*Marvel: One of the most sought-after Marvel Comics of the 1960s is Fantastic Four #48, which introduced the Silver Surfer, a cosmic-powered being the equal of the combined FF… and the Surfer’s master, Galactus, an entity of even more monstrous might! Both became major figures in the Marvel Universe, with the Surfer repenting his role as Galactus’ herald and choosing the side of justice, while Galactus’ insatiable hunger drives him ever onwards to more heinous acts. This copy of the double debut is a CGC Blue Label (no restoration) 4.0 (VG equivalent), on sale at £675.

*Marvel: One very successful latter-day addition to the Web-Head’s Rogue’s Gallery was the Hobgoblin, who made his debut in 1983’s Amazing Spider-Man #238. The path of destruction, and mysterious identity, of this suspiciously familiar evil-doer kept readers entertained for more than a year before the Big Reveal, with several red herrings and false ‘revelations’ along the way. This copy of ASM #238 is VF- p £95 and proudly retains the Free Gift – Lakeside ‘Tattooz’ – which baffle and frustrate so many completists. His second appearance in #239 is NM p at £30. SOLD

*Marvel: In the wake of the spectacular success of Infinity Gauntlet, writer Jim Starlin returned to the well with a sequence of sequels, the first of which was Infinity War, in which Thanos ‘got the band back together’ – himself, Warlock, Drax, Gamora, Pip the Troll – and unleashed a scheme that forced most heroes to confront their own dark doppelgangers, both in the main series, and in many, many – oh, so very many – crossovers in other titles. This cosmic odyssey is now available as a complete 6 issue set, averaging NM, pence copies at £100.

*Marvel: Following the debut of the ‘New’ X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #1, the revamped international team took over the moribund reprint series with #94, and galvanized a whole new generation of readers. Here we have #95, effectively the second ongoing issue, concluding the battle with Count Nefaria and the Ani-Men, and featuring the heroic demise of Thunderbird, who died of, er, well, being a bit too similar to Wolverine, I guess. #96 was the first new issue released in the UK, and it caused us all in the Old Country to sit up and pay attention, not least because it featured the cuddliest demon ever, and the premier of long-running supporting character Moira MacTaggert, a brilliant scientist who also happened to be a dab hand with firearms. #95 (pictured) is FN £50; #96 is FN- p £20.25.

*Marvel: Following a ‘pilot’ in an issue of Avengers, Roy Thomas returned, several years later, to an idea of a World War II set series with Marvel’s Golden Age ‘Big Three’, Captain America, Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch, in an ongoing series pitted against the Axis forces. In 1975, he finally got his wish, and the Invaders ran for 41 issues (plus an Annual and the Giant-Size ‘tryout’ issue), featuring many of the Golden Age villains (well, you couldn’t fight Nazis all the time) plus new characters such as Union Jack, Spitfire, Baron Blood and the Liberty Legion, a homefront alliance of lesser 1940s super-stars! We have a virtually complete run of Invaders, lacking only the Giant-Size Invaders #1 ‘pilot’ and the first ongoing issue, but complete from #2 to the final #41, and the one and only Annual (pictured VF- £25), not distributed on these shores and featuring the work of surviving Golden Age artists including the legendary Alex Schomburg. PICTURED ITEM SOLD

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: ACG’s best remembered today for their long-running series of genteel mystery comics, often with a strong poignant or romantic element – but there was none of that fey air about Commander Battle and His Atomic Sub, starring four manly he-men (and their kid sidekick, who inevitably came to the rescue when they got trapped after leaving him behind for his safety!) who battled the Reds on land, in the air, but mostly, as the title implies, on (or under) the water with their amazing vehicle – which, given that it was capable of containing entire airplanes, might have benefitted from more than a four-man crew so they didn’t have to rely on the kid so much. Just saying. Be that as it may, these ‘Atomic Commandos’, courtesy of editor/scripter Richard E. Hughes and artist Sheldon Moldoff, struggled against primarily Soviet forces for the political fate of the world, aided only by their all-American pluck and their amazing vehicle, which on at least one occasion became an atomic spaceship! Ah, radioactivity – it’s a miraculous thing. Despite all these merits – and a #1 attempt to cash in on the 3-D craze with overlapping panel borders and exaggerated foreshortening for a faux-3-D effect – Commander Battle’s sub sank with issue #7, but like many short-run failures of the 1950s, it’s become an achievable cult collectible in the 21st Century! We have the entire 7 issue run in stock. Pictured are #1 GD £45; #4 VG+ £60; #5 FN- £75 and #7 VG/FN £75.

*Magazines & Books About Vintage US Comics: One of the most influential writer/artists of the comics medium, Jack Kirby’s career spanned seven decades, creating or co-creating scores of characters who still loom larger than ever in the public consciousness. This week, we add in a multitude of magazines and books devoted to the life and art of Jack Kirby, including issues of the Twomorrows publication Jack Kirby Collector, the first two volumes of Greg Theakston’s Complete Jack Kirby, the 1998 Jack Kirby Index, Theakston’s Jack Kirby Treasury, Eclipse Book’s Real Love – which collects and comments upon the finest examples of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s pioneering work in the romance genre – and Taaru! the UK Kirby tribute ‘zine. Pictured is the oversized (and awe-inspiring) ‘Art of Jack Kirby’ paperback, VF at £30. Kirby sez: “Don’t ask – look in our catalogue for the details of the rest!” PICTURED ITEM SOLD

*Annuals: The large-format D.C. Thomson girls’ weekly, Diana, was known for its high quality reproduction, often in full colour, and top-notch art, qualities which were carried over into its Annuals, which, though not in the same oversized format, had the same quality standards, a definite cut above the average. From the same pedigree source as our previous ‘Immaculate’ selections, these are from a newsagent’s inventory, never circulated or read, no prices clipped, no gift dedications, ‘This Book Belongs To’ inscriptions or other interior markings, solid spines, tight corners and bright, vibrant colours. A few have minor edge wear from long-term storage, or occasionally light breaks in the laminate, but all have exceptional eye appeal, and some could almost pass for new! We have an unbroken sequence of Diana Annuals from 1965 to 1969, with the original black background dustjackets – notoriously prone to scuffs, tears and creases – in beautiful condition. This clean and bright selection features flying adventuress ‘Starr of Wonderland’, ‘Jane – Model Miss’, ‘Emergency Nurse Gwen’, swimming stars ‘The Mermaids’, schoolgirl secret agents ‘The Girls From N.O.O.D.L.E.S’, and many more well-remembered strips. Pictured: 1965 (the first Diana Annual) in VF/NM with DJ VF £40. Details on the others, of course, in our online catalogue.

*TV & Film Related Comics: Following its ground-breaking first run, TV21 tried again to capture lightning in a bottle by amalgamating with the failed Joe 90 weekly as ‘TV21 and Joe 90’. Within a short space of time, though, Joe ‘left the building’, along with the rest of the Gerry Anderson-related material, but what remained by 1970 was still nice: new Star Trek adventures by Mike Noble and others, Tarzan, The Saint, Land of the Giants and non-media inspired drama, fantasy and sci-fi strips such as aquatic adventurers ‘S.N.O.R.K.E.L.’, rags-to-riches soccer star ‘Forward From The Back Streets’, would-be alien overlord ‘The Heat-Master’ and apprentice magician ‘Danny Merlin’, among others. Later issues in the run added edited reprints of Marvel’s Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, and – the big one – Homer the Happy Ghost! 30 issues between #41 and #103 newly added to our stock, in very respectable grades, VG or frequently better.

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 files in our American/British section:
*Classics Illustrated
and in our British section:
*Alan Class Reprints
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

Now’s your chance to accessorise to the max with our new 30th Century jute bag. Both stylish and attractive, with our logo printed on both sides, in natural jute with black handles and trim, this sturdy and capacious bag is just the thing for carrying away your comic and book purchases, and will offer many opportunities for re-use in its lifetime. So now you can be both cool and help save the planet at the same time. £5 each for shop visitors. (Many thanks to Allan Harvey for design and technical experise)

*Modern Reprints: Have you ever wanted to own a pristine Mint copy of the most sought after Silver Age comic? Of course you have, and here’s your chance to add Amazing Fantasy #15 — the debut and origin of Spider-Man — to your collection, for just £4! This brand new facsimile edition has all the pages, ads and features of the original, with just the cover price altered (and the addition of a bar-code box). A good place marker for your collection until the real thing comes along!

*DC: Following his debut in #400, Kirk Langstrom, the tragic anti-hero Man-Bat, was rapidly brought back by his creators Frank Robbins and Neal Adams for a second bout with the Caped Crusader, the poignancy this time being augmented by Langstrom’s fiancée Francine (later herself to become the She-Bat – it’s nice when couples have a common interest…) being thrown into the mix. This copy of a quality issue, with Adams’ work at its peak, is a CGC Blue Label (no restoration) issue, graded 8.5, a VF+ equivalent, and is on sale at £150. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: The second DC mini-series, Untold Legend of the Batman, was released in 1980 with the involvement of superstar artist John Byrne being heavily touted in advance publicity. Sadly, Byrne clashed with the powers-that-be at DC, and the second and third issues were drawn by veteran illustrator Jim Aparo – though, to be fair, Aparo’s inks over Byrne on the first issue are so strong that there’s barely a perceptible difference! Scripted by Len Wein, and with evocative covers by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, this tense three-part thriller explores the past of the Batman and his closest enemies and allies, while delivering a present-day mystery for the Dark Knight Detective to resolve. All three issues are available as a set, cents copies with no pence stamp or overprint, averaging NM-, at £30 the set. Pictured is #1 (NM) SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: The 1970s Marvel Comics series of Star Wars isn’t commonplace in the UK, many of the issues having been completely non-distributed in Britain, and the rest having only low circulation here. We are delighted, therefore, to welcome back to our boxes the first ten issues, initially adapting the famous first movie, then, from #7, featuring entirely original stories crafted by the Marvel Bullpen. Hard to find in any grade, and you’ll go a long way before seeing copies as nice as these, averaging NM-. Our #1 is an extremely tight, bright & white NM-, a truly outstanding copy, on sale at £175; also depicted are #2 NM £70 and #4 NM p £70. Details on the other issues in the ‘Top Ten’ may be found in our online catalogue.

*Marvel: It’s always a great pleasure to welcome the works of Jim Steranko to our catalogue, and nowhere more so than in the pages of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD from 1968. He only stayed with the title for a few issues after it launched from Strange Tales, but what issues they were! In his SHIELD issues, Jaunty Jim took the brakes off and went all-out when Nick Fury’s Pals n’ Gals got their own full-length series, with cinematic storytelling and psychedelic designs, particularly on the cover and splash pages, that utilised the full potential of the medium with an imagination seldom seen since the heyday of Eisner. Nick Fury #1, ‘Who Is Scorpio?’, is the definitive example, with the popular espionage tropes of the day turned up to 11, and a striking cover image that still resonates in the fandom psyche half a century later. Issue #3 is a haunting and evocative Holmesian tribute, redolent with mood and atmosphere, and issue #5 returns to the spy tropes with a psychedelic vengeance, as the Scorpio subplot is resolved, courtesy of many lingering images (narratively unnecessary, but visually appreciated) of Nick’s main squeeze, La Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Our newest Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #1 is a VG+ pence copy, with beautiful unmarred cover image, at £27. #3 is FN- p £18, and issue #5 is FN p £25. All pictured here for your delectation, but if you think the covers are stunning, wait till you look inside! SORRY, #1 NOW SOLD

*Marvel: It took a couple of years, but with 1978’s Marvel Team-Up #65, Captain Britain was firmly integrated into the Marvel Universe ‘proper’, teaming up with Spider-Man as both heroes were captured by the villainous Arcade, master of deadly amusements, who made his debut in this very issue. This significant issue (pictured) is a VF cents copy, no pence stamp or overprint, on sale at £30. The second half of the story, #66, is also newly added to our lists. SORRY, #65 HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: From the early Silver Age, four consecutive issues of Marvel’s founding family, the Fantastic Four, commencing with #24, which sees the FF faced with a mysterious monster in ‘The Infant Terrible’, while issues #25 & #26 feature the epic first Thing/Hulk battle, as the other members of the FF fall by the wayside leaving Ben Grimm standing alone… at least, until the Avengers join the fray! And we wrap it up for now with #27, in which the FF are joined by the savage Sub-Mariner and Marvel’s Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Strange! #26 (pictured) is GD/VG p £70; details on the others may be seen in our online Catalogue.

*Marvel: In 1976, the House Of Ideas came up with Nova, designed originally to be an ‘everyman’ character like Peter Parker/Spider-Man, but quickly developing into a cosmic ‘soldier’ more akin to DC’s Green Lantern – luckily, DC’s lawyers didn’t notice the parallels! Although the original run lasted a mere 25 issues, Nova has returned many times to the Marvel Universe, and where he shines is in the protracted cosmic crossovers of which Marvel is so fond. The Nova Corps having been namechecked in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, it can only be a matter of time before the man himself makes an on-screen appearance, and prices are rising, so grab these while you can! Every issue in stock as of the time of writing. #1 (pictured) is VG p £35.

*Gold Key/Whitman: A large update this week to this esoteric publisher from the 1960s and 1970s. Titles include: Bandwagon (Hanna-Barbera), Battle Of The Planets, Captain Johner & the Aliens, Dark Shadows, Dear Nancy Parker, Doctor Solar, Jet Dream (and her Stunt Girl Counterspies), the Lucy Show, Magnus Robot Fighter, National Velvet, the Nurses, PT 109 (JFK), Secret Agent (Danger Man), Space Family Robinson, the Three Stooges, TOM & Jerry and (last but not least) Turok, Son Of Stone. 

*Horror 1940-1959:  Launched in 1952 as Unknown World, this series abruptly switched to the lengthier title Strange Stories From Another World with issue #2, but continued very much as it had started, with top-notch tales of mystery and suspense by creators such as Bill Woolfolk, Sheldon Moldoff, and Maurice Gutworth, with breathtaking painted covers by Norm Saunders. Relying more on craft than explicit gore (though when that does occur, it’s more effective because of the general restraint), these are first-rate examples of the genre. Any issue of this series is uncommon, so it’s positively serendipitous that we currently have all five in our possession – but, we predict, not for long! Unknown Worlds #1 is GD+, with a tiny chip out of the upper left corner, at £95; #2 is FN £140; #3 VG- £85; #4 VG/FN £150 and #5 GD+ £50. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Annuals: Doctor Who, of course, has been a fixture in the zeitgeist almost since the TV series debuted in 1963, and it wasn’t long before a world of merchandise emerged themed around Gallifrey’s favourite son and his time-traversing adventures. The BBC released Annuals of original material for the lucrative Christmas gift market commencing in 1965, (for 1966). We have two copies of the first Annual, from the same pedigree source as our previous ‘Immaculate’ selections; these are from a newsagent’s inventory, never circulated or read, no prices clipped, no gift dedications, ‘This Book Belongs To’ inscriptions or other interior markings, solid spines, tight corners and bright, vibrant colours. Also from the ‘Immaculate’ provenance, the scarce 1968 Annual, the first featuring Patrick Troughton’s iteration of the Doctor. From an alternate source – hence the ‘Special Guest’ tag in our heading – we have also obtained a copy of the single rarest Dr. Who Annual, from 1969. Our 1966 Annuals are VF £35 (pictured) and FN/VF £30, respectively. The scarce 1968 is a virtually flawless VF/NM at £100, tight pages, bright pristine interiors. The 1969, rarest Dr. Who Annual, is a lower grade of GD/VG. Sound and complete, with no price clipped or gift dedication, but it does have moderate wear to top and bottom of spine (though spine is complete) and light label residue in upper right front cover, plus a previous owner’s name written neatly in the lower margin of Page 25. The 1969 Annual, GD/VG, is on sale at £75. SORRY, FIRST TWO PICTURED HAVE NOW SOLD

*TV & Film Related Comics: A plethora of new issues of Look-In, the ‘Junior TV Times’ best remembered now for its comic strip adaptations of TV series of the day, frequently drawn by the cream of British comic artists. Examples include Mike Noble on ‘Timeslip’ and ‘Follyfoot’, John M. Burns on ‘Tomorrow People’, John Bolton on ‘Bionic Woman’, and many more. This 50+ issue update includes many from 1971, the first year of publication, and scattered numbers through to 1978. Illustrated is 1971’s #22, cover-featuring TV’s Avengers, John Steed and Tara King (FN £15); details on the others, of course, to be found in our online listings. SORRY, PICTURED ITEM NOW SOLD

*Girls’ Comics: Always a popular series, we’re pleased to add 40 new issues to our stock of June this update, ranging from 10th July 1965 to 8th June 1974. These are mostly from June’s lengthy ‘marriage’ to the fallen School Friend, generally acknowledged as the series’ peak, to the extent that many folk believe that ‘June & School Friend’ was the permanent full title of the series – but no; circa 1972, June ‘divorced’ School Friend, and after a few solo issues took up with the short-lived Pixie as her ‘merger chum’. These issues feature, at various times, ‘Lucky’s Living Doll’, ‘Vanessa From Venus’, ‘Fourth Form Wonder’, ‘Orphans of Italy’, fashion doll ‘Sindy’, ‘Serena From Space’ and many more well-loved series, anchored, of course, by nutritionally-unchallenged funstress ‘Bessie Bunter’!

*Modern Reprints: Recently, both DC and Marvel have issued reproductions of their classic key issues. These facsimiles are, apart from legally-necessary cover additions for modern pricing, exact, full-colour cover-to-cover replicas of the originals, including all story pages, text pages, lettercols and advertisements – though we strongly advise against sending off for anything from the ads! This update, Marvel offers us facsimiles of Alpha Flight #1 (the Canadian Crusaders get their own series), Daredevil #181 (Bullseye Vs Elektra), Howard the Duck #1 (The Foul-mouthed fowl gets his own title), Marvel Presents #3 (Guardians of the Galaxy’s first ongoing series), Marvel Spotlight #12 (1st Son of Satan), and X-Men #137 (First death of Jean Grey/Phoenix). DC meanwhile brings us only one new facsimile – but it’s a cracker! Batman #251, ‘The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!’, the O’Neil/Adams classic which relaunched the Joker’s career from the ludicrous camp of the Batman TV show to the definitive nemesis of the Batman he is today. Pictured: Batman #251 facsimile at £4. Details on all the others may be found in our online catalogue.