*Marvel: Our catalogue expansion programme continues this week as we add issues of the Man Without Fear between #201 and #250. Quite a strong period for Daredevil this, with many memorable villains and dark storylines, punctuated of course by Frank Miller’s second stint as writer (#219, #227-233 ‘Born Again’ with art by David Mazzuchelli). Full details as always in our catalogue.

*War: Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos #4 was quite a seminal issue early in the run. By Lee & Kirby, not only did it feature the character Lord Ha-Ha, based on the real life Lord Haw-Haw, the English Lord who broadcast pro-Nazi propaganda from Berlin, it also introduced his sister, Pamela Hawley, who was to become Nick Fury’s wartime sweetheart. And if that wasn’t enough, the first Howler to die, Junior Juniper, who inspired the nickname ‘howling’, copped it in this issue. Easily the quality of the more famous super-hero line from Marvel, this is a great comic. Here in a lovely graded pence printed copy, with great cover colour, excellent page quality and staples; very little wear apart from a couple of small colour-breaking creases across the Comics Code Box. 
PICTURED: SGT FURY #4 FN- p £60 SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Three uncommon comics this week in the faux US style. These probably all date from the late 1950s/early 1960s, but in all honesty, we’ve been able to find out very little about them. They are linked by all having the word ‘hero’ in the title, but little else, we suspect, apart from their black and white interiors and war themes. Daring Hero is unnumbered with no publisher information. Sky Hero (which looks as if it might be from the same source) is also unnumbered and published by Scion (the comic has some indented marks across the logo). Thrilling Hero #13 is published by Man’s World. In 30 years of trading, not things we’ve seen before.
PICTURED: ALL SOLD
DARING HERO VF £12
SKY HERO VG/FN £9
THRILLING HERO #13 FN £10

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A further release of Pearson’s Picture Romance Library issues, 20+ this time from the mid-1960s between #335 and #379. As with all recent releases of this title, these are from a newsagent’s uncirculated stock; here the gradings fall a little lower than on previous batches, making them very affordable prices in many cases. I was struck when preparing these by the shameless use of pop and film star images on the front covers of many, despite no one looking like that appearing within. Take a look at the couple of examples shown here and see if you can spot the Fab Four resemblances. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: PICTURE ROMANCE LIBRARY
#335 FN/VF £7 SOLD
#366 FN £6 SOLD

*DC: A nice curiosity this week as we present an unnumbered issue of Detective Double Double Comics.  In the Sixties, it was a common practise of the UK distributors Thorpe & Porter to return the covers of unsold copies for credit, then re-purpose the ‘destroyed’ coverless copies, four to an issue, under a new cover – usually an ineptly-recoloured stat of a US original. Thus the contents of any given issue are random, but this issue actually does include four issues of Detective Comics: #352, #357, #358 and, rather fortuitously, #359, containing the first appearance of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl. After the original Bat-Girl was swept away out of continuity with her aunt Batwoman following a change of direction for Batman in the 1960s, a new Batgirl was introduced, co-created by DC and the producers of the hit Batman TV show, as a boost to the third series of that iconic show. Barbara Gordon proved a hit as Batgirl both in comics and TV. Her comic debut came in Detective Comics #359 (1967) where she tangled with Killer Moth, just as she did in the pilot for her debut on TV. Barbara Gordon, amidst a history of adventure and misfortune, has gone on to become a mainstay of the DCU to this day. The full comic is included here (without covers, but with ads, of course) in this squarebound giant issue. The issue is in fairly nice nick, with an intact spine and great colour cover; there is a long colour-breaking crease across the bottom right corner and some minor cover staining, back cover creasing, but tight binding and great quality pages. A great find for both Double Double collectors and for those for whom a ‘proper’ copy of Detective #359 is out of reach.
PICTURED: DETECTIVE DOUBLE DOUBLE COMICS VG £80 SOLD

*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 in stock an outstanding copy, pence printed, in a superior grade. Glossy, virtually flat, sharp corners, tight staples and a vivid, unmarked cover scene; the page quality is superb, very close to white pages. There are only the smallest flaws: a small dink at the top corner of the masthead (does not break colour), a very tiny scuff at the base of the Lizard’s lower claw (which you really have to look hard to see) and a couple of very soft, short creases towards the bottom of the spine, which do not break colour and again can barely be seen. We hardly ever see such an early issue of Amazing Spider-Man is such fantastic condition. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #6 FN/VF p £2,250

*Marvel: In Journey Into Mystery #118, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby introduced a new foe for the Mighty Thor. The Destroyer was in fact an enchanted and animated suit of armour forged by Odin, but here manipulated by Loki to battle Thor to a standstill. The Destroyer has reappeared many times throughout the history and breadth of the Marvel Universe. We have a new, pence stamped copy, solid and sound with minor colour-breaking creases at some extremities, strong colour, nice pages and firm staples. Minor spine wear.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #118 VG+ p £80

*Marvel: In our Slab Happy feature this week, the debut of Soviet Super-Soldier and X-Men nemesis Omega Red in X-Men #4 (1991 series). Graded at 9.2 (NM-) by CGC, this is in their Gold label Signature Series, bearing an authenticated Jim Lee (co-writer and artist) signature. No restoration, case perfect, white pages. 
PICTURED: X-MEN #4 CGC 9.2 NM- SIGNATURE SERIES £100 SOLD

*Marvel: A nice update to our stocks of the Avengers between #37 and #100, including much of the Kree-Skrull War and the Barry Smith trilogy #98-100. Full details as always in our catalogue.

*EC: We’re always delighted to be able to present original EC’s for the discerning collector to add to their collection. This publisher really was the benchmark of quality in the 1950s due to the quirkiness of the writing and the quality of the art from the industry’s finest illustrators of the time. This week it’s EC’s horror line that stars with four issues of Vault Of Horror, all from the latter days of this classic run.
PICTURED: VAULT OF HORROR ALL SOLD
#27 VG- £105 Pre-Code; nice solid copy with a little spine roll and some looseness at bottom staple. 
#31 GD- £70 Pre-Code; bottom third of spine split; spine and edge wear
#33 FA £40 Pre-Code; spine splits top and bottom, leading to cover tear; spine taped, off staples.
#34 VG £200 Pre-code; firm copy with great colour, staples and pages. Only minor spine wear; faint subscription crease just breaking colour.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: It was common practise in UK comics for decades to create intentionally short-run ‘Feeder’ titles, with the express purpose of providing ‘new blood’ to refresh longer-running titles. One such was Thunder, which launched in 1970. Thunder developed several popular features, including time-stopping musician ‘Phil the Fluter’ (don’t ask), WWII robot ‘The Steel Commando’, junior Doctor Doolittle ‘Fury’s Family’, crime-fighting whiz-kids ‘The Jet Skaters’, and lovable mad scientist ‘Black Max’. Star of the show, however, was ‘Adam Eterno’, cursed to wander the Earth forever until killed by a weapon of gold – unfortunately for our hero, whenever he looked like being able to end his interminable existence, Circumstances Intervened. Despite a strong line-up, Thunder folded after 22 issues, and all of the above strips leapt into Lion, with, appropriately, Adam Eterno dodging death again when Lion was absorbed by Valiant! Half a dozen issues of Thunder new in this week, including the first three issues (sadly, no gifts) plus the only Christmas issue; full details in our catalogue.
PICTURED: THUNDER ALL SOLD
17/10/70 (#1) FN £35
24/10/70 (#2) FN £20
31/10/70 (#3) VG/FN £17.50

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A welcome return to our catalogue for this long-running series, with new issues of Love Story Library listed between #203 and #233. Attractive interior art and lovely (if a little repetitive) painted covers. Mostly graded as GD, though it should be pointed out that the general condition would justify a higher grade if not for the insidious staple rust which has beset them in long-term storage.
PICTURED: LOVE STORY LIBRARY #203 GD £4

We are delighted to announce the impending Good Doctor Collection.

This is a comprehensive collection representing a lifetime’s hobby by one of the UK’s most dedicated collectors. It is a mixture of original owner copies and copies sourced from the UK’s most significant dealers (including ourselves); the Good Doctor was very meticulous and patient in collecting nice copies where available and that is reflected throughout this 1500+ collection of Silver and early Bronze Age Marvel titles. All of the important Marvel titles are included and in virtually complete runs from early numbers upwards. 

The assessment and valuation of this collection is a major undertaking for us, and we shall be releasing comics from the Good Doctor Collection through our Newsletter and website over the coming months, starting next week. Our update posts and the comic labels will be branded as from this collection, and we think these copies will be as treasured by their new owners as they were by the Good Doctor himself.

Look out for this exciting opportunity with us every week!

*DC: Following strong sales, we’re delighted to restock on the 1984 series of the Legion of Super-Heroes (known as the Baxter series, referring to the superior quality of paper it was printed on). It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the Legion here at 30th Century (our name is a clue), but we do bemoan the lack of a quality Legion series after this one. Subsequent series have drifted further and further away from the first 30 years of the Legion to the extent that the characters are virtually no longer recognisable and the quality has varied from mediocre to downright awful, with just the occasional bright spot. Here though, for the last time, are the characters that long-time Legion fans love. And if you look hard enough, you’ll find the odd missive from yours truly in the lettercols. See our catalogue for details of issues available from #1 upwards.

*Marvel: Well, your demand for the early adventures of Amazing Spider-Man seems insatiable – bless your hearts – so we’re happy to oblige with issue #11, a Stan Lee/Steve Ditko classic featuring the second-ever appearance of Doctor Octopus, who vies with the Green Goblin for the position of Spidey’s #1 foe. This is a low grade pence priced copy with a great, colourful central cover image. There is a tear (without loss) of about 3 cm across the masthead figure of Spidey; this goes through the comic to a lessening degree. The spine base is also split by about 4 cm, with small, slight loss to the bottom of the spine and through interior pages, nowhere near story panels. Corners are blunt with fine colour-breaking creasing along most edges. Staples are attached at centrefold, but weakening, although still attached, at spine. Pages are a quite nice off-white. 
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #11 FA/GD p £170 SOLD

*Marvel: One of comics’ biggest events of the final decades of the 20th Century was Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet, in which Thanos, the megavillain Starlin had been building up for nearly twenty years, armed with the reality-altering Infinity Gauntlet, faced down the Marvel super-beings en masse, in a struggle for the fate of the universe! Hugely popular ever since its inception, but with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet at the centre of the Avengers: Endgame cinematic juggernaut, demand for Infinity Gauntlet #1 is at its height. This CGC copy is blue label, case perfect, unrestored, white pages, in the prized grade of 9.8 Near Mint/Mint and a true connoisseur’s item.
PICTURED: INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 CGC 9.8 NM/Mint £200

*Marvel: We continue our agenda of catalogue expansion this week by adding more from Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2, which confusingly reverted to Volume 1 numbering after issue #58, recommencing with #500. This update we have many issues between #501 and #550, taking in multiple Civil War tie-in issues, plus the controversial ‘One More Day’ and ‘Brand New Day’ storylines. Full details as always in our catalogue.

*Alan Class Reprints: For many years now, we’ve been scouring the personal archives of legendary publisher Alan Class (who is still very much with us) and with his full co-operation, releasing for sale sets of the original printing plates that were used to print the covers of his comics from 1959-1989. We have now reached the final phase of these plate set releases, which will last us through 2021 and probably into 2022. These sets are time-consuming to prepare, so our release schedule will be staggered. But the good news is that all the sets we have left are among the best, either featuring a classic Marvel comic reprint, or else a very early fantasy/mystery issue. So, this final phase represents your last opportunity to add one or more of these unique pieces to your collection. Each set comprises the lead printing plates used in the original comic’s colour printing, a copy of the comic printed with these plates and a signed certificate of authenticity signed by Alan Class himself. These are packaged in a special protective presentation case. Several sets (as noted) have additional historical artefacts such as colour proofs, interior page plates, printers’ photostats etc. (Please be aware that these weigh a lot and postage will be expensive. Also note that due to the onerous paperwork required for customs declarations following Brexit, we can no longer post these Plate Sets outside the UK.) All these Plate Sets are rather unique and special items, but this week’s two examples are particularly extra special. Sinister Tales #1 is our last remaining Alan Class #1 Plate Set and #38 features the earliest Amazing Spider-Man issue to be shown on an Alan Class cover. Details as follows:
SINISTER TALES #1 £100 Comic: VG+ Reprints Kirby Monster story from Tales To Astonish #10 inc cover, Atlas, pre-hero Marvel (3 Ditko, 2 Kirby), Kolah jungle girl (edited Fox Rulah) SOLD
SINISTER TALES #38 £200 Comic: FN Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #5 inc cover, ACG, Charlton SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: This week, a huge update to our stocks of Battle Picture Library, all post decimal issues, with over 80 issues added, mostly new to our listings and all in beautiful condition from a newsagent’s uncirculated stock, so never been read. Numbers range from #522 to #799. As always, please consult our catalogue for full details.

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: From the late 1960s, over 30 more issues of True Life Library (All In Pictures), between #566-600. Released right in the middle of ‘Swingin’ London’, the usual nurses, models and actresses are bolstered by somewhat more liberated heroines, including aviatrixes, monarchs and spies – oh my! With very accomplished art from mainly European illustrators, these are lovely items, their appeal enhanced by the fact that they are from a newsagent’s reserve stock, never sold or circulated, with white pages, bright covers and minimal or no discolouration in the staple areas, almost all are FN or better. Full details as always in our catalogue.
PICTURED: TRUE LIFE LIBRARY
#568 FN £6
#569 FN £6
#599 FN £6

*DC: Detective Comics celebrated its ground-breaking 400th issue with a lead tale drawn by the superlative Neal Adams – treat enough – but it also introduced a new arch-nemesis for the Caped Crusader in the shape of Kirk Langstrom, tormented scientist who became a half-human, half-bat hybrid in his quest for knowledge. Langstrom’s Jekyll & Hyde persona made him a sympathetic antagonist, and brought him back for many subsequent appearances in multiple media, making him, ironically, the best-known creation of veteran scripter Frank Robbins. Our latest pence-stamped copy is a bit of a train wreck, lots of small creases, and one long colour-breaking crease across the top quarter of the cover from centre top to centre right. Also the vestige of a subscription crease. Off top staple with a tear in that area with no loss. Small tear at top edge too and blunted, well-rubbed corners with very worn spine. Label removal scuff over Comics Code box. Central cover image relatively intact with, amazingly, some residual gloss and pages that aren’t too bad. It might fill a gap for you until you can find a better copy.
PICTURED: DETECTIVE COMICS #400 FA+ p £60

*Marvel: Lee & Kirby’s Fantastic Four added to its many innovations in 1966’s FF #52, when they introduced the first black super-hero in comics. Previously, the vanishingly rare heroic black characters in comics had been either embarrassing sidekicks or ‘noble savages’, but the Black Panther was the monarch of a highly sophisticated and technologically advanced African nation, Wakanda, and was to become not only one of the FF’s greatest allies, but a mainstay of their fellow heroes, the Avengers. Following his spectacular big-screen success, T’Challa’s earliest appearances have never been in higher demand, and following Marvel’s recent announcement that there will be no more Black Panther in the MCU, since the character will not be recast after the death of Chadwick Boseman, he now holds a unique place in Marvel movie history. Our latest copy is CGC 5.0, unrestored blue label, a pence printed copy, off-white to white pages and a totally undamaged case. 
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #52 CGC 5.0 VG/FN p £1000

*Marvel: The first 38 issues of Amazing Spider-Man, all drawn by Steve Ditko, remain amongst the most sought after of all Marvel comics, and we’re delighted to present three low grade and affordable examples this week, details as follows:
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ALL SOLD
#21 App GD p £35 Spidey Vs the Beetle guest-starring the Human Torch. Ad page out, story complete. Spine wear, creasing along bottom edge and back cover; 1 cm lower spine split. 
#22 GD+ p £50 The Clown & His Masters Of Menace; 1st Princess Python. Colour-breaking creases across top and bottom right cover corners. Centrefold loose with small tear at upper staple. Small label removal scuff over Comics Code box.
#24 FA/GD p £35 The Return of Mysterio. Spine very worn but mostly intact. Long colour-breaking crease down centre of cover; edge wear, particularly across the bottom.

*Marvel: From 1966, Daredevil #16 features a crossover with Spider-Man. At the time, John Romita was the regular artist on Daredevil and his depiction of the wall-crawler here was his first art on the character before he took over Amazing Spider-Man with issue #39. This pence printed copy is worn at the edges, with loose but attached staples and a tiny tear centre right edge. Blunted corners, but an unmarked cover apart from edge creases.
PICTURED: DAREDEVIL #16 FA/GD p £50 SOLD

*Marvel: We’re always pleased to add a new Marvel title to our catalogue and this week it’s the turn of Excalibur, which started life in 1988 as a home for Captain Britain and Megan, along with some of the more endearing characters from the X-Men. Many supporting characters and villains reappeared from the Marvel UK Captain Britain series and to start with, in the hands of Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, the comic had a distinctive, almost wacky edge that set it apart rather charmingly from the other ‘X’ titles of the time. We start with a high grade #1 and other issues up to #10; full details in our catalogue as always.
PICTURED: EXCALIBUR #1 NM- £25 SOLD