Albert Tatlock

The multitudes of Charlton collectors have been overlooked of late, sadly, so, in an attempt to redress the balance, I am posting four examples dated between January and June 1959. The first impression might be that these have 'jumped the gun', but I think we persuaded ourselves some time ago that they must have had to wait until the prohibition on corrupting publications such as this was lifted towards the end of that year. One of the Mysterious Travellers is stamped twice. Probably a tug-of war between Ethel and Myrtle, who both reckoned they saw it first. Also a Famous Monsters from April 1959.

Another copy of # 4, plus # 5.

Great Scott, Robin. The needle is stuck, but at least Ethel is stamping us in order! Wish I had 9d for every Great Scott on these covers from the time.

Good job it was only worth 1/6. Could have been worse.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/freddie-mercury-a-world-of-his-own-crazy-little-things-2/comic-books-the-fantastic-four-x-men-and-booster GBP 10795. Whereas this went for only GBP 2200 plus premium, say 3k. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/bamfords/catalogue-id-bamfor10916/lot-5ceee489-bf65-4803-a87a-b0690160131f Far be it from me to suggest that the Freddie Mercury fan has got his priorities wrong, I hope he enjoys thumbing through them.

I thought I would never see a stamped copy of this, as I spent literally years scouring second-hand outlets in search of one. Challengers #11 and #12 were elusive, too. For a long, long time my earliest was # 13, but I knew that # 11 and # 12 were in circulation as I had seen them in the hands of rivals. It is a Number 6, so presumably it sauntered at its own sweet pace across the land of the free and the home of the brave, finally joining its brethren on the dockside about six months behind schedule.

This was definitely lesser spotted back in the day. I picked one up eventually in New York and sold it to Alan Austin, who was still searching for it. That would have been unstamped, though.

I have gone back and adjusted it, hope it is more readable now.

Thanks! It is cruising in the fast lane now.

I will try to get a clearer scan, not up to speed with this new-fangled technology. My abacus keeps going on the blink and the repairmen just suck their teeth and shake their heads.

Even scarier if they are horror comic catalogues. Read them behind the sofa.

Here is a copy of Derek Stokes' first sales list, from Winter 1968. Most expensive items listed are FF # 1 and Spider-Man # 1, at £4 each. X-Men # 1 is a more reasonable 15/- (75p, just over a buck). I toyed with the idea of purchasing House Of Secrets # 1 for 20/-, but decided against it. Something about the address did not seem right, no street number, so I shelved the project. With hindsight, I should have taken the plunge on a couple of items, although they were probably in excess of FMV for the time. I still do not have HOS # 1. From memory, I think this sheet was an insert in an issue of Frank Dobson's Fantasy Advertiser. I was a subscriber, and haunted my doormat whenever the next issue was due.

Betcha not even the ageing hippies of California are that far removed from reality.

A unicorn if ever there was one.

Nope! Original better by a country mile. And the UK reprint is only B & W inside. Probably far scarcer, though. Just try to find Tales From The Crypt, etc in this series. I have a book somewhere which references these rarities, which were the gateway drug to the motherlode of EC et al, will try to unearth it again. The 1950s UK comic scene had many worthy pretenders to the throne, but the Messiah only arrived in late 1959, courtesy of Fred and the anonymous, presumably non-existent, Mr Porter. Thanks to them, US cargo ships laden with a four colour assault on juvenile British morals could once again sail the ocean blue, bound for the dockside of just about the most landlocked of British cities, Leicester.

So does that mean that T & P fearlessly produced the first few issues of Black Magic close to home in Oadby, then took fright and put Arnold's name on the later issues, so that if something hit the fan, the good name of T & P would not be sullied?

Here is a puzzle to which I readily admit no solution presents itself to me. Below are the front and back covers to Black Magic # 9 and # 11. The former was produced, according to the information on the back cover, in Oadby, the home turf of T & P, whereas the latter originated in London, the stamping ground of Miller. I am presuming the Arnold mentioned refers to the forename of Arnold of A & M Miller. I had always been under the impression that these two firms were deadly rivals, on worse terms than Rangers and Celtic, or Pepsi and Coke. Here, though, it seems, they changed horses midstream. I also have a few issues prior to # 9 and after # 11, and they all line up neatly with the Oadby/London watershed. No # 10 to hand, unfortunately. Can anyone enlighten me, please?

And here are a couple from Forbidden Planet in Nottingham. One on the cover, daring you to peel it off, and one thoughtfully applied to the bag. I remember an early comic sales pitch, not a shop, but a stall or barrow, on the corner of Earlham Street near Cambridge Circus. I bought some Atlas horror titles there, will try to dig out chapter and verse.

So, true to the decadent bourgeois capitalist principles that DTW adhered by, they snapped up the 30p copies from the newsagent on the corner, removed the stickers and repriced them with a profiteering price label. Come the revolution, comrades, we will reset the clock, and all these will be available at their original, correct prices. I can dream, can't I?

Quite probable. The absence of DTW's ID is telling, they were not otherwise shy of revealing their handiwork to the world.

Here is a DTW stickered item, along with a few from the same period with anonymous price labels that might be the work of DTW or one of their competitors.

Another blotted out price. Wonder if it was worth paying Ethel for her labour on these, as there was no guarantee it would sell the second time around. It obviously did, though and has been treasured ever since, until its new owner has cast this tiny fish into the vast ocean of ebay.

And does # 95 have a 20p stamp, possibly from the PBC? Anyone remember seeing Freddie rummaging through their stock back in the day? With his cape and crown?

I reckon this guy is going to buy them, then burn them, out of spite.

Mollie Sugden tired of playing sitcom characters, and reinvented herself as the proprietress of Mollie's Books & Comics, where she lived out her dream. Notice she also had a sideline producing rubber stamps. She is possibly responsible for all the defaced output of the PBC, Millers of Bratfud and the others.