What's New

Update Archives For April 2007

29 April 2007

British update - Biggest-ever Bunty bonanza plus Vulcan & Anglo Features Battle

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Two short-run obscurities this time; the 1960/1 Battle, a US-format anthology of new war tales spearheaded by Mick Anglo of ‘Marvelman’ fame, and featuring, as the cover blurb avers, “extra-special stories of pluck and courage!”. From the second issue to the 8th, averaging FN. And followed up by Vulcan, from 1975/1976, a small-format part-colour weekly reprinting the finest of IPC/Fleetway’s adventure line. Star feature was the sumptuous Trigan Empire, but back-ups Kelly’s Eye, the Spider, Mytek the Mighty and Robot Archie provided a very solid line-up, and the combination of quality features and a short run means that Vulcan’s much sought-after.

*Eyes down for a major top-up of the grand old dame of British girls’ comics: Bunty from 1958’s twelfth issue, then a selection from 1960, and a substantial update from 1963 through to 1969, with a few stragglers from 1972 and 1975 at the end. In excess of four hundred vintage Buntys added to our stock, with popular and obscure series 'The Four Marys', 'Last of the Pekingese', 'The Courage of Crippled Clara', 'Angela – Action Model!', 'Silva the Slave Girl', plucky WWII resistance antics in 'Catch the Cat!' and spooky sci-fi with 'Amazing Grace – the Gymnast From The Future' and 'The School Beneath The Dome', plus useful editorial advice like; “Remember, girls! Never accept lifts from strangers in cars!” So…. Over the back of a motorbike with a leather-clad bad boy is okay then, is it, Auntie Bea? Anyway, there remains nothing quite like Bunty in today’s comic market, so grab yourself a slice of nostalgia (and some surprisingly well-crafted stories and art) today!

Incidentally, cover scans for Bunty #3 and Mandy #1 have now been added to our Cover Gallery. Follow the links from the catalogue pages to see the covers of these issues.

Posted by Rob | 02:23 p.m. GMT | 29 April 2007

American update - DC Giants!

*DC: Giant-Size Round-Up! This update, we have a plethora of extra-thick DC’s, from various periods when the company was experimenting with its format; chief feature is a complete run of the sought-after 80-Page Giant, DC’s first regular reprint title, with rotating features (Superman, Batman, Sgt. Rock, Jimmy, Lois) and ‘themed’ issues, in a number of grades and prices. There’s also a run of the DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular from the 1970’s, including the ND Tarzan issue and the ultra-scarce Weird Mystery Tales (featured in our cover gallery), massive additions to DC Special and DC Super-Stars, the rare 1960’s Secret Origins one-shot, and the 100-page issues within the regular numbering of Action, Adventure, Batman and Superman, among others. These ‘Giant’ issues tend to be lower distribution than their more slender peers, and a collection like this is very seldom seen.

Posted by Rob | 02:17 p.m. GMT | 29 April 2007

23 April 2007

Star Collections Update (American) - 1950s/early 60s DCs inc. Adventure Comics #247, Justice League #1, Strange Adventures, Wonder Woman & more!

*DC: A dazzling range of mid-high grade early Silver Age, with the star of the show being Adventure #247, the debut of our patron team, the Legion of Super-Heroes, in an attractive VG+ for £650. We also have Justice League of America #1 in VG at £575, Superman Annual #1 VG/FN at £160, Green Lantern #11, a scattering of under-#100 Strange Adventures with and without Captain Comet, and Amazon Antics with Wonder Woman in both the Marston and Andru & Esposito eras! Some key issues in uncommonly nice condition in this select update. Scans of the covers of Adventure #247 and Superman Annual #1 may be seen in our captivating Cover Gallery – follow the links from these comics in the main Catalogue listing!

Posted by Rob | 05:01 p.m. GMT | 23 April 2007

British Update - Fantastic, Annuals, Lion 1952-1956, Eagles Vol 10 & 11, Boys' Summer/Holiday Specials, lots of Shiver & Shake, hundreds of Judy 1960-69, early Misty inc #1-#3

Another absolutely tremendous update to our British stock this week, featuring many of our most popular sellers in the following categories:

*Power Comics: Continuing our major upgrade of Power Comics stock, this week we offer Fantastic, the first of Power’s ‘posh’, quality-paper line, with reprints of Thor, the X-Men, and Iron Man, plus original strip Johnny Future. This line-up commences with #6 and averages VG/FN, including the first combination issue when it amalgamated its younger sibling Terrific (acquiring the Avengers and Dr. Strange) and the final issue #89.

*Annuals: An update to several popular humour series this time – Beano, Beryl the Peril, Whizzer and Chips, and a nice condition Dennis the Menace from 1974 – plus new titles Girl From UNCLE, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and a poor but complete Wizard from 1937, possessing extremely dodgy racial stereotypes, as was not uncommon in those Imperialist days. Ooh, controversy!

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: Star of this week’s update is a pride of early Lions, from 1952’s #6 (they were numbered back then, though we usually list them by dates for consistency), through to 1956, with early tales of 'The Jungle Robot' (who, as ‘Robot Archie’, would be brought back for further adventures for decades to come), space voyager Captain Condor, schoolboy scapegrace Sandy Dean, and Brett Marlowe, Detective, among others. Averaging GD, these are generally attractive copies in terms of page quality, with only rusty staples precluding a higher grade. Plus, additional classic Eagle from 1959 (Vol 10 complete) and 1960 (Vol 11, mostly the latter half), and the ultra-rare Eagle Holiday Special from 1962. All this, and a selection of Summer/Holiday Specials from Battle, the 1980’s Eagle, Victor and Warlord.

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: Our biggest Shiver & Shake update ever! This scarce short-run title with its unusual range of humour stories with a horrific twist, (A UK answer to DC’s Plop!, perhaps?) hugely popular with collectors, and now with more than forty new issues added to our stock! We normally only get S & S in dribs, drabs, and the odd trickle, so take advantage of this massive update (about 2/3 of the total series run) while stocks last. Includes the first Birthday Special (shame it didn’t make a second…) and the final issue!

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: As promised, we have a date with Judy this time, beginning with 1960’s #32 and with several new additions to that year in attractive mid-grade, then significant runs from 1963 to 1969, starring not only Bobby Dazzler and Wee Slavey, but the multi-talented Fay Farrell, who was by turns Island Nurse, Holiday Camp Nurse, Flying Squad Nurse and Ship’s Nurse (is there no end to the girl’s versatility?), and balletomane Sandra, who in rapid succession led the Sinister Ballet, Secret Ballet, Runaway Ballet, and Astronaut Ballet. (Oh, okay, we did make up that last one…) Hundreds of issues added, and as a special bonus, most of the first fifteen issues of Misty, Fleetway’s spooky weekly, including the first three. Laugh yourselves sick as over-mascaraed and be-flared teenagers face the perils of 'Paint It Black', 'The Sentinels', 'Moonchild' and more!

Tons more British stuff to come as we try to find the time to get them all graded and listed!

Posted by Rob | 04:56 p.m. GMT | 23 April 2007

American update - Reprint volumes and new books on vintage comics

Updates to two of the most popular sections in our American catalogue this week:

*Modern Reprints: Additions to the ongoing series of DC’s Archives series (Superman in Action, Silver Age Green Lantern and Kamandi), Showcase Editions (Aquaman, Hawkman, Legion of Super-Heroes, second volumes for Green Lantern, House of Mystery and Justice League and a third book for Superman), and Marvel's Masterworks (Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Atlas Heroes (with Bill Everett’s Marvel Boy), Golden Age USA Comics), and Essentials (Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider). With the concentrated efforts of the Big Two to reprint their inventory, there’s never been a better time to be a connoisseur of the Silver and Golden Age, so come along and join the fun!

*Mags/Books About Vintage US Comics: Three more in the acclaimed Modern Masters series, on Messrs. Wieringo, Maguire and Vess, additional listings for Alter Ego magazine, and a second volume for the popular All-Star Companion, dealing primarily with the 1970’s revival and beyond. Also, a special treat, the Confessions, Romances, Secrets and Temptations paperback, a bargainacious retrospective on the popular St. John romance comics of the 1950’s, with much rare art by Matt Baker and others.

Posted by Rob | 02:33 p.m. GMT | 23 April 2007

15 April 2007

American Update: Gold Key, Classics Illustrated, Creepy, Eerie, Blazing Combat & more mags!

Some overdue refurbishment to some of the 'corners' of our catalogue this week in the following categories:

*Gold Key/Whitman: Anthropomorphic antics abound in this mostly 1970’s update. Looney Tunes, Pink Panther, Road Runner, Tom & Jerry, Tweety & Sylvester, Walt Disney Comics Digest, Woody Woodpecker, and Yosemite Sam are all refreshed and restocked for your panelological pleasure, plus a smattering of adventurers to leaven the mix, with new Star Trek and Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea additions!

*Classics Illustrated (American & British): As veteran readers will know, we file all our Classics, whether UK, US or other, in one area for convenience, so this ‘American’ update primarily features the British editions this time round – a policy, not an error, honest! New editions for almost twenty UK Classics, including The Pathfinder, Robin Hood, Rob Roy, Mutiny On The Bounty, Ivanhoe, The Conquest Of Mexico, and Soldiers of Fortune, among many others.

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: Substantial runs of Creepy and Eerie, the benchmark to which all black & white comic mag publishers of the 60’s aspired. The successor to the classic EC horror line (and incorporating many of the surviving EC alumni such as Williamson, Wood, Crandall and Evans, as well as ‘newer’ talents such as Ditko, Toth and Colan), these chilling twist-in-the tale shockers were hugely popular. This run goes from Creepy 1 and Eerie 2 (The actual first distributed issue) and incorporates most of the first twenty of each title, with intermittent numbers up to 100+, a considerable expansion of stock. This Warren update also includes complete runs of the short-lived series Blazing Combat, which tried to do for war stories what Creepy did for horror, but was killed off by the US Armed forces (no, really.), and Comix International, the 1980’s slick full-colour mag, plus additions to our stock of 1984 and Vampirella. Also in this section, new stock for Marvel mags (Savage Sword of Conan, Tales of the Zombie) and Warren-imitator Skywald (Psycho).

As always, full details of these and all our other stock may be found in our on-line catalogue. Just follow the link in the bar to the left!

Posted by Rob | 10:36 a.m. GMT | 15 April 2007

British update - Tammy 1973-1975 & 1982

*Girls’ Comics and Picture Libraries: More suffering and pre-teen angst with Tammy from 1973 (when it had just absorbed the upstart Sandie) to 1975, with bad role-models aplenty in 'Two-Faced Teesha', 'Back-Stab Ballerina' and the slothful 'Ella On Easy Street'. The cruelty was relieved with 1974’s absorption of the veteran June and the coming of Bessie Bunter, but before long it was back to tragedy with 'Becky Never Saw The Ball' (blind tennis player) and what became Tammy’s long-running drama, 'Bella At The Bar'. (Common-but-loveable urchin gymnast constantly thwarted by wicked uncle.). In addition to this very nice mid-seventies run, we’ve a selection from 1982 (Bella still going strong…), including the first 'New Look' issue, where the old girl was considerably refurbished and creators started getting credited for their work! Averaging FN, these attractive copies will enhance the collection of any devotees of bitchy sadism!

Posted by Rob | 10:24 a.m. GMT | 15 April 2007

9 April 2007

British Update - Smash, Pow, Valiant, Scream (inc. Holiday Specials), Thriller & Giant War Picture Libraries, Topper, Knockout, Whoopee, Shiver & Shake, Buster & Mandy (most of 1st 100 issues inc. #1)

An absolutely stonking update to our British stocks this week, inc. rarities, specials and #1 issues in the following categories:

*Power Comics: Smash and Pow kick off our major Power updates – more over the next few weeks – with these strange ‘amalgam’ comics, partly traditional English funny/drama line-up, and partly devoted to the first concentrated attempt to bust the UK market with the classic Silver Age Marvel characters. These series were for many people their first exposure to the Marvel heroes, but the British-originated component included the comic genius of Leo Baxendale and Ken Pyne, among others, and should by no means be underestimated. Our run of Smash begins with 1966’s #39, and incorporates the Batman newspaper strip in addition to the UK & Marvel material such as the Hulk, Daredevil, the Swots & the Blots, and Sgt. Rock of the Paratroops; it includes the first Smash/Pow and Smash/Fantastic ‘merge’issues, and the series’ 1969 relaunch (after being bought out by Fleetway/IPC) into a regular boys’ adventure title which debuted escapologist Janus Stark, and eventually amalgamated into Valiant. Our run of Smash’s senior sibling, Wham, is shorter (commencing with 142 from 1967), but still significant, with Eagle-Eye Junior Spy, Danny Dare, Georgie’s Germs, and the unfortunately-named Sammy Shrink, as well as the fabulous Fantastic Four! This run includes the very final issue, 1968’s # 187.

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: We continue our massive restocking of Valiant with the year 1971, in which the adventure juggernaut absorbed not only Smash but also TV21 in a double-punch that added popular series Janus Stark, Star Trek and the Swots & the Blots to an already stellar line-up of features. This run takes in most of the year from Feb. 6th to December 25th, including both ‘merger’ issues, and averaging FN. From the next decade, Scream!, the short-lived horror title, pursued off the stands by censorious parents, is now back in stock; not only do we have the entire short run inc #1(with work by, among others, a certain Alan Moore Esq…), but also the incredibly scarce Holiday Specials from 1985-1988, which we have almost never seen in our years of trading.

*Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A selection of the classic Thriller Picture Libraries from #79, to the early #200’s, including iconic swashbucklers Robin Hood and Wild Bill in VG+ or better on average. Also, several of the rare ‘double-tall’ Giant War Picture Libraries, which featured three tales of combat per issue.

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: New stock to our listings for Topper from 1972-1974, Knockout 1972-1973, Whoopee 1974-1975, and the ephemeral but ever-popular Shiver and Shake 1973-1974. Of note is a nice selection of Buster from 1975 – not especially early, but a hard year to pin down, I suspect because of two of the drama series in this primarily humour weekly which were very popular. Not only did amphibian vealcake 'Fishboy' seek his natural parents each week by approaching strangers while clad only in a seaweed loincloth - wacky antics ensued - but the heart-rending adventures of 'Marney the Fox', in which our four-legged hero gets routinely beaten, burned, poisoned and hunted by ‘hated man’, were so full of cruelty and heart-tugging that the strip should have been running in Tammy!

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: Make way for Mandy! A significant run of Mandy, the 1967-launched DC Thomson weekly, including most of the first 100 issues averaging VG/FN (with a very clean #1 in FA/GD with some edge wear), and a further 50+ from 1975 and 1977. The first range (continuing spottily till 1969’s #137) is an original owner collection, well-loved and well preserved. Featuring series like 'Mystery of the Dancing Nurse', 'Space Granny', 'My Sister Is A Monkey', 'Danny the Cross-Eyed Donkey', and of course that ever-popular saga of drudgery, heartbreak and child mortality, 'Angel' – not to mention our chirpy gurning hostess whose background-free adventures always seemed to take place in the Phantom Zone - Mandy captured the hearts of a new generation of girl readers (and more than a few furtive boys; you know who you are…) from its parents Bunty and Judy. And speaking of Bunty and Judy (not to mention Fleetway rival Tammy) – big updates on the way for those titles. Keep watching!

Posted by Rob | 09:17 a.m. GMT | 9 April 2007

1 April 2007

Star Collections Update (British): Dandy from 1945-1955

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: From the reserves of one of the United Kingdom’s premier collectors comes a selection of Dandy, the classic British comics weekly published by Dundee’s D.C. Thomson. This range features several scarce 1945 issues, which due to wartime paper shortages were routinely salvaged and recycled, in addition to a very attractive assortment of issues from 1951 to 1955, including several in FN or better grade. In total, more than 65 issues from this sought-after period. In addition to being the home of classic long-running characters like Korky the Cat and Desperate Dan, Dandy, like its stablemate Beano, also featured a bewildering variety of obscure and short-run characters the likes of which you Wouldn’t Get Away With These Days, such as Black Magic Bongo the Schoolboy From The Congo, The Tickler Twins, Black Bob and Cripple Dick, and someone of whom the blurb advises, “Everyone is laughing at Willie Willikin’s Pobble!” In which case, maybe he’d better get a dose of “Mary’s Magic Medicine”, sharpish. Not only a slice of comics’ history, but a social document besides….

Posted by Rob | 02:41 p.m. GMT | 1 April 2007

British Update: Annuals & Girls' favourites Debbie, June & more!

A nice mix of stuff we haven't seen for a while in this week's British update:

*Annuals: Some very rare items in this update, including a lot of film & TV tie-ins; Television’s Avengers, with John Steed and Tara King, UFO, Lady Penelope, TV 21, an oddity called Top TV Series claiming to star “Danger Man” which looks nothing like him, and the ultra-rare James Bond from 1965! Plus, additions to our listings for Victor, Warlord, classic Eagle, and the Okay Adventure series from the 1950’s, which featured 1930’s and 1940’s Quality reprints and McLoughlin covers.

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: This week, we do Debbie; from the fourth issue in 1973 through to the following year’s issue #50, an intermittent but very nice selection averaging VG/FN condition. We can also offer a range of June from 1966 (including one of the scarce “Girlhood of Emma Peel” issues!) through to 1969, home of Bessie Bunter, Lucky’s Living Doll, Zanna of the Jungle, Serena from Space, Vanessa from Venus (wonder if the two ever teamed-up?) and more. And as the icing on the cake, a handful of early Jinty from the first year of publication, 1974, and a smidgen of Diana from 1971/1972. Recent acquisitions have meant that there are significant girls’ updates soon to come, so you Bunty, Judy, Mandy and Tammy punters – please stand by!

Posted by Rob | 02:37 p.m. GMT | 1 April 2007

American Update - DC, Romance, War & Western

A chunky update for our American stock this week in the following categories:

*DC: Another Silver/Bronze Age sweep through, primarily focussed on the Justice League of America (from issue 13 through to the Englehart years in the 140’s), but also updating out lists for such diverse titles as Action, Brave & Bold, DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular, Lois Lane, Super-Friends, Supergirl, Superman, and World’s Finest.

*Romance: A collection of vintage heartthrobs this time, with obscure and esoteric fifties publishers such as Ajax (All-True Romance), Charlton (First Kiss), Toby (Great Lover Romances), Merit (Romantic Hearts), St. John (Teen-Age Romances, with glorious Matt Baker cover & art), and Marvel (My Love) Okay, that last one isn’t that obscure or vintage…but it is one of the stranger covers from Marvel’s short-lived 70’s romance revival!

*War: A veritable blitzkrieg through the major publisher’s re-interpretations of the classic battle sagas; from Marvel, Captain Savage, Sgt. Fury, and the non-distributed War Is Hell series; from Dell, Air War Stories, Jungle War Stories and Combat (what, not “Combat War Stories”?); and from Charlton, a very nice Foxhole from the Fifties with Simon & Kirby cover, backed up by Submarine Attack, U.S. Air Force, War Heroes, and the ever-popular “Fightin’” series; Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy. (We still live in hope of a still-undiscovered “Fightin’ WACS” surfacing someday…). King of the battlefield this time, though, is DC; additions to the classic titles – Our Army At War and GI Combat, the latter taking us through the scarce ‘Dollar Comic’ range of #201-250 and all the way through to #288’s fightin’ final issue – but also later series such as Army At War, Men Of War, Unknown Soldier and a stonking run of Sgt. Rock’s own title which took over Our Army At War’s numbering. Although these later Rocks run through the ‘80s and ‘90s, and are beyond the normal range of our catalogue, they’re listed here because they still feature the iconic artists (Kubert, Heath, Severin) and present some of Kubert’s most daring and innovative cover work depicting blazing battle action (and sometimes action of another kind – check out the Rock/Mlle. Marie liplock in #412!). That, plus relative scarcity owing to lower print runs, justifies their inclusion here.

*Western: Sharp-shootin’ action from various publishers this update, as we roam the range with Charlton’s Billy the Kid and Kid Montana, ME’s Bobby Benson’s B-Bar-B Riders with Frazetta cover (try saying that in a hurry!), Gold Key’s Lone Ranger, Marvel’s Ghost Rider, Mighty Marvel Western, Western Gunfighters, and Wyatt Earp, and DC’s Tomahawk and Weird Western Tales. Don’t be a tenderfoot – whatever that is – grab your cayuse (or was it caboose?) and ride along!

Posted by Rob | 02:30 p.m. GMT | 1 April 2007