*Marvel: Also from the Good Doctor this week, the second, third and fourth issues of Dr Strange in his own series, continuing the numbering of Strange Tales. All nice copies in a series of consistently high quality, with stories by Roy Thomas, and art by Dan Adkins, Tom Palmer and Gene Colan. Familiar nemeses Nightmare and Dormammu return to plague Marvel’s own Good Doctor.
IN THIS UPDATE: DOCTOR STRANGE
#170 FN/VF £90 (PICTURED) Glossy, white pages, tight staples, minor wear central spine and a small scuff over text box.
#171 VF £90 (PICTURED) Glossy, white to off-white pages, small arrival date top of masthead box, tight staples, minimal wear.
#172 FN- p £27
American Update: Fantastic Four between #151 & #268
*Marvel: A new selection in of the Fantastic Four within the above number range. Includes the Silver Surfer/Dr Doom trilogy in #155-157, High Evolutionary Vs Galactus in #175, the debut of Salem’s Seven in #186 and a whole lot more. Full details as always in our catalogue.
American Update: Three low grade Bronze Age Marvel 1st issues: Guardians, Ms. Marvel, Nova
*Marvel: Three low grade reading copies of Marvel firsts this week. These all have loose or detached staples, significant cover creasing or chips out. They won’t look great in your collection, but they are complete and if you’re on a budget, represent a chance to get hold of issues which would normally be much more expensive.
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
MARVEL PRESENTS #3 (1ST OF GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY SERIES) FA p £8
MS MARVEL #1 FA p £21
NOVA #1 FA p £13
American Update: The Bute Collection: Pre-Code Horror Fest: EC’s Shock Suspenstories
*EC: Always a joy to welcome original ECs to our listings, for quality and workmanship in the genres they covered unsurpassed before or since. Three issues of Shock Suspenstories new in this week from the Bute Collection, the ‘sort of’ compendium title which featured horror, science-fiction and crime.
PICTURED: SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES
#11 VG £140 Pre-code. Art by Craig, Wood, Crandall, Kamen. Decent solid copy, slightly mis-cut, wear around staples, but firmly attached. Some edge wear, some fine creasing faintly breaking colour. Nice off-white to cream pages.
#13 FA+ £70 Pre-code. Art by Kamen, Wood, Crandall, Frazetta (his only EC solo story). Taped spine (causing cover buckling), and tape inside right cover edge. Small chips out cover edges. Staples seem firm, page quality is okay. SOLD
#14 GD/VG £130 Pre-code. Art by Kamen, Wood, Krigstein, Evans. Nice clean copy with 3 cm upper spine split. Good colour, minor edge wear, firm staples, nice off-white to cream pages. SOLD
American Update: The Bute Collection: Quirky Corner: Fox Giant: Variety Comics (Double Double Prototype)
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Here’s an oddity. Technically a one-shot, Fox’s Variety Comics was made up of four coverless Fox comics. Since Fox often started their story on the inside cover, discarding the original cover removed the first page of the first story of each rebound book. Even more bizarre than the British rebound comics of the 1960s known as Double Double Comics which employed the same tactics (but with the stories complete). As with Double Doubles, the contents varied beneath the same cover and various combinations of content of this have been reported. I wonder (but doubt) whether anyone’s catalogued every possibility. Not too many of these on sale in the UK, we suspect, and probably the Bute Collection has cornered the market on them, with three copies, no less, all different, although sharing the common cover to all copies. Details below:
PICTURED: VARIETY COMICS
COPY A GD/VG £60 Contains My Secret Story, Crimes By Women, Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde, My Secret Affair. Bright copy with spine wear and small split at bottom. Good staples. SOLD
COPY B GD £50 Contains Crimes By Women (different issue to Copy A), My Love Memoirs, Jungle Lil, Romeo Tubbs. Bright copy with upper and lower spine wear/splits (bits of spine missing), Good staples. SOLD
COPY C FA/GD £40 Contains My Secret Story (same as Copy A), Blue Beetle, Black Tarantula, Jungle Lil (same as Copy A). Slight fade to cover colour. Spine wear with lower split. Good staples. SOLD
British Update: Pre-decimal Alan Class inc 3 one-shot issues
*Alan Class Reprints: A new selection in of Alan Class comics, all pre-decimal pricing. Titles include: Astounding, Creepy Worlds, Eerie Tales (one-shot), Out Of This World (1st series), Outer Space, Race Into Space (one-shot), Secrets Of The Unknown, Suspense, Tales Of The Supernatural (one-shot) & Uncanny Tales. You’ll find full details in the regular, uncertificated section of our Alan Class listing.
British Update: Free Gift Farrago: Top Spot #2 & #3 – Man-Sized Adventures
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Top Spot, starting in 1958, was an unusual and not altogether successful attempt to link something like a traditional boys’ comic (albeit with more adult storylines) with the world of glamour, sport and showbiz (a la Tit-Bits or Reveille). Thus photos and articles on glamour stars would sit alongside quality picture strip stories of crime, sport, western and action. Despite being a publication of some quality, the experiment failed and the comic was merged with Film Fun after a year and a bit. This week we have the second and third issues of Top Spot available, both with their original Free Gifts (which we’ve never seen before).
PICTURED: TOP SPOT BOTH SOLD
#2 GD/VG £40 WITH FREE GIFT (VG): Top Shots In Sport Book. Rusty staples with little migration; small foxing spots and worn bottom edge. Free Gift nice, flat and clean.
#3 VG £40 WITH FREE GIFT (VG): Drumming Up The Stars Book (of music and film). Rusty staples with little migration; small foxing spots. Free Gift nice, flat and clean.
British Update: This Week’s #1: Combat Picture Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Combat Picture Library, published by GMS, whilst perhaps not as popular as its illustrious contemporary cousins Air Ace, Battle, Commando & War, is nevertheless keenly sought after by some collectors and has stories of a similar quality. This week we’re delighted to feature the very first issue of its 1200+ run. The previous owner at some point chose to reinforce this copy with extra staples and tape and has done it no favours. It’s a great shame but makes this uncommon issue very affordable and it’s still very capable of giving lots of reading pleasure! And a great gap to fill!
PICTURED: COMBAT PICTURE LIBRARY #1 FA/GD £35 SOLD
American Update: DC Debuts: My Greatest Adventure #80, the 1st Doom Patrol
*DC: A collection of misfits with strange powers, hated and feared by the world they protect, led by a paraplegic genius in a wheelchair. Sound familiar? Well, guess again – almost simultaneously with the debut of the X-Men at Marvel, DC made their moribund title My Greatest Adventure the home of the ‘Doom Patrol’, created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani. While the similarities between the X-Men and the DP are marked, the differences provide a significant contrast – the X-Men are teens, in a special school, with little experience of the world, while the Doom Patrol are all adults with successful careers and lives that they lost when a twisted fate granted them powers which would ostracise and, ultimately, possibly destroy them. The tone was altogether darker, and the series caught on, taking over the title, running to #121, and various reiterations of the team have been mainstays of the DCU ever since. The live-action Netflix TV show is a big hit. This copy of the Doom Patrol’s first appearance (as well as that of their arch-enemy General Immortus) is a reasonable-looking lower graded copy, pence stamped. The cover has nice colour and some gloss, the staples are firmly attached at spine and centrefiold and the pages are a particularly nice off-white. There is moderate wear at all edges and corner blunting, with small colour-breaking creases in the lower right corner, and a tiny chip out of centre top (the chip is detached, but present). The cover image is strong, vivid and unmarked but for the wear already detailed.
PICTURED: MY GREATEST ADVENTURE #80 GD/VG p £350 SOLD
American Update: Their Name Is Legion: Superboy & The Legion Of Super-Heroes
*DC: We continue our Legion of Super-Heroes feature with a run of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes from #197 to #258, almost every issue in that sequence. In an echo of what happened in Adventure Comics many years earlier, the Legion took over Superboy’s title with #197 and the title remained thus until #258, changing with #259 to just ‘Legion Of Super-Heroes’ (but that’s a story for another update…). This period started well with art by Dave Cockrum, who designed snazzy new outfits for many Legionnaires. But Cockrum soon departed to draw a certain mutant combo at the competition, and his replacement, Mike Grell, made those new costumes look a bit ridiculous on his angular and elongated figures (not to my taste, sorry). A brighter time followed with the accomplished art of the criminally underused James Sherman, which coincided fortuitously with the first writing period by Paul Levitz, particularly the Earthwar saga, which presaged the superb period which was to follow when Levitz returned to the title. Many other creators had a hand at this time, such as Jim Starlin, Mike Nasser and Joe Staton, but at best a patchy time for our favourite group. As always, see our catalogue for the full listing.
American Update: Kingdom Come: Complete 1996 4 issue series painted by Alex Ross
*DC: Although a bit ‘modern’ by our normal standards, this landmark Elseworlds mini-series is of such a high quality that we couldn’t leave it out of our catalogue. Four deluxe squarebound issues, written by fan favourite writer Mark Waid and painted (covers AND interiors) by fan favourite artist Alex Ross, Kingdom Come presents a powerful tale of the entire DCU and a future that may or may not come to pass. If you’ve not read this nor feasted your eyes on the superlative artwork, do yourself a favour and get to your electronic communication device of choice and rush off an email to us now. Who knows? You might be first! All four issues in one lot, all high grade but with a few small marks and creases, but nothing horrible.
PICTURED: KINGDOM COME #1 VF/NM (ALSO #2-4 VF) COMPLETE SET £50 SOLD
American Update: Fantastic Four #25 & #26 – Definitive Hulk/Thing Clash, Guest-Starring the Avengers
*Marvel: A personal favourite from the distant childhoods of the 30th C. team, these classic issues pit the Green Goliath against Marvel’s First Family in a long-promised but oft-deferred fight to the finish. When three of the Four rapidly succumb to the Hulk’s irresistible force, it falls to the Thing, outclassed despite his own formidable strength, to hold the line in an epic, desperate struggle to protect the city. And when the combined powers of the FF fail, who better to step up to help out than the Hulk’s former teammates, the ever-Assemblin’ Avengers? Powerful and gripping, this remains, decades later, one of the best-remembered battles of the early Marvel Age!
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR
#25 GD/VG p £225 A pence printed copy. Rich colour cover with no markings. Staples firm at spine; centrefold loose. Decent pages. Moderate edge and handling wear and corner blunting. Two colour-breaking cover creases, both fairly faint: one across bottom right edge diagonally, one narrow from top to about a third of the way down, culminating in a small edge nick.
#26 VG+ £160 Cents copy with good colour and only slight dinginess to the white background. Good staples and nice pages. Minor edge and handling wear. A small biro figure ‘5’ below the logo. SOLD
American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Amazing #6, with debut of the Lizard
*Marvel: One of the more tragic entries in Spider-Man’s Rogue’s Gallery is the Lizard, a.k.a. Dr. Curt Connors, a dedicated scientist and devoted husband and father whose research into a regenerative serum, to help himself and other amputees, went horribly wrong when the lizard-like properties of tissue regeneration ran rampant, turning him into a humanoid reptile. The Lizard debuted in the sixth issue of Spider-Man, and the Good Doctor copy is a pence printed comic with many flaws, but is thus very affordable. The cover is taped to the comic on the inside and there is a long taped tear horizontally across half the back cover. Many creases and wrinkles to the front cover, but just a few colour-breaking short lines and spots. The worst aspect is probably a corner off the splash page (approx 6 x 10 cm but variable diagonally) which does impinge on the story. We have shown this in an image below. All the other pages are not affected by this, although there are also two ad. pages missing. Normally we don’t sell comics with a part page missing, but this is one of those exceptions where the comic is so significant, we believe it would have collector appeal even in this condition. (For those looking for a nicer copy, we have a FN/VF copy already listed in our catalogue).
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #6 App FA/GD p £200 SOLD
American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: X-Men #31-34 inc. Juggernaut
*Marvel: For our second Good Doctor visit this week, we have four consecutive issues of the X-Men from #31-34. #31 features the menace of the Cobalt Man, and #34 an underground war between the Mole man and Tyrannus. In between there’s a two-parter which starts out at the Coffee A Go Go with Bernard the Poet (anyone remember him?) and ends up with a return engagement with the Juggernaut and a guest appearance by Dr. Strange. Heady stuff indeed. (Sidebar — a much younger me can remember reading X-Men #31 in the bath, which was not a good idea for all sorts of reasons, particularly when dropping it in the water – don’t try this at home, folks!)
IN THIS UPDATE: X-MEN
#31 VG £36 Subscription crease SOLD
#32 FN+ £185 (PICTURED) Nice flat copy with great colour and nice pages; just minor edge wear with tiny creases at bottom corners (front right and rear spine).
#33 VG+ £60 (PICTURED) Solid copy with some edge wear and colour-breaking creases at top edge right cover.
#34 VG £31 Subscription crease
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Savage She-Hulk #1
*Marvel: Let’s be honest, on the face of it, the She-Hulk sounded like a really lame idea when we first heard of her — what was to follow? Hulk-Hound, the Hulkmobile, Planet Hulk? But intermittently chartreuse lawyer Jen Walters has gone on to become one of the most enduring and endearing characters in the Marvel Universe, with creators such as John Byrne and Dan Slott providing charm, wit and (mostly) intelligent humour in her own series and during tenures with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. There wasn’t too much trace of that in Jen’s first series, the Savage She-Hulk, when it saw the light of day back in 1980 and she was as angry as her cousin (though didn’t burst out of quite as much of her clothing, thanks to the exigencies of the Comics Code Authority) but Savage She-Hulk #1 – by the legendary creators Stan Lee and John Buscema – is where Jen’s illustrious career got its start. And very soon, Shulkie will be bursting on to our screens in her own TV series, so a good time to invest in her first appearance. Non-distributed in the UK, so there are no pence copies. This is a high grade copy, vivid colour with gloss, flat with firm tight staples, brilliant white background, lovely white to off-white pages. Just the very slightest bit of corner blunting, a short and almost invisible crease by the number box and what looks like a biro line (0.5 cm) below the ‘M’ in Marvel are the only blemishes on this beautiful copy.
PICTURED: SAVAGE SHE-HULK #1 VF+ £165 SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania: the Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 – signed by BOTH John Romitas
*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. After the acclaimed ‘Death of Captain Marvel’ Graphic Novel, Marvel, for copyright purposes, was not about to let the name loiter for long, and in 1982’s Spider-Man Annual #16, the new Captain Marvel was introduced – an African-American woman named Monica Rambeau, with the ability to convert her body into all forms of energy. Although created as a ‘placemarker’ for the title, Monica proved very popular, becoming in time a mainstay of the Avengers (and one of the team’s most distinguished leaders). Despite having been shamefully treated by Marvel’s Powers-That-Be, shunted out of the Captain Marvel title by newer iterations, Monica remains a vital and active part of the Marvel Universe, whether she’s Photon, Spectrum, or whatever other nom-du-guerre they’ve pinned on her this week. Both John Romita and his son are credited with pencilling Monica’s debut, and they’ve duly obliged by both signing the cover of this copy, which comes with a Dymanic Forces certificate identifying it as 70/300 signed copies. A lovely high grade copy, flat, glossy, colourful and supple with very minor wear along the top edge and a couple of tiny spine stress reading marks.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #16 VF+ £150 Signed copy. SOLD
American Update: The Bute Collection: A Timely Intervention: All Winners #13
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Just one comic from the Bute Collection this week, but it’s a goodie! We’re especially pleased to be able to present an issue of the famous All Winners, #13 from 1944, which features the big three Timely heroes: the Human Torch, Captain America and the Sub-Mariner, plus the Whizzer (no slouch himself) in individual stories. It wasn’t until issue #19 that they were all to team up as the All Winners Squad, but Cap & Bucky, the Torch & Toro and Subby are all teamed up on the wonderful Alex Schomburg cover to this issue. Extra fun features include a pictorial message from Cap advising a waste paper drive for the war effort and an ad for Miss America magazine, with a photo of the Miss America model in costume. This issue, as was not uncommon, was printed with just one central staple; this is a little loose but firmly attached enough. There is some spine and minor edge wear and corner blunting, but the comic lies flat with no marks on the cover, except for a little grubbiness above the logo. The pages are nice and remarkably well-preserved for their age. We see precious few Golden Age Timelys and demand is phenomenal. High resolution images are available on request, but there is a good chance someone will order this before we can get those to you.
PICTURED: ALL-WINNERS #13 VG- £1,750 SOLD
British Update: Alan Class Printing Plate Sets Final Phase: Human Torch, Dr Strange, Giant Man & Wasp and more
*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 throughout 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.) Four new sets available this week as follows: ALL SOLD
CREEPY WORLDS #4 £50 Comic GD; Reprints Atlas.
CREEPY WORLDS #53 £80 Comic VG/FN ; Reprints Human Torch & Dr. Strange stories from Strange Tales #118 inc cover, Atlas. Extra: I interior plate.
CREEPY WORLDS #66 £70 Comic GD/VG; Reprints Giant-Man & Wasp story from Tales To Astonish #52 inc cover, Atlas, pre-hero Marvel, Charlton. Extra: Colour cover proof (creased and stained)
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN #8 £50 Comic FN/VF; Reprints Atlas, I Crandall, 1 Krigstein
British Update: This Week’s #1: Valiant from 4th October 1962
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: For this week’s British #1 spotlight, we turn to a classic from 1962: the very first issue of Valiant, the anthology which re-invented the adventure weekly for a modern audience, and prompted makeovers in its stablemates Lion and Tiger. Featuring the debuts of Captain Hurricane (much less comedic than he became in later years) and the anti-hero Steel Claw, as well as long-running comedy series The Nutts, this was the foundation of a fifteen-year run. A genuine milestone in the British comics field, setting the template for myriad rivals and successors. This very acceptable copy is clean and generally structurally sound (apart from a 3 cm lower spine cover split). No pen or pencil marks, just slight yellowing at the edges and a spot of rust at the staples with no migration.
PICTURED: VALIANT #1 4/10/62 VG £80 SOLD
British Update: Love Story Library: 25 issues from #551-575 – a Swingin’ Sixties Selection
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A run of Love Story (Picture) Library this week from #551 to #575 from the mid-sixties, featuring every consecutive issue in that sequence. These are a delight, with lots of Carnaby Street influenced covers and outlandish storylines including go-go girls, lovesick heartthrobs and other groovy chicks. Bright, upbeat and hugely enjoyable, with colourful eye-catching covers and often striking interior art. These new additions average VG to VF, some only flawed by a degree of staple rust, but many rust-free. Full details as always in our catalogue. NB Name changed to Love Story Picture Library with #553.
PICTURED: LOVE STORY #551 FN/VF £6
American Update: DC Debuts: 1st Modern Black Adam in Shazam #28
*DC: Issue #28 of Shazam from 1977 featured the return of one of Captain Marvel’s most powerful nemeses, Black Adam, who gained his mighty powers from the same source as the Captain himself. Having only appeared previously in the Golden Age Marvel Family #1 (1945), this modern-day debut was the second-ever appearance of Teth-Adam and his super-powered alter ego, and interest has continued in this issue ever since the casting of grappling thespian Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as Teth-Adam/Black Adam in Captain Marvel’s movie debut. This is a decent pence-stamped copy getting towards mid-grade, flat and unmarked, with tight and firmly attached staples. Some corner blunting and a little edge wear, but nothing serious. Nice pages; perhaps just a little bit tired, keeping the grade down.
PICTURED: SHAZAM #28 VG+ p £225
American Update: Four early Green Lanterns #3-6
*DC: Issues #3 to #6 of the Silver Age Green Lantern fresh in this week, all in decent shape. Lots of science-fiction tropes, lots of lovely Gil Kane artwork — what’s not to like? #5 features the debut of Hector Hammond, and #6 the first Tomar-Re, the alien Green Lantern.
PICTURED: GREEN LANTERN
#3 VG- p £70 Some spine and edge wear with a reading crease, clean and bright cover image. Cover detached at bottom staple.
#4 VG p £65 Some spine and edge wear with a colour-breaking crease diagonal at top right edge of cover; clean and bright cover image. Cover detached at bottom staple.
#5 VG+ p £75 Minor edge and spine wear; staples firmly attached. Clean and bright cover image. SOLD
#6 VG+ p £70 Minor edge and spine wear; staples firmly attached. Clean and bright cover image. Small scuff at logo. SOLD
American Update: Batmania Catalogue Expansion: Batman #431-449
*DC: Our latest catalogue expansion features Batman #431-449. Lots of landmark stories in this range: The Many Deaths of the Batman, Year 3, featuring the debut of Tim Drake, who would go on to adopt the Robin costume in the conclusion of A Lonely Place Of Dying (#442), Batman in Russia and The Penguin Affair. Full details as always in our catalogue.
American Update: Avengers Assemble: Avengers #2 1963
*Marvel: Stan Lee created the Fantastic Four as a response to DC’s success with the Justice League of America, but it was the later Avengers concept that more properly copies the JLA format, with all Marvel’s nascent super-heroes banding together to fight common threats. The nature of the Avengers ever-changing roster was there almost from the start, since the Hulk left the team in this second issue, which also featured the menace of the Space Phantom in his debut appearance, and reflected the recent change of Ant-Man into Giant-Man. It was all happening in this issue! This is a lovely pence printed copy, with great colour and reflective gloss and a totally unmarked cover. Staples are firmly attached at spine and centrefold and the supple pages are a vivid off-white to white; corners are sharp. There is minor non-colour breaking creasing at top edge above the logo, a couple of tiny stress marks at spine and a couple of short creases on the back cover in the spine area. But all-in-all a conservatively graded, nice copy. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AVENGERS #2 FN- p £575 SOLD
American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Doctor Strange #169, 1st issue of 1st series
*Marvel: A real treat from the Good Doctor this week, from a fellow practitioner! Following the relaxation of distribution regulations in 1968, Marvel expanded by cancelling its double-featured books Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense, giving each hero space to breathe in his own comic. Three, however, continued the numbering of their parent titles, and one such was Doctor Strange, former star of Strange Tales, whose first solo issue was numbered #169. This opening issue of Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme was a book-length retelling of his origins, scripted by Roy Thomas and lavishly illustrated by Dan Adkins, normally regarded only as an inker but here supplying full artwork. A bright cents copy, tight and flat with firmly attached staples, vibrant colour, good cover gloss and nice white to off-white pages (more white than off-white). Very minor edge and spine wear, a couple of small stress marks at spine, and a little bit of creasing just breaking colour at the very top of the right corner of the cover. A good-looking copy that presents very well. The Doctor is in right now, dominating the big screen.
PICTURED: DOCTOR STRANGE #169 FN+ £450 SOLD
American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: 20 issues of Captain America
*Marvel: Also from the Good Doctor Collection this week, 20 issues of Captain America, every issue from #120-138 plus #143. Almost all of these are in nice mid to high grade, and all are cents copies. Less often seen than contemporary runs of many other titles. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: CAPTAIN AMERICA #134 NM- £40
American Update: Spider-Mania: The Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection: Amazing #44-46: Lizard & Shocker
*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. Three consecutive issues this week: Spidey’s second encounter with the Lizard in #44 & #45 and a Mighty Marvel Firsts moment with the Shocker in #46.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#44 VF £250 Beautifully lustrous colour cover with great purple and black background. A minimum of edge and spine wear. Tight and flat with firmly attached staples. Almost white, supple pages. SOLD
#45 VF+ £195 Gorgeous reflective unmarked cover with bright colours. Virtually no wear at all except for two or three tiny stress marks (not breaking colour) at the spine below the bottom staple. Sharp corners, supple white pages, staples firmly attached. SOLD
#46 FN/VF £350 1st Shocker. Bright and glossy colour cover. Very minor wear at top edge and top of right edge. Supple white to off-white pages. Staples firmly attached. There is a very faint discolouration mark (smaller than a little fingernail) on the Spidey head in the masthead box.
American Update: Mighty Marvel TV/Film Firsts: Wrecking Crew, Scarlet Scarab, Maria Rambeau
*Marvel: A handful of first appearance issues of characters who have recently or soon will appear in Marvel’s TV or Film series now available. First up, strongly rumoured to be the Big Bads in the upcoming She-Hulk TV series, the Wrecking Crew first appeared in Defenders #17 (last page cameo) with their first cover and full appearance in #18. The Scarlet Scarab recently plagued Moon Knight in his TV series and made his comic debut in Invaders #23. Finally, we learned a lot more about Maria Rambeau (mother of Monica [Captain Marvel] Rambeau) in Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness; she first appeared in Avengers #246.
PICTURED:
DEFENDERS #17 VF p £70 1st Wrecking Crew (cameo)
DEFENDERS #18 VF/NM p £125 1st full Wrecking Crew and cover
INVADERS #23 FN/VF £12.50 1st Scarlet Scarab SOLD
AVENGERS #246 VF+ £15 1st Maria Rambeau
American Update: The Bute Collection: The Green Lama 1944
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: A curiosity from the prestigious Bute Collection this week: The Green Lama was a quirky super-hero published by Spark/Pize commencing in 1944 and lasting for 8 issues. He starred in an anthology title that featured him on cover and lead, backed up by such diverse series such as Boy Champions, Rick Masters, Lieut. Hercules, Angus Mac Erc and others. The Green Lama himself however is the star of the show, with the superb artwork of Mac Raboy gracing both the covers and the stories. For those that need to know, the Lama derived his powers from the Tibetan mystics rather than from being bitten by a radioactive camelid ungulate. Low grades on these issues make them very affordable sidebars in comics’ history.
PICTURED: THE GREEN LAMA ALL SOLD
#1 FA £60 Top half of back cover missing; remainder detached off both staples. Some corner creasing but strong cover image.
#2 FA/GD £50 Great WWII cover. Long spine splits. mostly detached from staples. Strong cover image.
#3 FA/GD £35 Front cover held on (just to top staple); back cover detached. Strong cover image.
#5 FA/GD £35 Great WWII cover. Fully taped spine; interior margin staining. Strong cover image.
American Update: The Bute Collection: It’s A Jungle Out There! Lorna the Jungle Girl
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Also from the Bute Collection this week, three Atlas issues of Lorna, who for her earlier issues was known as the Jungle Queen, before being demoted to the Jungle Girl. Of all the many female denizens of the jungle in the 1940s and 1950s (it was a crowded place!), Lorna is my personal favourite and I wrote a lockdown article about her that you can read at this link: It’s A Jungle Out There: The Story of Lorna the Jungle Girl (sometimes Queen).
PICTURED:
LORNA THE JUNGLE QUEEN #4 GD/VG £35 Off top staple and crease across bottom right cover, but not a bad copy.
LORNA THE JUNGLE GIRL #7 VG £35 Decent copy with long creases across bottom half of cover.
LORNA THE JUNGLE GIRL #9 FN £60 Nice copy with great colour and a minimum of wear; lies flat with edge of cover printed over the spine. SOLD
American Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: L B Cole Miasma: Shocking Mystery Cases #51
*Horror 1940-1959: L B Cole was one of the most famous of Golden/Atomic Age cover artists. He drew in a variety of genres, and was artistic director at Star, illustrating 95% of the company’s covers; his lurid, feverish style, almost hallucinogenic, graced horror, science-fiction, jungle and romance alike. Shocking Mystery Cases (1952) lasted 11 issues from #50 to #60, and whilst ostensibly a crime title, all the content has strong horror overtones. Issue #51 follows a familiar Star pattern: a new lead story by the stylish Jay Disbrow, backed up with Fox reprints from the 1940s. However, as with all the comics in this Miasma feature, it is the L B Cole cover for which this is highly prized, and he is nowhere more psychedelic than here with a swirling two colour pattern emanating from a solitary, disembodied eye, a murderer, a corpse and two bloody heads. This copy is vibrant, fresh and colourful, with a beautifully intact spine (just very minor non-colour breaking creases), tight and firmly attached staples and gorgeous high quality white to off-white pages. Fairly minor defects include a tiny chip off the top right cover corner (see scan), and a tiny piece of tape inside cover sealing a 2 cm tear at the bottom right cover corner. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: SHOCKING MYSTERY CASES #51 VG+ £525 SOLD
British Update: He Is The Law! 2000 AD #2, 1st Judge Dredd
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: At the beginning of 1977, a comic was launched that captured the zeitgeist of the times, more anarchic and anti-establishment than anything that had come before it in British comics, no more so than in (paradoxically) the ultra-Establishment figure of Judge Dredd, the iconic anti-hero who has gone on to become legendary after debuting in issue #2, joining Mach-1, Invasion, Harlem’s Heroes, Flesh and the new Dan Dare as the star line-up. This copy of Dredd’s debut is the nicest we’ve seen for some time, flat and unmarked with tight staples and structurally very sound; pages and covers are cream to white, as is usually the way with the quality of paper these were printed on. No Free Gift, sadly, but a highly collectable copy.
PICTURED: 2000 AD #2 FN £250 SOLD
British Update: Six Of The Best Plus One: Super-Detective Library
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: We conclude our run of original owner copies of Super-Detective Library this week with seven final additions. Detectives such as Inspector Chafik, Lesley Shane, Paul & Rita Darrow and the Toff go about their adventures in a mixture of traditional and exotic locales. The condition on these is very consistent.
IN THIS UPDATE: SUPER-DETECTIVE LIBRARY
#47 VG/FN £17.50 Inspector Chafik: Baghdad Manhunt
#50 VG/FN £17.50 Paul Darrow: Lost In The Underworld
#51 GD/VG £11 Lesley Shane: The Mystery Of Table 13
#52 VG £12 Inspector Chafik: Who Kiled The Ghost?
#54 VG £12 (PICTURED) Paul Darrow: The Riddle Of The Blue Men
#60 VG £12 The House Of The Seven Flies
#61 VG £12 The Toff At Butlin’s
British Update: This Week’s #1: TV Land 1960
*TV & Film Related Comics: A real nostalgia fest in this week’s #1, skewed towards younger readers who were lucky enough to be able to see all these characters on their TVs at the time, if their families had one. Introduced on the cover by the adorably cute Pussy Cat Willum, inside strips include Yogi Bear & Boo-Boo, Larry the Lamb, Ivor the Engine (by Oliver Postage) and Twizzle on the back cover in colour, along with several other characters even I’m too young to remember (!). I do remember Muriel Young however, who contributes a Pets’ Corner column. This is a lovely flat and unmarked copy of TV Land #1 (1/10/60) with bright colour covers and lovely white to off-white pages.
PICTURED: TV LAND #1 FN £15 SOLD
British Update: Be My Valentine 1964
*Girls’ Comics: A further update to our stocks of the long-lived (1957-1974) Valentine comic this week, with many of the issues from 1964 added, including the Easter issue for that year. A delightful mix of romance strips and pop music content, typified nowhere better than the cover stories which portrayed a comic strip based on a hit song from the pop charts of the time. Mixed condition on these; inevitable rusty staples abound, but generally decent. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: VALENTINE 4/4/64 GD/VG £10.50 Easter issue
Books Update: Six Of The Best: Sexton Blake Library
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Often dubbed ‘the poor man’s Sherlock Holmes’, there’s still no doubting the popularity of Sexton Blake, who has probably had far more fiction written of him than the world’s greatest detective. This week, we have added six digests from the famous Sexton Blake Library. These are picture library sized, but mainly text. The series ran from 1915 to 1968. These six are from the early 1960s.
IN THIS UPDATE: SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY ALL SOLD
#508 GD/VG £6 Moscow Manhunt by Philip Chambers
#512 GD/VG £6 Savage Venture by W A Ballinger
#513 VG £7 The Man Who Killed Me by Arthur Maclean
#520 VG/FN £8 (PICTURED) Speak Ill Of The Dead by Richard Williams
#522 GD/VG £6 Murder In Camera by W A Ballinger
#523 VG/FN £8 Murder By Proxy by Richard Williams
We’re Back!
Following our short hiatus from listings, we’re back tomorrow with another exciting batch of updates, featuring selections from the Good Doctor, Totally Amazing Spider-Man and Bute Collections, as well as this week’s British #1 issue plus a whole lot more. All here as usual and in our latest newsletter in its regular Saturday morning 10 a.m. (ish) slot – stay tuned!
We’re Taking A One Week Break
We shall be taking a break after this week’s orders are posted next Wednesday for about a week, so there will be no further stock updates here until 21st May, which is also when the next Newsletter will be sent. Orders received up to 4 pm today (7th May) will be filled as usual on Sunday 8th May. After that, all orders up to 21st May will be filled on 22nd May, although anything ordered within that period will be reserved if it is still available.
American Update: DC Debuts – First Appearances of Kid Flash and the Weather Wizard in Flash #110
*DC: This issue has a double-feature of debuts, of one of Barry Allen’s closest allies and one of his most relentless nemeses. The cover devotes itself to the meteorological shenanigans of the Weather Wizard, making the first of many appearances, but lurking unheralded within is the debut and origin of Wally West, aka Kid Flash, who shared Barry’s adventures (and became an integral part of the Teen Titans) for decades before assuming the mantle of the Flash himself. This early issue of the Silver Age Flash (which relaunched with #105, following the numbering of the Golden Age Flash Comics) is a nice mid-grade pence stamped copy, with a great colour cover, firm staples at spine and centrefold, very nice off-white pages and a minimum of wear (slight corner blunting). Its worst fault is a small 2.5 cm colour-breaking crease across the bottom cover right edge, with a tiny chip out at its higher end. Beautifully supple and a joy to possess.
PICTURED: FLASH #110 VG £450 SOLD
American Update: DC Debuts: Their Name Is Legion: 1st Mon-El in Superboy #89
*DC: Our Legion of Super-Heroes feature continues this week. Billed as ‘Superboy’s Big Brother’, Mon-El first appeared here in Superboy #89 as an amnesiac who appeared to be Superboy’s brother from Krypton. We learned the truth by the end of the story, where Mon-El had to be exiled to the Phantom Zone to protect him from the effects of lead poisoning. A recurring character in the Superman family of titles of this period, it was chronologically 1000 years later when Mon-El eventually got out of the Zone and joined the Legion of Super-Heroes as one of its most powerful and enduring members. This pence-stamped copy of his debut issue has a rich purple cover background and a largely unmarked vibrant cover. Firm staples and supple off-white to creamy pages. There is some edge wear, including minor chipping to bottom edge and a reading crease along the spine, with corner blunting, but nevertheless a solid copy that presents well.
PICTURED: SUPERBOY #89 VG p £110
American Update: Spider-Mania: Amazing #5 vs Doctor Doom
*Marvel: There must have been something in the stars for Dr Doom and the number 5; after debuting in Fantastic Four #5, he turns up in Amazing Spider-Man #5 to take on everyone’s favourite friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler. How can Spidey beat the monarch of Latveria? Well… he can’t actually, but I don’t want to spoil the ending for you. This pence printed copy is a beauty, with a clean and colourful vibrant, glossy cover, hardly any corner blunting and an absolute minimum of edge wear. Staples are firmly attached at spine and centrefold. No creasing apart from a small dink at the base of the spine which barely breaks colour and a soft narrow crease on the bottom edge of the back cover only. Pages are supple, flexible and on the white side of off-white. Conservatively graded at FN+. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #5 FN+ p £1,900
American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: X-Men #5: ‘The Angel Is Trapped’
*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week: X-Men #5 marked the very swift return of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (now, there’s a slick bit of nominative determinism for you), following their debut in the previous issue. The Scarlet Witch however was still suffering from the same bout of colour blindness that afflicted her on the cover of #4, where she was also dressed in emerald. You’d have thought that the clue was in her name… Anyway, a merry romp ensues between Prof X’s mutant band and Magneto’s misfits. This pence printed copy is a nice mid-grade example, with an unmarked cover image, good colour, tight, firm staples and lovely off-white pages. Only moderate spine and edge wear (tiny nick at top of spine, spidery reading crease between staples) and one narrow diagonal crease across the bottom right cover corner which faintly breaks colour.
PICTURED: X-MEN #5 VG+ p £300
American Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Iron Man #11-20
*Marvel: Also from the Good Doctor this week, ten consecutive issues of Iron Man from #11-20, festooned with a stellar collection of friends and foes, including the 1st Controller in #12, and the 1st Madame Masque in #17. Mostly really nice higher graded copies.
IN THIS UPDATE: IRON MAN
#11 VF £75 (PICTURED)
#12 VG/FN p £30 1st Controller SOLD
#13 FN- £33 SOLD
#14 FN- £33 SOLD
#15 VF+ £65 (PICTURED)
#16 VF- £50 (PICTURED) SOLD
#17 FN £50 (PICTURED) 1st Madame Masque SOLD
#18 FN+ £38
#19 FN+ £38
#20 FN/VF p £30
American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Boba Fett in Star Wars #42
*Marvel: After #1, issue #42 is probably the most sought after of all the issues of Marvel’s original Star Wars series, featuring as it does the first comic appearance of Boba Fett, with our bounty hunting hero centrally featured on the cover, despite being only seen on the splash page and a couple of interior panels as Marvel continued its comics adaptation of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. Fett-o-philes have driven the cost of this issue up over the last decade or so, and this is a high grade example – flat, tight and unmarked, with a brilliant white background, great cover colour and gloss and white to off-white pages. Sharp corners and virtually no wear. Although technically this doesn’t affect the grade, we have resisted an even higher grading due to a slight mis-cut (see white spine edge on image), but really this is a thing of beauty (and the hand of Al Williamson on art duties further enhances that). Still cheaper to acquire than the original Boba Fett costume, judging by this week’s auction results!
PICTURED: STAR WARS #42 VF+ £200 SOLD
American Update: Spider-Mania: The Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection: Amazing #364-375
*Marvel: Another selection from the comprehensive high grade Totally Amazing Spider-Man Collection this week, featuring a consecutive run from #364-375. This run features many of Spidey’s most famous foes, plus the Black Cat, the Red Skull, the Invasion of the Spider-Slayers storyline and two anniversary issues: #365 (hologram cover 30th Anniversary), and #375 (30th Anniversary of Amazing #1).
IN THIS UPDATE: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#364 VF/NM £16.25
#365 VF+ £30 Hologram cover
#366 VF+ £19
#367 VF £14.75
#368 NM £19
#369 VF+ £20.50
#370 VF £15
#371 VF £10
#372 VF £15
#373 VF+ £17.50
#374 NM- £33 Venom cover
#375 (PICTURED) NM- £50 Venom foil cover
American Update: The Bute Collection: EC’s Weird Science-Fantasy
*EC: We kick off this week’s foray into the Bute Collection with two issues of EC’s Weird Science-Fantasy. By the time Weird Science and Weird Fantasy were merged with issue #23, the classic EC creators were truly at the height of their powers, and the seven issues of Weird Science-Fantasy are truly to be prized. Here we have #26, the famous Flying Saucer Report special issue, with art by Al Feldstein (cover), Wally Wood, Reed Crandall, Joe Orlando and George Evans. Plus #27, with art by Wally Wood (including a great space girl and BEM cover), Reed Crandall, Jack Kamen and Joe Orlando.
IN THIS UPDATE: WEIRD SCIENCE-FANTASY
#26 PR/FA £30 Covers detached and separated, but taped around base of spine. Some chips out and small creases around cover edges, but decent pages. SOLD
#27 GD £100 (PICTURED) Wear and creasing at cover edges, particularly around staple area, but cover still firmly attached. Centrefold off at bottom staple. Unspoilt cover image and decent pages.
American Update: The Bute Collection: A Timely Intervention: Marvel Mystery Comics #24
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Another rare opportunity to acquire a Timely gem from the Bute Collection this week. Marvel Mystery Comics was Timely’s anthology title and issue #24 (October 1941) in this update features Sub-Mariner by Everett, the Vision by Kirby, Human Torch & Toro by Carl Burgos, Angel, Ka-Zar, Patriot & Terry Vance. A typically distinctive Human Torch cover by Alex Schomburg. Unfortunately, this copy is a poor specimen, missing its back cover and with the front cover fully detached. Notable edge wear on front cover, previous owner’s name written on leading ‘M’ of logo, considerable edge and corner wear on page margins, but all present and stories untouched.
PICTURED: MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #24 PR £400 SOLD
American Update: The Bute Collection: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Six Of The Best: Mystery Tales
*Horror 1940-1959: We close out this week’s trip to the Bute Collection with several issues of Mystery Tales, one of very many horror titles published by Atlas in the 1950s that spanned the change from Pre-Code to Post Code. Here we concentrate on Pre-Code issues. Many of Atlas’s entries into this genre were of similar high quality, but for a while Mystery Tales received a higher degree of notoriety following issue #40 having some significance in the Lost TV series. I can remember prices soaring on all issues of the series some years back as a result of this, but (apart from #40 itself) now seem to have settled back to the same approximate values as other Atlas horror contemporaries. Six issues for your consideration this update as follows:
IN THIS UPDATE: MYSTERY TALES
#14 GD/VG £130 (PICTURED) Pre-Code. Nice solid supple copy with minor spine wear but diagonal colour-breaking crease across length of cover. SOLD
#16 VG £175 (PICTURED) Pre-Code. Nice solid supple copy with corner blunting and some spine wear.
#18 PR £16 Pre-Code. Covers separated and detached, worn and torn.
#22 GD £48 (PICTURED) Pre-Code. Okay copy but edges a little worn and torn. Interior tape reinforcement at staples.
#23 VG £100 (PICTURED) Pre-Code. Nice tight copy with good staples and pages; faint colour-breaking (subscription?) crease vertical down centre of cover
#24 VG £100 (PICTURED) Pre-Code. Nice solid supple copy with minor wear; tiny sliver out lower right edge cover; white mark on title box.
British Update: Alan Class Printing Plate Sets Final Phase
*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 throughout 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.) A pair of early fantasy/mystery issues with Kirby & Ditko this week, as follows: BOTH SOLD
ASTOUNDING #10 £50 Comic FN; Reprints ACG, Charlton, 1 Ditko plus cover, 1 Captain Midnight
SINISTER TALES #10 £65 Comic FA/GD; Reprints Atlas, pre-hero Marvel, 2 Everett, 1 Ditko, 2 Kirby. Extras: Post decimal copy of #191 with same content; 2 cover colour proofs for that issue, 2 interior black and white proofs.
British Update: Pow! from Power Comics 1968
*Power Comics: The Power Comics line from Odhams Press, which ran from the mid-late 1960s has a special place in British comics history and in the hearts of many readers of the time. With a unique blend of classic Marvel reprints (and sometimes DC newspaper strip reprints), together with original British strips in both adventure & humour departments, they offered something for everyone and were probably many readers’ first exposure to the Marvel Silver Age. In this last instalment of an original owner collection, we have a nice consecutive run of Pow! between #65 and #83, all from 1968. You get Spider-Man & the Fantastic Four, with original British strips such as ‘Experiment X’, ‘Dr. Morg, Master Of Fear’, ‘The Cloak’, ‘Dare A Day Davey’, ‘The Two Faces Of Janus’, ‘Georgie’s Germs’ and many others. In addition, the Odhams editorial team adopted a very Marvel Bullpen style of communication to endear themselves to the readership. News from the Floor of 64, anyone? Full details in our catalogue.
PICTURED: POW #66 VG £9 Easter issue SOLD