*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Four titles new to our listings this week by the undisputed Queen Of Crime, Agatha Christie. Unusually, these unique works do not feature any of Christie’s major recurring detectives, but are all excellent examples of her diversity. Death Comes As The End is a superbly told murder mystery set in ancient Egypt (with a great cover illustration). The Man In The Brown Suit is a robust and thrilling Secret Service adventure with a plucky young heroine. Parker Pyne Investigates is a series of stories about Christie’s most unusual investigator and Towards Zero is a classic murder tale involving the indomitable Inspector Battle, who pops up in supporting roles in quite a few of Christie’s works. Guaranteed page-turners that are difficult to put down, all in handsome vintage Pan editions.
PICTURED: ALL BY AGATHA CHRISTIE ALL SOLD
DEATH COMES AS THE END Pan 1964 2nd UK PB GD/VG £5
THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT Pan 1960 8th UK PB GD £3
PARKER PYNE INVESTIGATES Pan 1968 UK PB GD/VG £3
TOWARDS ZERO Pan 1952 3rd UK PB FA/GD £4

*DC: Six excellent issues of Strange Adventures, DC’s longest running science fiction series of the Golden, Silver & Bronze Ages between #155 & #163, the last issue edited by Julius Schwartz. Two of the recurring features are still here: Star Hawkins, Interplanetary Detective and his robot secretary Ilda, and Atomic Knights, post-apocalyptic adventures of Earth’s last armoured defenders. Space Rovers transfer over from Mystery In Space to replace the Space Museum. Take it from me, all wonderful stuff backed up by lovely little stories from DC’s best creators. All three features will be found in these mixed grade issues.
IN THIS UPDATE: STRANGE ADVENTURES ALL SOLD
#155 FN p £19.75
#158 FA/GD p £5.25 Book shop stamps
#159 VG+ £16.50
#160 VG p £16
#162 VG p £11.75
#163 VG p £11.75

*Marvel: If you’re looking for really nice copies of Amazing Spider-Man for your collection, then look no further than the Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection. All high grade; even the few that fall below VF (and most are above) are really good-looking copies – no duds here, and nearly all cents copies. Following their first encounter with Spidey in Amazing #16, the Circus of Crime appeared for a return engagement in #22, this time without the Ringmaster, but with new addition Princess Python in her first appearance. A great cover with the Spider symbol and Spidey’s elongated shadow. This is a CGC 8.5 VF+ cents copy, unrestored universal blue label with case in perfect condition and cream to off-white pages.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #22 CGC 8.5 VF+ £475

*Marvel: The Black Panther’s series in Jungle Action, which attracted a lot of acclaim at the time, was known for being verbose, introspective, reflective and philosophical. When the character’s co-creator, Jack Kirby, took over as writer and artist on T’Challa’s follow-up solo series, the results were… a considerable contrast. Shouting! Explosions! Aliens! Time-Travel! Implausibly-muscled ladies with black lipstick! Cosmic critters! All were here, and all playing at full volume all the time, in the crazed kinetic frenzy that Kirby was renowned for. Since the major movie franchise, the King of Wakanda’s star is ever-ascendant, and this series is represented here in its entirety from the Bute Collection, 12 issues of high loopiness quotient, followed by 3 more conventional post-Kirby issues. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: BLACK PANTHER #1 VG+ p £30 Pence printed. Nice glossy copy, but handling wear at edges and corners.

*Alan Class Reprints: From the personal archives of Alan Class, we’re delighted to present another selection of copies certificated by Alan himself. More than a dozen pre-decimal copies of Uncanny Tales, all in decent grade. The file copies were used by Alan Class for reference and are sometimes in variable condition, but usually quite good as here. As well as those lovely little mystery stories from Atlas/Marvel, ACG, Charlton and others, this selection also contains some heroic fare: Dr Strange, the Watcher and the Wasp, early THUNDER Agents, Archie’s Fly and Shadow etc. Full details in the certificated section of this category. A reminder that you can view some detail of the contents in our Rough Guide to Alan Class Reprints. 

*TV & Film Related Comics: When the first series of TV Century 21 faltered, competitors Polystyle were quick to generate a successor in ‘Countdown’, featuring many of the most popular Gerry Anderson TV shows in comic strip form. Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, Stingray all graced its pages, plus a brand-new sci-fi strip ‘Countdown’, illustrated rather spiffily by John M. Burns, and the star power of a Doctor Who comic series imported from TV Comic! Later issues added the Persuaders in a prelude to the change into TV Action that was to follow. Our latest Countdown update features around 40 issues new in between #2 and #43, filling many gaps in our listings. From an original owner collection and new to the marketplace, these have been carefully stored for over 50 years and are among the nicest copies we’ve ever seen, with many VF graded. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: COUNTDOWN #3 VG/FN £20

*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 for a John W Campbell quickie and the first part of our Lin Carter stock (with new additions). John W Campbell was a colossus of the Golden Age of science fiction, most famous for his editorship of the pulp mag Astounding, he brought into the field such all-time greats as Asimov, Heinlein, Sturgeon and many others. But his own writing should not be discarded. He wrote The Thing From Another World (later filmed twice), and his novel here is a vision of the first men on the moon. Lin Carter was a major figure of fantasy and sword and sorcery in the 1960s-1980s. Not only the editor of the famous Pan Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, for which he brought back into print many forgotten masterpieces of fantasy, he also wrote many scholarly works (eg on Tolkein, Lovecraft and the genre in general). As if that wasn’t enough, he wrote dozens of novels of fantasy and sword and sorcery, most often in series, including Thongor, his Conan clone and most famous creation. And of course, he also collaborated with others on new Conan novels. A renaissance man of the genre!
PICTURED:
JOHN W CAMPBELL: THE MOON IS HELL NEL 1975 1st UK PB GD/VG £4
BY LIN CARTER:
GREAT IMPERIUM #3: OUTWORLDER Lancer 1971 1st US PB VG/FN £5
MARS #1: THE MAN WHO LOVED MARS Fawcett 1973 1st US PB GD £3 (NEW)
THONGOR #2: THONGOR OF LEMURIA Tandem 1973 2nd UK PB GD/VG £3
THONGOR #3: THONGOR AGAINST THE GODS Tandem 1973 2nd UK PB VG £4
THONGOR #4: THONGOR IN THE CITY OF MAGICIANS Tandem 1973 2nd UK PB GD/VG £3
THONGOR #5: THONGOR AT THE END OF TIME Tandem 1973 2nd UK PB VG £4
THONGOR #6: THONGOR FIGHTS THE PIRATES OF TARAKUS Tandem 1971 1st UK PB VG £4

*TV/Film Tie-Ins: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our TV/Films Tie-Ins Category for some books of shows of varying fame. I don’t remember the American cop series (trendy young cops) the Mod Squad ever being shown here, but the book spin-offs ran to two series. The Persuaders is more familiar, a late entry into the ATV adventure shows, but not a favourite of mine despite the high profile stars. Our Planet Of The Apes entry is based on the TV series; I think with the Apes you can either love them or leave them. Apart from the original film, I’d rather leave them. On the other hand, the Prisoner was a totally unique series of stylish genius; nothing like it has ever been made. 
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
THE MOD SQUAD #3 (1st series) THE SOCK-IT-TO-EM-MURDERS Pyramid 1968 1st US PB VG/FN £4
THE MOD SQUAD #1 (2nd series) HOME IS WHERE THE QUICK IS Pinnacle 1971 1st US PB GD £4
THE PERSUADERS BOOK TWO Pan 1972 1st UK PB VG/FN £15
PLANET OF THE APES #2 ESCAPE TO TOMORROW Award 1975 1st US PB VG £5
THE PRISONER WHO IS NO. 2? Boxtree 1981 UK PB VF £10

*DC: Although, a decade later, Alan Moore became for most readers the definitive writer on DC’s muck monster, back in 1972, the first series of Swamp Thing launched at the hands of Berni Wrightson, who is undoubtedly the definitive artist for the character. After debuting in House Of Secrets #92, Swampy appeared in his own series and this first issue is a nice pence stamped glossy copy, with just minor handling and edge wear. Staples are firm and pages a supple off-white, with just traces of tiny dog-earring to the very extremities of upper right corners. A narrow strip of white spine where the comic has been finished in the publication process with the line of the front cover slightly off centre to the right (see scan)
PICTURED: SWAMP THING #1 FN- p £100 SOLD
 

*DC: In 1973, it was DC’s turn to have a go at the classic pulp hero the Shadow, whose exploits have passed through many publishers over the decades. This 12 issue series was moody and atmospheric, enhanced greatly by the art of Mike Kaluta on several issues inc #1. Many issues fresh in this week as follows:
IN THIS UPDATE: THE SHADOW ALL SOLD
#1 VG- £8.25 (PICTURED)
#2 VG- p £4
#3 FN- p £9
#4 VF- p £11.75
#6 FN+ £9.25
#9 FN/VF p £7.25
#12 VG- £3

*Marvel: A batch of Amazing Spider-Man this week running from #65-78 (most issues). These are generally lower to mid-grade copies and are thus very affordable. Mysterio, Quicksilver, the Shocker, the Human Torch and the Lizard plus the debut of Silvermane in #73, the classic cover to #75 and the first Prowler in #78.
IN THIS UPDATE: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
65 GD/VG £36
67 VG £40 Classic Mysterio cover. ‘$1’ marked in biro near masthead box. Pictured.
70 VG p £26
71 GD p £9
72 FA/GD p £6.75
73 GD p £9 1st Silvermane
75 GD+ p £24.75 Classic cover
77 GD/VG £13.25
78 GD/VG p £49 1st Prowler. Long vertical crease near spine partially breaks colour. Pictured.

*Marvel: For the budget conscious, a chance to get Hulk #180 and #181, the debut of Wolverine, in a high quality reprint at a fraction of the price of the originals. From 1986, this extra-thick volume also features a Wolverine/Hercules back up plus a long feature of the evolution of Wolverine as a character. Just a bit of handling wear on cover and at spine on this one, but nice and glossy, tight with white to off-white pages.
PICTURED: INCREDIBLE HULK AND WOLVERINE #1 FN+ £35 SOLD

*Horror 1940-1959: From the Bute Collection this week, another dip into the entrails of Pre-Code Horror with two issues of Strange Tales, one of Atlas’s flagship titles for this stuff. Like Journey Into Mystery, Strange Tales is one of the Marvel titles that had its roots in the Atlas Pre-Code Horror days and survived via the Big Panty Monsters into the super-heroic Silver Age. It’s the Pre-Code Horror that concerns us here, with two early issues in decent shape. The usual high standards of Atlas horror are preserved in these excellent items.
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES BOTH SOLD
#8 VG £325 Pre-Code. Great cover by Everett. Interior art by Colan, Stallman, Maneely and others. Great colour with some gloss. Corner blunting, solid spine, firm, tight staples at spine and centrefold, slight chipping wear to right edge. Supple pages off-white to cream. 
#17 GD+ £150 Pre-Code. Cover by Carl Burgos. Interior art by Sinnott, Robinson, Brodsky (?), Briefer and others. Upper spine split 2.5 cm. Unspoilt cover with spidery crease lines, mostly above logo. Minor edge and spine wear. Good firm staples and nice off-white to cream pages. This copy looks a little wonky and we suspect a trim to the right upper side; graded and priced accordingly.

*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. The artists were all accomplished Fleetway professionals, and readers thrived on these beautifully-illustrated pocket adventures. Issues #11-20 fresh in this week, all low grade with some taped spines and varying degrees of staple rust, but all complete with clean pages.
IN THIS UPDATE: THRILLER COMICS/PICTURE LIBRARY
11 FA/GD £22.50 The Black Arrow. Taped spine
12 GD £25 Musketeers Of The King.
13 FA/GD £22.50 Captain Flame. Taped spine.
14 FA £20 The Secret Of Monte Cristo. Cover loose.
15 GD £25 The Last Of The Mohicans. Pictured below
16 FA/GD £22.50 The Green Archer. Pictured below.
17 GD £25 The Outlaw Orphan. Pictured below
18 FA £20 Again The Ringer. Taped spine.
19 GD £25 Quo Vadis. Pictured below.
20 GD £25 Phantom Footsteps. Pictured below

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Edmund Crispin (real name Robert Bruce Montgomery) was a celebrated author, critic and composer (he wrote the film scores for several early Carry On films, among many others and edited science-fiction anthologies). His detective fiction featured his creation Gervase Fen, who starred in novels and short story collections, written mostly in the 1940s and 50s. Fen is a mercurial, eccentric university professor with a penchant for solving the most unlikely mysteries, which Crispin writes in a humorous, literary and sometimes farcical style. The plots are intricate, fantastic and almost unbelievable, but hugely entertaining. The Moving Toyshop was the first Fen novel I read, and I perceived that Fen was a likely inspiration for the character of Dr Who; I have since learned that others have also made that comparison. We’re delighted to have five Fen novels new in this week, all published by Four Square in a handsome matching edition in 1965/66. 
PICTURED: ALL BY EDMUND CRISPIN ALL SOLD
THE CASE OF THE GILDED FLY Four Square 1965 UK PB VG £6
FREQUENT HEARSES Four Square 1965 UK PB VG £6
HOLY DISORDERS Four Square 1965 UK PB GD/VG £5
THE MOVING TOYSHOP Four Square 1965 UK PB VG £6
SWAN SONG Four Square 1966 UK PB VG £6

*Clearance Corner: Very occasionally, a lot comes our way which does not justify its place in our catalogue but is too good to discard. These lots are offered here on our What’s New page, but are no longer listed in our catalogue. Lots listed under Clearance Corner will be available for a short time only.  Clearance Corner lots are offered post free to UK buyers only. They are not bagged or boarded. When you buy in a lot of collections, as we do, you often find Free Gifts that don’t have the comics to go with them. We’ve rounded up a lot of these totalling eight. In some cases, we haven’t had time to identify which comics they go with, but have given the best information we have to hand below.
ALL 8 GIFTS FOR £35 — UK ONLY, WITH FREE POSTAGE SOLD
LOVELY YOUNG DANCERS OF 1960. 9 ballerina cards in plastic wallet from early Judy. In nice condition with previous owner’s name on wallet and back of some cards.
MOONGLOW MASK From Topper in used but nice condition.
BUSTER GUY FAWKES BANGER From Buster 6/11/65 Grubby with some wear and tear.
THUNDERBIRDS POSTCARDS From TV Century 21. Set of 6 unused in great condition.
CAPTAIN SCARLET ALBUM From TV Century 21. Complete with all stickers fitted. Slight wear.
MY FAVOURITE SOCCER STARS ALBUM From Scorcher 1971. Complete with all photo-cards fitted.  Nice condition.
THE HORNET BOOK – BE A SUPER BOY From Hornet #420. Nice condition.
BLACK PANTHER TRANSFER STICKERS X 2 From Marvel Super Adventure. Unused.

*DC: Well, technically they returned, along with other Justice Society members, in Justice League of America #21, but this was the first time since the Golden Age that readers had had a chance to see these heroes as more than faces in a super-crowd, and with the talents of editor Julius Schwartz, scripter Gardner Fox and illustrator Murphy Anderson, you know you’re in for a treat. In #55, with the villainous Solomon Grundy and guest-hero Green Lantern (Alan Scott), this was a truly epic battle, as the supernatural Doctor Fate and the super-scientist Hourman joined forces against an eldritch menace which threatened to overwhelm them both! In #56, the super-team supreme came up against the Psycho-Pirate, whom readers will remember, if not from the Golden Age, then for his major role in Crisis On Infinite Earths. Comics as they should be! From an original owner collection and new to the marketplace.
PICTURED: SHOWCASE
#55 VG+ p £110 Pence stamped. Lustrous and glossy colour cover with the deep purple background colour that DC purveyed so well. Some handling wear and spine ticks, plus a short 2 cm crease at spine which barely breaks colour. Tight, firm staples and lovely supple white to off-white pages.
#56 VG + p £70 Pence stamped. Lustrous and glossy colour cover. Minor edge and corner wear; short and narrow colour-breaking creases at top and bottom right corners (1 at each). Tight, firm staples and lovely supple white to off-white pages. 

*Marvel: One of the most sought-after Marvel Comics of the 1960s is Fantastic Four #48, which introduced the Silver Surfer, a cosmic-powered being the equal of the combined FF… and the Surfer’s master, Galactus, an entity of even more monstrous might! Both became major figures in the Marvel Universe, with the Surfer repenting his role as Galactus’ herald and choosing the side of justice, while Galactus’ insatiable hunger drives him ever onwards to more heinous acts. This Good Doctor Collection copy is pence printed and in beautiful condition, with vibrant colour cover and a totally unmarked cover scene. Corners are fairly sharp, and staples firmly attached at spine and centrefold. Wear is minimal, mostly restricted to the top edge, but very narrow. There are small handling marks at top corners resulting in tiny creases. Pages are a lovely white to off-white, nearer the white end of that scale. Covers and pages are both beautifully supple and fresh. Just to the right of the Fantastic Four logo there is a soft, barely discernable crease of about 4 cm, with just a hint of a colour break. An iconic Silver Age comic in fabulous condition, which would be a high point of many a collection. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #48 FN/VF p £1,850

*Marvel: Filling our Marvel #1 slot this week is none other than Moon Knight. We’re delighted to add to our catalogue the first issue of the first ongoing Moon Knight series from 1980. The multiple secret identity super-hero often considered an ersatz Batman has been around now since 1975, in various guest appearances and one-shots which led up to this. With Adamsesque art by the moody Bill Sienkiewicz, this has very much become a fan favourite series in recent years. Our latest #1 is a high grade pence printed issue, glossy with rich colour, great pages and staples and a perfect spine. Just a suggestion of handling wear at top edge.
PICTURED: MOON KNIGHT #1 VF+ p £50

*Marvel: Our Tabloid Headlines feature continues with three Conan issues of the Marvel Treasury Edition. #4 (alas, a damaged copy) features two glorious long tales by artist Barry Smith at his peak, including Red Nails, here for the first time in colour.  By contrast grade-wise, #15 and #19 are high grade; #15 features the first full Red Sonja story also by Smith, plus stories from Kane, Adams and Buscema; while #19 has long stories by Buscema and Nino, reprinted in colour for the first time from Savage Sword. By Crom, they did Robert E Howard proud!
PICTURED: MARVEL TREASURY EDITION ALL SOLD
#4 GD £5 Thumbnail-sized chip out bottom edge.
#15 NM- £30
#19 VF/NM £25

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: In the 1940s and 50s, the jungle genre was de rigueur in comics, fuelled no doubt by the multi-media sensation of Tarzan Of The Apes. Nowhere was this more prevalent than at Fiction House, who had Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and their flagship Jungle Comics, where Ka’a’nga, Jungle Lord and his shapely companion Ann held sway, ably backed up by such jungle denizens as Simba, Tabu, Wambi, Captain Terry Thunder and Camilla. Three issues of adventure from the Bute Collection in varying grades. 
IN THIS UPDATE: JUNGLE COMICS
#81 FN+ £80 (PICTURED) Beautiful clean copy with vivid colour, firm staples and supple off-white to cream pages. Just minor creasing at base of spine, not breaking colour. SOLD
#91 GD/VG £33 Spine roll with centrefold off top staple, but otherwise only minor wear.
#113 FA £10 Covers detached with holes at staple regions and at base of spine.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: This week, we’re rounding up some loose ends we’ve acquired in this category, including issue #3 of 2000 AD, an early Victor, an uncommon Jag, a promotional issue of Battle (Action Force) and the Marvelman special.
IN THIS UPDATE:
BATTLE 8/10/83 VG £4.50 The first issue where this title joined with Action Force; this promotional variant was given away free at Hamleys
JAG 7/9/68 GD £5 Tabloid-sized SOLD
MARVELMAN SPECIAL #1 VG £10
2000 AD #3 VG £30 (PICTURED)
VICTOR #152 (1964) GD £2.50 Some cover foxing SOLD

*Mad Books: This week, reinforcements for our Mad Books category, celebrating those fondly remembered paperback books featuring the best of Mad. Wit, sarcasm, parody and irony never go out of style. Eight volumes new in (including many devoted to specific creators) as follows:
SERGIO ARAGONES: MAD MENAGERIE Warner 1983 1st US PB GD/VG £6
DAVE BERG: MAD’S DAVE BERG LOOKS AT MODERN THINKING Signet 1969 1st US PB GD £3
AL JAFFEE: MAD’S AL JAFFEE SPEWS OUT SNAPPY ANSWERS TO STUPID QUESTIONS Signet 7th US PB VG £6
AL JAFFEE: GOOD LORD! NOT ANOTHER BOOK OF SNAPPY ANSWERS TO STUPID QUESTIONS BY MAD’S AL JAFFEE Warner 1980 1st US PB VG £6
THE MAD WORRY BOOK Warner 1980 1st US PB GD £4
DON MARTIN: MAD’S DON MARTIN COMES ON STRONG Signet 1971 1st US PB VG £6
THE SELF-MADE MAD Signet US PB VG £4
SON OF MAD Signet 15th US PB VG £6

*DC: Leading this week’s selections from the Bute Collection is World’s Finest #20, Winter 1945. An amusing Jack Burnley cover typical of the period, featuring Superman, Batman & Robin. In these early days for the title, Superman and Batman appeared in separate stories and had a variety of back-ups, in this case Green Arrow, Zatara, the Boy Commandos and others in its 76 squarebound pages. The Superman story features the Toyman. The spine is more or less intact, but has several pieces of tape around it. There is a 4 cm tear vertical from the top edge near the spine going through the letter ‘W’ in the logo. There are also several tears to the right edge sealed by tape, in some cases both inside and out. Some tape also on back cover. Other than all that, the comic holds together pretty well;  the pages have some grubby edges but are okay and there is a small stain top of back cover.
PICTURED: WORLD’S FINEST #20 FA/GD £120 SOLD

*DC: Although some take the view that the Silver Age Justice League were past their best after the first twenty or so issues, I totally refute that, maintaining that author Gardner Fox was still at his most imaginative and innovative right up to his final issue on the series (#65). Here are six shining examples to bear testament:
IN THIS UPDATE: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ALL SOLD
#34 VG/FN p £18.25 Joker cover
#35 FN p £22
#37 GD/VG p £13.25 Annual JSA Crossover part 1
#38 GD/VG p £11 Annual JSA Crossover part 2
#39 GD+ p £11 80 Page Giant reprinting 3 early stories
#40 GD- p £12.75 Off lower staple