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Update Archives For September 2005

26 September 2005

Star Collections British Update - Fleetway Super Library Fantastic/Stupendous Series File copies!

A sensational find in our Star Collections is the headline for this week's additions to our stocks. In the Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries section of our website, full details of a near complete run of the rare and avidly sought-after Fleetway Super Library Fantastic/Stupendous series, featuring original book-length adventures of the Spider & the Steel Claw. About half of this run are the annotated 'pay' copies from the publisher's files, giving credits for writers/artists etc. and providing other previously unknown production information. These totally unique items are priced accordingly, but what's the value of a one-off piece of comics' history? Following hot on the heels of our ongoing listing of the massive Alan Class file copy editions, this collection is bound to attract a lot of interest and underlines 30th Century's committment to bring the very best in comics to collectors' worldwide.

More Star Collections greats in the weeks to come.

Posted by Rob | 10:14 p.m. GMT | 26 September 2005

British update - UK Conan, 1960's Eagle, Scream, Wildcat, Buster, Cor!, Oink!, Emma, 1980s Girl, Suzy and more!

A huge update to our British stock this week, featuring many old favourites and also less common titles in the following categories:

*Marvel UK: Debut issues of the Super-Heroes and Planet of the Apes with free gift posters, plus the first 18 issues of Savage Sword of Conan weekly, reprinting the scarce Barry Smith-drawn early adventures of your favourite Cimmerian, by Crom!

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: A rare selection of later (1966-1968) Eagle, not mostly in great grade, but hard to find in any condition. Plus a short batch of Scream (not that it was a long run, anyway), the contoversial horror weekly. Plus early issues of Wildcat, the 1980's 2000 AD-inspired sci-fi fortnightly (inc. the first 3 issues with free gifts) and additions to our Starlord and Tornado stock lists.

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: Buster: New updates to the popular weekly starring Andy Capp's son from 1976-1993. Cor!: A nice selection of the scarce Fleetway/IPC weekly from 1970-1973. Oink!: Several of the rare 1980's parody comic persecuted out of existence by Mary Whitehouse -- including issues 1 & 2 with free gifts! Plus: That'll Be The Day, a curious 1975 tabloid #1 (was there ever a #2?) of comic strip political satire, and additions to our Whoopee and Whizzer & Chips listings.

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: Brace yourselves for a journey to the misguided mullets of the past: a 1970's/1980's trip of experimental titles - Emma, the revised Girl and Suzy, curious blends of traditional comics stories, photo-strips and pop/media features. Be warned -- leg-warmers!

Posted by Rob | 09:06 p.m. GMT | 26 September 2005

American update - AC Comics & Undergrounds

Two diverse American categories updated this week with new stock:

*AC: Further adventures of the pulchritudinous and pneumatic paragons, the Femforce - not to mention their sundry costumed comrades in the crusade against crime...

*Undergrounds: A selections of oddities and curiosities in collection and paperback form, including Vaughn Bode's Deadbone Erotica, Shelton's Fat Freddy's Cat, Michael Moorcock's Jewel In The Skull, Bryan Talbot's Near Myths, Pete Loveday's Russell, Howard Cruse's Wendel and Bill Griffith's Zippy the Pinhead! Are we having fun yet?

Posted by Rob | 08:48 p.m. GMT | 26 September 2005

19 September 2005

British update - Buster, Sparky & Bunty

Firm favourites in this week's regular British update:

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: Two eternally-popular weeklies topped up: Buster (most of 1969) and Sparky (a wide range of issues and grades from 1972-1976). Long underestimated, the UK humour weeklies are finally coming into their own, and we anticipate brisk sales on these items.

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: Back to Bunty -- the entire year of 1976, from 938 (Jan 5th) to 989 (Dec 25th). Anybody else notice how Bunty has a different Mum every couple of weeks? Her Dad's quite a goer, it seems...

Posted by Rob | 08:30 p.m. GMT | 19 September 2005

Star Collections British update - Bound Volumes of 1960's Valiant

From the vaults of our Star Collections this week, two extraordinary items: professionally-bound volumes of Valiant, one for the second half of 1964, and one for the first half of 1965. These permanently-bound archival quality books each collect half a year's worth of the popular boys' weekly in sequence. Condition of the issues averages FN or better, though edges have been trimmed to fit (not infringing on the stories). Green cloth hardcover binding with gold lettering top spine and mid-front cover. At just £100 each, for half a year's worth, they represent exceptional value.

More superb items from our Star Collections next week!

Posted by Rob | 08:25 p.m. GMT | 19 September 2005

The Alan Class Private Collection - Secrets Of The Unknown & Sinister Tales

Following our previous announcements regrading the Alan Class Private Collection, we are now pleased to announce the fifth selection from this publisher's file copies are now on sale exclusively from 30th Century Comics. Each item comes with a Certificate of Authenticity hand-signed individually by Alan Class himself, and constitutes a very rare opportunity to own a piece of comics history.

This time, we discover the Secrets Of The Unknown (from #1 to the final #249) and tell Sinister Tales (from #134 to the concluding #227), continuing this unique cache of UK comics' history. Suspense & Uncanny Tales to follow soon - keep watching this space!

Posted by Rob | 08:19 p.m. GMT | 19 September 2005

American update: Fly, Horror/Mystery, Spirit, EC Annuals, Undergrounds

A bumper bundle of esoterica in this week's American update in the following categories:

*Archie: From the Alan Class Private Collection, a selection of Fly & Fly-Man with cover photostats which were used in the production of Mr. Class's British reprint complilations. Each comic and photostat set comes with a hand-signed certificate of authenticity signed by Alan Class himself.

*Horror/Mystery 1960's-1980's: New stock in several divisions of this popular category, including Charlton (Midnight Tales, Scary Tales), DC (House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Plop, Weird Mystery Tales) and Marvel (Werewolf By Night, Where Monsters Dwell and several short-run titles).

*Spirit: New to this section, a range of the 1980's Kitchen Sink Spirit reprints (Eisner and co. post-war inc. the first and last issues among many others) plus Spirit: The Origin Years (wartime stories).

*Modern Reprints: New entries for Marvel (Essential X-Men Vol 6, Dr. Strange Masterworks Vol 2) DC (Greatest Imaginary Stories) and complete runs of three key Gemstone EC Annuals (Haunt Of Fear, Shocksuspenstories and Vault of Horror), plus additions to our Flashback and AC reprint listings.

*Undergrounds: More UK & US counterculture mayhem from Cocaine Comix, Home Grown Funnies, Lion & Lamb, Mr. Natural, Mystic Funnies, People's Comics, Short Order and the controversial Stauton & Ditko bondage classic, Sweeter Gwen.

Posted by Rob | 08:15 p.m. GMT | 19 September 2005

11 September 2005

Star Collections British update - Every issue of TV Century 21 plus...!

Earlier this year, we were fortunate enough to obtain huge quantities of quality vintage British & American items from two of the UK's premier collectors, and you may remember seeing these 'Star Collections' updates gracing these pages (and proving to be a sales sensation!). As promised, we are now in the process of marketing the second batch of goodies from these two collectors, and I think we'll be able to offer you an even more amazing range of comics than last time.

We kick off with a complete run of arguably the greatest British comic ever. Full details in the Boys' Adventure & War Comics section of our website catalogue of the TV Century 21 weekly from #1 (rapidly becoming the Holy Grail of British comic collecting) to the scarce final issue #242, plus rare Specials and Summer Extras, early issues of the second series (inc. #1), and, moreover, multiple copies of over 100 issues of the 1st series in a choice of grades. Seldom seen in high grade, this remarkable set, with many virtually flawless copies which look as if they have just come off the printer (unfolded, bone-white pages, fresh vibrant colour) is sure to be in high demand.

Starring the popular TV sci-fi Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds, Stingray, Fireball XL5 & Captain Scarlet, and Dr. Who's Daleks, - plus the 'Elegance, Charm & Deadly Danger' of the ineffable Lady Penelope - this large-format, lushly-produced comic featured Frank Bellamy, Ron Embleton, Mike Noble, Frank Hampson, Ron Turner, Don Lawrence, Rob Hamilton, Eric Eden -- an all-star roster of the finest British comics' talent!

Watch for more updates from these remarkable Star Collections coming soon!

Posted by Rob | 10:50 a.m. GMT | 11 September 2005

5 September 2005

Coming Attractions

As the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness falls upon us, we've been gathering in a harvest of wonders from the far corners of both the UK and the USA for the discerning collector. We've been up and down the country buying in some superb collections and securing deals on the absolute best that comics have to offer, and Our Man In New York has been doing much the same for us over there. Consequently, here is an outline of just some of the goodies we'll be able to offer between now and Christmas, plus details of special events in the world of 30th Century Comics:

*The return of our famous Star Collections from the vaults of two of the nation's top collectors, the first parts of which made a sensational impact earlier this year.

*Another terrific TV21 scoop.

*A near complete run of the very popular UK Valiant comic.

*Hundreds of 1950's/1960's DCs, many in high grade, across a wide range of titles, including many key issues and first appearances.

*File copies of the much sought-after Fleetway Library series.

*More seminal pre-code horror, including some of the rarest and most wanted titles.

*A complete run of Misty, the most popular British girls' comic, in high grade with free gifts and specials included.

*A huge run of Classics Illustrated, featuring many first printings and rare issues.

*An extensive collection of Eagles from the early years, including #1.

*A large batch of Dell Western and TV titles with photo-covers.

*More 1950's good girl and sci-fi titles from the era of greatest diversity in the history of American comics.

*The conclusion of the Alan Class Private Collection and the marketing of the sets of original printing plates and accompanying file copies from the publisher's private archives.

*A personal appearance by Alan Class himself at our shop signing copies from his collection.

*Because you demanded it, the return of our Mail Order catalogue for those of you who prefer to order that way.

*And at long last, the introduction of an image gallery to the website to showcase the covers of our rarest and most prestigious items.

...and that's just the things we know about! Each day is a new adventure at 30th Century, as we seek out the very best in vintage comics. If you're serious about comic collecting, be sure to bookmark our site and check the weekly updates for all the above and more -- there's sure to be something for you.

And now, back to the salt mines...

Posted by Rob | 08:43 p.m. GMT | 5 September 2005

American update - Marvel Heroes, Archie Humour & Adventure, Millie the Model & friends

Delightful stuff in this week's update to our American stock. Details as follows:

*Marvel: Another stellar selection from the house of the MMMS, with new stock for Avengers (inc. CGC 'slabbed' #50), Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Journey Into Mystery, Marvel Two-In-One, Sub-Mariner, Tales To Astonish (inc. Wasp debut & origin in #44), Thor and X-Men -- a panoply of gaudy iconography!

*Archie: A diverse and eclectic range this time. On the comedy side, Archie Annual, Archie's Madhouse, Pals n' Gals, and the seldom-seen Wilbur, with Dan DeCarlo one-offs Seymour My Son and More Seymour, Mad-imitator Tales Calculated To Drive You Bats and more! On the adventure side, handsome selections of Fly/Fly Man (beginning with #2 by Simon & Kirby), Jaguar, Mighty Crusaders, Shadow, and the oddball 'showcase' title Mighty Comics Presents. And on the flat-out weird side, Archie and Jughead's short-lived super-hero identities as Pureheart the Powerful and Captain Hero respectively!

*Teen Humour/Funny Girls: New additions to Millie the Model (inc. Queen-Size specials!), Modeling with Millie, Patsy Walker, Swing with Scooter and Vicki, all replete with - in the immortal words of Denny O'Neil - 'grins, gags & groovy gals!' How can you resist?

Posted by Rob | 08:22 p.m. GMT | 5 September 2005

British update - Kit Carson, Lion, TV Action, Beano, Debbie with Spellbound and more!

A broad cross-section of new material in this week's British update to our stocks in the following categories:

*Annuals: From 1954 to 1960, the Amalgamated Press Kit Carson Annuals, tales of the famous Western adventurer nad his pals from the Cowboy Picture Library.

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: More 1970's Lions, fast-selling dwelling of the Spellbinder, Spider, Adam Eterno and more -- we frequently update this title, but they always shift! Also, several issues of the high quality TV Action & Countdown weekly, with new adventures of Dr. Who, the Persuaders, Captain Scarlet, UFO and others. Scarce and extremely popular.

*Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Still more additions to Air Ace, Battle, Commando, Cowboy, Football, Lion, Starblazer, Valiant, War and Pearson's Western, as well as the newly-discovered Sundance Western -- even at 30th Century, we still come across things we hadn't heard of before!

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: A very affordable range of 1960's Beano, marred by two punch-holes in spine, which don't significantly impinge on the strips and keep the prices down to pocket-money level. Classic strips with Baxendale's Bash Street Kids, Watkins's Biffo the Bear, Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, Billy Whizz and Billy the Cat. Also, new items in our stock of Beezer, Topper and Whizzer & Chips.

*Girl's Comics & Picture Libraries: From 1978 & 1979, a run of Debbie & Spellbound, with traditional girlie hi-jinx juxtaposed with tales of the strange and supernatural! (I wonder if it's too late to join the Super-Cats club...?)

Posted by Rob | 05:41 p.m. GMT | 5 September 2005