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Update Archives For March 2007

26 March 2007

Presenting the Alan Austin Original Owner Spider-Man Collection!

The name of Alan Austin has been well-known in comic collecting circles for decades. He owned and ran one of the first specialist comic shops in the UK, and was co-writer of the first ever Comics Price Guide for American comics published in this country.
We are therefore delighted to present for sale his personal collection of Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man from Amazing Fantasy #15 to Amazing Spider-Man #38. These are the copies that Alan bought for himself as they were published in the early 1960’s, everything from #3 up being bought directly from the newsagents. Even back then Alan knew that it was a good idea to look after comics and preserve them as much as possible. He had them in protective plastic bags even before the specialist comic bag was being produced.
Alan’s collection is upper-mid to high grade, many issues being VF or better, virtually unmarked throughout and mostly with remarkable cover lustre and gloss. Almost all of them are pence copies due to the manner of their purchase back at the dawn of the Silver Age.
A small number of issues from this collection have been previously been sold privately, but the vast majority (including the key issues Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1 & #14) are now available exclusively from us.
This sort of opportunity simply does not come up very often and interest is certain to be high on such a nice original owner collection of such pedigree. We recommend early viewing to avoid disappointment!
Full details in the Marvel section of our catalogue, and cover images of Amazing Fantasy #15, and Amazing Spider-Man #1 & #14 may be viewed by following the links shown there.

Posted by Rob | 01:52 p.m. GMT | 26 March 2007

British Update - Lion, Valiant, Dandy, Shiver & Shake

Four much sought-after titles in this week's British update as follows:

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: More of the two Fleetway/IPC mainstays this week; close to two hundred Lion, from 1965 to 1972, ranging from FA to FN, with a plethora of favourites including the Spider, Zip Nolan, Spellbinder, and lesser-remembered names such as Maroc the Mighty, the Slaves of the Screamer (don’t ask…), the Waxer (not a disgruntled beautician…), short-lived but well-crafted features all. This batch of Lion also includes the 1977 Summer Special, with Robot Archie, Trelawny of the Guard, and Frank Bellamy’s Fraser of Africa reprinted. And to follow, Valiant from 1970, when the various creators were at the height of their powers on strips like Kelly’s Eye, the Steel Claw, Mytek the Mighty (giant robot gorilla! It’s a classic!) and more. This major update features every issue of the year up to 14th November, and ranged from GD to FN grades. Many more Valiant updates yet to come, so keep watching…

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: One title each from the ‘Big Two’ of British Publishing; DC Thomson’s long-running Dandy, from 1967 to 1969, home of Korky the Cat, Desperate Dan, and a multitude of classic laughter-makers; and 1973/4’s short-lived but sought-after Shiver & Shake from IPC/Fleetway, with the most bizarre humour/horror hybrids ever. We’ve been low on both these titles for a time, so the section’s well worth your perusal now.

Posted by Rob | 01:47 p.m. GMT | 26 March 2007

19 March 2007

British Update - Strato/Arnold/T&P 1950's DC reprints plus Eagles Vols 14-20 inc. last issue

Lovely stuff in this week's British update:

*Vintage UK/Australian reprints of US Material: A remarkable selection of the Strato/Arnold/TP DC reprints from the 1950’s, including substantial runs of Blackhawk from #5, Mr. District Attorney from #6, Tomahawk from #4, Mystery In Space from #1, and the first four (and only four?) issues of Challengers of the Unknown, featuring reprints of Kirby & Wood work. Also, Australia’s Mammoth Annual, reprinting 292 pages of vintage DC work, including Martian Manhunter, Trigger Twins, Jimmy Olsen, Wonder Woman, and dozens more features.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics:More stock for Eagle, the prestigious weekly of the 1950’s, with additions to our range from Volume 14 through to the very final issue in Volume 20. This includes most of Vols. 16-18, of which many were previously in short supply, so move fast before other Eagle-eyed customers get to them!

Posted by Rob | 02:01 p.m. GMT | 19 March 2007

American update - early Silver Age DC & Dell plus 60's-80's horror

A good mix of rarities this update, focusing on the years 1959-1962, plus some later horror as follows:

*DC: A nice Silver-Age sweep-through this week, with new listings for Action, Adventure, Batman, Blackhawk, Brave & Bold, Challengers of the Unknown, Detective, Mystery In Space, Sgt. Bilko, Sgt. Bilko’s Private Doberman (that’s a subordinate, not a pet, we hasten to clarify), Superboy, Superman and Worlds’ Finest. Most of this new stock comes from the early days of UK distribution, ranging from 1959-1962, and averages FN grade, for a very attractive update.

*Dell: A myriad of titles from this most eclectic of publishers. From the same small range of dates (early UK distribution, averaging FN grade) as our DC selection this week, this well-preserved collection includes TV hits (I Love Lucy, Flintstones, 77 Sunset Strip, 87th Precinct, Huckleberry Hound), film adaptations (Atlantis the Lost Continent, Dinosaurus, Phantom Planet, Hatari! - Look, nobody said they were adaptations of good movies, all right? ) and some oddball originals (the very first Kona; Mike Shayne, Private Eye.) in Dell’s usual bewildering variety of genres. A rare treat to get so many Dells (over 70 items) in such a high state of preservation, in one fell swoop.

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980's: More assorted spookiness with Charlton’s Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves, Gold Key’s Twilight Zone (including #1), Marvel (Supernatural Thrillers including # 1 with Steranko cover and Where Monsters Dwell), and the Heap, from Skywald’s short-lived attempt to spin-off a colour comic line from their successful b&w horror mags.

Posted by Rob | 01:55 p.m. GMT | 19 March 2007

11 March 2007

Star Collections Update (American) - early Silver Age DC's inc. many debut issues!

We return once again this week to our Star Collections (obtained from some of the most prominent UK collectors) for a dip back to the early Silver Age of the company that started that phenomenon:

*DC: Debut and early issue selection! A clutch of rarities added this week, with Brave & Bold #29 (second JLA), and #34 (1st Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl), Justice League of America #1 & #2, Green Lantern #2, #3 & #4, and a selection of Flash from #110, including the first appearances of Kid Flash and longtime villains Trickster And Captain Boomerang. Mostly in mid-high grade, (VG or better), these classic early stories are lovely to behold – and you can behold some of them; go to the listings in our main catalogue for Flash #110 and #113, Green Lantern #2, and JLA #1 & #2, and click on the link to see front cover scans of our recently-added copies.

Posted by Rob | 04:03 p.m. GMT | 11 March 2007

American Update - War (inc DC's 'Big Five'), Western (inc. early 60's DC & Dell), British Classics Illustrated

Some favourite genres updated this week with many 40+ year old items, as follows:

*War: DC’s 'Big Five', plus Capt. Storm and Weird War! New stock for all of DC’s 'Big Five' battle titles; All-American Men of War, G.I Combat, Our Army At War, Our Fighting Forces, and Star-Spangled War Stories, starring the Losers, Sgt. Rock, Balloon Buster, Enemy Ace, Unknown Soldier and many more. We also have new listings for heroic one-legged PT Boat Commander, Captain Storm (and relation to Sue and Johnny?) and an extensive update on the experimental 70’s anthology Weird War Tales, (from #6 on) meshing the war and horror genres with art by Toth, Adams and a plethora of gifted artists.

*Western: More leather-slappin’ action from DC (1st series All-Star Western, with Johnny Thunder by Gil Kane, Tomahawk (hey, it’s got horses in it, it’s a western…), and Western Comics, with Matt Savage Trail Boss), Dell’s Laramie and Bat Masterson, Marvel’s Kid Colt Outlaw, and Charlton’s Six-Gun Heroes, for a cross-section of the big companies’ diverse takes on the classic genre.

*Classics Illustrated: As regular viewers here will know, this is the one file on our site that has dual nationality, so we can keep all our Classics together. A bakers’ dozen of new British Classics this time, with popular titles such as the Time Machine, From The Earth To The Moon, Around the World In 80 Days, Buffalo Bill, the Iliad and more expanding our selection, in very affordable low-mid grades. If you’re a fan of the Classics Comics (or if you’ve got an English Lit. O-Level coming up and you’re too bone idle to read an entire book…), then this is the section for you!

Posted by Rob | 03:56 p.m. GMT | 11 March 2007

British Update - Action, Tiger, Scorcher (first 4 issues), TV Tornado, Comet & Sun from the 50's, Look-In, Wizard & Valiant Summer Specials plus loads of Commandos!

A really wide range of Boys' material this week as follows:

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: Casting our nets wide this week, with additions to several long running and well-liked titles. We open with the notorious Action from 1976 and 1977, presenting ultra-violent tales of white shark Hookjaw, brutal cop Dredger, and anarchic teen aggro in 'Kids Rule OK'; companion titles Comet and Sun from 1954/5 and 1952/3 respectively, with Buffalo Bill, Dick Turpin, Robin Hood and other adventurers; Scorcher from 1970-1972, including the first four issues, cram-packed with as many bizarre variations on the soccer story as you’ll ever see; Tiger from 1966-1972, with 'Peg-Leg’s Flying Penguins', 'The Robot Builders', 'Black Archer', 'Typhoon Tracy' and the 'Slogger From Down Under'!; and TV Tornado, with the Saint, Batman & Robin, Flash Gordon, Tarzan, Man from U.N.C.L.E. and the Mysterons. Stars of the update are a trio of Valiant Summer Specials, including the card-covered 1966 rarity, which is more like a softcover annual than a traditional Summer Special. To round it off, Look-In from 1972, and a coven of Wizards (well what is the collective noun, then?) from the early 1970’s.

*Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Oh, what a lovely war – or at least a lovely selection of Commando Picture Libraries, with a range from #589, just post-decimalisation, to #3210, which is just a couple of years ago. Featuring every possible reinterpretation and angle on the traditional war story you could imagine – and many I wouldn’t have – Commandos soldier on even today, attracting new readers for the back issues. This is the latest in a multi-tiered and comprehensive update to this series, with hundreds more issues still to come.

Posted by Rob | 03:45 p.m. GMT | 11 March 2007

5 March 2007

British Update - Vulcan, Swift, Fleetway Stupendous Series, Girl, Judy & Tammy

A broad sweep of British titles that we can never get too much of this week in the following categories:

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: Several early editions of Vulcan (issues #3-8 of the National edition, in fact), in FN or better grades; with its reprint line-up of classic adventure strips, including the Trigan Empire, the Spider, Steel Claw, Kelly’s Eye, and Mytek the Mighty, this part-colour short-run anthology is always a popular and rapid seller, so move swiftly to avoid disappointment. For fans of a previous generation, we also have a selection of Eagle’s ‘little brother’, Swift, from Vols. 2-4 (1955-1957), with adventures of Tarna the Jungle Boy and company. Although intended for a lightly younger audience than Eagle, these strips were put together by the same gifted creators.

*Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries: More of the scarce Fleetway Super Library Stupendous Series; this clunkily-titled digest featured brand-new adventures, not reprinted from the weekly comics, of the invisible secret agent Steel Claw and the Spider, world’s greatest crook. Commencing with issue #3, this group is of unusually high grade, averaging FN, and sure to vanish more rapidly than the Claw on the end of an electrical shock (and if you don’t get the reference, then you shouldn’t be reading this!). #7 is featured in our Cover Gallery, which may be viewed by following the link in our catalogue listing.

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: Tearful Tammy! “No! Don’t thrash her!” “Then it’ll have to be – the hole!”; actual, God-help-us dialogue from 'Waifs of the Wigmaker', one of the ‘suffering sagas’ that Tammy excelled in. One of Tammy’s most popular aspects with its readers, despite the comedy covers, were the stories which made girls cry, and with 'Waifs', 'Slaves of the Hot Stove' and other such serials, the lachrymosity was heaped high. This particular batch of Tammy dates from 1975 (incorporating the recently vanquished June) through to 1977, grades ranging from Fair to Fine. Grab your hankies and start sobbing! We also have Judy from 1960, and a selection of the grand old dame of girls' comics, Girl herself, from 1958 to 1960, with schoolgirl frolics with 'Wendy & Jinx', hospital drama with 'Susan of St. Brides', and 'Belle of the Ballet' – bet you can’t guess what that’s about!

Posted by Rob | 09:34 a.m. GMT | 5 March 2007

American Update - Archie & Gold Key

A couple of fan favourite publishers updated with new stock this week:

*Archie: More adventures of Riverdale’s favourite son, including his own series, Archie Giant Series (with Sabrina the Teenage Witch!), Laugh, Pep, Suzie and Wilbur, ranging from 1952 to 1975; and also additions to our range of the super-hero ‘tryout’ title, Mighty Comics Presents, with the misadventures of the most hen-pecked super-hero, the Web!

*Gold Key/Whitman: A small but special Gold Key update, with three first issues in high grade (the TV detectives of 77 Sunset Strip, spy thriller Freedom Agent, and equestrian drama in Fury), a # 2 Munsters in nice shape, and additions to our stock of Little Lulu and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea – all obvious stablemates, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Posted by Rob | 09:22 a.m. GMT | 5 March 2007