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Update Archives For October 2006

30 October 2006

British Update - Lion, Shiver & Shake, Whizzer & Chips, Buster, Whoopee, Spellbound, Misty & Debbie

A bumper bundle of British goodies fresh for you this week in the following categories:

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: The Lion's Roar! More of the enduringly popular weekly anthology Lion, ranging from 1959 to 1968, averaging GD/VG. You know about the Lion super-stars like Robot Archie, the Spider and Paddy Payne, but there's also war action with 'Trelawney's Mob', the soccer saga of 'Carson's Cubs', superheroics with 'The Phantom Viking', and 'Jimmi From Jupiter', which more or less defies categorization!

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: Four Fleetway flagships of funnies: Buster from 1976-84, inc. the debut of 'The Leopard Of Lime Street' (longest-running superhero in UK comics!); Shiver & Shake from 1973-74; Whizzer & Chips from 1974-83 and Whoopee from 1978-83. For the adventures of Shiner, Smiler, Frankie Stein, Sid's Snake, Fuss Pot, Nice Life and multitudes of merriment - check 'em out!

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: Sisterly spookiness! A complete run (69 issues, averaging GD/VG) of DC Thompson's Spellbound weekly, with tales of the supernatural inc. 'Peril On Paradise Island' (not Wonder Woman's island, of course), 'The Shop At Shudder Corner' (you should see what they do to shoplifters...), and of course those cat-suited jailbait protectors of the galaxy, the Supercats! Fleetway/IPC answered Spellbound with Misty, of which we have the first six issues new in, in nice grade. Watch as our diaphonously-clad goth-girl hostess introduces 'Salamander Girl', 'Paint It Black' and other shock serials. Finally, a run of Debbie from 1978, post merger with Spellbound, including the Supercats serial 'Princess In Peril'.

Posted by Rob | 10:15 p.m. GMT | 30 October 2006

Star Collections Update: Black Cat Mystery

*Horror 1940-1959: From Harvey, a gorgeously lurid selection of Black Cat Mystery! After the EC line, the Harvey Horrors are arguably the best quality of the 1950's horror lines, with top-rate artists (Nostrand, Powell, Palais and the under-rated Lee Elias), intricate plots and some outlandishly vivid imagery. This attractive selection, averaging GD/VG, is very affordable and great value for money, including SOTI & POP issues.

Posted by Rob | 09:55 p.m. GMT | 30 October 2006

Car Booty Collection Update - Sgt Fury

*War: It's the Sarge, Large & In Charge! Awright, ya chicken-scratchin' yahoos! It's Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos, most of the 1st 70 issues (inc #1) and annuals 1-6 from the Kraut-Krushin' Kar Booty Kollection! All the Lee/Kirby classic issues included! Buy 'em now, before the blitzkreig hits! Wah-Hoo!

Posted by Rob | 09:50 p.m. GMT | 30 October 2006

American Update - Westerns & Tarzan/ERB

A couple of long overdue updates to two popular categories this week:

*Western: An unusual and rare selection of Western titles this update, with work from some of the field's finest creators: DC's unique Bat Lash by O'Neil, Aragones and Cardy, the poignant and beautifully-drawn saga of a roguish anti-hero; also from DC, Weird Western Tales, from the debut issue #12, with early Jonah Hex and El Diablo, with work from Morrow, Toth & Adams. From Marvel: Western Gunfighters, early giant issues featuring new tales of Ghost Rider, Gunhawk, and the Outcast (the latter featuring art by a fledgling Barry Smith), backed up by vintage reprints. Also, Atlas Seaboard's Western Action, Dell's Idaho and vintage reprint adventure from Marvel's Tex Dawson Gunbslinger (with Steranko cover) and Mighty Marvel Western.

*Tarzan/ERB: Kreegah! Bundolo! New additions to the Ape Lord's adventures, both in US series (DC [inc. scarce 100 pagers], Gold Key & Marvel), and UK (at least two 1970's UK series - the genealogy of the UK Tarzans is largely terra incognita, so corrections and amendments are welcomed). In addition, we have new stocks of Marvel's John Carter Of Mars, and DC's Korak, Tarzan Family and Weird Worlds starring John Carter and Pellucidar. For more than 100 years, Edgar Rice Burroughs's creations have enthralled generations across multiple media. These comics include work by Hogarth, Manning, Anderson, Kubert, Cockrum and other leading lights.

Posted by Rob | 09:45 p.m. GMT | 30 October 2006

23 October 2006

American Update - DC Silver Age scintillation & THUNDER Agents complete!

Our regular American update this week features many fondly remembered titles:

*DC: A major update to our entire DC Silver/Bronze inventory, incoming collections prompting a massive restock to long-running stalwarts Action, Adventure, Aquaman, Atom, Batman, Blackhawk, Brave & Bold, Challengers, Detective, Doom patrol, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Jimmy Olsen, JLA, Lois Lane, Phantom Stranger, Showcase, Superboy (& the LSH), Superman, Teen Titans, Wonder Woman and World's Finest... (deep breath) ...as well as cult short-runs or oddities such as DC Special, DC Super-Stars, Dynamic Classics, 80 Page Giant, First Issue Special, Four-Star Spectacular, From Beyond The Unknown, Inferior 5, Hawk & Dove, Hot Wheels, Prez, Ragman, Secret Six, Shade, Shadow, Supergirl, Super Friends, Superman Family, Tor and scores more I've run out of time to list! All shiny'n new... just for you!

*Misc. 1960-1980's: From the short-lived but lovingly-remembered Tower Comics, complete series not only of their classic THUNDER Agents, but also of the two scarce solo titles, Dynamo and NoMan. Illustrated by the top artists of the day (Wally Wood, Reed Crandall, Ogden Whitney, Steve Ditko, Gil Kane... oh, okay, and Chic Stone. And Paul Reinman. Hush now...), Tower's literal 'super-spies' are highly sought after for the artwork, but the stories and characters have an inimitable charm which transcends the basic 'What If James Bond Had Super-Powers?' concept.

Posted by Rob | 06:00 p.m. GMT | 23 October 2006

Star Collections Update (American) Pre-Code Horror: Superior, Story & Quality

*Horror 1940-1959: From the archive of one of the UK's premier Pre-Code collectors comes a selection of titles (Web of Evil from Quality, Mysterious Adventures from Story and the Superior trinity of Journey Into Fear, Mysteries Weird & Strange and Strange Mysteries) with one thing in common: they're loopy! Faced with a wealth of competition in the horror field, these publishers relied not only on gore, but on strange romantic complications (how many monsters can a gal marry?), mordant humour, shameless EC rip-offs and remarkably chatty skeletons to produce comics that must be seen to be disbeileved! So 'If the Coffin Fits', 'Dial C For Corpse' and get spruced up for 'A Date With the Devil'... it all waits for you!

Posted by Rob | 05:31 p.m. GMT | 23 October 2006

Car Booty Collection Update - Tales Of Suspense & To Astonish

Another dollop from the Car Booty Collection (as seen on TV) this week:

*Marvel: Continuing our odyssey into this collection we turn to Tales Of Suspense and Tales To Astonish, titles which evolved from 'Big Panty Monster' sci-fi into super-hero anthologies Iron Man & Captain America ruled Tales Of Suspense, while Tales To Astonish co-featured the Hulk with Giant-Man & the Wasp (Hank & Jan being usurped by the upstart Sub-Mariner from #70). Featuring work by Kirby, Ditko, Heck, Powell, Colan and both Severins, these cornerstones of the Marvel Universe are often under-rated.

Posted by Rob | 05:24 p.m. GMT | 23 October 2006

British Update - Thriller Picture Library, June, School Friend

More truly vintage items in this week's British update in the following categories:

*Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries: More stock for the enduringly popular Thriller Picture Library. Spinning out of the Comet, Sun and later Lion weeklies, these adventure digests featured Dick Turpin, Robin Hood, the Three Musketeers and other carefully chosen public domain heroes, and are highly sought after today for their top-notch artwork and nostalgic appeal.

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: June and School Friend; now inextricably linked, due to their long merger, in the minds of folks who remember them, there was a time when they were seperate comics, and we've got representatives of both! Join us in June from 1965-1968 with 'Gina's Artful Genie', 'Lucky's Living Doll', 'Vanessa From Venus', 'Zanna the Jungle Girl' and lots more 'gay adventures' (it says here...). Then flashback to 1959-1965 for School Friend's 'Phantom Ballerina', 'Gay Princess', 'Bessie Bunter' and boarding school avengers 'The Silent Three', pre merger with June.

Posted by Rob | 05:14 p.m. GMT | 23 October 2006

15 October 2006

Star Collections Update (American) - DC at War!

Another great scoop from our Star Collections this week:

*War: A superb range of high-grade Silver Age DC war books, with the debuts of Enemy Ace and the Unknown Soldier, classic adventures of Sgt Rock, Balloon Buster, the Losers and more, and artwork by John Severin, Joe Kubert, Russ Heath, Neal Adams and the finest DC artists in this often-underestimated field.

Posted by Rob | 02:56 p.m. GMT | 15 October 2006

Car Booty Collection Update - Go Go Go Hulk!

We're still working our way through the sensational Car Booty collection (as seen on TV - always wanted to say that!). This time a familiar Green-Skinned Goliath graces our catalogue:

*Marvel: Spotlight on the Hulk, with a run from the premier issue #102 (continuing the Tales To Astonish numbering) through to #200, with art along the way from Marie 'The She' Severin, Herb 'Blimpy' Trimpe and other Bullpen stalwarts. Highlights include the debuts of Doc Samson and the Wendigo, the second Valkyrie appearance and in #182, the third appearance of a little-known obscure character by the name of Wolverine. Includes many later ND issues and the early Annuals.

Lots more to come from the Car Booty collection -- keep watching the updates!

Posted by Rob | 02:52 p.m. GMT | 15 October 2006

British Update - Star Wars with free gifts, Fantastic, Terrific, 1950's/60's Beano & Dandy and more early Bunty!

Another substantial update to the British section of our catalogue this week, with many desirable and scarce items from the 1950's-1970's in the following categories:

*Marvel UK: Four short but sought-after titles: Planet Of The Apes from #2: sizzling simian stories, many of which appeared here before being reprinted in the US, such was the demand; Rampage: 1st (weekly) and 2nd (monthly) series starring the dysfunctional but daring Defenders and the Hulk; Star Wars: includes issues #1 & #2 with free gifts(!); Super-Heroes: with X-Men, the Silver Surfer and a slurry of more obscure series.

*Power Comics: Additions to our listings for Fantastic (from #7) and Terrific (from #5) this time. These two prototypical 'Marvel UK' anthologies from 1967 featured the classic adventures of the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Avengers, Dr. Strange and Sub-Mariner, somewhat... interestingly re-edited for the UK market, as well as token new features in each. The first mass-market UK exposure to the Marvel pantheon, these are now highly-prized nostalgia items.

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: The two pillars of UK humour replenished this time: Beano, a small selection os issues in low-mid grade from the scarce years of 1963 and 1964, and 30 issues of Dandy, ranging from 1959-1970, including many issues from the scarce years of 1961-1964, between Fair and Very Good condition. Always popular with our victims, er, clients, these evergreens of the UK comics field turn over quickly, so order soon to avoid disappointment.

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: Continuing our recent series of Bunty acquistions, here's 30+ more issues ranging from 1959-1968, a panoply of ballet and gymkhana-themed adventure. We know how popular these are, so we don't need to chat you up - you know you want them...

Posted by Rob | 02:34 p.m. GMT | 15 October 2006

9 October 2006

British Update - Near complete run of Diana!

*Girls' Comics & Picture Libraries: From the first issue in 1963 to the flare-festooned finale with 1976's issue #720 (subsequently subsumed into Jackie), we have a near-complete selection of Diana in this mammoth update. From its sedate and educational beginnings, when the most adventurous content was 'June - Model Miss', through the spy-craze 60's with TV's 'Avengers', and 'The Girls from N.O.O.D.L.E.S.', on to its final phase as a haven for soft-focus romance strips and glam-rock pop pin-ups, Diana's chameleoid quality gave her a lifespan longer than expected. This attractive collection, averaging VG, is not quite a complete run, but is probably the nearest to it that you'll ever see!

Posted by Rob | 07:36 p.m. GMT | 9 October 2006

American update - more classic Marvel, Archie & Millie the Model!

Another choice selection of fresh American gems this update in the following categories:

*Marvel: An 'artist's choice' select range this time, with attractive mid/high grade Steranko Captain America issues, a very nice handful of Barry Smith Conan, early Mike Ploog Werewolf By Night in Marvel Spotlight, an attractive VG Daredevil #1 by Bill Everett, plus additions to the 'Big Panty Monster' era of Journey Into Mystery and Tales To Astonish, with Kirby and Ditko galore, and new stock of Strange Tales, Invaders and the Amazing Spider-Man.

*Archie: A wide-ranging update this time, including 'traditional' Archie (Everything's Archie, Jughead, Giant Series, Betty & Veronica, Pep, Joke Book, TV Laugh-Out and the lad himself including a Canadian #34 from 1948), the Radio/Mighty Super-Heroes (Fly Man, Jaguar and Mighty Comics Presents), plus several of the 'parallel' Archie series, such as Jughead as Captain Hero, Josie & the Pussycats, Little Archie, Madhouse and that saucy teenage witch Sabrina.

*Teen Humour/Funny Girls: More Marvel-ous Millie The Model! Additions to our stock from both the early 60's tear-stained soap opera version, and the late 60's New Look Archie-type (inc. #154, the 'makeover' issue!), plus scarce Queen-Size Specials!

Posted by Rob | 07:26 p.m. GMT | 9 October 2006

2 October 2006

Star Collections Update (American) Complete Run Atlas Menace

*Horror 1940-1959: From the vaults of one of our Star Collectors comes a complete 11 issue run of Menace, one of the classic and most sought-after of the Atlas Pre-Code titles. Whether by accident or design, this highly desirable short-run title featured copious amounts of Bill Everett (including covers for issues #1-6), Heath, Maneely and others, illustrating some of the loopiest scripts cranked out by a benzedrine-bludgeoned Bullpen. See 'The Four-Armed Man', 'One Head Too Many', 'Fresh Out Of Flesh', 'Half Man, Half...?' and other gonzo classics, including 'prototypes' for Werewolf By Night, Marvel's Zombie and the Walking Dead!

Posted by Rob | 01:05 a.m. GMT | 2 October 2006

American Update - 1940-1959 Outrageous Esoterica & Classic Golden Age Reprints!

Two themed categories updated this week:

*Miscellaneous 1940-1959: Okay, I know we're generally pretty diverse, but this update is even stranger than usual: Animal Crackers, A1 starring Texas Slim & Dirty Dalton, MLJ's Black Hood, Buster Brown Comics (with gorgeous Reed Crandall art), Fawcett's Captain Marvel Jr, the oddball Circus Of Fun Comics (whichg aren't comics; nor that much fun, come to that...), Gleason's Daredevil, Nedor's Exciting and Startling with Schomburg covers, King Comics, the 1938 Popped Wheat Terry & the Pirates promo, and the inspired genius of Harvey Kurtzman's Mad from EC - almost all candidates for the oddball comics hall of fame! There must be a home for this off-the-wall stuff- is it yours?

*Modern Reprints: A plethora of mostly Golden Age repackaged for your pleasure, inc. both out-of-print Golden Age of Marvel trades, the cult 1950's horror series Curse of the Weird & Monster Menace, AC's Golden Age Greats, Good Girl Art Quarterly and Jungle Girls, a whole wad of Basil Wolverton's obscure and bizarre visionary tales, and a treasure trove of public domain reprints from Fiction House, Quality, Fawcett, Harvey, Avon, Ziff-Davis and more, for a parade of the great, the good and the ghastly from American comics' founding decades!

Posted by Rob | 12:57 a.m. GMT | 2 October 2006

Brtish Update - Mighty World Of Marvel, Comet, Sun, 2000 AD #1-100 inc. free gifts, Eagle Picture Library, 1930's Billy Bunter Magnet and much more!

A truly bumper update to our British stocks this week across the following wide range of categories:

*Marvel UK: The flagship Marvel UK title, Mighty World Of Marvel, gets a major facelift this time, with most of the first 100 issues (miissing #1-8 & #10) added, reprinting early Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four and Daredevil reformatted for weekly publication. This often involved new covers and/or splash pages having to be redrawn, so followers of Marvel 1970's artists (especially a certain J. Starlin esq) will find a lot of lesser-known artwork within these pages.

*Collected Editions: Only three additions this time, but they're significant. Firstly, Charley's War, the acclaimed Mills/Colquhoun collaboration, gets it third hardcover collection from Titan Books. Secondly, Commando: The Dirty Dozen, a hardcover selection of the 12 best issues of the long-running war series, as selected by Commando's editor George Low. And last but not least, Jeff Hawke: The Martian Quartet, a limited edition softcover reprinting four complete stories of Sydney Jordan's vintage newspaper strip.

*Boys' Adventure & War Comics: Two generations of classic comics added this week. First, Comet from 1955 to 1958 and its companion title Sun from 1956 to 1957, weeklies which featured Billy The Kid, Robin Hood, Billy Bunter, Jet-Ace Logan, Buffalo Bill, and similar wholesome adventurers. Then, by way of considerable contrast, 2000 AD from the 1970's. From an original owner collection, most of the first 100 issues of 'thrill-power' (inc. #1 & #3 with original free gifts!), introducing Judge Dredd, MACH1, and decidely less wholesome heroes to a delighted, if sometimes appalled audience. Averaging FN, this includes 1st Starlord merger issue, 1977 & 1978 Summer Specials, the incredibly rare 'Burger Wars' and 'Jolly Green Giant' issues and more! Borag Thunng, baby!

*Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries: Additions to several popular series, including Battle from #15, Commando, mostly late 1960's/early 1970's, Cowboy, several issues between #159 and #366, mostly starring Buck Jones, Fleetway Super Library Stupendous series starring everyone's favourite anti-hero the Spider, Thriller around the #200 mark starring Robin Hood, and Combat & War. Completing our dollop of digest-sized dynamite for this update is a complete run of Eagle Picture Library in great nick, which reprinted vintage material from Lion, Tiger, Valiant and other sources.

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: Yaroo! It's Bunter! We don't often dabble in the story papers here at 30th Century, but for Magnet we make an exception. Home to Frank Richard's iconic character Billy Bunter (who stole every scene from nominal Greyfriars heroes Harry Wharton & Co, and was rapidly promoted to star status), this nice low-mid grade batch from 1934 and 1936-1938 gives a fascinating insight into a pre-war boarding school idyll that probably never existed, even then!

Posted by Rob | 12:43 a.m. GMT | 2 October 2006