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Update Archives For July 2008

27 July 2008

British Update - 1st 5 Years of Lion Complete (!), plus Whizzer & Chips, yet more Mandy and Mandy & Judy Complete Years

One of our most astounding updates ever this week:

*Boys’ Adventure and War Comics: How's this for a stock update then??? A pride of Lions, IPC/Fleetway’s long-running anthology, which debuted in 1952 and lasted 1,136 issues until 1974, with a stellar roster of fondly-remembered strips. This update is particularly significant, however, as we are pleased to present the first five years of Lion in their entirety, from 1952 to 1956, as our Complete Year Initiative scores a major coup! Featuring space adventurer Captain Condor, school ‘soap’ Sandy Dean, detective Brett Marlowe and others, these issues kick-started lion’s long career as a direct rival to Eagle, which it finally had the pleasure of absorbing in 1969. The first issue is poor, as is one issue from 1955, but otherwise the grades range from Fair to Good/Very Good, with only rusty staples precluding an, on average, half-grade better condition. A major run of UK comics’ history, available for, we predict, a limited time only. For sale as individual Complete Years only - see our catalogue listing for details and prices.

*Humour Comics and Picture Libraries: A wealth of Whizzer & Chips! One of the longer-running IPC/Fleetway humour weeklies, outstripped only by the juggernaut that was Buster, Whizzer & Chips parlayed a clever rivalry angle (Chips was an allegedly separate supplement inside Whizzer, and the comic's two factions were at daggers-drawn) into a surprisingly long life, running a healthy 1,038 issues from 1969 to 1990 before finally stumbling and being swallowed by Buster. Along the way, W&C claimed a few impressive scalps of its own, including Knockout, Krazy and Whoopee – the latter having already gobbled up Shiver & Shake, Cheeky & Wow – and somehow picked up Valiant’s discarded ‘Billy Bunter’, to become a virtual smorgasbord of the best-remembered British humour strips; 'Billy Bunter', 'Sweeney Toddler', 'Lolly Pop', 'Bumpkin Billionaires', 'Mustapha Million', 'Junior Rotter', 'Oddball', 'Fuss Pot', and many more graced the title during the Eighties. This selection is more than 100 issues, from the first year of publication to the last, often in high grades.

*Girls’ Comics and Picture Libraries: We run the final leg of our Mammoth Mandy Marathon, bringing you issues from 1989 through to the last issue, #1269, in 1991. 'Frida The Thirteenth', squabbling gymnasts in 'Aggro-Batics', and 'Little Phantom of the Opera' were prominently featured during this time, as was wonder-girl 'Valda' and terminally-ill do-gooder 'Angel', who held pluckily on until the end, popping her clogs on the final issue’s final page. But despair not! Mandy hooked up with another casualty, Judy, the very next week, and unusually for ‘mergers’ the two kept equal billing and started again with a new number one, rather than the senior title absorbing the junior. The retooled Mandy & Judy featured 'Malice In Wonderland', a 'Mandy & Judy' strip in which our heroines’ surnames were disclosed for the first time (Taylor & Jones, for those of you bursting with curiosity), and, yes, posthumous untold stories of 'Angel', in case you thought the suffering was over! We have two Complete Years, including the first short year (33 issues) of Mandy & Judy from 1991, and a later one, 1996, when it had contracted just to M & J. More girls’ updates, including a return to our Bunty and Judy ‘Big Girls’ Bonanza’, imminently.

Posted by Rob | 10:42 a.m. GMT | 27 July 2008

American Update - More of our huge DC expansion, plus gorgeous Matt Baker St John romance

One huge and one small update to our American stocks this week, but both very significant:

*DC: Continuing our complete renovation of our vintage DC section, with more listings for Challengers of the Unknown, Claw the Unconquered, Creeper, DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular, Detective Comics, Doom Patrol, Eighty-Page Giant, Firestorm, First Issue Special, Flash (from #130 upwards, including many nice issues in mid-high grades, Fine or better), Forever People, Freedom Fighters, From Beyond the Unknown, Green Lantern, Hawkman, House of Mystery, and Jimmy Olsen. Not only are we adding in new issues previously unrepresented in our stock, but the assortment of grades available is being widened to give you more variety and choice. Scans of two high points from this selection – Flash #137 and Hawkman #1 – may be seen in our Cover Gallery feature. Check in, over the next few weeks, for further episodes of our alphabetical upgrades!

*Romance: “Do you think she knows him?” “No, but that’s Linda for you!” A quartet of innocently saucy St. John romance titles – Diary Secrets #17, Teen-Age Romances #33, Teen-Age Temptations #2, and True Love Pictorial #2 – gives us a medley of glamour and melodrama. Mostly written by the implausibly-named Dana Dutch and frequently illustrated by the unfeasibly-talented Matt Baker, these 1950’s stories amp up the angst with elopements, betrayals, illegitimate pregnancies and the occasional flooding of a township by way of a change of pace. Highly sought after, the St. John line commands high prices, but most connoisseurs of the ‘love funnies’ believe they’re worth it. Scans of the Matt Baker covers of Teen-Age Temptations #2 (‘Naughty drum majorette’ cover) and True Love Pictorial #2 (‘Disillusioned wife in negligee’) are available for your delectation in our Cover Gallery.

Posted by Rob | 10:26 a.m. GMT | 27 July 2008

22 July 2008

British Update: Alan Class Collector Plate Sets, Spike, early Sparky and more humour, Twinkle, Jinty, Tammy, Tracy and more girls'!

We're back probably sooner than you expected with one of our occasional additional mid-week updates. Our reserve stockrooms are bursting with wonders to unleash on you, and we're working as hard as we can to get them graded, priced and listed for your delectation. Possibly our biggest mid-weeker ever for British comics, featuring stuff from the following categories:

*Alan Class Reprints: From the personal archive of publisher Alan Class, we have several more of the unique Plate Sets, each featuring a copy of the comic – titles in this update include Creepy Worlds, Sinister Tales and Suspense – the four original colour plates used in printing the comic’s cover, and a certificate of authenticity signed by Alan Class himself. In addition some items feature additional bonuses such as interior page plates, colour proofs, and the like. Each of these is a one-of-a-kind item, and they have become highly sought after. Check the catalogue for our newly revised listing of Alan Class Plate Sets, and click on the links for Creepy Worlds #36 and Suspense #187 for scans not only of the comic covers, but of the Cover Plates themselves!

*Boys’ Adventure and War Comics: A substantial update for Spike, the 1983 D.C. Thomson adventure weekly starring Iron Barr, Starhawk, Johnny Tough, the Bleak Street Bunch, and wonder athlete Wilson, still going strong some seventy years after his debut in Wizard. Plus, additions to Vulcan, including a first issue in very affordable Fair condition.

*Humour Comics and Picture Libraries: A startling selection of Sparky, from our politically-incorrect host’s fifth issue in 1965, and including many of the first year in grades ranging from Very Good to Fine, plus later issues. Also, additions to Beezer, Cor, Cracker, Jackpot, the 1970’s Knockout, Krazy, School Fun, TV Comic and Whoopee.

*Girls’ Comics and Picture Libraries: Well, we’ve learned how you all fancy a mid-week Twinkle – so here you are! The adventures of 'Nancy the Little Nurse', 'Sam the Sheepdog', 'Mollie and her Dollies', and 'Witch Winkle' – worlds will live! Worlds will die! Nothing will ever be the same again! Ahem. Anyway, this selection constitutes 19 issues from 1977-1980 and two of the ultra-rare Summer Specials from 1983 & 1984, averaging Fine condition. You may mock Twinkle – and heaven knows, we’ve done our share of that – but have you seen how difficult they are to find in any grade at all? But we don’t stop there! We also have significant updates to long-running titles Jinty, Tammy and Tracy, and lighter but still useful additions to Debbie, Emma, Misty and the Bunty/Judy/Mandy Picture Library triad.

We'll be back next weekend-ish with many more newly-stocked British and American goodies...

Posted by Rob | 10:03 a.m. GMT | 22 July 2008

American Update - more Signed, Variant & Rare Modern Comics

*Modern Comics Signed, Variant and Rare Editions: Newly refreshed with stocks from such diverse titles as Action Comics, A Distant Soil, Angel: After the Fall, Civil War, Civil War: Frontline, Danger Girl, Darkchylde, Elektra: Assassin, Fantastic Four, Hulk Vs. Venom, Manhunter, Moon Knight, New Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Supergirl, Thor and Wolverine, resulting in your one-stop shop for all things signed, shiny and certificated! Full details in the appropriate section of our online catalogue.

Posted by Rob | 09:52 a.m. GMT | 22 July 2008

20 July 2008

American Update: DC major expansion, Marvel's Ghost Rider, Good Girls of crime, sci-fi and jungle from the 1940's, Modern Reprints, Magazines and Books About Vintage Comics, and more Modern Complete Sets

A huge update to our American stocks this week, featuring both quality and qunatity in the following categories:

*DC: We've been digging in our vaults and unearthed about 1000 DC Silver/Bronze issues not yet listed, so this week, we commence a total renovation of our entire DC section, offering our widest selection ever with an even bigger choice of issues and grades. Our first instalment offers significant updates to Action, Adventure, All-Star, Anthro, Aquaman, Atom, Batman, Blackhawk, Black Lightning, Brave & Bold, Brother Power the Geek, and the Challengers of the Unknown. Tune in, in weeks to come, for new episodes of our alphabetical upgrades!

*Marvel: An expansion and extensive new stock for Ghost Rider. Johnny Blaze, the blazing-skulled, well-meaning minion of Satan, gets a major facelift (and with a face like his, he could really use it!) this update. We’ve added the full run of his 1970’s title to our online catalogue, to coincide with the acquisition of a virtually complete run of the series, shy only two issues of the total. This selection averages FN/VF, with many NM issues and dozens of the Non-Distributed numbers that so plagued Marvel collectors of the 70’s.

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: A galaxy of glamour, with a gaggle of Good Girl Art items: three Alex Schomberg classics - Exciting Comics, with Judy of the Jungle, Thrilling Comics, with Princess Pantha, and Startling Comics, featuring Lance Lewis’ gal-pal Marna in what, I am assured, has become known as the ‘Panties in Space’ cover. Plus, a rare Quality Lady Luck, with Klaus Nordling’s dilettante debutante/superhero in crime busting adventures, and an early Zoot (#10), with Rulah, Jungle Goddess fighting the ‘Harpies From Hades’, and ‘The Ice Beast’, during the course of which she shows off her winter ensemble of a scarf and a mini-skirt – that’ll keep you warm in a blizzard! All five of these beauties can be seen in our Cover Gallery; click the link & fill your tiger-skin boots!

*Modern Reprints: A plethora of vintage treats, with more in the DC Showcase editions (Batman Vol 3, Flash Vol 2, Haunted Tank Vol 2), Marvel’s Masterworks (Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Vol 2, Sgt. Fury Vol 2) and Essentials (Defenders Vol 4, and debut volumes for Rampaging Hulk and Captain Marvel), the special Legion of Super-Heroes 50th Anniversary celebration, and representations of antique obscurities such as Fantagraphics’ Complete E.C. Segar Popeye and Andru & Esposito’s Mad-imitator Get Lost!

*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: Additions to our range of Alter Ego, Roy Thomas’ affectionate retrospective, plus the oversized Jack Kirby Collector, the rare 1981 Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics, Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic Book, and the splendid oversized hardcover Horror Comics of the 1950’s, which was the first scholarly and annotated re-presentation and analysis of the EC line.

*Modern Comics Complete Sets: This popular section grows ever mightier with the addition of C.H.I.X., Loeb & Sales’ Daredevil: Yellow, Grant Morrison’s DC One Million, Go Girl!, Gen 13: Ordinary Heroes, Hercules, Fantastic Four Vs. The X-Men, Generation M, Lady Death II, Frank Miller’s Martha Washington Goes To War and Martha Washington Saves The World (she’s a busy lady…), Savage Dragon Vol 1, Tales of Darkness, Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws, Fantastic Four: House of M, Daredevil: Ninja, Hellstorm: Son of Satan, X-Men: Brood, the original Squadron Supreme maxi-series, JLA/Hitman, and more than thirty new complete stories pre-collected for your comfort and convenience.

Posted by Rob | 09:46 a.m. GMT | 20 July 2008

British Update: 1950s Wizards, more Mandy plus Nikki Complete Years

Large amounts of three titles added to our stock this week as follows:

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: Wizard, the vintage story paper with 'Wilson', 'Bernard Briggs' and 'Limp-Along-Leslie' (all of whom were recycled many, many times in D.C. Thomson’s later years) is restocked with issues ranging from 1949-1952, 1956 and 1957, the approximate first half of a considerable relisting. These text-with story papers were the ancestor of the comics in the UK, and featured many characters and concepts which made the switch to comic strips. Keep an eye out in future updates for 1958 onwards - and the upstart second series - in a short while.

*Girls’ Comics and Picture Libraries: Mandy marches on! This week, we have new stock from 1971, 1972, 1974, 1978-1982, and 1984-1986, approximately 300 additional items listed, with 'Wonder Girl' (no, not the Teen Titan!), 'Petra and the Pearl of Power', 'Mary, Maid of All Work', 'My Pony Next Door', and the positively creepy 'Little Stranger' backing up Valda, Angel and co. Keep watching for our final (for the time being) instalment of Mandy, from 1987 to the title’s final issue in 1991, in a near-future update. And for your further consideration, two Complete Year Sets of Nikki, the ‘streetwise’ D.C. Thomson late entry which had a reasonable five-year run before being folded into Bunty. Nikki featured stories that were a bit more gritty and contemporary than its stablemates – best example being ongoing school soap 'The Comp' – but also had some surprisingly grisly supernatural stories, like 'The Ninth Nightmare'. These are the two final years of the title, 1988 and 1989, averaging Fine condition.

Posted by Rob | 09:30 a.m. GMT | 20 July 2008

13 July 2008

British Update: Annuals inc Beano, Dandy (1954), James Bond, TV21 & Misty, Complete Year Wizard 1960, small selection of early or rare Picture Libraries and much more Mandy 1973-1977 individual issues plus Complete Years 1975, 1976 & 1979!

Yet another broad range of British goodies for you this week, hundreds of new items in the following categories:

*Annuals: Top-ups to Humour (Beano, Desperate Dan, Whoopee! and a nice 1954 Dandy), Film & TV (the rare James Bond 007 from 1965, and TV 21 from 1966 & 1967), and Girls’ (two of the rare late Misty Annuals from the 1980’s – get your 'Tales From The Midnight World' while they’re, erm, cold…) and the truly inexplicable Sally Cookbook Annual from 1971. You really never know what you’re going to find in our boxes…

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Our Complete Year Initiative continues with Wizard from 1960, 53 issues averaging VG, featuring 'Magnus the Muscle Man', 'Johnny Raw', and 'The Boundary Boy-O', in addition to other tales of clean-limbed Empire-saving youth. This year includes two successive Christmas Issues, because the folks at Wizard were just wacky that way.

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: A couple of dozen early or rare issues, including Air Ace from #21, pre-decimal Combat, the ultra-rare Pocket Chillers from the 1970’s, War At Sea from #5, and War from #26. Some of them, admittedly, in low-mid grade, but all seldom seen.

*Girls’ Comics and Picture Libraries: More Mandy! Continuing our massive upgrade of DC Thomsons’ third-longest running girls’ title, we have the years 1973 through 1977, with 'Valda – Girl of Mystery', 'Jonny Comet – Pop Star From Planet X', 'Fay Fearless', 'Sally the Slave-Girl Star', and 'Call Me Cupid!' (No, that wasn’t an instruction…) Mandy, despite the anodyne antics of our cover hostess, specialised in suffering and torment for its young protagonists, and the angst is hotting up in these years with blind athletes, crippled ballerinas, and bullied schoolgirls galore! Not content with that, our Complete Year Initiative continues with 1975, 1976 and 1979 brought to you in their entirety. At least two more mammoth Mandy updates in your near future – keep watching the website.

Posted by Rob | 02:17 p.m. GMT | 13 July 2008

American Update: Silver/Bronze DC, Charlton 1950s-1970s inc Space Adventures #12 classic Ditko cover

A general round-up of DC this week, plus some very diverse Charlton titles:

*DC: Another of our periodic Silver/Bronze sweeps brings up treasures both mainstream and obscure (and we’ll leave it to you judge which is which!), with titles such as Beowulf, Brave & Bold, Challengers of the Unknown, Creeper, Detective, Firestorm, Freedom Fighters, Jimmy Olsen, Justice League of America, Kamandi, Karate Kid, Kung Fu Fighter, Metal Men, Superman, Swamp Thing, and Teen Titans all recharged and ready to go!

*Charlton: From the sublime to… the Flintstones! Leading the pack this update is Space Adventures 12 from 1954, featuring Steve Ditko’s iconic female astronaut & monster cover. In a decent FA/GD (structurally sound, no stains or scribbling, but watermarks and some wear at upper left corner), this clocks in at a very affordable £40 for one of the most-sought Ditko images. A scan of this cover can be found in our Cover Gallery: follow the link from the Charlton listings page. Two 1950’s Out Of This Worlds also join us, with Ditko stories in each, plus we have additions to Yang, and half-a-dozen new listings featuring not only Bedrock’s First Family, but also their pet Dino and their…what was the Great Gazoo, anyway? Pixie? Alien? – in their own series. What other company provided you with such a contrast?

Posted by Rob | 02:02 p.m. GMT | 13 July 2008

6 July 2008

Free Gift Farrago - Boys' Adventure & War Titles

As if we hadn't already listed enough new wonders this week (see below), we proudly present the latest round of our Free Gift Farrago as follows:

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Our Free Gift Farrago launches its new wave, as we bring you a selection of classic comics with free gifts that were inventive, historical, or sometimes outright baffling. The first four issues of Champ from 1984, complete with soccer player pictures and sticker badges; Eagle from 1984-1990 (badges, posters and trinkets galore); a nice short consecutive batch of Hornet from 1965, with the ingredients for a ‘build-it-yourself’ football booklet; Rover from 1963, (adhesive backed car pictures) and Tiger from 1967 (football club badge stickers). In varying grades, but none lower than Good and with many Fine, this selection offers a rare opportunity to see what whetted the buying appetites of the comics readers of yesteryear. (But what is a 'Weetabix Shrinkie' for, exactly?)

Posted by Rob | 03:55 p.m. GMT | 6 July 2008

British Update - Commando Picture Library and a plethora of girls: early Mandy from #1, 1st five issues of Spellbound, Emma, Debbie, Jinty, Romeo & Twinkle!

Comics for real men this week:

*Boys’ Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Commando a’plenty, from #59 until well into the 3500’s, more than 300 new entries spanning four decades of all-out action and wartime adventure. The enduring popularity of this series means that while we periodically have substantial influxes of stock, they also sell by the armful & bagful, so early ordering is always advised.

*Girls’ Comics and Picture Libraries: A Mountainous Mandy Marathon! Mandy, the Joanie-come-lately sibling to Bunty & Judy, launched in 1967, and lasted well over 1,000 issues until its eventual merger with Judy in 1991. While we don’t have them all, we have acquired several hundred Mandys, from first to final issues, and we’re listing the first five years’ worth this week – watch for future updates to keep abreast with the Amazing Valda, Angel, and their gal-pals. Scans of the first two issues may be seen at our Cover Gallery. You’d think that would be enough, but no: we’ve also got the first five issues of Spellbound, the supernatural thriller from 1976 in which the plucky lycra-clad Supercats made the cosmos safe for all; a selection of Emma from 1979, home of valiant (if ludicrous) Belgian resistance fighter the White Mouse; an ultra-scarce Romeo from 1971; and additional stock to Debbie (1979-1981), Jinty (1979-1981), and two Twinkle – though, alas, without the 'Nurse Nancy Outfit' and 'Pussycat Puppet' free gifts. Never mind, we’ll struggle on. For those of you who’ve enquired what’s happened to our prima donnas of the Big Girls’ Bonanza, Bunty and Judy, all we can say is hold your horses (or if you’re the star of 'A Pony Called Buttercup', hold your cows!) and we’ll be getting back to them in a couple of weeks, we promise.

Posted by Rob | 03:52 p.m. GMT | 6 July 2008

American Update - Atlas Sub-Mariner, 1950s Westerns from DC, Atlas & others

It's a 1950's week this week as we present the following truly vintage gems:

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: A trinity of select Sub-Mariners from the 1950’s revival. Issue 33 (the first new issue after Namor’s book went ‘on hiatus’ in 1949), 38 and 39, from the series almost universally acknowledged as Everett’s finest work. These lovely tales of underwater mystery feature contemporary adventures against 'The World Destroyers' and 'The Commie Frogmen', as well as flashbacks to his youth, and frequent guest-appearances by his shapely cousin Namora. (and Human Torch tales as well!). The 1950’s revival had a longer run than Cap or the Torch – ten issues in total – because there was a strong chance of its being optioned for a TV show. Subby’s small-screen stardom never came to pass, but at least the possibility gave us more glorious Everett work than sales would otherwise have justified, so hurrah! Scans of all three issues may be seen in our Cover Gallery – go to the catalogue, click on the links.

*Western: A veritable stampede of Timely/Atlas western titles this week, with Apache Kid, Black Rider, Frontier Western, Gunhawk, Gunsmoke Western, Kid Colt, Kid Slade, Quick-Trigger Western, Western Gunfighters, Western Kid, Western Outlaws, Wetsern Winners, and Wild Western. But that’s not all! Just in case you’re not tired of endless repetition of the word 'Western' (did they ever do a 'Western Western'?), we also offer two DC All-Star Western (with exceptionally nice page quality), Ace’s Western Adventures (starring 'The Cross-Draw Kid' and distaff peacemaker 'Sherriff Sal'), and Hillman’s Western Fighters, which featured the same sort of grim n’ gritty violence as its popular crime titles – but on horses! Scans of the two All-Star Westerns and two of the Black Riders may be viewed on our Cover Gallery. You know what to do to do that by now, right?

Posted by Rob | 03:44 p.m. GMT | 6 July 2008