*Modern Reprints: New stocks of the popular DC 500-Page Showcase Editions, hefty paperback compilations of Silver Age classics. This update, we’re on the shadowy side of the street, with volumes 1 & 2 of House of Mystery, reprinting that series from its horror/mystery relaunch from #174 onwards and featuring the talents of Gil Kane, Wally Wood, Neal Adams, Jack Kirby, Sergio Aragones, Al Williamson, Alex Toth, Nick Cardy, Berni Wrightson and Michael Kaluta. Complementing this, Phantom Stranger Vol. 1 brings us the first 21 issues of the mysterious adventurer’s Silver Age series, by Bob Kanigher, Denny O’Neil, Jim Aparo, Len Wein and that Adams guy again. All three Volumes NM: House of Mystery at £25 each, Phantom Stranger at £20.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Launched in 1962, and ending with issue #43 the following year, Sea War Picture Library was a companion to Pearson’s other digest-sized war series, Picture Stories of World War II and Air War Picture Stories, focusing on – oh, you’ve guessed – tales of valour and heroism on the waves. We have acquired the first 14 issues of this series, a nice consecutive run in attractive grades, averaging VG/FN. The Pearson’s Libraries are not commonplace – we suspect they had substantially lower print runs than contemporaries – and this is the first time we have seen Sea War in our quarter-century of dealing, so buy now while you have the chance! Pictured is issue #1 VG £10; you should know where to look for details on the rest by now…

*Girls’ Comics: The long-running weekly Valentine, launched in 1957, had two distinct phases: up to the late 1960′ its distinctive sky-blue livery lured in readers with a self-contained romance strip ‘inspired’ by a popular song – with a floating mugshot of the singer attached, to gain extra sales from fans who would buy anything with their idol’s likeness on it! Inside was more of the same, with done-in-one strips, serial strips and even text stories ‘inspired’ by various popsters, filled out by the usual – fashion tips, pin-ups and problem pages. What made Valentine stand out, however, was the outstanding quality of the artwork, which was often very lovely indeed. We have more than 50 of the ‘classic’ Valentine back in stock, ranging from 1960 to 1968 (skewing more heavily towards ’67 and ’68). Pictured are the final (28/12/68 FN £12, Christmas number) issue of this selection, plus a Fabulous Free Gift issue – 25th Sept 1965, only FA, but with a FN Free Gift – a cardboard record holder for your own ‘Top Ten’ singles! Comic and gift available for £15. Oh, and the second phase of Valentine? Well, more about all that – very soon!

*Clearance Corner: Finishing up our clearance of later issues of Dandy, we present 18 special issues from 1984 to 2012. Included are Christmas issues 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991 & 1997, Halloween issues for 1987, 2011 &  2012, the Valentine issue for 1988 (x 2, both with free gifts of stickers and album), New Year issue 1989, Father’s Day issue 2000, relaunch issue 2010, Fireworks issue 2011 and the 50th Anniversary issue 1987 (x 3, 1 with Free Gifts of stickers, album, poster and flyer, 2 with poster). All this can be yours for just £15. UK postage if required will be £4. SORRY, THIS LOT HAS NOW SOLD

In our spotlight on previously listed stock this week, we focus on Marvel’s tiniest hero and his entry into the Marvel Universe back in 1962. In Tales to Astonish #27, scientist Henry Pym became ‘The Man In The Ant-Hill’, in a slight variation on the usual ‘big-panty monster’ tropes which bore no foreshadowing of his heroic future. Nevertheless, Hank came back in costume in TTA #35, and embarked on a long career as Ant-Man, then Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, and possibly a couple more identities we forget. Our copy of #27  suffers from (deep breath): a 1” tear mid-spine, through the entire body of the book, scribble on head of middle ant on cover (that’s a description, not an instruction!), spine glued at cover and first & final pages, also glued at centrefold, interior pages frayed at edges, with some small margin corners missing, but all pages present, all stories complete. Generally a very tired and ‘limp’ copy, but a complete low-grade key issue. #35 is a whole lot better, tight, flat and sound, with just minor chipping along the top edge and a small 1″ spine split at the bottom; no cover defacements and decent page quality. #27 PR p £325; #35 VG+p £375.

*DC: At the height of ‘Batmania’ in the 1960s, with the Batman TV series sweeping the US, it was decided that one thing was missing: girl appeal! A new character was brainstormed to engage female viewers, and she made her first appearance, not in the show, but in Detective Comics #359, dated January 1967! A-list team Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene brought us Barbara Gordon, mild-mannered librarian, who accidentally gets drawn into the world of crime-fighting through a chance encounter with Killer Moth, and becomes the Batgirl! Both as Batgirl, and for a long time as the inspirational character Oracle, Barbara Gordon has become an integral part of the fabric of the DC Universe. We are delighted have the first and second appearances of Batgirl back in stock; Detective #359 is VG/FN, a pence stamped copy with light to moderate wear at edges and corners, but unmarred cover image, vivid colours, and good gloss with firm staples. The character was so well-received that she co-starred in #363, by the same creative team, and our copy of #363 is a VF- cents copy, no pence stamp, with glowing colour and minimal edge & corner wear. Detective #359 VG/FN p £350; #363 VF- £100. SORRY, #359 NOW SOLD

*DC: Jack Kirby’s tormented anti-hero, Etrigan the Demon, met one of his most popular foes in issue #7 of Etrigan’s series, as our dual-natured protagonist encountered Klarion the Witchboy, whose Puritan garb and innocent demeanour concealed a twisted soul. An extra-dimensional intruder from a world of dark magic, Klarion’s desire to escape the rule of adults and unleash his full powers caused him to open a portal to Earth, where he’s been wreaking havoc ever since, battling not only the Demon, but Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the entire team of Young Justice! One of Kirby’s most enduring villainous creations, this first appearance of Klarion (and his formidable familiar, Teekl) is VF-, and on sale at £50. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: Unlike the Brave & the Bold, which started out as a pure adventure series before morphing into a try-out and quickly converting to a team-up book, Showcase remained a try-out series for new ideas and features for the length of all its 104 issues, with many famous characters debuting in its pages. We have a new selection in this week from the second half of its run (starting with #50), all issues previosuly missing from our listings. Featured are: I-Spy, B’Wana Beast, Binky, the Creeper, Phantom Stranger, Windy & Willy, Firehair, the Doom Patrol, Power Girl, the 100th Anniversary issue, Hawkman & Adam Strange and OSS Spies At War. ‘Owzat for diversity? Full details as always in our catalogue.

*Marvel: Another Lee & Ditko classic from the early years of Peter Parker’s masked alter-ego, #12 is less frequently seen than some of its contemporary brethren, and seldom in this nice a condition! An epic clash with his arch-nemesis Dr. Octopus leaves Spider-Man categorically defeated, helpless, and unmasked in front of the world. How does he get out of this one? Hey, buy the book! One of the more-often ‘homaged’ cover images, and an exceptional copy; the yellow cover background, which ordinarily picks up every stain or mark, is remarkably unblemished, with clear vivid colour. The staples are firm at cover and centrefold, light spine wear, sharp corners, tight and flat interior pages, with one small diagonal cover crease at the lower right. We have graded this pence copy as FN+, and it is on sale at £300. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: In the wake of the Kung Fu craze which swept the mass media in the 1970s, Marvel, having already scored big with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, tried to repeat the success with Iron Fist, an orphaned Caucasian boy who learned mystical martial arts in the hidden land of K’Un Lun. Danny Rand had a successful run in Marvel Premiere, then graduated into his own title, and remains an active part of the Marvel Universe to this date, both in comics and on the small screen in Netflix TV series. We have a two-fisted update this week: firstly, Marvel Premiere #15, in which Iron Fist made his first appearance, and then the debut of his own series, in which he meets and battles the Invincible Iron Man! Marvel Premiere #15 is VF+, with only faint wear visible at upper and lower right corners on close scrutiny. Iron Fist #1 is also graded VF+, but if anything slightly nicer, with a couple of tiny spine ‘ticks’ being the only barely-visible drawback. Both copies are bright, glossy and tight at staples and corners. Marvel Premiere #15 is on sale at £175, and Iron Fist #1 is £80. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: In the year 1968, the ‘tryout’ title Marvel Super-Heroes #12 saw the debut of Captain Marvel, a warrior of the spacefaring Kree Empire who masqueraded as a human on Earth. In issue #13, his second appearance, a new member of the Captain’s supporting cast was introduced: Carol Danvers, even when a civilian, was a former USAF officer who was the head of security at a restricted military base – an unusual post for a woman in 1968. When her DNA later got merged with the alien genome of the Captain (happens all the time when you hang around supers) she gained powers of her own, becoming the first Ms. Marvel, and then – after brief forays as ‘Binary’ and ‘Warbird’, of which we do not speak – the current holder of the Captain Marvel title. Given the smash-hit status of the ‘Captain Marvel’ movie, and her prominent role in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ – Marvel Super-Heroes #13 is commanding ever-higher prices, despite Carol’s non-powered status therein. Our newest copy of MSH #13 is a VG p copy, very slight upper and lower spine wear, minute piece out of lower front cover corner, but excellent page quality, vibrant colour and unimpeded cover scene. VG p £150.

*Marvel: One of the early heroes of the Marvel Universe, and a founder of the Avengers, Hank Pym’s Ant-Man alter-ego nevertheless faltered when stacked up against the achievements (and the sales figures) of his contemporaries; although bolstered somewhat by the addition of the wonderful Wasp to the series, Hank’s circulation needed another boost, and got it in Astonish #49 when he ‘went large’, reversing the polarity of his Pym Particles to go from tiny to gigantic size, adopting the nom de guerre of Giant-Man and beginning the sequence of ‘reinventions’ that would come to characterise the hero’s later life. This copy of Astonish #49, with Hank and Jan up against the egregious Eraser (100% cooler than DC’s villain of the same name) is an attractive VG+ cents copy, clean and sound, tiny vestigial ‘Marvel chipping’ at cover’s right edge, on sale at £90. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*Marvel: One of the most frustrating and enigmatic Bronze Age the 1970s was 1976’s Omega the Unknown, by Steve Gerber (then ‘hot’ author of Howard the Duck) and co-author Mary Skrenes. A young boy, James-Michael, is hospitalised after the discovery that his parents are robots, and becomes linked with a mysterious and mute super-powered man who appears from nowhere whenever James-Michael is in danger. James-Michael, rather than Omega , is the focal character, and Gerber and Skrenes’ deployment of common adolescent psychological tropes (isolation, the feeling that one is the only ‘real’ person, desire for rescue) proved a little… challenging for the readership, who were baffled and frustrated by the series, even if occasionally intrigued. The illustrations by veteran artist Jim Mooney also subverted reader expectations; associated more with traditional super-heroics, his art seemed at odds with the gritty, everyday horrors of James-Michael’s schooldays. The series ended abruptly with issue #10 and the hero’s seeming death: Gerber’s dismissal from Marvel shortly thereafter seemed to put paid to any resolution, though a two-part wrap-up was bodged together in Defenders by Steven Grant. Now, it’s regarded as one of the more intriguing cul-de-sacs of the Marvel Universe, and one of the very few Marvel properties not yet optioned for Film or TV (but give it five minutes…)! We have the complete 10-issue original series in stock, all cents copies, averaging NM, on sale for £50 the set – more than a third off the individual retail. SORRY, THIS SET HAS NOW SOLD

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Created by Will Eisner, Doll Man was the first super-hero to have shrinking powers, preceding the Atom and Ant-Man by two decades. Darrell Dane ‘concentrated his mighty will power’ to shrink from six feet to six inches in height, and battled the underworld from underneath, with the assistance of Elmo the Wonder Dog (who didn’t shrink, but was a Great Dane who provided transportation), and later, his shapely helpmate Doll Girl. Although the Doll Man series is often collected these days for the notorious ‘Good Girl’ strip Torchy, by Bill Ward and Gill Fox, which ran as back-up (and is present in all these issues), the main event is much underestimated, with Ruth Roche, Reed Crandall and Alex Kotsky among the creators delivering ingenious and beautifully-illustrated action tales. Doll Man #24, #27, #28 and #44 are new in this week; pictured are #24 VG+ £80 and #28 VG £70.

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980s: This week, a much overdue visit to Marvel’s horror titles from the 1970s, and the famous monsters that inhabited them. All the following are issues previously missing from our stock: Creatures on the Loose (with Man-Wolf, including the start of his series in #30), Fear (with start of Man-Thing series in #10 and Morbius in #23), Frankenstein, the Monster of, Man-Thing (1st series and Giant-Size, with 1st Howard the Duck solo in GS #4), Supernatural Thrillers (with the Living Mummy), Tomb of Dracula (#43 high grade with Wrightson cover), Werewolf By Night (many issues from #3, inc  2nd Moon Knight in #33 and Giant-Sizes with Morbius in GS #4). All the famous monsters covered!

*Marvel UK: After far too long a gap, an update of just under 100 copies to our stocks of the 1970s Marvel UK titles, which introduced a new generation to these classic characters. We have substantial additions to Savage Sword of Conan weekly, which reprinted the Roy Thomas/Barry Smith early years, Dracula Lives (including #20 & #21, which reprint Tomb of Dracula #10, debut of Blade the Vampire Slayer), and the founding title Mighty World of Marvel, selected issues from #37 to #166, plus a light scattering of Spider-Man Comics Weekly from #21 up. Depicted are Dracula Lives #20 VG £15 & #21 VG £15; details on all the others may be found in our online catalogue. SORRY, PICTURED ITEMS HAVE NOW SOLD

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Tarkan was created by Turkish cartoonist Sezgin Burak while he was resident in Milan, and was a great success, being serialised over Europe and inspiring two feature films in the late Sixties and early Seventies. The story of a Hun warrior who defied Roman oppressors, the series continued until the artist’s death in 1978. We have acquired a selection of the short-lived English edition, which launched (and we suspect ended) in 1973. Although the full-colour comics bore a resemblance in size to US comics such as Conan, the slightly more mature subject matter confused and deterred the bulk of the audience, and some newsagents refused to distribute them. We open with Tarkan #1 (FN £5 pictured) and end with #16, with many (though not all) issues in-between.

*Girls’ Comics: Launched in 1967 in the wake of her elder siblings Bunty & Judy, Mandy, despite the relentlessly can-do attitude of its eponymous heroine, seemed to specialise in stories which were generally moralistic in tone, with long-suffering heroines finally achieving happiness, while villainous relatives or girls who were liars, cheats and bullies received their comeuppance — good hearty fare for its intended audience! We’ve recently acquired the second and third issues of Mandy accompanied by their original Free Gifts. In the case of issue #2, the comic itself is Fine, with the Free Gift – a ‘Mandy bracelet’ beaded on elastic to stretch to size – still in the original polythene pocket at VF. Issue #3’s gift was a little more complex: a ‘Mandy Mini-Kit’, it had a brush, nail file and comb all in one. The copy of #3 is GD, with a bit of ‘bumpiness’ from the gift having been stuck inside its pages, but no significant flaws. The gift itself is VG – the contents are immaculate, but the paper envelope, while never technically opened, was removed from its place between pages 10 and 11 of the comic, and the envelope is slightly torn at one end. Nevertheless, Free Gift early issues of one of the leading girls’ comics of the 1960s are not commonplace; £60 for #2 FN with Free Gift VF, and £40 for #3 GD with Free Gift VG. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

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 section:
*Marvel  D – L
and in our American/British section:
*Undergrounds
and in our British section:
*Girls’ Picture Libraries
As of the time of writing, these categories are bang up to date, with every item listed available.

*DC: From 1945, an issue of the anthology All-American Comics starring the original Green Lantern, his Justice Society colleague Doctor Mid-Nite, aviator Hop Harrigan, and funsters Mutt & Jeff! This is from the brief period where the All-American side of National Periodical Publications separated from DC ‘Proper’ and struck out as an independent publisher (and you thought Image did it first…) therefore it carries the ‘AA’ branding rather than the more familiar DC symbol. This copy, sadly, has seen better days; The cover is torn, worn, stained and heavily taped. One third of one page of the Green Lantern story is missing, and there are small corners, not significantly impacting the stories, on a further three pages. In addition there is extreme wear throughout the entire issue at corners and edges. Ordinarily, we would not sell something this damaged, but since Golden Age DC super-hero issues are rare in any condition – and with the caveats noted above, all pages are present and readable – we are offering this PR copy for £20. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD

*DC: Jack Kirby’s Fourth World saga at DC has its detractors, but the fact remains that its epic grandeur caught the imagination of a generation, and the characters it generated continue to resonate throughout the DC Universe today. Cornerstone of the Fourth World was the series New Gods, the story of dual worlds – Apokalips and New Genesis – locked in an internecine struggle for the galaxy, one world striving to protect it, and the other to rule it. The first issue of this series introduced Orion, Lightray, Metron and other key figures, and the second issue brought us the second full appearance (after a series of cameos) of Darkseid, ruler of Apokalips and seeker of the Anti-Life Equation. We have outstanding copies of these new in stock: Issue #1 (debuts Orion, Lightray, Metron) is FN+ cents with very light corner wear and a few tiny breaks in spine colour, on sale at £90; #2 (2nd ‘Full Darkseid’) is VF/NM, outstandingly bright with sharp corners, at £80. Both are cents copies without UK price markings. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD

*DC: A second helping of Batmania this week as we feature issues #202-231 (almost all in that sequence) freshly added to our stock in superior grades; almost every issue is Fine or considerably better. A nice run full of Giants (Secrets Of The Bat-Cave, Women in Batman’s Life, 30th Anniversary Special, Batman’s Crime File, Danger Around The World, Deadly Traps), the debut of the Ten-Eyed Man in #226, a delightful Catwoman caper in #210 and a Neal Adams short in #219, presaging what was to follow. Full details as always in our catalogue.

*DC/Marvel: In 1976, after some delicate negotiations, Marvel and DC decided to create a team-up between their two iconic characters which proved too big for a regular-sized comic – so the tabloid-sized format, as seen in Marvel’s Treasury Editions and DC’s Limited Collectors’ Editions, was co-opted for this event! Superman and Spider-Man (as well as guest-villains Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus) are note-perfect in this mega-sized saga. This triggered a series of cross-overs between the two companies, with DC and Marvel alternating on the publishing chores. DC was at the helm for DC Special Series #27, an apparent mismatch between Batman and the Hulk – which, owing to the intervention of the Joker and the Shaper of Worlds, isn’t the one-panel wonder you’d expect! Superbly illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, the Bat/Hulk clash is less frequently encountered ‘in the wild’. Marvel was at the production helm by 1981, when Marvel Treasury Edition #28 was released, with Superman and Spider-Man’s ‘second date’, this time co-featuring Wonder Woman and the Hulk and the villainy of Doctor Doom and the Parasite! We are delighted to have all of these epic editions back in stock: Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, to give the first its full title, is VG, moderate corner and edge wear but clean and unmarred interiors. DC Special Series #27 is VG+, light corner wear and a few small breaks in cover colour at the spine. Marvel Treasury Edition #28 is FN, minimal corner wear, clean interiors, vivid unimpaired cover scene. Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man is VG £45; DC Special Series #27 is VG+ £40, and Marvel Treasury Edition #28 is FN £50. All three are cents copies with no UK pricing. SORRY, FIRST 2 PICTURED ITEMS HAVE NOW SOLD

*Marvel: Amazing Spider-Man #252, like many Secret Wars ‘epilogue’ issues, featured a major ‘twist’ only explained retroactively. In Spidey’s case, it was a dramatic black & white costume which would eventually be revealed as an alien symbiote, which in turn would evolve into to Venom, who eclipsed most longer-established villains to become Spidey’s crucial nemesis for ensuing decades, and eventually the star of his own hit film franchise – without Spidey! Although the first appearance of the symbiote in internal continuity was Secret Wars #8, its debut in real time was this very issue. This is an outstanding CGC Blue Label (no restoration) copy graded at 9.6, a NM+ equivalent, on sale at £150.

*Marvel: The polymath skill-pilferer Taskmaster has proved one of the more popular characters from the later 20th Century Marvel Universe, achieving the status of reluctant anti-hero through nuanced and well-written stints in the series Avengers: The Initiative and Avengers Academy. Now announced as the villain in the forthcoming Black Widow film, Taskmaster’s star is rising, and we have his first appearances in stock: Avengers #195, in which he makes a suitably menacing last-page cameo having overcome both Hank Pym and Scott Lang, and #196, in which he makes his full nefarious debut. #195 is NM p £40; #196 is a cents copy, VF/NM at £150. SORRY, THESE HAVE NOW SOLD