*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Dozens of issues of the hugely popular Schoolgirls’ Picture Library newly listed this week between #23 and #299. Most (though not all) are alternative copies of already listed issues in different grades, so if you were looking either for a nicer copy or a cheaper copy than what was already listed, there may be something for you!
PICTURED: SCHOOLGIRLS’ PICTURE LIBRARY
#143 VG £10
#178 FN £15
*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: What better author to resume the Books section following lockdown than with Philip K Dick, an author who specialised in surreal, hallucinogenic dystopias where the protagonist’s world is frequently turned upside down? He would have felt right at home during this strange time. But enough introduction, it’s time to let the books do the talking: we start with Lies, Inc., which has a convoluted back story of evolution from the novella The Unteleported Man. We continue with Now Wait For Last Year, The Crack In Space, The Divine Invasion, The Man In The High Castle, The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch, The Turning Wheel And Other Stories and The World Jones Made.
PICTURED:
LIES, INC. VG £5
THE WORLD JONES MADE VG £25
THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE GD/VG £15
*Clearance Corner: It’s been a funny year for holidays, hasn’t it? As the summer fades, we want to help prolong it for you with a selection of later Beano & Dandy Summer Specials. There’s 14 in this batch: 6 Beano (1991, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002), 7 Dandy (1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 #1) and, as a bonus, 1 Bash Street Kids from 1994. All in VF with one or two FN or VG. That’s about £100 value, yours for just £25 inc. free (UK only) postage to keep your summer rolling just a little bit longer! SOLD
Since we’re now trading by mail order only, it gives us the chance to maintain our catalogue even more accurately. All items sold since lockdown are now being deleted within a few days of sale. We are also working through our entire catalogue to delete those items that sold pre-lockdown since files were last updated. This means that as we finish updating a file, you can rely on the catalogue for that category being (and staying) as close to 100% accurate as it is possible to get, with virtually everything available, apart from items sold in the last few days (and just a tiny amount of human error). We have now completed this exercise for the following category from our British section:
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics E-S
All categories down to this point in our Catalogue Index have now been Super-Housekept! We will continue to post here as we make progress.
*DC: A high grade for such a vintage Batman this week, a great-looking CGC 7.5 (VF-) copy of Batman #94 from 1955, Universal grade, blue label unrestored. With a dynamic Win Mortimer cover and three mystery stories (including one where Alfred plays Batman), this lovely item also has the distinction of being the earliest issue of Batman we have in stock at time of writing.
PICTURED: BATMAN #94 CGC 7.5 £350
*DC: Long time followers of our ramblings will know by now what great affection Will and I both have for the Inferior Five — I just wish they’d gone on for longer! You can read Will’s Lockdown article on this famed group at this link: The Short but Brilliant Life of the Inferior Five. We’re blessed this week to have not just their first three try-outs in Showcase, but also the first five issues of their ongoing series — all the best ones in fact! All together now: ‘We are the Five, the Inferior Five – we are not very hot but we try…’
PICTURED: SHOWCASE #62 VG+ £13.25 SOLD
*DC: A consecutive run of 100 Page Batman Giants between #254 & #261 new in this week. An excellent period this for the Caped Crusader: not only do you get a brand new story each issue, many of them featuring a classic villain such as the Joker, Penguin, Two-Face and Catwoman, plus the debut of Arkham Asylum and a guest shot by the Shadow, but you also get a whole load of classic Batman reprints from the 1940s to the 1960s, including many classic and favourite stories. A wealth of great reading at bargainaceous prices! See our catalogue for full details.
*Marvel: One of the later breakout characters of Marvel, Frank Castle, aka bereaved urban vigilante the Punisher, became one of the company’s super-stars in the 1990s, but had spent most of the previous two decades ‘bubbling under’ as a guest-starring anti-hero. His media presence – and commercial appeal – has been heightened by numerous film and TV appearances. The Punisher’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129, February 1974, is particularly rare in the UK, where, owing to the presence of Spider-Man Comics Weekly, the US title was embargoed for distribution for several years. This is a cents copy (there are no pence copies, of course), tight and flat with cover gloss, without marks, creases or handling wear. Excellent page quality with just the tiniest bit of corner blunting. We’ve graded it down because there’s about 5 mm of white spine showing (see scan), where the cover has been printed slightly to the right of centre; some people find this an off-putting defect, although others don’t mind. It should be noted that the staples are centred exactly where they should be at the edge of the spine and are firmly attached at spine and centrefold, so the comic opens exactly as it should. As such, this represents a chance to get an otherwise high grade copy of a key issue on which prices are consistently rising. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129 FN/VF £775
*Marvel: Following his 1976 return to Marvel, the legendary Jack Kirby was anxious not to get trapped in the cycle of just illustrating super-heroes again, and one of his conditions was that he would be allowed to write and draw his own concepts. How much of the Eternals concept was his is, politely, open to debate; reminiscent of the then-popular Erich Von Daniken paperbacks, which asserted that mankind’s historical ‘Gods’ were alien visitors, Kirby’s Eternals postulated the return of ancient immortal extraterrestrials and the cataclysmic repercussions for humanity. Originally intended to stand apart from the Marvel Universe, it was shoehorned in at editorial insistence, which resulted in Kirby eventually abandoning the strip mid-story, but with the confirmation of an Eternals movie – with Angelina Jolie, Selma Hayek and Game of Thrones star Richard Madden, among others – this series is heating up! This is a lovely high grade copy of their debut issue.
PICTURED: ETERNALS #1 VF+ p £75 SOLD
*Marvel: Two science-fiction based super-teams long associated with the X-Men are the Imperial Guard and the Starjammers, and both, oddly, were the result of artist Dave Cockrum’s impatience. Cockrum had illustrated a critically acclaimed and successful run of DC’s Legion of Super-heroes, but following altercations with editor Murray Boltinoff, Cockrum quit the Legion and DC to co-create the ‘New’ X-Men. By way of cocking a snook at DC, Dave came up with a suspiciously similar team of alien super-heroes, the Imperial Guard, each one of which was a (just barely) non-litigious clone of a Legionnaire. Similarly, the Starjammers had been created by Cockrum for a solo tryout in Marvel Premiere or Marvel Spotlight, but on being told those books’ schedules were filled years in advance, Cockrum offered the band of space pirates to X-Men scripter Chris Claremont, who bolted on a retconned relationship to an X-Man and threw them into the mix. This issue saw the first full appearance of both teams (the Starjammers having done the ‘enigmatic cameo’ bit since #104), taking the cast list – never forgetting our mutant heroes – to around 50, for a full-on free-for-all! A nice high grade copy available here, with just minor stress marks at spine precluding a higher grade.
PICTURED: X-MEN #107 VF £90 SOLD
*Marvel: Strange Tales from the 1960s is sought after for myriad reasons, most often because of the dynamic, cinematic artwork of Jim Steranko, who brought a freshness to spy saga Nick Fury and The Agents of SHIELD which tapped perfectly into the zeitgeist of the era. But that doesn’t apply in this instance. No, the hoo and the hah this time is for the Marie Severin illustrated Doctor Strange co-feature, and more specifically for the Living Tribunal, a cosmic entity whose power outstrips the Watcher and may even match that of Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet! For years a relatively small part of Marvel’s cosmic tapestry, the Tribunal’s prominence has increased with his (its?) greater involvement in sundry cosmic sagas, to the point where interest in his early appearances is at its keenest. Strange Tales #158, with the first full Tribunal and his first cover appearance is a nice mid-grade copy, with deep colour cover, nice page quality and tight, firmly attached staples. There is some creasing along the spine and a couple of colour-breaking creases across the bottom right corner. (Only) in the right light, you can see a vestigial remnant of a circular mark at the bottom of the logo.
PICTURED: STRANGE TALES #158 VG+ p £50 SOLD
*Marvel: Spidey comes up against his most infamous foe, the Green Goblin, once again in Amazing Spider-Man #98, masterfully handled by Stan Lee & Gil Kane. This issue was famously not approved by the Comics Code Authority due to the drug pushing nature of the sub-plot. A lovely superior graded copy, pence stamped, tight and glossy, with good staples, white to off-white pages and sharp corners. The only defects are a couple of small creases at the spine above the upper staple and one very small one across the top right corner; none of them colour-breaking.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #98 VF p £75
*Marvel: Another of our very popular round-ups of Marvel #1 issues from the 1970s and later. This time we have Marvel Two-In-One #1, Moon Knight #1, Quasar #1, Shanna the She-Devil #1, Super-Villain Team-Up #1 and Wolverine #1 (ongoing 1988). Full grading and pricing information, as always, in our catalogue.
PICTURED:
SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #1 VF £35
WOLVERINE #1 FN/VF £23
*Marvel: I suspect the love ’em or loathe ’em tendency with Transformers depends on your age. If you grew up with them in the 1980s, I’m sure you’re fondly remembering and maybe even collecting them today. What better place to start then than their first comic appearance in Transformers #1 from Marvel May 1984, a few months before the UK sister title got underway in September. Originally intended as a four part mini-series, it was such a hit that it spawned an 80 issue series in the US. This debut issue is a lovely VF+, tight and flat, glossy and sharp, with just a very thin soft crease at the top right corner stopping a higher grade.
PICTURED: TRANSFORMERS #1 VF+ £70
*Marvel: A consecutive run of Amazing Spider-Man Annuals this week, from #3 to #10. #3-5 & #10 feature new material (#5 is a second printing), while #6-9 have classic reprints of early Spideys (NB #6 reprints Annual #1 with the debut of the Sinister Six) and are less commonly seen in the UK.
*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Another of Avon’s one-shot science fiction offerings, this one from 1951 adapts a Ray Cummings novel, ‘Tarrano the Conqueror’. Beneath an action-packed but (it has to be said) otherwise undistinguished Gene Fawcette cover, a feast of classic art and retro sci-fi romp awaits you. The main story is pencilled by Carmine Infantino; Joe Kubert contributes a dynamic inside front cover and inks the first chapter; Wally Wood adds the back-up horror story. All names to conjure with in the comic art Hall of Fame. This is a bright copy, with rich colour and a small amount of spine and edge wear, including where a few narrow chips are missing along the top and bottom edges, but nothing horrible or spoiling. Good tight staples and nice off-white pages. There is a slight vestige of a faint subscription crease down the centre, but it is hardly noticeable and does not break colour. One of the iconic classics of the period.
PICTURED: ATTACK ON PLANET MARS VG- £195
*Western: The Two-Gun Kid’s career had been running successfully at Atlas/Marvel, in his own title and others, for a considerable time as a blond, guitar-wielding peripatetic troubadour, but Lee & Kirby, apparently having a spare afternoon one day, decided to reinvent the character. With issue #60 of Two-Gun Kid, the old version was gone, and in his place was Matt Hawk, mild-mannered Western lawyer, who when he couldn’t achieve justice in the courtroom, donned a mask and fought the good fight as the Two-Gun Kid! The adventures of the former TGK were hand-waved away as pulp stories which ‘inspired’ Matt Hawk, and the new version, with his secret identity, supporting cast and fixed locale, fit much more into the Marvel Comics template than his dated predecessor. Matt Hawk went on to a lengthy career and thanks to the magic of comics science, even made brief sojourns to the present day, joining the Avengers for a time (but then who hasn’t?). Presumably owing to a production error (perhaps there was some pre-production debate as to whether the ‘new’ version should be #60 or #1, undecided until virtually the last minute?) there are two known versions of this issue’s cover. One is printed with an evidently handwritten issue number and one with a mechanically-generated issue number. This is the scarcer version, with the handwritten number printed on the cover. This copy of the New Two-Gun Kid’s debut is a superior FN- p copy, with rich colour cover, white to off-white pages and tight, firmly attached staples. There are a few stress marks at the spine and soft creases at the top left, bottom right and across the lower cover, but these are almost all non-colour breaking; a copy with great eye appeal that presents well. We also have #61 & #62, the Kid’s 2nd and 3rd issues, new in and listed in our catalogue.
PICTURED: TWO-GUN KID #60 FN- p £325 SOLD
*Alan Class Reprints: Five more plate sets from the Alan Class Private Collection, each one reprinting a story from the Silver Age of Marvel’s super-heroes – in most cases, as previously remarked, the first reprinting of these classic tales, very shortly after their first release! All five sets feature, in addition to publisher Alan Class’s file copies of the comics, a number of lead printing plate sets originally used in production, plus a hand-signed Certificate of authenticity from Alan Class himself, with the odd extra too! All sets are supplied in a plastic presentation/display case.
Secrets of the Unknown #106 reprints Nick Fury, Agent Of Shield #6 (Steranko cover) and has three plates; Secrets Of The Unknown #108 reprints Daredevil #45 & #46 and has five plates (including 1 duplicate); Suspense #31 reprints the 3rd Iron Man story from Tales Of Suspense #41 and has 3 plates, Suspense #108 reprints Silver Surfer #10 and has 2 plates plus a double-sided cover proof; Uncanny Tales #59 reprints Avengers #54 (1st Ultron cameo) and has 4 plates plus a double-sided cover proof. All comic images shown below with the grade of the comics shown as enclosed in the set.
PICTURED:
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN #106 VG+ £40
SECRETS OF THE UNKNOWN #108 GD/VG £35
SUSPENSE #31 FN- £40
SUSPENSE #108 VG £35
UNCANNY TALES #59 FN/VF £50 SOLD
*Marvel UK: In 1976, Marvel UK’s first attempt to generate a British-based super-hero was placed into the hands of Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, whose comic-opera interpretation of the UK has become a source of hilarity for generations. But after a shaky start, CB became inextricably linked with the mainstream Marvel Universe, not least because of his psychic sister, Betsy, who – years later and after many, many changes – turned Japanese and became the X-Men’s scantily-clad ninja mind-warrior Psylocke. As you do. This is Betsy’s first appearance in Captain Britain Weekly #8, a copy in VF condition; the rather flimsy stock of the Marvel UK weeklies has endured well in this instance, with no creases or marks, tight and flat with an excellent staple (it’s never had an upper staple), no delivery name or address or any other writing, and the puzzle page (often completed, to the later chagrin of collectors) is pristine and untouched. Beautiful white to off-white pages and sharp corners. The only (tiny) blemish is a minute nick at the bottom edge about 10 mm in from the spine, but you have to look really hard to see it. You don’t see as many copies of this surviving so well.
PICTURED: CAPTAIN BRITAIN #8 VF £200 SOLD
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Two very different comics in this week’s Boys’ Free Gift Farrago. The 5th issue of Scorcher (7/2/70) came with ‘My Favourite Soccer Stars’ album and a sheet of 8 full colour photos to stick in it. Our copy is a stunning VF with the gift (complete with uncut photo cards an immaculate NM. Warlord #69 (17/1/76) was issued with a ‘Warlord Dagger Badge’ and our copy is VG, mostly because of the ink stacking defect quite common in this series, where an imprint of the back cover of one issue is shown to varying degrees on the front cover of the one is was stacked on before the ink was dry. The Free Gift is a nice VF still in its original unopened envelope.
PICTURED:
SCORCHER 7/2/70 VF WITH FREE GIFT NM £35 SOLD
WARLORD #69 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £30 SOLD
*Boy’s Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A chunky update to this popular category this week, featuring a wide range of titles and material, including several less often seen series: Attack Picture Library Holiday Specials, Battleground, Conflict, Cowboy Picture Library, Gemini 2000 Picture Library (#2), Lion Picture Library, Pecos Bill Western Picture Library, Pocket War Library, Pocket Western Library, Private-Eye Picture Stories, Sabre Library, Thriller Picture Library and Western Library Holiday Special. Mostly pre-decimal issues.
*TV & Film Related Comics: Countdown started out as very much the sucessor to TV 21, showcasing as it did Gerry Anderson series such as Lady Penelope, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, UFO and the Secret Service. But it also had Dr Who as well, and the cream of British artistic talent: John Burns, Gerry Haylock, Frank Langford, Don Harley and others. Issues #3 and #4 new in this week, both with their original Free Gifts: a set of four Space Stamps on uncut sheets to collect and stick into the album presented with the first issue.
PICTURED: COUNTDOWN
#3 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £35 SOLD
#4 VF WITH FREE GIFT VF £40 SOLD
*Girls’ Comics: To add to the fun, Fleetway not only published Holiday Specials for June & School Friend, but in 1968-1970, they published Special Extra issues as well in the same format: 96 pages of stories, features, fun and adventure with Bessie Bunter and many of the regular strips from the comic. Vanishingly rare, we almost never see these and fortunately, the conditions of all three here are more than reasonable. 1968 is FN, with slight front cover edge fading (margins only), 1969 is VG, with a back cover tear (nothing missing) and slight looseness at staples, 1970 is FN.
PICTURED: JUNE & SCHOOL FRIEND SPECIAL EXTRA
1968 FN £90
1969 VG £75 SOLD
1970 FN £90 SOLD
*Girls’ Picture Libraries: A round dozen of Pearson’s Picture Romance Library new in this week between #13 (1957) and #96 (1959). These feature beautiful painted covers and accomplished interior art. See our catalogue for full grading and pricing information.
PICTURED: PICTURE ROMANCE LIBRARY
#38 FN £12
#93 VG £9
*Clearance Corner: Fans of Good Girl Art need look no further, provided that the girl is a dog, of course. Lassie, first appearing in the 1940s, is the star of radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels and other media. Hugely popular in the 1940s to the 1960s, the famous Collie had long-running comic series, first from Dell and then Gold Key, mostly with wonderfully painted covers and often accomplished interior art, including 2 issues in this selection by Matt Baker. This lot consists of 21 issues (19 Dell, 2 Gold key) between #6 (1952) and #68. Condition averages VG+, with many better and no dogs (if you pardon the pun). Overstreet Price Guide value on these is in excess of £160 — on offer here for just £35 including free (UK only) postage.
*DC: 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. This is a low grade pence stamped copy with some long colour-breaking cover creases, edge wear and corner blunting, off lower staple at front only. Cover image is okay, colour is good and page quality nice.
PICTURED: DETECTIVE COMICS #359 GD- p £180
*DC: The House Of Mystery entry into DC’s tabloid range is a wonderful package; not only do you get seven superb stories by the very best of 1940s horror artists: Neal Adams, Bernie Wrighson, Gil Kane, Alex Toth, Jack Sparling and Segio Aragones (!), with their art on wonderful display in this tabloid size, but it’s also chock-full of games, cartoons, a 3D mystery cut-out, features and pin-ups. This VG+ copy has some spine wear and stress marks (black background) and some tanning on the inside covers, the odd crease and small scuff or two, but isn’t at all in bad shape. An uncommon item.
PICTURED: LIMITED COLLECTORS’ EDITION C23 VG+ £25 SOLD
*DC: A smattering of some of our favourite DC Silver Age titles new in this week, featuring the following titles: Atom (#4), Hawkman (#19), a quartet of Mystery in Space with Adam Strange (#62, #64, #76 & #82), Strange Adventures (#157), Superman (#159) and Wonder Woman (#145).
*Marvel: Flush with success at the dawn of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee had an epiphany: if Iron Man, Thor and company were successful on their own – how much better would they be together? Thus was born the Avengers, in which Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp were brought together by the fiendish machinations of Loki and an heroic dynasty began which continues to this day! The Avengers has lasted myriad issues, with a plethora of spin-offs, and a veritable regiment of members (not to mention an extremely lucrative movie franchise), but this is the comic in which it all began! Make no mistake — this copy is a wreck: extreme spine roll, cover fading, browning, heavy edge wear, off top staple light interior staining; the right and bottom edges in particular are very heavily worn and creased. We don’t have a grade lower than poor, but otherwise this might qualify. And now the good news — it’s all complete! High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: AVENGERS #1 PR p £500
*Marvel: Your chance to grab a couple of Ditko classic issues of Amazing Spider-Man this week, preserved in plastic by CGC and in nice grades, both pence priced (or UK Price Variant, as CGC call ’em). #35 features the second appearance of the Molten Man, and #36 has the debut and origin of the Looter (known then as the Meteor Man). As time goes by, the desirability of the Ditko Spideys causes prices and demand to constantly rise, and Ditko’s work has never been better than on these issues.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#35 CGC 7.5 VF- p £135 SOLD
#36 CGC 7.0 FN/VF p £85 SOLD
*Marvel: Well, everyone at Marvel gets their own movie, eh? Even being dead doesn’t appear to have stopped the clairvoyant precog Madame Web from having a film in development, and thus her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #210 has piqued in interest and accumulated value in the last year. We have a VF+ copy, with just a few minor stress marks preventing an even higher grade. Tight, flat and glossy and now an amazing 40 years old!
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #210 VF+ £75
*Marvel: A bumper bundle of Spidey this week, with every issue featured between #326 and #360. Many Venom appearances including #332, #333, #346, #347 (classic cover), plus the nascent Carnage — but how can that be, you ask, when Carnage didn’t appear until #361? Ah, but Kletus Casady (the man who would be Carnage) made a cameo appearance in #344 and a full appearance in #345, and Carnage himself made a cameo in #360. Plus of course a veritable army of Spidey’s friends and foes too numerous to mention.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #347 VF/NM £35
*Marvel: 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. Not a great copy, pence priced with slightly more than moderate wear and some corner creasing and blunting; staples are okay and page quality isn’t bad. One page has a small strip out of the margin which doesn’t affect the story.
PICTURED: X-MEN #5 GD- p £85
*Marvel: From the latter years of Lee & Kirby’s time on Marvel’s flagship title, the Fantastic Four, a new selection fresh in within the range #73-100, all previously missing from our listings. Joe Sinnott’s fine inking lends a dynamic clarity to Kirby’s pencils in this period. All pence copies in nice mid-grades, with the anniversary issue #100 being a nice VF- at £39.
*Miscellaneous 1960 Onwards: I’ve waxed lyrical about Mike Barr’s wonderful fair play whodunnit series the Maze Agency during our lockdown interlude and you can read my thoughts at this link: The Maze Agency: Detective Fiction In Comic Form (with Adam Hughes) Suffice it for now to say that we have three issues new in, all with Adam Hughes covers, including possibly the most sought after, #13, with Jennifer as Justice Girl.
PICTURED: THE MAZE AGENCY ALL SOLD
#7 VG+ £5
#10 NM £7.50
#13 FN £10
*Horror 1940-1959: Four consecutive issues of Avon’s Eerie in our Fest this week, from #4-7. A stylish and superior horror comic from the early 1950s, these issues feature two covers by Wally Wood (#4 & #5), and one (#7) with a Wood/Orlando cover and interior art by Joe Kubert. This was always a good-looking title, with evocative preludes in moody black and white on the inner front covers. #4 has a chip missing at top of spine and a few chips out upper edge; #5 has the previous owner’s name written on the cover heroine’s forearm and breast, but otherwise a very nice copy; #6 has quite a worn spine, but okay in other respects; #7 is nice and sharp, with a small crescent tear near spine (nothing missing).
PICTURED: EERIE
#4 FA/GD £120
#5 VG- £225 SOLD
#6 GD/VG £200
#7 FN- £250 SOLD
*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: By its tenth issue, Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan’s highly acclaimed run on Tomb of Dracula was in full swing, racking up plaudits from critics and fans alike, when suddenly there came a character who was to outstrip even the success of his comic book ‘parent’. Blade the Vampire Slayer debuted in issue #10, and, numerous comic-book appearances and a highly successful movie trilogy (Marvel’s first such, in fact) behind him, remains one of the more enduring breakthrough characters of the 1970s. With the Blade franchise shortly about to be ‘rebooted’, in the media’s voracious frenzy for new properties, Blade’s early appearances are once more spiralling upward. This pence priced debut issue is lowish grade with cover creases (inc some small colour-breaking ones across the bottom right cover), slight spine roll and minor corner blunting; staples are okay, page quality not too bad (a couple of pages dog-eared and a small strip off one page margin only). Not a great copy, but if you want a great copy, we have one listed in VF+ — see our catalogue for details. Also: #13, the origin of Blade in a nice VF with just a couple of soft creases at the spine and #58 (Blade fights alone) in NM-, with just a minor spine stress.
PICTURED: TOMB OF DRACULA
#10 GD p £200 SOLD
#13 VF £80
#58 NM- £35
*Memorabilia & Esoterica: There’s no more iconic British comics character than Dennis the Menace, so we’re pleased as Punch to present, from around 1993, a large Dennis Fan Club Badge and membership card holder (NB no membership card). The badge is a fully functional VF and the holder a nice FN.
PICTURED: DENNIS THE MENACE FAN CLUB BADGE & CARD HOLDER £10
*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: Len Miller was the premier UK publisher of ‘faux’ American-sized British comics in the 1950s and early 1960s. He published a wide range of material, both original and US reprint, perhaps most famously Marvelman and Young Marvelman. Although succeeded by Alan Class, there was a period in the early 1960s where both publishers overlapped and some of Miller’s titles (Mystic, Spellbound, Voodoo and Zombie) closely resembled the type of content also being used by Alan Class, reprinting Atlas, pre-hero Marvel and other early horror, with occasional forays into the Marvel Super-Hero Universe. We have examples of all this in this week’s selection of Spellbound between issues #5 & #64. Notably there are lots of Jack Kirby Big Panty Monster covers and stories, plus some Marvel reprints (#44 reprints Fantastic Four #7, #50 reprints the Torch & Thing story from Strange Tales #116) and, singularly, a 1950s Human Torch reprint from Young Men #24 in issue #42.
PICTURED: SPELLBOUND
#42 FN £35 SOLD
#44 GD/VG £20 SOLD
#50 FN £40 SOLD
*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: The Fleetway Super Library series are hugely popular and eminently collectable, none more so than the series which started out as ‘Fantastic’, then changed to ‘Stupendous’ with #3. Original bumper-length stories of two of Fleetway’s most popular characters alternated: The Spider & The Steel Claw. We have four editions new in. Judging by the number of times we get asked for these, we don’t imagine they’ll hang around for long!
PICTURED: FLEETWAY FANTASTIC/STUPENDOUS SERIES: ALL SOLD
#2 GD/VG £20
#7 VG £15
#10 VG/FN £17.50
#13 VG/FN £17.50
*TV & Film Related Comics: Following on from our 1st issue of Candy with Free Gift a few weeks ago, we’re happy to have two more issues to offer, also with their Free Gifts: #23 (VG) has the Free Gift (VF) of Candy’s Magic Toyshop (build it yourself by pressing out elements from the card enclosed, which is totally intact) and #34 (FA, with a severe spine split half-way down) also has a VF Free Gift, the Winnie the Pooh Pyramid Hoop-La, with original rubber band still intact!). There really can’t be too many of these around with Gifts present — we’ve never seen them before in over 25 years.
PICTURED: CANDY BOTH SOLD
#23 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £40
#34 FA WITH FREE GIFT VF £30
*Girls’ Comics: By 1971, Diana was evolving into a more pop-orientated comic than it had hitherto been. Although, as the cover proclaimed, it was still ‘the paper for girls who love good stories’, that same cover also proclaimed ‘8 pages of super pop’. We have two consecutive issues from February of that year, both with smashing Free Gifts. #417 (VG) has the Diana Key Ring (VF), still in its unopened envelope. #418 (FN) has the ‘Dress-Me Doll’ figure complete with sheet of outfits totally intact (FN/VF due to slight creasing on the doll card). Go on, you know you want them!
PICTURED: DIANA BOTH SOLD
#417 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £35
#418 FN WITH FREE GIFT FN/VF £35
*Girls’ Comics: An update from the last two years of this famous title, Princess Tina from 1972 and Tina (the Princess was dropped) from 1973, towards the end of its run and just before the merger with Pink. We’ve been working our way through a collection of these, and this is the very last of them, at least until we get some more!
PICTURED: PRINCESS TINA 23/12/72 (Christmas issue) FN £8
*Clearance Corner: We’re clearing out a batch of Gerry Anderson memorabilia this week. From 1987, a Fanderson (fan club) introductory membership pack, consisting of newsletter, 2 slick multi-image posters, 1 large poster of 4 scenes, 4 photos (Space 1999, Terrahawks, Supercar, Gerry Anderson), associated merchandise lists and member announcements. Also included is an unused Letts TV 21 Diary from 1970, chock-full of colour and black and white photos from the shows. Finally, there’s three issues of Action 21, the comic from 1988 that reprinted the best colour strips from TV 21 on slick paper. All this, previously on sale at £55, can be yours for just £25, including free (UK only) postage. SOLD
Since we’re now trading by mail order only, it gives us the chance to maintain our catalogue even more accurately. All items sold since lockdown are now being deleted within a few days of sale. We are also working through our entire catalogue to delete those items that sold pre-lockdown since files were last updated. This means that as we finish updating a file, you can rely on the catalogue for that category being (and staying) as close to 100% accurate as it is possible to get, with virtually everything available, apart from items sold in the last few days (and just a tiny amount of human error). We have now completed this exercise for the following category from our British section:
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics A-D
All categories down to this point in our Catalogue Index have now been Super-Housekept! We will continue to post here as we make progress.
*DC: …or central City, anyway… Following strong sales, we’re pleased to be able to top up our stocks of Silver/Bronze Age Flash. This update runs from issues between #129 and #271 and highlights include #129 (2nd Golden Age Flash team-up and 1st Silver Age JSA flashback cameo), #130 (classic whodunnit cover with gauntlet of super-villains), #137 (with Golden Age Flash and 1st proper JSA cameo), a couple of giants (#187 & #213), tussles with Captain Cold, the Trickster, Heatwave, Grodd and lots more. Consult our catalogue listing for full details.
PICTURED: FLASH #130 VG/FN p £46
*DC: Plenty of Batman issues in our regular Batmania fix this week: starting with a low grade #130, we move to a near complete run between #216 & #233, highlights of which include Giant issues #218, #223, #228 & #223, Neal Adams art in #219 and the debut of the Ten-Eyed Man in #226. Full details in our catalogue.
*Marvel: ‘Does the Green Goblin Look Cute To You?…’ The rather twee opening line of the blurb on Amazing Spider-Man #14’s cover heralded the first appearance of Spider-Man’s most dastardly and persistent enemy – his ‘Joker’, so to speak. The sinister and malevolent Green Goblin has plagued Spider-Man ever since, causing chaos, destruction and the deaths of some of Spidey’s most beloved friends, and this masterwork by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko is where his villainous career kicked off. And guest-starring the Hulk to boot! This is a beautiful FN- pence printed copy of a comic which is continually rising in value, clean, flat and glossy, with tight and firmly-attached staples and deep, rich colours. There is a little corner blunting and very minor edge wear and the tiniest corner off the bottom right corner edge (you can see this best in the splash image below); nice page quality and a copy that presents very well. High resolution images are available on request. We also have a very decent #17 (the Goblin’s second appearance) VG+ pence printed; guest-starring the Human Torch. Glossy with deep, rich colours, tight, firmly-attached staples and minor edge wear and corner blunting, nice page quality, but with a couple of small colour-breaking creases across the edge of the bottom right corner and a 0.5 cm tear in that area.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
#14 FN- p £1,300 (COVER, BACK AND SPLASH)
#17 VG+ p £150 SOLD
*Marvel: This early Lee & Kirby classic saw the introduction of one of the Fantastic Four’s nemeses, the malevolent Mad Thinker! A strategic genius, criminal mastermind and brilliant scientist in multiple fields, the Thinker’s intellect is believed to be the equal of Reed Richards himself. Despite being a thorn in the collective sides of the FF and multiple other Marvel heroes, the Thinker’s background and origin remained entirely unexplored for more than half a century. Also premiering here, the Thinker’s Awesome Android, initially just a near-mindless artificial henchperson, who over the years blossomed into an endearing supporting character as a co-worker of the She-Hulk in her later series. No, really. This is apparently a beautiful copy, minor wear at cover corners, but a lovely bright yellow cover background colour completely unmarred (NB pence stamped), firm staples, some trace of Marvel chipping at upper right cover edge not harming the main cover image at all. The problem with it is the interior; on three pages, there is a vertical tear of about 12 cm (about half a page) up from the centre of the lower edge, although nothing is missing. Overall we have graded it as VG- to take account of that, whereas superficially it’s around FN.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #15 VG- p £100
*Marvel: The Claremont & Cockrum New X-Men was already a critical hit when #101 turned up, and in a dramatic turn of events, Jean Grey, former weak sister of the team, was elavated into a powerhouse when a cosmic ray storm seemed to transform her into the entity known as Phoenix – and a major, ultimately tragic, story arc for the X-Men began. The legend was somewhat tarnished in later years by Marvel’s back & forth position on whether Jean actually was the Phoenix, or whether the Phoenix force just manifested itself in her form (with a swingin’ new costume), but nevertheless, this remains a key and highly sought after issue. This pence priced copy is nice, with minor edge wear and a small soft ‘dink’ at bottom spine; there is also a very soft crease down the back cover, but it remains glossy and shiny with tight staples and lovely off-white pages.
PICTURED: X-MEN #101 FN/VF p £180
