Harry Lime

Fantastic Four #34 January 1965 My Copy - Grade 6.0 Cover: 2.5/5 ~ I used to find this cover quite intriguing until I read the book, afterwards it's fairly plain. I'm splitting the score here because of that. Art: 3.5/5 ~ Some great fight scenes between Ben & Reed and not bad Invisible Girl/Torch action. Kirby also does good work on the palatial surroundings of Gideon something we have not seen before. Overall though, this # is just slightly down. Story: 2/5 ~ A modern morality play in 20 colourful pages? Yep, this has the distinct feel of an experiment by Lee/Kirby. Very much a product of it's nascent hippy days, indeed the team are ahead of the curve here and I give them credit for attempting such a tale I only wish they could have done it without Gideon hammering home the same corny, megalomaniac message again & again. And the trite ending where his son is very nearly hoist upon his father's petard definitely ups the cheese rating. Quote of the Day ~ "At the rate I'm going, it will take me three more years to drive you all out of business and to take over financial mastery of the entire world! That is too slow! I haven't the patience to wait! I want to own everything--and I want it now!!" My assessment ~ Not a bad looking copy with good PQ, and despite being far from the best FF I've ever read, this is a keeper. Thanks for reading!

Second time I've bought from Ed and it was just as awesome! Grading is very tight, delivery was lightning quick, communication & packaging is above and beyond the call of duty. I look forward to buying from him again in the future. Ed is a credit to the boards!

Super sharp Super-Skrulls, Timeless & Claudio. I love that cover, gotta get me one of those.

Thanks for the plug, AJD! I haven't got any GA and I don't plan on collecting any but I love reading about others' books, including yours of course. It's very informative and entertaining to see all the different genres and titles.

And the final birthday book. Journey Into Mystery #111 December 1964 My Copy - Grade 6.0 This has a third staple about half inch below the top one but I'm 90% certain it's production related. Cover: 4/5 ~ This is a nice cover. Bifrost, cosmos, and Balder's sword penetrating the 'warp'. Certainly wins the craved for 'Birthday Cover of the Month' award. Art: 3.5/5 ~ As has been happening recently the Asgardian scenes steal the show but the action on Earth is portrayed dynamically enough this month to earn it that extra grade point as well. Story: 3/5 ~ Fast paced, action packed and dual plotted. This issue has a lot going for it. Definitely the best JIM so far. Although Thor still lacks a certain 'je ne sais quoi' that comes so easily to the FF & Spidey. Perhaps it's because he is a god, and that must make him doubly difficult to write, but there's precious little tension in his tales. He needs more powerful foes than a souped-up Hyde & Cobra tag-team. One part I loved was Loki being apprehended by Thor's friends who knew damn well what he was planning to do with Odin's note to the healer. Quote of the Day ~ "There! How amused the immortals of Asgard would be to see the Thunder God changing wiring like an earthbound electrician!" My assessment ~ This is getting harder & harder to decide upon, fuzziness in my collecting is a theme which will become more apparent later on. I'm definitely going to sell the earlier, craptastic JIM's but this one I think I'll probably keep. SOLD! Thanks for reading!

Another 'birthday' book. Fantastic Four #33 December 1964 My Copy - Grade 3.5 Qualified & Apparent! Another dodgy ebay buy. Missing Namor pin-up and has top & bottom staple holes but only on the last half of the wraps (past the centrefold if that makes any sense). No idea if it's production related, it has what appears to be the original staples securely attached. Cover: 3/5 ~ I believe this is the first use of the photomonatge effect on a cover so it's certainly unique enough however it's not that exciting although the B&W coral certainly makes the colourful characters pop! Art: 4/5 ~ Another wonderful deep-sea montage inside the covers and lots of well-executed action and machinery Kirby style + who doesn't love a giant ugly fish autopsy on their splash page? Story: 2.5/5 ~ Although I like the ambivalence between the FF & Subby and the parallel of Sue's 'interest' in him I didn't find the FF's role of subterfuge in supporting Namor to be either that interesting or particularly plausible. And it certainly took one giant leap of disbelief suspension at the end for Reed's drowning averting stretch to the water's surface. Quote of the Day ~ "Holy Cow! What's that? Last year's winner of the 'Miss Yancy Street' beauty contest?" This was a very hard issue to get a decent quote from so I went for Ben and, ironically, the first line. My assessment ~ It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to. Damn that 60's British kid who cut out Namor so he could gaze longingly at the noble brow, the bulging biceps, thrusting thighs and scaly speedos! All sorts of things wrong with my copy and an upgrade is definitely not beyond my reach. Thanks for reading!

Hey, thanks man! I hadn't seen that site, it's certainly very useful but British copies probably took at least a month maybe two to get here. So I could be looking at FF 37 or 38 as being on sale in England, December '64, that is if you could find them.

Great looking #4's, gentlemen.

And so we come to the dark, dank month of December 1964, in the sprawling metropolis of Olde England town. A place where the automobile had only just been invented and Richard Van Dyke's cockney accent had not yet defiled all social norms. Into this grim world came a mewling infant who would one day adopt the name of The Third Man and the image of an Infant Terrible but of far more importance was the publication date of my next three books. Birthday books one an' all! Amazing Spider-Man #19 December 1964 My Copy - Grade 5.0 Bought raw recently from the boards. It was once in a slab by another grading company. I see no cause to disagree with them. Cover: 3/5 ~ Classic Spidey in action shot but doesn't have a lot else going on. Art: 4/5 ~ Ditko just keeps putting it out there. Such great action drawing, special little panels which delight the eye and tell so much. Special mention to the J. Jonah triptych on page 3. Wonderful stuff. Story: 3.5/5 ~ Unlike some books *cough* JIM #95 *cough* the blurb does not lie. Spidey strikes back hard and with some joy. This issue marks the end of the 'Spidey is a Cowardy Custard' trilogy with all the action that was missing from #18 and then some! Our hero spends nearly all issue long laying waste to hoodlums and the Enforcers. He even finds time to wind J Jonah up, always a happy occurrence. He never really gets to grips with the Sandman though and Sandy McSanderson's unusual occupation as gang leader and subsequent 'too tired to fight a couple of cops routine' doesn't work at all well. Sill all in all another highly enjoyable early Spidey. Quote of the Day ~ "If anyone asks what happened to you guys, be sure to spell my name right! There's a hyphen in it, remember!" My assessment ~ It's my birthday and I'll keep it if I want to! Thanks for reading!

Wow three books in the same month, my collection is becoming extensive! Journey Into Mystery #110 November 1964 My Copy - Grade 6.5 Cover: 2/5 ~ Thor, Foster, Hyde, Cobra. Yep, got it. Sums up the story without putting any real effort into it. Could have been much better if the fight with Heimdall had graced the cover. Art: 3/5 ~ All the Asgardian parts are great, the rest is average. Story: 3/5 ~ Not a bad tale. Perhaps Lee & Kirby are getting a handle on the character at last? Loki on Earth & the Asgardian bits (again) are the best parts. Jane Foster stands in for Sue Storm as the kidnapnee of the month (Sue was getting her hair done). But to be fair at least Jane doesn't have superpowers (yes, I'm looking at you, Sue) and Thor has to stop time itself to save her from dying. Will she survive? I don't know but I have the next issue so I will find out. Quote of the Day ~ "This time there is no forgiveness in my heart! This time I order you banished from Asgard!" My assessment ~ Hmmm. That's two JIM's in a row that haven't been awful. Do I keep them or not? Still undecided. Probably the most logical option is to sell/keep on a case by case basis but I'm by nature a completist and it rubs to do that. It's all or nothing. Perhaps I'll wait and see what the next few are like. The infamous #114 might yet hold the key to the Mystery of Asgard. Thanks for reading!

Fantastic Four #32 November 1964 My Copy - Grade 3.5 Qualified Missing an ad page. Cover: 3/5 ~ Not quite sure what's going on with the cover with 3 of the foursome fainting & Ben angrily supplicating? Still it's certainly intriguing. Art: 4/5 ~ Some great scenes in this. The splash page, the space photomontages, a good variety of locations. Kirby gearing it up... Story: 4/5 ~ This issue starts and ends really well, it's just the bit in the middle with the 'Invincible Man' that lets it down. Even if I didn't know it was the Super Skrull initially (having never read #18) by the time I saw him use 2 of the FF's powers I twigged it was him (unlike the FF) and the fight sequence is robbed of any real significance because of the FF's belief it was Mr Storm senior. However the crowd reaction to their defeat was enjoyable. The shock ending where the real Mr Storm sacrifices himself was written with some emotion and the sense of grief was palpable if for the most part unspoken. Also Ben with a hanky has to be an added extra. Quote of the Day ~ "Captain, that is the late Dr. Franklin Storm...One of the finest, bravest men I've ever had the honor of knowing!" My assessment ~ A while back I told the tale of my FF #27 and how I wanted the one in the LCBS and how it was gone when I went back. This one was there though and so partly through disappointment & ignorance I bought it. Probably the most I've overpaid on a book considering it's grade and cost. I'm lucky it only cost £30 in a way but even though it's incomplete I'm going to keep this as a reminder to never buy a book through frustration or without doing the research on it's value beforehand again. Thanks for reading!

That has a very early 70's feel about it, Claudio. Certainly an improvement over the original. I'm curious about the issue number on your Italian version though. It seems to be 15 issues ahead?

Amazing Spider-Man #18 November 1964 My Copy - Grade 3.0 Apparent Has a weird issue with an extra set of bottom staple 'holes', might even be production related as it doesn't look like an amateur job. Doesn't bother me anyway, just glad to have the book. Cover: 5/5 ~ I love this cover! This and #3 are my favourite early Spidey covers. It wasn't at all popular in the recent poll but I can't help but admire the uniqueness of the subject matter, the wonderful perspective and the detail involved. Great stuff, Steve! Art: 4/5 ~ Same as #17 really but considering there's less action in this issue it's amazing how interesting each page/panel is under Ditko's hand. And the sight of a muscle-bound Flash in his ill-fitting Spidey costume highlights the real 'McCoy' (not a Star Trek reference ). Story: 4.5/5 ~ An almost unthinkable concept. A superhero book where the protagonist doesn't land a punch, doesn't 'catch' any criminals (unless that be through a tip-off) and instead actively avoids danger and confrontation. It works brilliantly! We really feel Peter's anxiety for his sickly Aunt. We feel sorry for Spidey at the world's ignorant cruelty. We hope that the Torch will find out the truth and help out. We feel relieved when Flash's stubborn bravery lands him with no more than a black eye and we hate the grinning hyena face of J. Jonah. I only wish the 'fight' with the Sandman had gone on longer but it's a petty complaint. Quote of the Day ~ "First time I ever saw him smile! It's a sickening sight!" My assessment ~ Another wonderful issue. I've certainly struck gold with my earliest ASMs. Of course an upgrade would be great but whose got the money? Not me. Thanks for reading!

Spider-Man & Ditko are a marriage made in heaven. I would love to see some OA of his, maybe one day. Yep, the logo introduced in #119 was so ugly, what were they thinking? I haven't read many of that time span yet but I can imagine they had more than a few letters of complaint. Thank you for the kind words but I wouldn't read too much into my synopsis. It's only my personal opinion and I'm aiming to be entertaining without huge walls of text so stuff is going to be left out, glossed over or just frankly wrong. Pence copies are cheap and the page quality is generally quite good but collecting started later here than in the US so finding high-grade examples is very rare.

Apologies for the delay, I was awaiting, to preserve the chronological order, a small parcel of goodness from across the pond which contained (amongst others) my next entry. I suppose if I acquire any other books that are earlier than the ones already posted I will have to use Doom's time machine, a worrying prospect at best. My earliest ASM. Amazing Spider-Man #17 October 1964 My Copy - Grade 5.5 Cover: 3/5 ~ Nothing spectacular but it's enough to draw us in with the swinging and the sparking and the flaming. Nice depiction of the crowd as well, some scared, some enjoying the action. What could be happening? Art: 4/5 ~ I love Ditko's work on ASM and he doesn't disappoint here. So much movement and detail is packed into the panels your eyes are continually entertained and absorbed. The fight sequences are superb and he packs emotion into every character's depiction. Story: 4.5/5 ~ This issue probably encapsulates all that is great about early Spidey. His fallibility, girlfriend troubles, J Jonah, Flash, sick Aunt May, his self-doubt, his bad luck. It's all there and it's done to perfection. It's even got great action with the returning Green Goblin and the Torch messing things up. This was so close to a five and to be honest I can't give a rational reason why it didn't get it other than I'm reserving that for the crème de la crème! Quote of the Day ~ "Why don't things ever turn out right for me? Why do I seem to hurt people, no matter how I try not to? Is this the price I must always pay for being...Spider-Man??!" My assessment ~ A recent purchase from a fellow boardie, this is why I love buying from here, great books at a great price. I can't really afford a higher grade example and I'm perfectly happy with this copy so it's a keeper for good. Thanks for reading!

Very happy with recent purchase of a small pile of ASM's + FF. Very quick delivery, tight grading, well packaged and lots of microchamber, full backs & mylites. Ed is a great guy to work with as well. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Fantastic Four #31 October 1964 My Copy - Grade 4.5 Cover: 3/5 ~ Even if the depiction of the depths would have been virtually impossible to do, this is intriguing enough to draw us in. Art: 4/5 ~ Kirby back to form here. Some great quake action, followed by whole city blocks in a hole. Mole Man's machinery and his underworld with some great special effects really top this issue. Story: 3.5/5 ~ A more enjoyable tale than of late. Only losing marks for Sue's patented kidnapping of the month ™. Gaining points for the brief tussle with the Avengers, the FF going all out to seek and execute an alternative plan to save Sue. Even the apparent weakness of not finding the Mole Man at the end is turned into a strength because of the desperate rush to a hospital because of Sue's head wound. And her father turning up to save her but in doing so losing his chance at freedom was well played. The FF's reaction (especially Ben's) to Sue's recovery from a potentially life ending accident was a joy to behold. Quote of the Day ~ "There it is! Holy Cow!! He's got enough control levers in there to qualify for 'Mad Scientist of the Year!' " My assessment ~ One of my earlier ebay purchases, got it amazingly cheap (probably because it's a pence copy) but it's good enough for me. Thanks for reading!

Journey Into Mystery #108 September 1964 My Copy - Grade 5.0 Cover: 3/5 ~ From the yellow background & sun like Foster, to the mighty swing and the tumbling Loki, everything about this cover is simple but works well. Art: 3/5 ~ Again, everything works well and there's plenty of variety in this issue. Asgard, the mean streets of NYC, hospitals, wharfs, woods, Dr Strange's bachelor pad, quick glimpses of some of the Avengers. Even the Empire State gets a panel. Story: 3/5 ~ To continue a theme; it's simple but it works well. The pacing is spot on, there's variety, there's x-overs, Blake is having to fend for himself at one point, there's a kidnapped nurse, an enraged omnipotent father. The story is never dull however it is lacking action and wrapped up quite quickly. I think it could easily have been a two-parter and not been the worse for it. Quote of the Day ~ "When I return, Thor shall answer to me!! Even though he be my favored son--only one may be Lord of Asgard, and that one is--and ever shall be--Odin!!" My assessment ~ Although only average this was so much better than nearly all of the previous JIM's I've read it felt like an epic!! It shows how low my expectations for this book have fallen. A keeper? Maybe....maybe not. SOLD! Thanks for reading!

I do tend to be analytical so I'm probably guilty of that but I'm giving my honest opinion here. I just didn't think it was anything special. However I like the fact that you disagree, it would be a very boring place if we all thought the same. Now that would be a spoiler. But the scores will improve, I promise you.

My FF collection becomes much more complete from this point on with a few notable exceptions. Can you guess which ones are missing? Fantastic Four #30 September 1964 My Copy - Grade 4.0 Qualified (Missing Ad Page, story unaffected) Bought this from ebay for a nominal sum after refund was issued because of the absent page. Had a Comic Connect sticker on the back, giving it a 4.5. Bit generous imo and what about the missing page, CC? Do they even do the grading? I don't know but it would make me think twice before buying from them after such an obvious fault was missed. Cover: 3/5 ~ Nothing special but the transformed Thing and the sneering (or possibly leering) Diablo just about lift it out of the mundane. Art: 2.5/5 ~ A few nice panels and I did like the 'handsome' Thing but not quite up to the usual Kirby standard. Story: 2.5/5 ~ Wow, 2 decimal points in one review! Not quite bad enough but missing half a point for Ben's trance like rescue act & rapid defection to Diablo. An obvious contrivance. It was good to see Sue using her powers more and Diablo bricking it once the Thing came after him. Another lightweight but enjoyable tale, however I'm under the impression that Lee & Kirby were treading water with the FF in this period as the last three reviewed have all been distinctly average. I'm counting on you guys to up your game! Quote of the Day ~ "He's got you beat a mile, Reedy boy! Look how gorgeous he made me- - with just one sip of a potion of his!" My assessment ~ Considering I paid next to nothing for it I'm not going to rush to upgrade it, even with a missing page. Thanks for reading!

Yeah, the first Goblin is mediocre at best. Luckily they saw the potenial in the character and turned it around. I love ASM#13, Mysterio was another of my faves as a kid, heck virtually every Spidey villain was ('cept for Kraven). Unfortunately as can be seen from their absence in this thread I have neither.

Next up, my only Strange Tales. I had a few others but I've sold them all. Strange Tales #123 August 1964 My Copy - Grade 2.5 Cover: 2/5 ~ The split panel cover doesn't work well imo, not enough space given to either protagonist but it does allow for 3 super characters + Thing & Thor in panels and our first glimpse of the Beetle. The Human Torch Art: 1/5 ~ It's decent enough except for the Thing. Burgos really struggles with him and I had to take marks away for that. Story: 2/5 ~ It's all about the Beetle. His first outing so we have a 'live' origin story. We witness his passion for collecting boxes containing cash and an equal propensity for throwing it onto the assembled masses. He really gives Ben & Johnny the run-around until he repeats one trick too many. Enjoyable & lightweight fun. Quote of the Day ~ "I'll meetcha in a minute! I forgot to tell that gal I want my burger nearly raw! None of that greasy kid stuff for me!" Dr. Strange Art: 2/5 ~ Not totally convinced by Ditko's rendering of Loki or Thor but his own inimitable style does bring out the best of Strange and the magikey stuff. Story: 2/5 ~ Dr. Strange is rather too easily duped by Loki which leads to more shenanigans involving Thor's hammer. Tense fight between the Master of the Mystic Arts & the God of Mischief which Strange survives only by Thor's imminent arrival. Not a bad story but over in a flash. Quote of the Day ~ "Behold doomed mortal! See how I create a force of unearthly energy by using the vibrating ions at the end of my horns!!" My assessment ~ I bought this because it's the first Beetle. One of my favourite villains as a child. I think I always liked him because of his clunky purple & green outfit. I still like it today and he's such a loser, I feel sorry for him. I don't need a higher grade copy, I just wanted this in my collection. Keeper. Thanks for reading!

I'm looking forward to your new journal. The old one was very enjoyable and was the reason I discovered the boards here. I was doing a google search for rusty comic book staples.

Actually you warned me about the first Absorbing Man (one of my faves) so we still have that to look forward to.

My JIM/Thor collection becomes much more intact from this point on, with a couple of exceptions. Journey Into Mystery #107 August 1964 My Copy - Grade 5.5 Cover: 3/5 ~ I like this cover, Thor's pose, the grey 'statues', the panicked public fleeing, and I would have gone higher but for the weird inking job done on the Gargoyle's face (it's all smudgey) & his feet. Yes, I can't stand his costumed feet. It looks like he's wearing a pair of bear shaped slippers. Such things would have been unknown in 1964 of course, but still..... Art: 2/5 ~ No scenes of Asgard so everything is run of the mill by Kirby's standards. I actually like the way he draws the Gargoyle ('cept for the you know what) but it would have been more effective & sinister if he stuck to the splash page depiction. Story: 1/5 ~ Oh dear, we are back to the bad ol' days of absurdities & contradictions. The first time we see Duval (Grey Gargoyle) he is emerging from a plane that's just landed from France. Cut to the interior and every passenger has been turned to stone in their seats! Why did he feel the need to do that but more importantly why did they let him touch them without moving or seemingly resisting in anyway? Was the in-flight entertainment so bad that they thought being turned to living stone was an improvement? Apparently Duval can't resist turning people into stone as after the origin story he touches the cabbie who took him into town as well. At least there's a motive behind this act, to attract Thor's attention. Now follows absurdity number two. He believes that Thor's immortality comes from his hammer and wants it for himself. Would it not be more logical to surmise that Thor is immortal because he is an actual god? Then follows a brief scrap between the Gargoyle & Thor where Thor actually gets bested (the story got +1 because of that) and turned to stone. Of course, toppling over his hammer strikes the ground and returns him to Blake (all pink & moving). He somehow knows that he can't turn back into Thor within an hour because he will turn back to stone again...ok, I'm willing to suspend disbelief for that but what follows after must have taken more than an hour to arrange anyway. Walks to office. Thinks of a plan. Makes phone call. TV company gets 3-D TV projector with mods from Tony Stark, mounted on motorcycle ridden by Blake. He promises the film will be theirs afterwards. Drives around town looking for GG, etc. etc. Oh & finally the Gargoyle gets his comeuppance because he forgets that stones don't float whilst declaring "I can follow you anywhere!" Quote of the Day ~ "You dare profane my beloved hammer with your evil grasp??!!" My assessment ~ This could have been done so much better. I was really looking forward to the first GG but it was another big disappointment. Sell, sell!! SOLD! Thanks for reading!