*Pulp Fiction: New Worlds was the longest-running and most famous (some would say infamous) of all British science-fiction magazines. It had pretty much trodden the paths of quality mainstream science fiction from its inception as a fanzine in 1936, through the first issue called New Worlds in 1946 and up to 1964, when publication was taken over by Roberts & Vintner under their Compact imprint and Michael Moorcock replaced Ted Carnell as editor. At this time, still dubbed a magazine, the format became traditional-sized paperback book and the content began to reflect the new wave of British and American science-fiction that revolutionised the genre. Alongside the work of Moorcock himself (and his aliases), you’d find big names such as Brian Aldiss, J G Ballard, Harry Harrison, Bob Shaw, John Brunner, Roger Zelazny, Thomas M Disch and many others, alongside less well-known (but often equally good) authors such as Arthur Sellings, David Masson, Langdon Jones & Charles Platt. And that’s just a selection of the writers that can be found in the seven issues we have new in as shown below.  I grew up reading these and they hold a fond place in my memory — I expect I’m not alone. 
PICTURED:
NEW WORLDS
#147 GD/VG £5
#151 GD/VG £5 SOLD
#154 GD/VG £5 SOLD
#155 GD £4
#157 GD/VG £5 SOLD
#160 GD/VG £5 SOLD
#167 GD/VG £5 SOLD

*DC: A cornucopia of DC first appearances this week from the Bronze Age, featuring the classic and the esoteric. From Kirby’s 4th World, the super escape artist Mister Miracle, Joe Simon’s Prez (first teen president of the USA), Kirby’s Bronze Age revival of the Sandman, Ditko’s Shade the Changing Man, the DC iteration of The Shadow by O’Neil and Kaluta and the Sherlock Holmes one-shot.
PICTURED:
MISTER MIRACLE #1 VG+ p £60 SOLD
PREZ #1 FN- p £13.50 SOLD
SANDMAN #1 FN/VF £25 SOLD
SHADE THE CHANGING MAN #1 VF p £20
SHADOW #1 VF £40 SOLD
SHERLOCK HOLMES #1 FN £15 SOLD

*Marvel: This week, we launch the third title from the Good Doctor Collection: everyone’s favourite Assemblin’ Avengers! There’s been a sharp increase in interest in Avengers #8, featuring the first appearance of Kang, the villain from the future, following his casting announcement in the upcoming Ant-Man 3 movie, accompanied by the news that he’ll be the major villain in Avengers 5. This issue is a tense drama, with the World’s Mightiest Heroes all but helpless in the face of his futuristic technology. In this Lee/Kirby classic, the powerhouses of the team are effortlessly immobilised, leaving the fate of the Avengers, and the world, in the hands of the Wasp and Rick Jones! Kang, of course, became (and remains) a thorn in the side of multiple Avengers teams, but this is his first appearance in the Marvel Universe. This is a pence printed copy, with a nice bright white cover with good colour; the staples are slightly loose but fully attached at cover and centrefold. There are some creases across the bottom right, one of which just breaks colour. Pages are very decent and off-white. The copy is marred by a 2.5 cm spine split at the bottom, on which a tape repair has been attempted at some point; the tape is no longer present, but has left some residual marking (visible on the scan). Nevertheless, a very nice copy of an issue rising in price all the time. 
PICTURED: AVENGERS #8 VG- p £475 SOLD

*Marvel: We round off this week’s visit to the Good Doctor Collection with a Fantastic Four classic. In issue #28 of the FF, the X-Men guest-starred in a packed issue with the menaces of the Mad Thinker & his Awesome Android and the Puppet Master. As is usually the case in these early crossovers, the two teams are pitted against each other as a result of the villains’ machinations. Kirby managed to fit all members of both teams plus the Awesome Android on to the cover without it looking overcrowded. This is a worn pence printed copy, but not too bad. The spine has the worst of the wear, with a small lower spine split, loose (but attached) staples and a small 1 cm tear centre spine. Small colour-breaking creases at most edges and corner blunting; pages are a little tired but okay. The central cover image is unmarred. More from the Good Doctor next week!
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #28 GD p £50 SOLD

*Marvel: Published in 1994, the series Marvels ran over four books covering the 1939 to 1974 time period, examining the development of the Marvel Universe from the perspective of an Everyman character, news photographer Phil Sheldon. The evocative series portrayed ordinary life in a world full of costumed supermen, with each issue featuring events well known to readers of Marvel comics, as well as a variety of minute details and a retelling of the most famous events in Marvel history. Lovingly scripted by Kurt Busiek and lavishly painted by Alex Ross, this series transcended the vintage/modern divide and provided an experience both generations could appreciate. Various hardcover and paperback collections have remained steadily in print since the series concluded, but these are the originals with their fabulous acetate overlay covers. Issues #1 to #4, minus the subsequent ‘coda’ #0  (which was in a slimmer, less fancy format), are available for sale as a set.
PICTURED: MARVELS #1 NM-; COMLETE SET #1-4 AV. NM- £25 SOLD

*EC: Two issues from EC’s celebrated Crime SuspenStories. #8 features the work of Johnny Craig, Jack Kamen, George Roussos and, in a bonus Haunt Of Fear story hosted by the Old Witch, Graham Ingels. Indeed the lines between crime and horror were quite blurred! It’s pictured and described below. #26 (FA £25) has art by Jack Kamen, Joe Orlando and Reed Crandall. Low grade with much wear and a taped spine. 
PICTURED: CRIME SUSPENSTORIES #8 GD- £73 Pre-code; slight spine roll, some staining on front and back covers, with inner penetration. Spine and edge wear; 2 cm tear at right cover edge without loss. A couple of long vertical creases the length of the issue which do not break colour.

*TV & Film Related Comics: When it came to Star Wars, Marvel UK lost little time in jumping on the bandwagon, re-packaging reprints of the American material, and, in the best tradition of British Weeklies, enticing the punters with the added incentive of a flimsy and easily-damaged cardboard toy! This week we have issues #1-10 of the UK version of Star Wars from 1978, reprinting the original American series, and #2 comes with a splendid copy of its Free Gift, the T.I.E. Fighter, still intact on its original cardboard sheet and ready to press out and put into action, should you wish. For full details on all issues, consult our catalogue.
PICTURED: STAR WARS
#1 FN/VF £25
#2 FN/VF WITH FREE GIFT VF: T.I.E. FIGHTER £75 (Newsagent’s details at top right edge)

*Girls’ Comics: Twinkle debuted in 1968 as ‘the new picture paper specially for little girls’ and obviously has a nostalgia buzz for many readers, judging by the number of issues we’ve sold over the years. This debut issue has the first appearance of Twinkle herself, of course, plus super-star companions Nurse Nancy and Patsy Panda. Quite a rare item, which originally came with a St Christopher Charm bracelet Free Gift. Although the gift is absent here, this is a very respectable copy of #1, with just minor edge wear and a tiny split at the top of the spine. (Anyone craving the Free Gift should note that we already have another copy listed with the Gift present).
PICTURED: TWINKLE #1 VG £50

*DC: One of DC’s quirkiest Silver Age super-heroes was Metamorpho, who first appeared in Brave & Bold #57 and #58 before being promoted to his own series. Originally adventurer Rex Mason, he was converted into a man made of a shifting mass of chemicals after being cursed by an ancient artifact that he had retrieved. Created by writer Bob Haney, with the stylish and distinctive art of Ramona Fradon, the Element Man carved out his place in the Silver Age, with additional appearances in Brave & Bold team-ups, Justice League and elsewhere. Brave & Bold #57 & #58 and Metamorpho #1 new in this week in lowish grade, with previous owner’s small labels on the Comics Code Box. 
PICTURED:
BRAVE & BOLD #57 GD+ p £30 Loose centrefold x2 SOLD
METAMORPHO #1 GD+ p £15 Loose centrefold SOLD

*Marvel: We lead off this week’s selections from the Good Doctor Collection with more Doctor Octopus. Amazing Spider-Man #11 proclaimed ‘The Long-Awaited Return Of Doctor Octopus’ (ever since #3?) and the story continued into #12. Contrasting conditions on this two-parter:
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#11 PR p £90 This is not a nice copy at all, sadly. Pence printed, covers detached and separated and with chips out at top and bottom spine, 8 cm jagged tear across centre cover from right edge and much cover wear and colour-breaking creasing. The first half of the comic has a continual chip out of the margin on the right edge. Other than that it is complete with centrefold attached at staples and reasonable pages. Great to fill a gap, but not a source of pride in your collection.
#12 FN- p £425 Pence priced, with great cover colour and gloss. Staples firmly attached, a virtually unmarked cover and excellent white to off-white pages. There are a couple of tiny colour-breaking creases across the bottom right cover and a tear of 1.5 cm at the base of the spine, with leads to a 4 cm colour-breaking crease  at the bottom right corner. A superior copy.

*Marvel: Our final stop at the Good Doctor Collection this week features a long and complete run of Fantastic Four from #113 to #150. A mixture of cents and pence printed copies, this selection is characterised by a mostly consistent high grading, with most towards VF and many better, such as the example shown here. More from the Good Doctor next week!
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #150 NM £60

*Marvel: One of the more ground-breaking issues of the 1970s was Iron Man #128, in which creators David Michelinie and John Romita Jr. played out the plot they’d been building up for months: the dark underside of Tony Stark’s insouciant playboy façade, as his struggle with alcoholism was revealed. This was presented as an ongoing illness, rather than being wrapped up neatly by the issue’s end, and in fact even the current Tony Stark is still influenced by his addiction. Although the story caused controversy and outrage at the time of its release, over time it has received acclaim and respect as the first serious presentation of the subject in a mainstream comic. This is a superior pence printed copy, with brilliant cover colour and gloss, tight, firmly attached staples, sharp corners and excellent pages. A few short spine ticks from reading wear prevent an even higher grade.
PICTURED: IRON MAN #128 VF p £75 SOLD

*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 and romance alike. A prime example is Ghostly Weird Stories #122, with its horror/sci-fi theme. Inside features a brand new and rather spiffy horror tale illustrated by cult artist Jay Disbrow, backed up, presumably in a cost-cutting exercise, by edited reprints, primarily of Fox material. This copy has a cover rich in colour with vibrant gloss and no markings. Only very minor wear at top, bottom and right edge. The spine has come away at some point and been skilfully glued back on and restapled. There are 3 cm spine splits at top and bottom and a small hole near the bottom staple area, with a tiny piece of the cover glued to the first page (see images). Nice off-white pages and great eye appeal. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: GHOSTLY WEIRD STORIES #122 FA/GD £650 SOLD

*Alan Class Reprints: Not an Alan Class Printing Plate set this one, since we don’t have the plates for it, but Creepy Worlds #84 is a very special issue. Cover featured are THUNDER Agents, and there are four Tower reprints: three featuring Dynamo and the Thunder Agents (2 by Wally Wood plus cover) and 1 Undersea Agent. Each of these is further represented by a complete set of printer’s proof copies (Undersea Agent story does not have splash proof, since that’s on the inside front cover). There are several Marvel pre-hero stories as well in the comic, but most significantly the issue also reprints ‘The Man In The Ant-Hill’, the first Ant-Man story from Tales To Astonish #27 by Lee & Kirby, featuring the debut of Henry Pym. Also included in this great package is a wraparound colour cover proof (including inside front and back covers), a signed certificate from Alan Class and a letter from Alan Class to his printers dating from 1976, which, although not directly related to this issue, is an interesting curiosity. A totally unique treasure of an item. 
PICTURED: CREEPY WORLDS #84 FN/VF £100 SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: A small miscellany of low to mid-grade issues in this category this week, with Action #1, Battle #1 & #2 and two issues of Valiant from 1962 (the first year) including the Christmas issue. Full details as always in our catalogue.

*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: I’m often harping on here about the Queens Of Crime, those indomitable (mostly) Briitish women who dominated the crime/detective genre in the Golden Age Of Detective Fiction, roughly between the wars. Well, there was one male writer active at the time who was their equal, and he was an American to boot, although he lived a significant part of his life in England, where his tales were set. John Dickson Carr (who also wrote as Carter Dickson) was the master of the locked room mystery, a setter of seemingly impossible puzzles for his recurring cast of detectives. Foremost among these was the larger than life Dr. Gideon Fell, who concerns us in three of the four classic novels here this week, all in attractive vintage American editions from the 1950s with pulp-like cover art. 
PICTURED: ALL BY JOHN DICKSON CARR
THE EMPEROR’S SNUFF-BOX VG £8 US PB 1959
HE WHO WHISPERS VG £10 1st US PB 1951
THE SLEEPING SPHINX FN £12 1st US PB 1952
TO WAKE THE DEAD VG £10 US PB 1950s

*DC: For a couple of years (issues #50-73), Brave & Bold became a team-up title across the DCU, teaming up heroes and teams that the reader (well, this one, anyway) wanted to see together. (From #74 onwards it was solid Batman team-ups all the way to the final issue, #200). But in this short two-year period, there were some imaginative combinations of heroes featured together, and many of them are included in this update, such as Flash & Martian Manhunter, Batman & Green Lantern, Supergirl & Wonder Woman, Flash & Doom Patrol, Metamorpho & Metal Men, Batman & Flash, Batman & Metamorpho, Batman & Hawkman, Spectre & Flash and Aquaman & Atom. Mostly cheap and cheerful copies new in; full details as always in our catalogue.

*Marvel: A big chunk of Fantastic Four from the Good Doctor Collection this week, comprising every consecutive issue from #78 through to #111. This period comprises: Crystal joining the team, the epic storyline with the FF as prisoners of Dr Doom in Latveria, the introduction of Agatha Harkness in #94, Jack Kirby’s last great storyline with the Thing as a gladiator on an alien gangster world and the transition to John Buscema via John Romita post-#100, as well as lots, lots more. Plenty of high grade copies available here; full details now in our catalogue.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #94 VG+ p £48 Decent mid-grade pence printed copy with edge and spine wear, centrefold loose at bottom staple, nice cover colour and gloss. SOLD

*Marvel: This is the first copy we’ve had in of X-Men #109 in quite a while; it features the debut of the man known here as Weapon Alpha (later to be renamed Vindicator as head of Alpha Flight, the Canadian super-hero group, the organization behind which is what Wolverine was fleeing from when he joined the X-Men). Now they want him back and they’ve sent Weapon Alpha to get him. As far as I know, this is the first comic in which Alpha Flight is mentioned, although it would be several issues later when they appeared in full. A lovely cents copy with just the tiniest wear at the corners and a couple of very small spine ticks. Great white pages, flat, tight and glossy, excellent staples.
PICTURED: X-MEN #109 VF £150

*Marvel: 1968 saw Jade-Jaws’ first-ever Annual, a 50 page extravaganza by Gary Friedrich and the talented Marie Severin in which our favourite not-so-jolly green giant travelled to Attilan and fell out with Black Bolt, leader of the reclusive race of super-beings known as the Inhumans. Needless to say – spoiler alert – wannabe usurper Maximus is behind the hostilities, and has assembled his own band of rebel Inhumans to further bedevil our hero. Featuring a striking Steranko cover, this is a low grade pence stamped copy, with long upper and lower spine splits and a 2.5cm tear in the area of the masthead box. Creases and wear at the right edge, but the cover retains some gloss and the pages are good.
PICTURED: HULK ANNUAL #1 GD- p £40 SOLD

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: The first appearance of Moon Knight in Werewolf By Night has now risen to staggering values, putting it beyond the reach of many collectors, as is increasingly the case with a lot of Marvel big key issues. Some collectors are turning to second appearances as a consolation, and although prices on these are rising as a result, many of them are still within reach. Here we have the second appearance of Moon Knight, one issue after the first, in Werewolf By Night #33. A lovely pence priced copy with brilliant colour and gloss, white pages, sharp corners and tight staples. With almost no wear, it’s kept from an even higher grade by a short non-colour breaking crease from the Comics Code Box to the logo and a tiny crease across the bottom corner, with just a 0.5 cm colour break. A lovely item.
PICTURED: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #33 VF p £250

*Collected Editions: We’re often listing British reprints of American stuff (we even have a category devoted to it), so it’s nice to turn that round and feature an American reprint series of British material. In the late 1980s, Pioneer had a crack at Peter O’Donnell’s Modesty Blaise, featuring the earliest Modesty stories from the London Evening Standard and reformatting them into an American comic style. All the art is by Jim Holdaway, the first regular Modesty artist, and many peoples’ favourite. Stories featured are La Machine, The Long Lever, The Gabriel Set-Up and Mister Sun, familiar ground for die-hard Modesty fans, but interesting to see the attempt to reformat them with different panel sizes and layouts, sometimes more successfully than others. And if you’re not already a die-hard fan, a great place to start the adventures of Modesty, so much more than just a female James Bond. All 10 issues in one set, all VF or better. 
PICTURED: THE OFFICIAL MODESTY BLAISE #1; COMPLETE SET #1-10 £45

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen not only wrote under the name of Ernest Dudley, it was also a fictional persona created by him for his career as a dramatist, writer and actor. An extremely popular radio series of the Armchair Detective started in 1942 and led to stage appearances, a TV series and a film with Dudley acting the titular character. The nascent Super-Detective Library took up the character for five of its earliest issues (starting with #2), by which time the Armchair Detective was famous worldwide. In later years, the term has become generic for a solver of mysteries who does not personally visit a crime scene or interview witnesses, solving the crime remotely instead. All five of the Armchair Detective issues of Super-Detective are newly available this week, as detailed and illustrated below. All very sound copies in VG/FN from an original owner collection, flat and tight with great colour covers and nice page quality, with just the merest signs of wear and an inevitable appearance by our old friend the rusty staple, although here he is not much in evidence.
PICTURED: SUPER-DETECTIVE LIBRARY
#2 VG/FN £45 The Riddle Of The Frensham Will
#8 VG/FN £27.50 The Case Of The Sinister Castle
#18 VG/FN £17.50 The Mystery Of The Hooded Man
#22 VG/FN £17.50 The Secret Of Lessinger’s Loot
#46 VG/FN £17.50 The Man Who Made Gold

*DC: Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke (also known for much of his career as ‘the Terminator’, until Arnie’s agents said the magic words, ‘Cease & Desist’) made his first appearance in New Teen Titans #2, the successful Wolfman/Perez revival of the faltering franchise. Already a hit, the New Teen Titans’ fortunes rose with those of Mr. Slade as their recurring arch-nemesis, and eventually he went on to star in several series of his own, as well as media appearances in the ‘Arrow’ TV show and elsewhere. This is a nice pence printed copy, tight, flat and glossy with good staples and white pages. Apart from very minor handling wear, the only small flaw is a tiny indentation line (non colour-breaking) to the right of the DC logo.
PICTURED: NEW TEEN TITANS #2 VF p £100 SOLD

*Marvel: Although no Silver Age Marvels can truthfully be called rare, the first run of the Hulk (cancelled after #6) certainly turn up less often than almost all others from the dawn of the Marvel Age. Like buses this week, two have turned up at once: #4 & #5. Both feature two Lee & Kirby thrillers in each issue, as the Hulk comes up against Mongu, the Gladiator From Space, Tyrannus and the Hordes of General Fang, as well as the constant man or monster struggle in the wake of the gamma radiation exposure. Obviously not popular enough at the time to sustain an ongoing series (!), these classics are now highly prized and both these copies present very well.
PICTURED: HULK
#4 VG p £440 ‘Pence’ stamped at 1 shilling (Ireland?). Lovely bright cover with glorious colour and gloss. Great structural integrity with white to off-white pages, tight staples with everything firmly attached. A little bit of Marvel chipping to the right edge, a couple of short crease-like white lines across the logo, a small amount of what looks like impact damage at the base of the spine and a 1 cm tear at the bottom edge (no loss) that runs into the early pages. A fresh, vibrant copy. SOLD
#5 GD/VG p £375 Pence printed, with some spine wear (but none anywhere else) and the bottom staple loose at front cover. Small brown stain on upper blurb box and a small ‘6’ in biro beneath the Comics Code Box. The cover has reasonable gloss and good colour for all that. Staples firm at centrefold and nice white to off-white pages. SOLD