*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A new selection of high grade Commando Picture Libraries fresh into stock in the number range from #479 to #529. Almost every issue present and nearly all VF, with just a handful falling lower. There’s no doubt that Commando is the most famous and longest lasting Picture Library of them all (still going strong today, nearly 60 years after issue #1!)

*Girls’ Comics: Two consecutive 1969 issues of Bunty with Free Gifts, in one of the perennial attempts to revitalise the readership. Issue #615 is in Fine condition, clean and flat, with the ‘Book of Me and My Friends’ gift in generally excellent shape but with sadly rusty staples, so we’ve compromised on FN. Issue #616 is VG – there’s a bit of cover distortion from the Free Gift – the frankly creepy ‘Jolly Dolly’ – having been stored inside its pages for decades – but the gift itself is VF, still in original polythene envelope.
PICTURED: BUNTY
#615 FN WITH FREE GIFT FN £40 SOLD
#616 VG WITH FREE GIFT VF £40 SOLD

*Comic Strip Books: We’re very pleased to offer three books collecting classic Stan Lee Marvel stories. Doctor Strange has a Frank Brunner cover and Steve Ditko interior art, reprinting the first 18 original Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales. The Amazing Spider-Man has Ditko art throughout and reprints the Web-slinger’s debut from Amazing Fantasy #15 and stories from Amazing Spider-Man #1 – 6. Finally, The Fantastic Four has Jack Kirby interior art and reprints Fantastic Four #1 – 6. All three have introductions from Stan Lee and are in VG/FN condition; full colour throughout.
PICTURED:
DOCTOR STRANGE VG/FN £18 SOLD
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VG/FN £10 SOLD
THE FANTASTIC FOUR VG/FN £10 SOLD

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Short story collections are always popular, so we’ve added more than a dozen examples of collections by some of the best SF authors. James Blish contributes Galactic Cluster, James Gunn Future Imperfect and Clifford Simak provides Aliens For Neighbours. Thera are three from John Brunner (No Future In It, Now Then and Out Of My Mind), four from Keith Laumer (Nine By Laumer, Galactic Diplomat, Retief: Emissary To The Stars and Retief Of The CDT) and six from Robert Silverberg (Born With The Dead, Earth’s Other Shadow, Needle In A Timestack, The Best Of Robert Silverberg, To Worlds Beyond and Unfamiliar Territory). With reviews including ‘Blish’s starkly realistic stories mirror the perils of the world of the future .. – where scientists can master the intricacies of space travel … yet cannot control man’s worst instincts’ (Galactic Cluster), ‘9 dazzling short stories’ (Nine By Laumer), ‘rich in that engaging ingenuity which Simak’s innumerable fans know so well’ (Aliens For Neighbours) and a brilliantly grudging endorsement of Robert Silverberg from Isaac Asimov (To Worlds Beyond), these all come highly recommended.
PICTURED:
JOHN BRUNNER  NOW THEN VG £4
KEITH LAUMER  RETIEF: EMISSARY TO THE STARS VG £5
ROBERT SILVERBERG  TO WORLDS BEYOND VG/FN £7
CLIFFORD D SIMAK ALIENS FOR NEIGHBOURS VG £7

This is an early Silver Age Collection from an original owner notable for the freshness and vibrancy of the cover colours and page quality; even those with minor reading and handling wear are vastly superior to the majority of comics that have been in circulation since the 1960s. The average grade is well above Fine, with many much nicer.

We’ll be adding selections from this collection for sale here each week across the range of titles represented. These will be over a range of prices each week to suit most budgets, so that all interested collectors have an opportunity to purchase something from this special collection. Each comic will come branded with a special label and certificate of authenticity verifying it as part of the Square Mile Collection. Here’s this week’s:

*Marvel: A nice consecutive run of Spidey this update from Amazing Spider-Man #103 to #120. THis run starts off with an adventure with Kraven the Hunter in  the Hidden Land  (#103-104), and amongst others takes in a guest shot by Dr. Strange (#109), the debut of the Gibbon (#110), the Hammerhead/Doc Ock gang war (#113-115) and finishes up with a two-part tussle with the Hulk in #119-120. Many high grade copies (VF or better) included; full details as always in our catalogue.

*DC: When DC decided to spotlight their magical characters in a four issue Prestige Format mini-series, negotiations with the original writer, J.M. DeMatteis, happily fell through. We say ‘happily’ because then-newcomer Neil Gaiman got the gig, and created an everyman character, young Timothy Hunter, who over the course of four successive volumes, each drawn by an A List artist – John Bolton, Scott Hampton, Charles Vess and Paul Johnson) was mentored by, in succession, the Phantom Stranger, John Constantine, Doctor Occult and Mister E. Along the way, multiple other magic-based characters appeared, and the result was a dense and richly layered fantasy, as Tim decides whether to embrace or defy his destiny to be the world’s greatest magician. This is available as a complete set, in VF/NM condition.
PICTURED: BOOKS OF MAGIC #1 VF/NM; COMPLETE SET #1-4 AV. VF/NM £30 SOLD

*DC/Marvel: A light top-up to our stocks of DC/Marvel co-produced material, featuring the two Spider-Boy Amalgam issues ands a complete 4 issue run of DC/Marvel All Access plus issues from JLA/Avengers and Unlimited Access.

*Marvel: While we yield to no one in our regard for Steve Ditko as the ‘proper’ Spider-Man artist, we have to concede that John Romita did a cracking job when he took over, redefining the character for the Swingin’ Sixties – and Jazzy Johnny’s background as a romance artist certainly didn’t hurt when it came to drawing Peter Parker’s own ‘Betty & Veronica’, Gwen and Mary Jane! Issue #39 marked Romita’s first as illustrator, and he dove right in, making the character his own, and creating a cover scene which is almost as often ‘homaged’ as his famous Spidey #50 cover! #39 and #40 constituted a two-part confrontation with the Green Goblin and firmly established Romita’s tenure on the title. Both parts of this epic are back in stock; #39 is a VG+ copy, with excellent cover colour and minimal edge wear, only prevented from a higher grade by a Book Centre Stamp on the cover background, just above our trussed-up hero. #40 is VG+ p, light corner and edge wear and a pen slash through the cover price box, but again unmarred cover scene with vivid colour.
PICTURED: AMAZING SPIDER_MAN
#39 VG+ £90
#40 VG+ p £70

*Marvel: In 1970, Marvel tried something risky and different, quite aside from their familiar super-hero stable; at the urging of writer Roy Thomas, they put out a sword & sorcery title adapting the Robert E. Howard stories of Conan the Barbarian, and, bucking the trend, it was a smash hit – thanks in no small part to the illustration of Barry (not-yet-Windsor) Smith, a talented young British artist who gave the most famous Cimmerian of all grace and feral power, filling Conan’s world with mystery, menace and beauty as monsters and maidens competed for our hero’s attentions. Another fantasy comics star made her debut in Conan #23 (Feb 1973), when Conan encountered Red Sonja, a female brigand and adventurer who was every bit his equal – even though Marvel missed a step by not cover-featuring her! Sonja rapidly caught the public’s imagination and spun off into her own series. More than four decades later, both continue their comic book careers today, Conan back in the Bullpen after a long sojourn at Dark Horse, and Sonja currently published by Dynamite Comics. Our newest Conan #1 is a FN cents copy, vivid unbroken cover colour, superior interior pages, and only very minor wear at spine and corners, not affecting the cover image. Conan #23 is a FN/VF pence copy, with light creasing at upper and lower right cover corners.
PICTURED: CONAN
#1 FN £150
#23 FN/VF p £55

*Marvel: One of Marvel’s long-running and more beloved villains, Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, premiered in this issue, with his ability to absorb and replicate the properties of any person, object or substance causing quite a headache for our favourite Thunder God! Despite his surly mien, many folks feel that Crusher Creel is, to quote the Shangri-Las, ‘Good-bad, but not evil‘, and he has quite the fan-base, especially in latter decades since he married Titania. This first appearance of an enduring villain is a classy Fine, pence stamp in upper corner, minimal edge wear, unfaded red background, tight corners.
PICTURED: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #114 FN p £75

*Marvel: One of the phenomena of the last decade of the 20th Century was Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet, which spawned many crossovers and two direct sequels. This is the second such sequel, third series in the ‘Infinity Trinity’, Infinity Crusade, in which ‘The Goddess’ separated the more devout of the Marvel Heroes into a super-powered jihad, a move surely calculated to offend both the pious and the pagan alike!. The ‘Infinity’ series have been hugely popular ever since their inception, but with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet at the centre of the Avengers/Guardians of the Galaxy cinematic franchise, demand for them is at its height.
PICTURED: INFINITY CRUSADE #4 NM; COMPLETE SET OF #1-6 NM £35 SOLD

*Horror 1940-1959: More from Avon’s much sought after horror title, this time an unbroken run from #8 through to #13, featuring artwork by E. Everett Kinstler, Harry Lazarus, Gene Fawcette, Sid Check, Alvin Hollingsworth and a promising youngster named Joe Kubert! Of particular interest is issue #12, which breaks away from the short-story anthology format to offer a book-length adaptation of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ – the first appearance, we believe, of the Lord of the Vampires in comics form! With the exception of #12, which is a very presentable GD+, these are mid to low grade copies, averaging FA+, suffering from various combinations of browning, tears, and watermarking, but all complete, eminently readable and reasonably affordable copies of a hotly sought pioneering series.
PICTURED: EERIE
#8 FA £90 Piece out of upper back cover, front cover top edge staining and wear SOLD
#9 FA £90 Off top staple, watermarked at top edge
#10 FA+ £75 Two long taped back cover tears SOLD
#11 FA £70 3″ diagonal front cover tear from upper left, smaller tear at upper staple area
#12 GD+ £120
#13 FA/GD £90 Lower right front cover corner off, long lower spine split

*Classics Illustrated: It’s the turn of the British version of Classics Illustrated this update, with 50 additions to our stocks, ranging from #8 (the Odyssey) to #144 (The Queen’s Necklace). Along the way, less common issues include a first printing of #13 (Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde), #32 (Lorna Doone with Matt Baker art), #40 (Benjamin Franklin), #73 (The Black Tulip with original British cover), #124 (The War Of The Worlds), #128 (Wuthering Heights — one of the very few written by a woman!) & #130 (The Woman In White). Also included are a number of World Illustrated, including the UK original #529 (Great Escapes). Full publication data is as always given in our catalogue. 

*Power Comics: The earlier run of Odhams’ Smash, before it got taken over by IPC/Fleetway, is always in demand, with its eclectic line-up – traditional humour strips such as ‘The Swots and the Blots’, home-grown adventure strips like ‘Brian’s Brain’ and ‘Rubberman’, Marvel super-hero reprints such as ‘Daredevil’, and the front-billed ‘Batman’ newspaper strip. But the Free Gifts, generally requiring some assembly, almost never survive in good shape, so this pair from 1968 are genuine rarities; #108 has a ‘Swing-Wing Fighter’ VF, bundled in its original rubber band (exercise caution when handling!), while #109 has a ‘Secret Coder’ FN/VF, not punched out of its original supporting card. Comics are an exceptional Fine.
PICTURED: SMASH
#108 FN WITH FREE GIFT VF £60 SOLD
#109 FN WITH FREE GIFT FN/VF £60 SOLD

*Humour Comics: The large format semi-tabloid Beezer (home to ‘Ginger’, ‘Baby Crockett’ and ‘Pop, Dick & Harry’ among scores of others) doesn’t tend to wear well over time, so we’re particularly chuffed to have a Free Gift issue from 1964 in good shape; #457 17/10/1964 is VG, with the Free Gift – an inflatable noisemaker dubbed the ‘Bubble & Squeak’ – in FN. The gift actually looks VF, but we suspect the rubber/plastic in the inflatable component has long since ‘perished’, so in an excess of caution, we’re calling it Fine.
PICTURED: BEEZER #457 VG WITH FREE GIFT FN £35 SOLD

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: While the 1954 launched True Life Library is generally categorized as a romance title, things ran a little deeper than that. Certainly, romantic complications abounded, but said complications frequently included fraud, blackmail, robbery, abduction, infidelity, accusations of murder or the unwelcome popping-up of discarded spouses or offspring, to give readers a film noir frisson alongside their moonlight & roses. Titles such as ‘The Man She Feared’, ‘Gaol Girl’, ‘Beautiful Schemer’ and ‘Her Sister’s Man’ were advertised by lurid painted covers that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a movie marquee. We have 53 issues of True Life added to our stock, commencing with the second issue, and all within the first 100 numbers. Condition averages Good – sadly, staple rust does generally preclude a higher grade, though all are otherwise clean and sound.
PICTURED: TRUE LIFE LIBRARY
#2 GD £12
#17 VG £9

On a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We’ve just finished deleting sold items from the following file in our British section
*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics V – Z
As of the time of writing, this file is bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Poul Anderson may well have been inspired by Ian Fleming’s James Bond, but even Bond’s foray into space in Moonraker wouldn’t have prepared him for the adventures of Dominic Flandry, interstellar trouble-shooter. We’ve got four books, two collections, Agent Of The Terran Empire and Flandry Of Terra, both with wraparound covers by Bob Fowke and two novels, A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows and Ensign Flandry.
PICTURED:
AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE VG £3.50

*TV/Film Tie-Ins: Here’s a haul of novelisations from the 1960s to 1980s, starting with the US side there’s Get Smart Once Again!, Knight Rider and two from the Mod Squad, Home Is Where The Quick Is and The-Sock-It-To-Em-Murders. On the UK side we have Gangsters, Sapphire And Steel and Strange Report. The final addition is the full script of West Side Story. Replete with TV, movie and stage covers, these are guaranteed to awaken fond memories.
PICTURED:
GET SMART ONCE AGAIN! GD £5                      
MOD SQUAD THE-SOCK-IT-TO-EM-MURDERS VG/FN £6  
SAPPHIRE AND STEEL VG £20 

*Clearance Corner: As you may realise, the purpose of our Clearance Corner lots is to clear space in our shop by discontinuing titles we’re no longer carrying to make way for new and incoming stuff. As such, they will only be offered for a short time. This Clearance Corner lot, listed on 25th January, has not been snapped up and is nearing the end of its time with us. If not purchased within the next few days, we will have to dispose of it. Here are the details from our original listing:
‘Who was ‘The Mystery Girl From the East’? What was ‘The Threat to Miss Fontaine’s Romance’? Why were ‘Pets On Trial at St. Kilda’s’? The answer to all these and oh, so many more questions can be found in our latest Clearance Corner! The venerable Schoolgirls’ Own Library of text stories featuring plucky young misses ran for two separate series, the first from 1922 until 1940, and the second from 1946 to 1963. We are offering 2 of the first series and 28 of the second, a total of 30 tales of daring and justice in boarding schools at home and abroad. The earliest two, from 1937, are Poor, but complete, though one is missing its back cover – not affecting the story content. The second series, number between #127 and #245 (publication dates from 1951 to 1957) average VG, generally sound and clean with occasional rusty staples. Just to spell it out once again: these are text stories with illustrations, not comics. This cornucopia of prototypical Girl Power is yours for a mere £25 – UK postage, if required, a further £5.’ 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 supprting character as a co-worker of the She-Hulk in her later series. No, really. This is a beautiful Fine copy, minor wear at cover corners, but a lovely bright yellow cover background colour completely unmarred, firm staples, tiny trace of Marvel chipping at upper right cover edge not harming the main cover image at all.
PICTURED: FANTASTIC FOUR #15 FN p £150 SOLD

*Marvel: Two prime Pre-Hero Marvel anthologies of shocks and twist endings, from the fertile mind of Stan Lee, with artistic collaborators Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and okay, Paul Reinman, but never mind. Issue #34 brings us ‘Inside the Blue Glass Bottle!’, ‘The Forbidden World!’, ‘The Coming of the Giants!’ and ‘Who Am I?’, while #37 introduces us to ‘Hagg, Hunter of Helpless Humans!’, ‘Behold The Monster!’ and ‘A Voice In The Dark!’. Both are beautiful bright crisp copies, with sharp corners and only very fine wear at edges, unmarred cover scenes with vivid unfaded colour.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE
#34 FN p £80
#37 FN+ p £110

*DC: Heralded at the time of its release with the house ad: ‘Just Imagine… the mightiest heroes of our time have banded together to stamp out the forces of evil’, and by Cracky, the original line-up – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and the Martian Manhunter – gave it a good shot, devoting themselves not just to America – or even Earth – but to other worlds, galaxies and dimensions, thwarting the bad guys on a universal scale, as imaginatively portrayed by writer Gardner Fox and artists Sekowsky and Sachs! Following a three-issue tryout in Brave & Bold, the team was awarded its own title, and faced off for the first time against Despero, the alien warlord who was to menace them on many occasions. You can see why Marvel publisher Martin Goodman asked Stan Lee to come up with something as good; Stan’s response? The Fantastic Four! But for our money, as great as the FF were, the JLA were first and best! This GD/VG copy is cents, no UK price or overstamp, with clean flexible interior pages and firm staples at centrefold, although the bottom staple (only) has become detached from the cover. There is light wear at spine and a tiny shallow tear at lower cover corner, in the shadows behind the Flash’s chair. Generally an extremely well-presenting copy for its grade.
PICTURED: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 GD/VG £475

*DC: Before Julius Schwartz took over the editorlal helm of the Batman titles in 1964, it was a time of strange transformations, bizarre aliens, the Batman family and, occasionally, the famous villains. Eight issues new in this time from this period between #116 and #163, including Bat-Mite and Bat-Girl in #144, Bat-Baby in #147, the classic ‘Robin Dies At Dawn’ in #156, Ace ‘The Super Bat-Hound’ in #158, the Joker in #163 and more.