from the 1960s in this week’s books update. First up, the novelisation of ‘The Beatles in their first fab film’: ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, with eight pages of photographs from the film (some beginning to come loose), written by John Burke from the screenplay by Alun Owen. Secondly, two novels of that most stylish series the Prisoner in relatively modern editions in great shape; the Prisoner was a surreal, unique and enigmatic series that has never been matched. Now’s your chance to relive those heady years when we were fab and not numbers. 
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
THE BEATLES: A HARD DAY’S NIGHT 1st UK PB 1964 GD £6
THE PRISONER:
A DAY IN THE LIFE 1st UK PB 1981 VF £8
WHO IS NUMBER TWO? 2nd UK PB 1982 VF £8 

*DC: Our alphabetical romp through the DCU has reached the letter ‘H’, with lots of additions to the following titles: Hawk & Dove, Hawkman, Hercules Unbound (a title new to our listings), Hot Wheels (a nice copy of #1 with art by Alex Toth), House Of Mystery & House Of Secrets. A word about a couple of these: Hawkman is a personal favourite, with wonderful scripts by Gardner Fox (who excelled in the sort of science-fiction and fantasy setting so often used in this series, plus superlative art by Murphy Anderson — a woefully underrated series which deserves much more popularity; the later issues of House of Mystery (#156-173) are the origin of the Dial H For Hero feature which has returned many times in different guises to the DCU over the years, and here is quite frankly often quite potty, but original and endearing with very effective art mostly by moody Jim Mooney. Sockamagee!
PICTURED: HAWKMAN #2 FN  p £44

*Marvel: Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale! (How very DC-like of Marvel to use those blurbs!) How does Spidey get out of this one? Well, we’re not saying… In the 12th issue of Amazing, Spidey comes up again against the dastardly Doc Ock, with the results shown on the cover. Not at all a bad copy this, with some gloss and a rich yellow background, good firmly attached staples and nice page quality. There is a small amount of Marvel chipping along the right edge, a mostly-erased pencil or pen mark centrally above the logo with a small spot of discolouration and a 5 cm upper spine split. We’ve awarded a grade of Apparent VG+, due to there being a missing advert page; the story is complete. This makes this pence printed copy relatively bargainaceous. Like most issues of Amazing Spider-Man below #20, it won’t be with us for long.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12 APP VG+ p £100 SOLD

*Marvel: In our ongoing series focusing on key events in the ‘Wandavision’ TV hit, we turn this week to the underestimated run by John Byrne as writer/artist on West Coast Avengers, and in particular issues #42-45, ‘VisionQuest’. In an earlier story arc in the main Avengers series, Vision had infiltrated computer networks and tried to take over the world, albeit under external influences, and when he gained access to the WCA’s databases, various governmental agencies feared this might recur. They kidnapped Vision, rebuilt and reprogrammed him into an emotionless, pallid simulacrum of his original self – and in the final episodes of ‘Wandavision’, which shoplifted large chunks of Byrne’s original plot, government ‘spooks’ came up with a similarly pallid ‘Vision 2.0’! This four issue sequence concludes with the first ‘White Vision’ in #45 in VF; issues #42-44 average VF/NM. Available as a set.
PICTURED: WEST COAST AVENGERS #45 VF; SET #42-45 £75 SOLD

*Horror 1940-1959: The spotlight shines on Atlas Horror this week with four pre-code issues of Uncanny Tales new in: #3, #4, #24 & #25. #3 has some edge wear, small colour-breaking creases, one long crease across the bottom right corner and some rodent chew along the back cover edge. #4 is heavily spine-rolled and also has a long colour-breaking crease across the bottom right corner. See our catalogue for details on the others. The usual Atlas standard is evident throughout.
PICTURED: UNCANNY TALES
#3 GD- £50 SOLD
#4 GD- £50

*Alan Class Reprints: The Sinister Tales title is updated this week with several new additions, mostly pre-decimal issues, including #39 with a Kirby Captain America story and #119 with a Ditko Dr Strange. Mandrake, the Phantom, the Fly and THUNDER Agents also put in appearances. You can check our catalogue for details and our Alan Class Rough Guide for content detail. This update is for our regular, non-certificated stock.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Following on from previous releases of earlier numbers, we now have most issues between #43 & #50 of Commando War Stories In Pictures from the same source. A previous owner at some point decided to place two to four reinforcing staples through the spine, quite skilfully so as to not hamper the opening of the item nor hide any of the content; there is minimal bleed from these staples and the page quality is really rather nice. As we move up the numbers, the overall condition quality improves, so in most cases, the grade is assigned through wear rather than specific defects. A selection of the issues now available is shown below; please consult our catalogue for full details.
PICTURED: COMMANDO
#43 VG £30 SOLD
#45 FN £40
#47 VG+ £32.50
#48 VG £30
#50 VG £30