*DC: If there are better comics than the six Silver Age Hawkman try-outs in Brave & Bold, I’ve yet to find them (although issues #1-21 of the following Hawkman series are just as great). Here we are concerned with the Bute Collection second Brave & Bold run from #42-44. With ingenious stories by Gardner Fox and superlative moody artwork by Joe Kubert, these are really unsurpassed. Spectacular covers, none better than #44 with its greytone imagery, which may be seen in our catalogue.
IN THIS UPDATE: BRAVE & BOLD
#42 VG/FN p £40 (PICTURED)
#43 VG p £38
#44 VG p £32
.
American Comics Update: DC Debuts: Low Grade Green Lantern #59, 1st Guy Gardner
*DC: Okay, this one’s for anyone who doesn’t want to shell out £200 plus for a decent-looking copy of Guy Gardner’s debut issue in Green Lantern #59. This copy has been in the wars. Firstly, some wit has ruled a drawing grid over the entire cover in pencil., rendering it very unattractive with a couple of tiny ink dots as well. Secondly, it’s missing an ad page, although the story is complete. Finally, there’s a nasty small chunk out at right edge which runs right through the margins of the entire comic. If you can ignore all that (a tall order, I know), it’s in pretty decent nick with staples tight at spine (bottom loose at centrefold) and very reasonable page quality; moderate spine wear. Still, a significant key issue for your collection, if only as a place marker till a better opportunity comes along.
PICTURED: GREEN LANTERN #59 App FA p £25 SOLD
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: DC’s Showcase
*DC Six issues of Showcase highlighting the range and diversity of material on offer in DC’s premier Silver Age try-out series. There’s espionage/adventure with I-Spy, super-hero comedy with the Inferior Five, western with Top Gun, sword and sorcery with Denny O’Neill’s and Bernie Wrightson’s Nightmaster, science fiction with Manhunter 2070 and the celebratory giant #100 issue, featuring just about everyone who had starred in the previous 99 issues!
IN THIS UPDATE: SHOWCASE ALL SOLD
#51 VG p £10.50 I – Spy
#65 VG+ p £10.25 Inferior Five; off lower staple
#72 GD p £4 Top Gun
#84 VG+ p £10 Nightmaster
#93 VG £4.25 Manhunter 2070
#100 VF £9 (PICTURED) Anniversary issue
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of the Lizard in Amazing #6
*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 we are delighted to have a copy new into stock in attractive mid-grade. This pence printed copy is clean and unmarked with strong colour and some gloss. The corners are just a little blunted, with a tiny chip out of the top edge at the left corner of the masthead box and an even smaller chip out of the right edge at centre. Just above the latter is a thin tear, barely visible, that extends horizontally from the right edge for less than 2 cm. Leading from this are a couple of short creases that only faintly break colour. The spine has only very minor wear and the remainder of the edges are unworn. Pages are a supple off-white to cream and staples are tight and flat at spine and centrefold. Inside covers are tanned at edges without sign of brittleness, and the grade has been adjusted to reflect this. A very attractive copy that looks better than the grade awarded and presents well. High grade images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #6 VG- p £650
American Comics Update: Marvel #1: Iron Man & Sub-Mariner
*Marvel: A ‘Special Once-In-A-Lifetime Issue’, the cover of this one-shot boasted, and its unique position is simply a result of a scheduling tangle which arose when Marvel was finally allowed by its distributors to increase its range of titles. The Hulk took over the numbering of Tales to Astonish and Captain America the numbering of Tales of Suspense, but that left ‘orphaned’ chapters of the Iron Man and Sub-Mariner serials languishing, so they were used in this oddball one-off so that both Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner could start off their #1 issues with clear storylines. Nevertheless is has found ‘fame’ in recent years as a Marvel #1! Joyfully, both strips were pencilled by the superb Gene Colan. This is a nice, glossy, clean copy with a pence stamp and bright colours. Staples are firm; pages are supple and off-white. Some corner blunting and relatively minor spine and edge wear with small colour-breaking creases at the bottom cover right and a couple of short faint white lines over ‘Iron’ in the logo, which hardly show up at all. One of the easiest Silver Age Marvel titles to complete – buy one and you’ve got the set!
PICTURED: IRON MAN & THE SUB-MARINER #1 VG+ p £85
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Avengers #29-33
*Marvel: Five quality consecutive issues of Avengers from the Good Doctor Collection this week, representative of a really good period for everyone’s favourite Assemblers. Cap’s Kooky Quartet became his Snazzy Six after the addition of Goliath and the Wasp in the previous issue, followed here by a three part adventure which started out with an encounter with the Black Widow, the Swordsman and the original Power Man and morphed into a struggle with some esoteric types from a lost land. Then, in #32 and #33, the Sons of the Serpent were introduced, a KKK type bunch of bigots; #32 also featured the first appearance of Bill Foster, who would become Black Goliath many years later. More Black Widow here too in her classic fishnet and swimsuit look that never made it into the movies. All issues in really nice, superior grades.
IN THIS UPDATE: AVENGERS
#29 FN+ p £29
#30 VF £55 (PICTURED)
#31 FN £22
#32 FN+ p £26
#33 FN+ £29
American Comics Update: Brother Voodoo in Strange Tales
*Marvel: When Strange Tales returned in 1973 with its original numbering continued (#169), Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm) was the first feature. Brother (or Doctor, as he would become) Voodoo became a significant player in the Marvel Universe, even replacing Dr Strange as Sorceror Supreme. He possessed numerous mystical and quasi-physical powers derived from the Loa, the spirit-gods of voodoo. We have three of his adventures; #170 is his second appearance.
IN THIS UPDATE: STRANGE TALES ALL SOLD
#170 VG+ £11 (PICTURED)
#171 VG £9.75
#173 GD+ £6.75 Some water damage
American Comics Update: Archie as Pureheart the Powerful, Jughead as Captain Hero
*Archie: As a recurring feature in Life with Archie between 1965 and 1967, Archie and friends became superheroes and battled a host of bizarre supervillains in a series of tongue-in-cheek adventures. Archie and Jughead span off into their own series, Archie as Pureheart the Powerful (3 issues) and Jughead as Captain Hero (7 issues). We have some fresh into stock this week; fondly remembered but rarely seen.
IN THIS UPDATE:
ARCHIE AS PUREHEART THE POWERFUL
#3 GD £5
JUGHEAD AS CAPTAIN HERO
#2 FN £12.25 (PICTURED) Guest-starring Pureheart, and Betty as Super-Teen.
#3 FN- £9.25
#5 FN £10
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: It’s A Jungle Out There: Jumbo Comics starring Sheena
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Fiction House was a major comics publisher from the 1930s to the 1950s and Jumbo comics, which starred Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle in each of its 167 issues, was its first comic title. Other long-running recurring features in this adventure anthology included supernatural chills with the Ghost Gallery, pirate adventure with the Hawk, aviation good girl comedy with Sky Girl by Matt Baker and western thrills with Long Bow. But it was Sheena who provided the lead feature and whose dynamic cover dominated every issue. Four lovely examples in this week from the Bute Collection as follows:
PICTURED: JUMBO COMICS
#84 GD/VG £39 Nice clean copy with little wear, but a tiny brittle strip at bottom right edge on most pages.
#103 VG/FN £54 Superior copy with just minor edge and handling wear.
#134 VG+ £44 Vivid cover and gloss with some spine wear.
#145 VG- £35 Vibrant cover with tiny chips out top edge and bottom right corner. SOLD
American Comics Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Dark Mysteries #1
*Horror 1940-1959: The first issue of one of the more notorious series from the Pre-Code horror years. Dark Mysteries was originally published by Master Comics and had a number of infamous issues. Beneath a striking cover by Joe Orlando and Wally Wood, the art standards on #1 are maintained by Wood, Lou Cameron and others. Ghouls, ghosts and corpses aplenty. A really nice copy, with square corners (tiny dink at top of spine), no significant creases (small non-colour-breaking one across extremity of top right corner), very little wear and strong cover colour. Lovely white to off-white pages. Staples are tight at spine, if a tiny bit rusty at centre, where the centrefold has become cleanly detached. There are signs that some pencil markings above the logo have been erased. A small crayon letter remains. An outstanding copy from 1951.
PICTURED: DARK MYSTERIES #1 VG+ £425
British Comics Update: IPC Smash joins our Mega Half Price British Comics Sale
*Power Comics: Our half-price sale continues, with thousands of bargains listed in our Boys’ Adventure & War, TV & Film Related, Humour and Girls’ categories. In order to maintain a good number of opportunities following large sales, we’re now adding the IPC/Fleetway issues of Smash (1969-1971) to the sale. Not strictly Power Comics, we have them listed in this category for continuation of title when IPC took over from Odhams, the publishers of the Power Comics line. The IPC version of Smash was a more conventional UK Boys’ comic without the American material from the Odhams days. Prices start at just £1 each — see our catalogue for details.
British Comics Update: 1950s Faux US British/Australian originals: Ace Malloy, Lone Star, Yarmak
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Some examples this week of 1950s comics from the UK and Australia that attempted to look more like the American size and format, despite being in black and white. All three titles are noteworthy: Ace Malloy, adventurer, featured stories of the Navy, Army and Air Force by Mick Anglo; Lone Star, primarily a Western title, featured Space Ace by Ron Turner, and Yarmak, sort of an Australian Tarzan, had sumptuous art by the renowned Stanley Pitt.
IN THIS UPDATE:
ACE MALLOY
#60 VG £6 (PiICTURED)
#64 FN/VF £9
#65 VF £10
LONE STAR
V2 #4 VG £10
V3 #5 VG/FN £12
YARMAK #24 VG £12 (PICTURED)
British Comics Update: Dandy 1948 – New and Improved
*Humour Comics: Continuing our policy of providing more information for Beano and Dandy, we have new issues of Dandy in this week from 1948. There was a lot going on that year, and we have several issues featuring strip and prose debuts, alongside New Year, Fireworks, 11th Birthday and Christmas issues. Details of debuts as follows: 1st Brave Young Black-Hoof by Dudley Watkins in #360 (also New Year issue), 1st Big Bonehead in #368, 1st Raggy Muffin and 1st Plum Macduff in #378, 1st Hotcha the Hottentot in #380, 1st Slave of the Magic Lamp in #381, 1st Croaker Holds The Clue in #382.
PICTURED: DANDY 1948
#360 VG £60 New Year issue
#384 GD £50 11th birthday issue
#385 GD £50 Christmas issue
Books Update: Re-Working Our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category: Spotted: Philip K Dick Part 1
*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 Philip K Dick, one of our best-selling authors; many would consider him the finest exponent of science-fiction of the late 20th century. I guess his themes of religion, drugs, counter culture and destructive relationships hold wide appeal. We are blessed with an excellent stock of his works, the enhanced re-listing of which will be spread over several updates. If you can’t wait for part 2 and onwards, these are all listed in our catalogue in the old format below the items in this update. Plenty to savour in this first instalment. 5 Great Novels is just that, a massive tome with five of his classics; The Broken Bubble is a mainstream novel that we’re including due to the interest in Dick; 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; The Crack In Space postulates a novel solution to over-population; The Divine Invasion has at its centre the Second Coming; and there are two versions of probably his most famous book Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, filmed of course as Blade Runner. More Dick soon!
PICTURED: ALL BY PHILIP K DICK
5 GREAT NOVELS Gollancz 2009 1st UK PB VG £9 (more details in our catalogue) SOLD
THE BROKEN BUBBLE Gollancz 1989 1st UK HC VF/NM £30
CLANS OF THE ALPHANE MOON Ace 1972 2nd US PB VG £7
COUNTER-CLOCK WORLD Coronet 1977 2nd UK PB VF £9
THE CRACK IN SPACE Methuen 1977 1st UK PB VG £8
THE DIVINE INVASION Corgi 1982 1st UK PB GD £8
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? Gollancz 2007 UK PB VF £5
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? Gollancz 2011 UK PB VF £8
Books Update: Re-Working Our Crime, Spies & Sleaze Category: The Shadow Knows…
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies & Sleaze category and the Shadow novels. Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men? We have seven novels based on the popular 1930s pulp fiction character, who originated on radio. The Shadow used a bewildering array of pseudonyms (Kent Allard, Lamont Cranston and Isaac Twambley among others), as did the authors of these books. The original writer was Walter Gibson, but these books are credited to Maxwell Grant, (Maxwell Grant was in fact a house name, and most of these later entries in the Shadow canon from Belmont are in fact written by Dennis Lynds).
PICTURED: THE SHADOW BY MAXWELL GRANT ALL SOLD
CRY SHADOW Peter Haddock c.1968 US PB VG £8
DESTINATION MOON Belmont 1967 1st US PB GD £8
MARK OF THE SHADOW Belmont 1966 1st US PB GD £6
THE NIGHT OF THE SHADOW Belmont 1966 1st US PB VG £10
SHADOW BEWARE Starbook 1960s Aus PB VG £10
THE SHADOW STRIKES Belmont 1964 1st US PB GD £10
THE SHADOW’S REVENGE Belmont 1965 1st US PB GD £7
Books Update: Juvenile Science-Fiction from the 1950s
*Children’s Books: From the 1950s this week, three charming science-fiction novels aimed at a younger market, all in colourful and highly attractive dust jackets. All are 1st British editions of novels originally published in the USA. More details are given in our catalogue. Great value.
PICTURED:
VICTOR APPLETON II: TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT Sampson Low 1954 1st UK HC VG £8 With DJ (GD/VG) in removable archival film.
CAREY ROCKWELL: TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET: STAND BY FOR MARS Publicity Products 1952 1st UK HC VG/FN £5 With DJ (FA) in removable archival film.
BLAKE SAVAGE: RIP FOSTER RIDES THE GREY PLANET Publicity Products 1952 1st UK HC
VG/FN £5 With DJ (FA/GD) in removable archival film.
American Comics Update: 3 Classic early JLAs inc. origin
*DC: Three wonderful comics from the early years of the Justice League of America this week, all previously missing from our listings. #9 tells the story of the JLA origin; #12 (which I think is the first issue I ever read) has the debut of Dr Light and is one of the cleverest of all issues; #18 is an adventure in a micro-world. Memorable covers by Murphy Anderson, ingenious scripts by Gardner Fox and dynamic pencils by Mike Sekowsky. #9 is low grade; #12 & #18 are solid mid-grade copies.
PICTURED: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ALL SOLD
#9 PR/FA p £15 Cover off staples and almost split entirely. Wear and colour-breaking creases.
#12 VG- p £37 Reasonable copy with only minor wear and some creasing to corners; a little tired.
#18 VG p £35 Solid copy with just one fairly short cover crease.
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: 1st Unus the Untouchable in X-Men #8
*Marvel: A staggering array of inventive villains graced the X-Men’s first twenty or so issues: the Vanisher, the Blob, Magneto, Mastermind, the Stranger – each with an unusual twist to their abilities which suited the off-beat atmosphere of our mutant chums’ adventures. One such was Unus, introduced in the X-Men’s eighth issue, a villain who was literally untouchable – any force directed against him would be repelled, meaning that he could commit crimes in plain sight with impunity. Our mutant heroes were stymied, until – ah, but that would be telling! We have a nice pence stamped flat copy, with an unmarked cover and a clean white background. No marks or creases and some gloss remaining. Staples are firm at spine and centrefold. Minor corner blunting; nice off-white to cream pages with some tanning to inside covers, but no trace of brittleness.
PICTURED: X-MEN #8 FN p £200
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Tarantula in Amazing #134 plus #135 inc 2nd and 3rd Punisher appearances
*Marvel: From the Good Doctor Collection this week, there was a lot going on in Amazing Spider-Man #134 & #135. #134 featured the debut of the Tarantula, who would return many times to menace our hero, plus Harry Osborn discovers Spidey’s secret identity, and there’s a last panel cameo of the Punisher. In #135, the Tarantula continues, and there’s the 2nd full appearance of the Punisher to boot! Very similar condition on these two.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#134 FN/VF £90 Bright, glossy copy with just a minimum of handling wear. A couple of spine ticks don’t break colour. Firm staples and off-white pages.
#135 FN/VF £135 Bright, glossy copy with just a minimum of handling wear. A couple of spine ticks don’t break colour. Firm staples and white to off-white pages.
American Comics Update: Fantastic Four #51: Classic ‘This Man…This Monster’
*Marvel: Sandwiched between the Silver Surfer/Galactus epic and the introduction of the Black Panther is the wonderful story that is Fantastic Four #51. Not a ‘key’ issue; not a fabulous first appearance; not a universe-rending battle for reality. Just a simple, poignant and masterful example of done-in-one storytelling without the bloated ‘epics’ of today, as a man with a scheme for revenge against Reed Richards steals the identity of one of Reed’s closest friends, and discovers the truth. It’s a tale of revenge, loss and redemption, and proves that while Lee & Kirby’s output is often emulated, at their peak it is truly inimitable. This is a lovely cents copy with reasonable gloss, and a cover without marks except a slight grubbiness over the number box. Slight corber blunting, and a couple of creases at the right edge, one very short and one longer but very soft, about 8 cm across the Invisible Girl and the Thing, although neither break colour and are difficult to see. Staples are good at spine and centrefold and page quality a supple off-white. Very slight tanning at inside cover edges.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #51 VG/FN £90
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 Complete Set
*Marvel: Something a little more modern from the Bute Collection this week. One of the phenomena of the last decade of the 20th Century was Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos, the megavillain Starlin had been building up for nearly twenty years, was unleashed against the massed forces of the Marvel Universe, armed with the reality-altering Infinity Gauntlet, in a struggle for the universe itself! Hugely popular, the mini-series spawned many, many crossover issues, and two direct sequels, Infinity War and Infinity Crusade. Prices have cooled somewhat since the Avengers: Infinity War movie, so it’s a good time to pick up this rollicking adventure, here as a complete set #1-6, averaging VF+ with just one issue (#4) at VF.
PICTURED: INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 VF+; complete set #1-6 £75
American Comics Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of Moon Knight in Werewolf By Night #32
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Now at a reduced price! One of the most startling success stories in the back issue world is the ever-spiralling popularity of Moon Knight’s premier appearance. The series Werewolf By Night had been toddling along, chronicling the adventures of young lycanthrope Jack Russell (no, really), when the boat was suddenly rocked in WBN #32 by a vigilante whose only goal seemed to be the annihilation of our hero – and his silver armour and weapons seemed likely to achieve it! The man who would later be revealed as Marc Spector had a deeper back story, of course, and in his multitudinous appearances since, has developed a complex background oscillating between ‘Marvel’s Batman’ and ‘Multiple Personality psychotic possessed by Egyptian Gods’. Be that as it may, he remains hugely popular. This is a decent if damaged pence-printed copy. It has great cover colour and gloss, supple off-white pages and excellent staples, firm at spine and centrefold. There is some corner blunting and spine wear, with colour-breaking ticks. The big drawback is a tiny white scuff mark near the right edge, removing colour from a tiny area just below Moon Knight’s left fist (visible on scan), which brings the grade down to that stated.
PICTURED: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #32 VG p £400 SOLD
American Comics Update: ACG’s Forbidden Worlds with Magicman
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Forbidden Worlds from ACG was their second major title, starting in 1951. It’s the Silver Age incarnation that concerns us here; initially the horror of pre-code had given way to the more whimsical fantasy/mysteries for which ACG became known in the 1960s; these were augmented in the titlle’s later phase by the super-heroic adventures of Magicman, who took over cover and lead, with the mystery/supernatural stories as back-ups. To my eye, Magicman strongly resembles a Golden Age super-hero (not one in particular, but just the look). He had various magical powers, and was the son of a medieval sorceror Gagliostro (of course!) We have seven issues starring him new into stocK, which are great value.
IN THIS UPDATE: FORBIDDEN WORLDS ALL SOLD
#127 GD £3.50
#129 VG p £6 (PICTURED)
#132 GD p £2.50
#133 GD/VG p £3.50
#134 GD p £2.50
#136 VG p £4.75 Magicman vs Nemesis
#137 VG £5.50
British Comics Update: Free Gift Farrago: Twinkle #1 joins our Mega British Comics Half-Price Sale
*Girls’ Comics: Our half-price sale continues, with thousands of bargains listed in our Boys” Adventure & War, TV & Film Related, Humour and Girls’ categories. Now joined by Twinkle #1 complete with free gift. Twinkle, ‘the new picture paper specially for little girls’ launched in 1968, with the star power of Nurse Nancy, Betty Bright, Sally Sweet, Patsy the Panda and lots more. The age of its target audience has meant that relatively few of the #1 issues of this title have survived, let alone a FN unread copy as here, complete with its Free Gift, a St Christopher Charm Bracelet still in its envelope. A very rare item.
PICTURED: TWINKLE #1 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF was £200 now £100
British Comics Update: Love Story Picture Library #1301-1340
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: This week’s release of Love Story Picture Library, the longest running romance picture library from Fleetway, comprises 14 issues from 1975, between #1301 & #1340. The series always maintained a high standard and the very accomplished art reflected the fashions and mood of the times. These new additions are mostly in excellent condition, with little wear or creasing, although three are coming loose at the covers. Full details as always in our catalogue.
Books Update: Re-Working Our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category: Delaney & Derleth
*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 two very different creators. Samuel R Delaney is a highly-regarded and award-winning author of psychedelic science-fiction and fantasy who came to fame in the 60s and 70s. We have a modest selection of just two of his works available, although they are classic ones (NB Nova in two different editions). August Derleth, from an earlier age was a significant author in many genres, including his Solar Pons pastiches of Sherlock Holmes (see our Crime, Spies and Sleaze category). He is perhaps most famous for his contributions to H P Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, as well as being responsible for the earliest publications of Lovecraft’s work. Here he edits two anthologies, on the face of it science-fiction by such classic authors, as Asimov, Wyndham, Leiber, Bradbury, Sturgeon, Clarke and many more, although I notice there’s stories by Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith sneaking in as well.
PICTURED:
SAMUEL R DELANEY: THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION Ace 1967 1st US PB VG £7 SOLD
SAMUEL R DELANEY: NOVA Sphere 1971 1st UK PB GD £5
SAMUEL R DELANEY: NOVA Gollancz 1986 UK PB VF £6
AUGUST DERLETH (Ed): FROM OTHER WORLDS Four Square 1964 1st UK PB GD £3
AUGUST DERLETH (Ed): NEW WORLDS FOR OLD Four Square 1963 1st UK PB GD/VG £5
Books Update: The Name Is Bond
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Another visit this week to the dynamic world of James Bond. This week’s featured books need no introduction from me. Ian Fleming’s iconic creation is known worldwide thanks to the hugely successful movie franchise, but James Bond got his start in novels, so it is in this category that these books belong. And let me tell you, the books are darker and deeper than the films, less gadgety and more visceral. We have three vintage Pan editions from the early 60s, all with glorious painted covers – three of the best and most famous of the Bond novels.
PICTURED: ALL BY IAN FLEMING ALL SOLD
JAMES BOND: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE Pan 1963 11th UK PB GD/VG £10
JAMES BOND: GOLDFINGER Great Pan 1962 6th UK PB GD £5
JAMES BOND: MOONRAKER Great Pan 1963 11th UK PB VG £10
American Comics Update: Their Name Is Legion: Adventure Comics #352-360
*DC: More this week from the Legion of Super-Heroes in their inaugural run in Adventure Comics in the 1960s. These are the comics after which we were named, taking place of course in the 30th Century. And this is a real rich stream, with most of the stories by Shooter and Swan, the best ever creative team on the Legion. Debuts for the Fatal Five and the Hunter, a tale of the Adult Legion, the superb Ghost Of Ferro Lad story in #357, and the Outlaw Legion Universe two-parter in #359/360, my absolute favourite Legion story of them all. All issues in fabulous condition, many as high as VF+.
IN THIS UPDATE: ADVENTURE COMICS
#352 VF- £27 1st Fatal Five
#355 VF p £28
#356 VF+ £43 (PICTURED)
#357 VF+ £43 (PICTURED)
#358 VF+ £43 (PICTURED) 1st Hunter
#359 VF+ £43 (PICTURED)
#360 VF £30
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: The Atom, the World’s Smallest Super-Hero
*DC: Six quality issues of the Atom this week, from the mid-period of his Silver Age run, with highly imaginative stories by Gardner Fox and stylish artwork from Gil Kane and Sid Greene. The Planet- Master, The Panther and Chronos encounter the Atom, among many other adventures.
IN THIS UPDATE: ATOM ALL SOLD
#23 GD/VG p £6.75 Bottom staple restapled
#24 VG p £9
#25 GD p £4.75 Centrefold loose
#26 VG+ p £10 Centrefold Atom pin-up
#27 GD/VG p £6.75
#28 VG p £9 (PICTURED)
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection/Hulkinued: Fantastic Four #25 & #26 – Definitive Hulk/Thing Clash, Guest-Starring the Avengers
*Marvel: From the Bute Collection this week, 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! To Be Hulkinued…
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR BOTH SOLD
#25 FN p £370 Gorgeous pence printed copy with rich purple background and residual gloss. A little corner blunting and minor edge and handling wear, but no marks or creases. Tight, firm staples and beautifully supple white to off-white pages.
#26 FN p £170 Lovely pence printed copy with good colour and residual gloss. Very minor corner blunting and handling wear. Supple off-white pages and tight, firm staples.
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania/Mighty Marvel Firsts: Debut of the Rhino in Amazing #41
*Marvel: Issue #41 of the Amazing Spider-Man saw the first new villain of Jazzy Johnny Romita’s artistic tenure, as he and Swingin’ Stan Lee brought us the curiously endearing Rhino, a virtually unstoppable behemoth whose sheer power and tormented soul made him an instant hit, and a popular recurring villain, showing up everywhere from the Defenders to the MCU to the Unstoppable Squirrel Girl! (No, really…) This is a lower grade but presentable pence-printed copy. Lots of spine ticks and a reading crease break colour at the spine; there is also a long spidery colour-breaking crease at the right edge lower half, edge and handling wear, but the central image remains clear, despite minor central creasing that does not break colour. There is a tiny scuff on the ‘A’ of ‘Amazing’. Staples are nice and tight, pages a supple off-white. Faint tanning at inside cover edges.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #41 GD/VG p £160 SOLD
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: Strange Tales with the Human Torch, the Thing and Dr Strange
*Marvel: A chunky selection from the Good Doctor Collection this week, featuring Strange Tales between #116 and #134. Gradually, the Thing joined the Torch in the lead feature, with some excellent tales involving the Puppet Master, Sub-Mariner, Quicksilver & the Scarlet Witch, the Beatles (yes, those Beatles!), the Mad Thinker, the Watcher and more. And the back-up is those lovely little Dr Strange stories by Lee and Ditko, initially self-contained but developing into a long saga involving Dormammu, Clea and Baron Mordo.
IN THIS UPDATE: STRANGE TALES
#116 GD £30 Off lower staple
#117 FN p £60 (PICTURED) Pence printed. Lovely bright copy with minor creasing horizontal from the spine which do not break colour.
#125 FN- £40 (PICTURED) Sub-Mariner. Lovely copy with minor edge wear and small dink at base of spine.
#127 App VG £9 Top and right edges trimmed. SOLD
#128 VG £28 Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch
#129 FN £40 (PICTURED) Lovely bright copy with minor spine stress and small dink at base of spine.
#130 VG/FN £35 The Torch and the Thing meet the Beatles SOLD
#131 GD- £9.25 Upper and lower spine splits SOLD
#132 VG+ £24
#133 FN+ £50 (PICTURED) Great copy with superb colour and gloss; only minor amounts of edge wear.
#134 VG+ p £30 Pence stamped. Watcher!
American Comics Update: Two Early Journey Into Mystery with Thor inc. Mighty Marvel Firsts
*Marvel: This week we celebrate the immortal Asgardian with two stirring adventures from his first year. In Journey Into Mystery #93, he comes up against the Radioactive Man in the latter’s debut (he was to return many times), with art by Jack Kirby. In #94, another adventure with Loki, God of Mischief.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY BOTH SOLD
#93 GD- p £40 Pence printed. Cover off at staples and worn spine; tape removed from lower spine. Some cover creases break colour, particularly across bottom right corner and down the centre of the cover (fairly faint). Edge wear with small chips. Reasonable page quality with staples tight at centrefold.
#94 GD- p £40 Pence printed. Tape at inside covers at top and bottom staples and lower spine. Edge wear and minor colour-breaking creasing across bottom right corner. Cover a bit grubby at lower centre right due to stain residue. Reasonable page quality with staples tight at centrefold.
American Comics Update: Archie’s Mad House Early Issues
*Archie: Archie’s Mad House started out in 1959 as a sort of rival to Mad, featuring the Archie gang of characters in comics strips, features etc all in a Mad vein. By the time it got to #17, the regular recurring gang had gone and the comedy horror and science fiction covers, which had started slightly earlier, became the norm, as the comic converted to regular sequential art with #18. Sabrina, of course, was just around the corner with the Witch later revealed to be her Aunt Hilda debuting in #19. We have a selection of these early issues from the late 1950s/early 1960s new in. Full details may be seen in our catalogue.
PICTURED: ARCHIE’S MAD HOUSE BOTH SOLD
#16 VG p £9
#19 VG/FN £10.25 1st Hilda the Witch
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Strange Terrors #7
*Horror 1940-1959: On the cover of the 7th and final issue of Strange Terrors from 1953, St John proudly proclaimed that this was ‘3 full-length comics in 1’ and ‘all new stories’. Both boasts were true in this 100 page spectacular. There was a high standard of art on offer, with a sensational Joe Kubert cover and lead story. Other artists included the excellent Lou Cameron, Bob Forgione, Bill Baily, Mike Sekowsky and a host of others as yet unidentified. Ghosts, ghouls, monsters, death and other unspeakable horrors await you within this bumper issue.
PICTURED: STRANGE TERRORS #7 GD/VG £100 Pre-Code. Unmarked cover with just minor chips to top edge and wear at right edge. Very thick spine with flaws at rear: upper spine split of about 2.5 cm and lower split of about 6 cm; slender back cover horizontal tear from spine of about 3 cm. Nice off-white/slightly cream page quality. Holds together well.
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: The Many Ghosts Of Dr Graves
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: Another visit to Charlton’s extensive menu of 1970s thrills and chills, this time starring your horror host Dr Graves and his ‘Many Ghosts’. Just a casual glance through the six issues on offer here reveals art by Steve Ditko (lots), Tom Sutton, Pete Morisi, Joe Staton, Rudy Palais, Pat Boyette and more.
IN THIS UPDATE: THE MANY GHOSTS OF DR GRAVES ALL SOLD
#42 FN p £4
#43 VG £3.25
#45 FN p £4.75
#46 FN p £4
#48 FN p £4.75
#64 VG p £3.75
British Comics Update: Super-Detective Library with Sherlock Holmes
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: 3 highly prized issues of Super-Detective Library with Sherlock Holmes, which feature The Mystery Of The Red-Headed League, A Scandal In Bohemia and The Hound Of The Baskervilles, as well as a second story in each issue. Certainly among the most important issues of this series.
PICTURED: SUPER-DETECTIVE LIBRARY ALL SOLD
#65 FA £20 Sherlock Holmes: The Red-Headed League & The Greek Interpreter. Worn spine and small cover scuff
#74 GD/VG £30 Sherlock Holmes: The Thames Afire & A Scandal In Bohemia
#78 GD/VG £35 Sherlock Holmes: The Hound Of The Baskervilles & The Missing Heiress
British Comics Update: Read Misty For Me – Cult Girls’ Mystery Weekly Extensively Restocked
*Girls’ Comics: A distaff companion to 2000 AD, but focusing more on the supernatural than science-fiction themes, Misty is fondly remembered for the quality of its stories and artwork (using many of the 2000 AD creators), and its wide appeal – even at the time of its publication, the subject matter made it the “Girls’ comic” a lot of boys furtively read, and these days it’s keenly collected by men and women alike. We have most of the run new in, from the 3rd issue (18/2/78) right up to 18/8/79, with almost every issue in that sequence present. (The run finished 12/1/80 on 101 issues) All, of course, ably introduced by our ethereal hostess, who featured in frontispieces (and many covers) illustrated by the sublime Shirley Bellwood. It’s said that Shirley Bellwood modelled the Misty character on herself – we’ve used a photo of her here so you can make up your own mind on that one. This is an original owner collection, with most issues in excellent and attractive FN or VG/FN condition, just a few lower.
PICTURED: MISTY 3/2/79 FN £10
Books Update: Re-Working our Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Category: Lester Del Rey
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Lester Del Rey was an American author and editor famous throughout the Golden Age of Science Fiction and beyond. An editor of several pulp magazines and later at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction imprint of Ballantine Books. We have a small but quality range of his novels and short stories re-listed this week:
PICTURED: ALL BY LESTER DEL REY
THE BEST OF LESTER DEL REY Del Rey Ballantine 1978 1st US PB VG £7
THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT Ballantine 1970 1st US PB VG £5
MORTALS AND MONSTERS Tandem 1967 1st UK PB GD £3
NERVES Ballantine 1976 1st Revised US PB VG/FN £4
PSTALEMATE Berkley Medallion 1975 1st US PB VG/FN £5
THE SKY IS FALLING NEL 1974 1st UK PB VG £3
Books Update: Queens Of Crime: 7 Poirot Mysteries by Agatha Christie
*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: Well, actually six novels and one short story collection new in this week, all featuring Christie’s most famous creation, Hercule Poirot. Outsold only by God and the Bard of Avon, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time and undisputed Queen Of Crime. We aim to always have a good selection in stock of vintage editions, so here you go:
PICTURED: ALL BY AGATHA CHRISTIE ALL SOLD
DEAD MAN’S FOLLY Pan 1966 3rd UK PB GD/VG £4
DEATH IN THE CLOUDS Pan 1964 1st UK PB GD £4
THE HOLLOW Pan 1952 3rd UK PB VG £5
THE MURDER ON THE LINKS Pan 1971 15th UK PB GD £4
PERIL AT END HOUSE Pan 1966 1st UK PB GD £4
POIROT INVESTIGATES Pan 1969 15th UK PB VG £4
THREE ACT TRAGEDY Pan 1964 1st UK PB GD/VG £5
Books Update: Alice In Wonderland: 2 contrasting editions from different times
*Children’s Books: Two very different editions of Alice this week, both over-sized with full cover illustrations and both abridged; both are quite gorgeous. The first is undated but believed to be circa 1950 with charming illustrations; the second is from as recently as 2004 with stunning painted artwork.
PICTURED: BY LEWIS CARROLL
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Juvenile Productions Undated UK HC (Pictorial boards) (20 x 27 cm), circa 1950 GD/VG £15
Illustrated throughout by A A Nash in full colour
Some rubbing and wear at edges and corners.
Small label residue top right corner of cover
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
Courage 2004 US HC (23 x 33 cm) FN £10
With DJ VG/FN with some reading and handling wear
Sumptuously illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt
American Comics Update: Pre-Code Horror Fest: Phantom Stranger #3 1952
*DC: As rare as hen’s teeth! In 30+ years of flogging comics, we’ve only ever had a couple of issues of the first series of Phantom Stranger through our hands before. In 1952, he appeared from nowhere, without explanation or origin to be DC’s mysterious omniscient and omnipotent being of mystery. Despite numerous theories in the DCU, no concrete information has ever been revealed about his true nature. Edited by Whitney Ellsworth, and created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, this series had the finest creators of the time working on it in a number of horror/supernatural stories. Here we get John Broome scripts with pencils by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson. Whilst perhaps not as Pre-Code horrifically as the fare of other less polished publishers, the Phantom Stranger made up for that in the quality of substance and style of his stories. This is a low grade copy: the cover image is almost unmarked, although there are a few small chips out along the bottom edge, The spine has been glued along its length, so it’s difficult to assess the amount of spine wear, although there is some, with some puckering towards the bottom. Due to the glue, the covers are firmly attached and the staples are tight at the centrefold. Very slight chipping to upper right edge of cover, but good colour and reasonable creamy pages.
PICTURED: PHANTOM STRANGER #3 £170 SOLD
American Comics Update: Six Of The Best: Silver Age Flash
*DC: When Flash was relaunched in 1959, with Barry Allen now in the lead role, the artistic duties fell to Carmine Infantino, who pencilled every issue from #105 to #174. If ever an artist was made for a title, it was here. His speeding hero, fabulous cityscapes, gorgeous women, dynamic and colourful villains characterised the Silver Age Flash. We have six issues new in from Infantino’s mid-period. #148 features one of my favourite comic stories Doorway To The Unknown, a ghost story classic, a rarity in a ‘straight’ super-hero comic.
IN THIS UPDATE: FLASH ALL SOLD
#146 FA/GD p £6.25
#148 GD/VG p £14.25 Off lower staple
#149 FN- p £20.50
#150 GD+ p £12
#152 FA p £4 Cover detached; long spine split
#154 VG- p £12.75
American Comics Update: Spider-Mania: John Romita’s debut with Goblin two-parter in Amazing #39/40
*Marvel: This week, this much sought after two-part storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #39 & #40. I doubt that Marvel could have picked a more anticipated story than the Green Goblin showdown to herald the replacement of Steve Ditko with John Romita on art duties. This is where Spidey and the Goblin learn each other’s secret identities and battle to ultimate victory and defeat (we suspect you know who wins…).
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BOTH SOLD
#39 VG+ p £160 Pence printed copy with beautiful colour cover, unspoilt and vivid. Minor edge wear along the top and some corner blunting, but otherwise the grade is only brought down by moderate tanning to the inside cover edges. A flat copy with tight staples and decent creamy page quality.
#40 VG+ p £100 Pence printed copy with strong, vivid colour cover. Very minor edge wear and corner blunting; tiny nick at centre top above logo. Moderate tanning to inside cover edges. A flat copy with tight staples and decent creamy page quality.
American Comics Update: Daredevil #8 & #9
*Marvel: Two excellent issues smack in the middle of the wonderful Wally Wood run on early Daredevil. #8 features the debut of the Stilt-Man, an oft-recurring DD foe. #9 has an off-beat thriller set in Europe, with Wood’s layouts pencilled by the versatile Bob Powell.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL
#8 GD/VG p £55 Pence stamped, structually solid with cover unmarked but for dust shadow along the right edge. Staples are tight and firm at spine and centrefold. Pages are supple and creamy coloured. Would grade higher but for the dust shadow and a fairly deep tanning of the edges of the inner covers. SOLD
#9 VG p £55 Pence printed, structurally solid with cover unmarked but for slight dust shadow along the right and top edges. Staples are tight and firm at spine and centrefold. Pages are supple and off-white to cream. Inner covers are slightly tanned at the edges.
American Comics Update: The Good Doctor Collection: X-Men #25, #27, #29, #30
*Marvel: Four quality issues of the X-Men from the Good Doctor this week, both in terms of quality of the story and art and the solid mid-grade condition. #25 features El Tigre, who morphs into Kukulcan; #27 has the re-introduction of the Mimic, the mutant who comes up against the Super-Adaptoid in #29 (virtually an Avengers vs X-Men battle!); finally #30 brings back Merlin from an early Thor story, here rebranded as the Warlock in a tale guest-illustrated by Jack Sparling with a Jack Kirby cover.
PICTURED: X-MEN ALL SOLD
#25 VG/FN p £48
#27 VG/FN £49
#29 VG+ p £40
#30 VG+ p £48
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American Comics Update: Hulkinued: A small miscellany
*Marvel: Our regular Hulk feature ‘Hulkinues’ this week with a small 1970s miscellany between issues #126 and #166. To Be Hulkinued…
IN THIS UPDATE: HULK
#126 FA p £3 1st Barbara Norris, later Valkyrie. Worn, small corner off bottom right cover.
#132 FN/VF p £16.50
#138 VG/FN £8.25
#161 FN p £13.25 Death Of Mimic
#163 VG/FN p £5.75
#164 VF- p £10.25 1st Captain Omen
#165 FN+ p £8.25
#166 VF- p £11.25 1st Zzzax; Hawkeye app
American Comics Update: Marvel #1 issues: 3 Horror from 1969 & 1974
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: 3 #1 issues from the House Of Ideas this week. Arrgh #1 from 1974 is a vampire satire, among other things. Chamber of Darkness #1 from 1969 led the way for Marvel’s horror revival of the 1970s, along with Tower of Shadows #1 from the same year, with a classic Steranko story.
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
ARRGH #1 FN+ £10 Small creases on back cover.
CHAMBER OF DARKNESS #1 FN/VF £28 Slight ballast ink at top edge.
TOWER OF SHADOWS #1 GD- £17 Steranko art and story. Some wear and creasing.
American Comics Update: The Bute Collection: 1940s/50s Westerns
*Western: From the Bute Collection this week, a small selection of real vintage Westerns. Hillman’s Western Fighters is from 1951, and various volumes of Zane Grey’s Stories Of The West (in the Dell Four Color series) are from 1948/49.
IN THIS UPDATE: ALL SOLD
WESTERN FIGHTERS V3 #11 GD £9
ZANE GREY’S STORIES OF THE WEST:
FC #230 SUNSET PASS VG £13
FC #236 HERITAGE OF THE DESERT VG+ £15
FC #301 THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER VG+ £11 (PICTURED)
British Comics Update: Alan Class File Copies – Weird Planets
*Alan Class Reprints: From the personal archives of Alan Class, we’re delighted to present another selection of copies certificated by Alan himself. Half a dozen copies of the pre-decimal title Weird Planets, including #1. The file copies were used by Alan Class for reference and are sometimes in variable condition, but usually quite good. All Alan Class titles had an emphasis on horror and mystery science fiction and fantasy stories, but none more so than Weird Planets in its short 23 issue run. The work of Ditko and Kirby was also to the fore in this series. A reminder that you can view some detail of the contents in our Rough Guide to Alan Class Reprints.
IN THIS UPDATE: WEIRD PLANETS
#1 GD £32.50 (PICTURED) 5 Ditko stories plus cover, 1 Kirby. Mysterious Traveller ‘Secret Mission’ & others. At some point, this has been the top of a tied bundle and the string marks can be seen.
#2 GD £13.50 6 Ditko stories plus cover, Charlton, pre-hero Marvel (1 Kirby). Mysterious Traveller ‘The Old Fool’s Secret & others. Tape residue inside cover.
#3 FN £17 2 Kirby stories plus cover, pre-hero Marvel (4 Ditko), Charlton.
#3 VG £14 2 Kirby stories plus cover, pre-hero Marvel (4 Ditko), Charlton.
#10 FA £5.25 Charlton, 3 Ditko stories plus cover, Atlas, 1 Krigstein, pre-hero Marvel. Loose back cover.
#12 VG £6 Charlton SF, Atlas, 1 Everett.