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Update Archives For December 2008

28 December 2008

British Update: Lots of laughs with Cracker (from first to last), Whoopee (from #1), Sparky, Whizzer & Chips, Knockout and more, plus Judy 1988/89 and latest Crikey!

For our last update of 2008, we start with loads of fun at this festive time in the following categories:

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: A sweeping top-up encompassing a substantial run of Cracker from 1st to last issues, Sparky from 1975 at its barmiest, Whoopee from its first issue in 1974, and new stock for Whizzer & Chips, Cheeky, Beano, Dandy, Beezer, Topper, Knockout (1971), Monster Fun and Oink!, for a galaxy of guffaws and a cavalcade of custard pies. Coming soon – you thought we’d forgotten – the Return of the Big Buster Bonanza! Keep watching the web!

*Girls’ Comics: The Judy juggernaut rolls on, with more than 100 issues from the years 1988 & 1989 added in. This was a transitional period for Judy, stepping away (at least on the cover) from the traditional comics look, and trying more for a junior ‘Girls’ mag’ feel, although still printed on the same old bogroll pulp. Judy got a makeover from a demure blonde to a sassy permed brunette, dated boys (gasp!), and started hanging out with Emma and Tracy (‘stars’ of the last two comics she absorbed, a more humane fate than befell most discarded comics hostesses) as 'Judy & Co.', having wacky adventures. The covers emphasised the pop & TV-centric ‘mini-mag’ feature, but inside, the old favourites Bobby Dazzler and Wee Slavey still held sway, together with 'No Boys For Brenda!', 'Lady Sarah’s Secret', and sneaky schoolgirl 'The Honourable S.J.'. Judy didn’t hang up her lacrosse racquet until 1991, so we’ve still got a couple more years’ worth to go – stay tuned!

*Mags/Books About Vintage UK Comics: A further issue of Crikey!, the magazine devoted to the classic British comics, has reached our eager hands. The full-colour issue #8 features articles on Charley’s War, Spaceship Away!, the Phantom in the UK, the lush Avengers strip (that’s Steed & Mrs. Peel, not Captain America & Iron Man) from 1960’s Diana, and much more. With its endearing blend of fannishness and scholarship, Crikey! has won the hearts of many readers in its comparatively short existence, and it’s with a collective “boo, sucks” that we greet the news of its reversion to a quarterly schedule, at least for the time being. Here’s hoping there are many more issues in the future, but in the meantime, pick up this one – it’s a beaut!

Posted by Rob | 11:02 a.m. GMT | 28 December 2008

American Update: Marvel Complete Sets plus Creepy, Eerie and other Warren Magazines

A chance to grab some Silver/Bronze Age Marvel Complete Sets at gteat prices this week, plus a further update to Warren Magazines in nice grades:

*Marvel: He’s mad, bad, and dangerous to know! The Sub-Mariner leads this week's update, with not one, but two, Complete Sets: firstly, his entire Silver/Bronze Age solo run, 72 issues (plus two Annuals) of aquatic adventure and derring-do, spinning off from his test run in Tales to Astonish. This series is illustrated by the great and good of Marvel – Marie Severin, Buscemas Sal and John, Gene Colan, and Subby’s creator Bill Everett, to name but a handful – and features important events such as an early Marvel Universe cross-over, (Subby, Dr. Strange and the Hulk), the dawn of the Defenders, and the return to comics of Everett’s other famous creation, Venus, Goddess of Love. A £350+ retail value, yours for £225. Prince Namor accompanies us to our second Complete Set, the 1970’s Super-Villain Team-Up, in which he hitched up with Dr. Doom for a 'Monarchs Gone Wild!' romp of megalomania and attempted world conquest – although later on, commoners such as the Red Skull and Magneto also got into the act! All 17 issues, plus the two Giant-Sized ‘pilot’ numbers which pre-dated the ongoing series, are included. This title, like so many, was plagued by poor or non-distribution in the UK during the 1970’s, so several issues never came over by official channels.

*Vintage Magazine/Sized Comics: We’re pleased to announce a high-grade selection of the classic Warren magazines, the 1960’s horror comics which circumvented the Comics Code censorship body by being printed at a larger size & black & white, therefore ‘not for kiddies’. Often imitated but never equalled, the Warren anthologies Creepy and Eerie gathered the old-school EC artists – Wood, Williamson, Crandall, Evans, Severin – and ‘new kids’ such as Ditko, Morrow, Toth, Sutton, and Corben – for one of the most stellar line-ups recorded. This selection of more than 100 added issues runs from Creepy #17 and Eerie #9 upward to late in the run, and the condition averages a minimum of Fine, with many issues in Very Fine or better. Other Warren titles such as Famous Monsters, 1984, Rook, and Spacemen have been also updated this time, but the Creepy and Eerie runs are the stars of the show.

And it just remains for us to wish you all the best for 2009!

Posted by Rob | 10:53 a.m. GMT | 28 December 2008

23 December 2008

Christmas & New Year Opening Hours

As usual, we are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. We shall be open during our normal hours every other day over the holiday period, although we may close a little early on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve if things are quiet.

This week's new comics are in stock today (Tuesday 23rd) and next week we are expecting a delivery on Wednesday 31st.

So, when you've eaten and drunk yourself silly and need some fresh air and cerebral stimulation this Christmas, why not come along and browse the ever-growing volume of back issues available at your friendly neighbourhood comic shop?

Posted by Rob | 11:03 p.m. GMT | 23 December 2008

21 December 2008

Compliments of the Season

And it just remains for us to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and all the best for a Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who has enjoyed collecting with us through 2008 and we can promise you a lot more goodies for your collections in 2009!

Rob, Will & Sandy at 30th Century, aided and abetted by Nevs and Jamil, our Merry Minions and of course Jules, our spell-binding webmistress!

Posted by Rob | 12:32 p.m. GMT | 21 December 2008

British Update: Jet, 1950's & 1970's Lions, 1970's Valiants, Complete Year Sets of Hornet, Hotspur & Scorcher, 1950's Dandys, Judy 1981-1987, Romeo, Roxy & Valentine

Whew! A deep breath as we plunge into this week's wide ocean of adventure and fun that is our latest huge British comics update:

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: Additions to both our single issue listings and our Complete Year Initiatives this week! We have further issues of the scarce Fleetway weekly Jet, from the 2nd issue, a handsome run of 36 consecutive issues of Lion from 1955-1956, averaging Good (rusty staples prevent a higher grade, but they’re nice, flat, otherwise unmarred copies on average), further Lions from its final years of 1971-1974, and Valiant from 1974 (including the first '& Lion' merger issue) to 1975. Our complete Years are enhanced by Hornet from 1969 averaging VG, Hotspur 1971 averaging VG, and an eye-catching complete Scorcher for 1973 in an average grade of Fine.

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: A baker’s dozen of vintage Dandy from 1950-1956, featuring not only the long-running favourites Corky the Cat, Desperate Dan, and Keyhole Kate (whom we of slightly younger vintage remember as ‘new’ from her 1960’s Sparky sojourn…), but also Willie Willikin’s Pobble, Tin Lizzie, Big Beardy and the Wee Black Scallywag – and if that doesn’t get you going, then you’re reading the wrong section! These range from PR to VG, so both the budget-minded and the condition-conscious should check them out.

*Girls’ Comics: Our Big Girls’ Bonanza continues with yet more Judy, close to 200 issues from the years 1981-1987, with such bizarre and eclectic strips as 'Barrel-Organ Ballerina', 'Hungry Henrietta', 'Betty’s Bloodhound Butler', proto-suffragette antics in 'Vote For Vera', and, in a cavalier disregard for the laws of copyright, 'Supergirl'. Ahem. Plus, we have a selection of Love’s Young dream – well, Love’s Old Young dream – with a petal-scented swathe of romance weeklies from the 1950’s (Roxy, with stories narrated by pop stars themselves – allegedly!), the 1960’s (Valentine, with the stories more realistically ‘inspired’ by pop songs), and the 1970’s (Romeo, with no pop stars in evidence, but eye-searing fashion sense – such as the Paisleytastic cover of Romeo 20/6/70!)

Posted by Rob | 12:22 p.m. GMT | 21 December 2008

American Update: Showcase #23 (2nd Green Lantern), complete run of Ghost Comics (Fiction House pre-code horror), Westerns, modern Spirits

Yet another big update to our American stocks this week across a diversity of categories:

*DC: Only one comic this time, but it’s a beauty – Showcase #23, the second appearance of the Silver Age Green Lantern, in FN grade, with the introduction of the menace, the Invisible Destroyer (who sort of took the edge of his invisibility by wearing a gaudy purple n’ yellow costume that pinpointed exactly where he was at all times!). This is an exceptionally attractive copy, with fine multiple creases at edge & corners justifying the FN grade, but with a whiteness, unbroken cover colour, and general eye-appeal that makes you think it could be higher. Check out the cover scan by clicking on the catalogue link, and see for yourself!

*Horror 1940-1959: A complete run of Fiction House’s acclaimed Ghost Comics new to our lists. Although Ghost wasn’t exactly a sales juggernaut at the time of its release, managing only 11 issues between 1951 and 1954, in subsequent decades it’s become sought after by Fiction House fans by virtue both of its quality, and its status as a short collectible run. Initially featuring series such as 'Werewolf Hunter' and 'Ghost Gallery' from Fiction House’s other anthologies, the title developed into an anthology of Pre-Code horror with contributions from distinguished artists such as Lily Renee, Fran Hopper, Bill Benulis and Jerry Grandenetti (Or 'Jerry Grant & Eddie', to quote a famous transcription typo.) Chief attraction for many, however, are the stunning ‘woman in peril’ covers, done predominantly by the great Maurice Whitman. Examples may be seen in our Cover Gallery of issues #1, #4 and #7 – click on the links in our catalogue listing to see for yourselves.

*Western: Further range-riding’ adventures from three decades, with 1950’s Swift Arrow from Ajax/Farrell, Marvel’s Rawhide Kid (Kirby issues!) and Aragones & Cardy’s superlative Bat Lash from the 1960’s, and the grim n’ gritty Jonah Hex and Weird Western Tales from the socially-conscious 70’s.

*Spirit: Will Eisner may sadly no longer be with us, but his most famous crimefighting creation lives on, not only in an upcoming cinematic blockbuster, but in new comics stories by the great and good of the industry. We’re expanding our range of catalogueable titles to include both the 1997 Spirit: The New Adventures from Kitchen Sink (the first issue of which reunited Watchmen’s Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, and which featured Neil Gaiman, Eddie Campbell and Paul Chadwick among its all-star creators), and the 2007 Spirit from DC, which was evocatively written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, and which has since passed into hands including Kyle Baker, Jordi Bernet, Sergio Aragones, Paul Smith and Mark Evanier – not a bad ‘fill-in’ line-up!

Posted by Rob | 12:15 p.m. GMT | 21 December 2008

14 December 2008

British Update: Another Free Gift Farrago!

*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: It’s Free Gift Farrago Time again! Twenty new issues, with a plethora of tat, er, rare collectibles attached. Stars of the update are Adventure from 1954, with a 26-Page 'Commando At War' digest booklet (could this be a prototype of DC Thomson’s successful Commando Picture Library?), and two issues of Victor from 1965, with the ‘Stand-Up Footballers’ (press-out card figures) still, erm, not pressed out. Free Gift issues are always at a premium, and items of this vintage still possessing the Free Gifts are especially scarce. Check our Cover Gallery – click on the link in the catalogue listing – for a look at Adventure. We also have in this category issues of Bullet, with two snap-together models (sadly, model planes rather than excitable young ladies named Naomi or Heidi!), Roy Of The Rovers, Shoot, and 2000 AD, distributing such diverse largesse as stickers, pencils (sorry, ‘Official 2000 AD Writers’ Starter Kits’), fold-out posters, and more.

Posted by Rob | 11:09 a.m. GMT | 14 December 2008

American Update: DC Silver Super-Heroes, 1970's non-distributed Marvels and new Modern Reprints

Some classics and some hard to find stuff in this week's American update:

*DC: And concluding the major Silver Age DC upgrade we commenced a few weeks back, we have a final foray into the DC super-hero universe, with eighty issues’ worth of new stock for Aquaman, Atom (from #1), Blackhawk, Brave & Bold, Doom Patrol, 80-Page Giant, Flash, Green lantern (from #2), Justice League of America (from #7), Metal Men (from #1 – see the scan in our Cover Gallery!), Metamorpho, and Showcase. More DCs will of course be forthcoming in future updates, but this brings the massive scheduled update to a close for the time being.

*Marvel: “Sweet Christmas – This Female Fights Back!” It’s a sizzling soaraway Seventies sweep for the House of Ideas, as we restock from 1970-1979, with new listings for the Avengers, Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, Marvel Premiere, Marvel Team-Up (from #2), Marvel Two-In-One, Master of Kung Fu (from the first issue, #17), Special Marvel Edition (#15, with Shang-Chi’s debut), Hero For Hire, Ms. Marvel, and the X-Men. The decade where creators like Gerber, Englehart, Perez, Byrne, Gulacy, Smith and Starlin either made or consolidated their formidable reputations, the Seventies were also a time of sliding sales figures and desperate experimentation of the, then, still newsstand-bound publishers, trying lots of things they hadn’t dared before, with very mixed results! Here in England, distribution of Marvels also became extremely restricted with the advent of Marvel’s UK line, and this new influx of more than 100 issues features many that never came to our shores through the regular channels, and are consequently highly sought-after.

*Modern Reprints: Despite the demise of the DC Archives line, vintage material is still being re-issued in plentiful quantities, making this a good time for the amateur historians and researchers among us. DC’s Showcase Presents paperback editions continue apace, with new volumes of Silver Age Wonder Woman and Superman (Vols 2 & 4, respectively.), plus the next full colour paperback series collecting WW’s ‘powerless years’ in Diana Prince, Wonder Woman Vol 3. Over At Marvel, their full-colour hardcover Masterworks series continues to give us the best of Silver Age (X-Men Vol 7, Iron Man Vol 5), Golden Age (All-Winners Vol 3), and the Atlas Era (Journey Into Mystery Vol 1, with an outstanding selection of Pre-Code Horror), plus their Essentials paperbacks march on with new tomes for the X-Men (Vol 8) and the ever-Incredible Hulk (Vol 4). Also, from Dark Horse, Ogden Whitney’s 'Little Fat Nothing' anti-hero, Herbie, waddles his way to world conquest with the second Herbie Archives, collating the original 1960’s ACG stories.

Posted by Rob | 11:06 a.m. GMT | 14 December 2008

8 December 2008

British Update: Miller Horror/Mystery plus loads of UK 1950's reprints, football focus in Boys' Adventure, House of Hammer, TV Comic and more TV related, Judy 1977-79, Penny #1-3 and more girls'!

Another huge British update this week in the following categories:

*Vintage UK/Australian Reprints of US Material: More than 50 comics added in, with appearances by all of the ‘Big Four’ of Miller’s horror/mystery titles – Mystic, Spellbound, Voodoo and Zombie! These compilations, mixing pre-Code material with occasional super-heroics, are very scarce, and this selection has several key issues, including Voodoo #1!(cover scan in our Gallery). There’s also a dozen of Lorna the Jungle Girl’s reprint title, presenting the Atlas jungle goddess in adventures by Werner Roth and Jay Scott Pike. We also have the Thorpe & Porter Out Of This World, Fantastic Tales, Blackhawk, Black Magic (with Simon & Kirby), Crime Detective, and Frankenstein to bemuse and entertain you.

*Boys’ Adventure and War Comics: It’s a super soccer update with Roy of the Rovers (from 1991 to just scraping into his final year of 1993), Scorcher (a very nice 20+ selection from 1972), and the first and second series of Striker (1970-1971 and 2003-2005), which were very different kettles of fish indeed. The first Striker was a Shoot!-alike, mostly articles and photos with only a token comics presence, (most of the first 30 issues now in stock!) whereas the second, spinning off from Pete Nash’s computer-generated comic strip in the Sun newspaper, featured violence, drama and scantily-clad ladies aplenty – oh, and there was some football in there now and then, too! We’re only three short of a complete 87-issue run on Striker II, lacking issues #1, #72 and #79. So, from the innocent days when the players wore their shorts in the shower, to the era when their girlfriends didn’t wear much of anything, anywhere – we’ve got it covered!

*TV Related Comics: Our recently-added section has been a huge hit, so we’re expanding the range of eligible titles to include the 1970’s horror mag, House of Hammer/Halls of Horror. Dez Skinn’s loving tribute to the UK film & TV studio’s output featured a plethora of ‘Famous Monsters of Filmland’ type articles and photos, plus comic strips by Brian Lewis, John Bolton, and some new kid named Neal Adams. A virtually complete run, lacking only a couple of issues, has now been added to our lists. And by way of definite contrast, we have a considerable expansion to our stock of TV Comic, from the years 1973-1974. With an eclectic cross-Atlantic line-up where Tarzan, Skippy, the Pink Panther and Tom & Jerry stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Basil Brush, Titch & Quackers, and Mighty Moth, TV Comic had a surprisingly lengthy career. This run includes the first 'TV Comic & TV Action', where Dad’s Army, Droopy, and, most importantly, Dr. Who returned shamefacedly to their parent title after a few years off gallivanting in the back of an adventure weekly. We also have additional issues of Countdown and TV Century 21 for our devoted readers – tune in and check ‘em out!

*Girls’ Comics: Continuing our Big Girls’ Bonanza, we have more than 150 issues of Judy added to our stock from the years 1977-1979, (including the 1979 Judy & Emma ‘merger’ issue!) featuring the bizarre and baffling antics of, among others, 'Freckles & Her Frog', 'Ballet In the Blitz', 'Baby Dolly Deane', and of course, 'Wee Slavey'. But we don’t let plucky Maid-Of-All-Work Nellie Perks carry the update unaided, as we also have the first three issues of the short-lived Penny, featuring 'Sad Sal & Smiley Sue', 'Waifs of the Waterfall', and the obvious but amusing super-hero parody 'Blunder Girl' by the underestimated J. Edward Oliver. Also new this week is a top-up to Spellbound, with mystery and sci-fi themed stories helmed by the inappropriately lithesome Supercats, and a solitary Romeo from 1965, with mistily-drawn love stories a la Jackie.

Posted by Rob | 10:40 a.m. GMT | 8 December 2008

American Update: Charlton Ditko 1950's rarities plus Marvel Magazines

*Charlton: An astonishing array of vintage Steve Ditko covers and stories grace our update this week, with several iconic issues represented, including Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #10 ('Swamp Discovery') and #11 ('Underwater Roundup'), Space Adventures #10 ('Robots Revolt') and #12 ('Space Chick In Trouble'), and Strange Suspense Stories #34 ('Lost Face') and #37 ('Dancing Cat'), as well as several lesser, but still lovely, collectors’ items! Scans of most of these are available in our Cover Gallery – click on the catalogue links and gasp in awe!

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: A Marvel magazine update this week! Not only have we added some very tasty new items in popular titles such as Bizarre Adventures, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Epic Illustrated, Marvel Graphic Novel (including the scarce Miller/Sienkiewicz Daredevil), Marvel Super Special, Rampaging Hulk, Savage Sword of Conan, and Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction, but we have also completely revised and relisted our Marvel magazine stock – Marvel only, please note – so that you may order with confidence. Coming soon (well, as soon as we get around to it): another magazine update with wads of Warren and a smattering of Skywald. Keep watching!

Posted by Rob | 10:31 a.m. GMT | 8 December 2008

British/American Update: UK Mad

A few of our categories feature both American and British editions so as to group together related items. These are shown in our American section. This week we're updating Mad with UK editions:

*Mad: Early issues of the English edition of the famous satirical magazine, which launched in 1959. We have more than 20 new-listed issues from the first 100, which feature all of the phenomenal talents associated with the original US series – Wood, Elder, Rickard, Martin, Drucker – plus occasional UK-originated strips and covers. The UK editions aren’t straight reprints, but re-compilations, so the contents of an American #36, for example, may differ radically from the British #36. These very scarce early issues (the UK edition having substantially lower point runs than its counterpart from the Colonies) average an attractive Fine grade.

Posted by Rob | 10:26 a.m. GMT | 8 December 2008

7 December 2008

Housekeeping Update

As regular visitors to our site will know, on a regular cycle, we sweep through our entire vintage stock to delete sold items and keep our listing as up to date as possible. We've just finished deleting sold items from the following files in our American section:

*Horror/Mystery 1960-1980's
*Romance
*Teen Humour/Funny Girls
*War
*Western

As of the time of writing, all these categories are bang up to date with every item listed available, so you may order with confidence! More soon!

Posted by Rob | 09:38 p.m. GMT | 7 December 2008

2 December 2008

Two New Categories added to our British Catalogue!

In a midweek special update, we have not just one but two new categories now available for browsing in the British section of our website, details as follows:

*Younger Readers’ Comics: An entirely new category, as we march towards inevitable world domination – with Twinkle leading the way! This new section features titles for very young readers – usually the sort of thing that they’d have read to them, or read with help from an adult, rather than by themselves. Some old favourites from other categories – Twinkle (with new stock ranging from the early 100’s to the early 1000’s) from Girls’, Mickey Mouse Weekly from TV Related, and Playbox, Rainbow and Robin from Humour, have been relocated to this section as more appropriate, backed up by a plethora of new series to our lists. More than a hundred items are added from a period ranging from 1964 to 1988, including (deep breath) Bimbo, Candy, Care Bears, Disney Time, Jack and Jill, Little Star, Muppet Babies, Original Sylvanian Families (as opposed to what? 'Sylvanian Families – the Next Generation'?) Pippin, Playhour, Playland, Popples, Story Time, Teddy Bear, Toytown, and the ‘Junior Look & Learn’, Treasure. Early issues, Christmas issues, and Free Gift issues abound; if you’ve a hankering for a Flexidisc, wax crayons, finger puppets, press-out cardboard steam trains, or an unfeasibly large poster of Donald Duck – look no further!

*Girls’ Picture Libraries: Our ever-expanding stock has required a fissioning off, as our Girls’ section subdivides. The digest-sized Picture Libraries now have their own listing, and to celebrate, we’ve new issues added, including two titles we’d never heard of before: Romantic Adventure Library and Girls’ Diary (the latter from #1!).

Posted by Rob | 11:31 p.m. GMT | 2 December 2008