What comics did you buy today?

[stevezodiac]

Bleak? I'm one of those people (and so is my mate Steve) who prefers winter to summer. These days of unbroken sunshine really depress me. The other day I dreamt I looked out of the window and there was thick freezing fog. A joy. I look forward to October and the dark nights that follow. There is no escape from the intense heat but at least in winter you can wrap up warm.

[starscape]

You're obviously nowhere near Edinburgh then. This summer has been a washout. Not particularly warm. Barely a day without rain. You'd love it!

I know Scotland isn't known for it's great weather but this year is so much worse than last. Barely had to water the garden mind you, to look on the bright side

[stevezodiac]

And the Open golf went to a Monday finish. They said you could have swum in some of the bunkers on Friday.

[philcom55]

I didn't realize they had gardens north of the border - I thought Scotland was all heather and thistles!

[paw broon]

Och aye, the noo, ken? A muckle heather an jaggy thingies, ken likesy? But Starscape's right, it's been not very nice this "summer" and my garden looks a bit unkempt right now because of the deluges and winds of the last 10 days or so. Will I be able to save my shallots? Will the courgettes even produce a flower? Will my tatties recover from the battering of the rain? Haven't a scoobie. But this is better than modern winters when we don't get much frost or those cold, sharp, clear days of decades ago. And as for Christmas issues, have a look at some of the Nelson Lee festive season papers. At times there seemed to be 2 Christmas issues if you went by the seasonal messages on the cover. Fortunately, like the Magnet, these were often parts of ghost type stories. So good.

[colcool007]

Well, I didn't buy them today but they did arrive today, so that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

Mr Postman delivered two wonderful books today. One is the wonderfully illustrated Peter Pan, illustrated by Stref in a style that is haunting reminiscent of Winsor McCay's work. It is a pleasure just to see the pictures and I will be buying him a pint in two weeks' time to say thank you for his work.

I also took delivery of a book that I have been chasing for over 10 years. And that is Alan Clark's Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors. When I first discovered this book, copies were going for over £110 each. This was way outside my budget, so when I saw copies on Amazon for a mere £25, I had to go for it. I am glad that I have purchased it, but I am dismayed at a couple of glaring omissions in there being no mention of C D Bagnall or Jim Watson.

[suebutcher]

Speak of the devil, I found Wogan Giant Disney Comics Special G625, aka (as far as I can tell) The Phantom Blot #4. Australian Disney comics are confusing, and I've only just knuckled down and started sorting through the piles of them at antique markets and bookshops. They're usually quite cheap to buy, though.

Paw, we've got a fantastic cold clear day here in Victoria; bright sun, blue sky, frost, and steam coming out of your mouth! The coldest winter for thirty years they say, and it killed off all my potatoes, but not particularly stormy thank goodness.

[TwoHeadedBoy]

Arriving yesterday, pleasing me a lot, was cOZmic Comics No.1 (1972), got it cheap because the cover wasn't attached, nothing a bit of Sellotape won't fix

[Shiner]

The whole set of Esmeralda - 33 issues. At last I can read the ending of Septimus which started in the predecessor title, Seven. Only Esmeralda herself moved across to Bobo Bunny.

[colcool007]

Well today, we went to the signing of Purity Ring at Deadhead comic and I was determined to spend as little as possible. I sort of managed to not break £20, but I did buy a couple of copies of Purity Ring for friends. The fact that John Farman was giving away a signed page of art with every two comics sold on a first come first served basis had absolutely nothing to do with us buying them...

I also picked up a book that I have been meaning to pick up for ages and that is Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy's adaptation of Kidnapped.

[geoff42]

A few days ago, I obtained Battle issue 2 with big poster as free gift. But the main reason why I'm posting is when I offloaded over 300 comics to a young boy of nine years old - comics that I had obtained through upgrading, multiple buys that concerned less than I needed. They almost accommodated two comic boxes and needed to be rid of. The look on the young boy's face when I delivered was priceless. I hope I've kickstarted a young enthusiastic.

[geoff42]

I hastily add, I didn't charge anything apart from the taxi fare. That young boy has gained some gems; I kind of wish I was in his shoes right now - discovering the beauty of comics

[abacus]

Son drove me to Melton carboot today spent £6.50p for the following--
FUNNIES ALBUM 1948 Gerald Swan , the comic art always seems a bit amateurish in their publications.
COMIC FUN ALBUM Robert Edwards London this has half the pages missing but I liked the cover and anyway all are one page comic stories.
BO PEEP'S BUMPER BOOK 1930(Story only)
Then comics selected for having complete stories
DC UNEXPECTED 216 ----1981
218----1982
221----1982
DC MYSTERY IN SPACE 112------1980
113------1980
DC Superman's pal JIMMY OLSEN---------1973
MIGHTY MOUSE------1991
PHANTOM STRANGER -----1993
Fantastic Adventures cover(fridge magnet)

War Illustrated volume containing 1942/3 magazines
Apart from comics and annuals I also collect old books that are illustrated and last monday in Skegness bought Shakspearian tales by Mrs Valentine 1880s paid £8 for it I must have been light headed from the sea air

[stevezodiac]

Went to the Postcard/Ephemera fair at the Royal National today and picked up four black and white British reprints which were:

Justice Traps The Guilty issues 4 and 23 published by Arnold Book Co, London W1
Sam Hill Comics no. 3 published by Thorpa and Porter
Crime Patrol no. 4 published by Archer Press Ltd London WC1

all are 68 pages and one shilling each. (I paid £3 each for them) Anyone know when they were published? The Sam Hill comic has a advert for 1952 comics on the back cvber and I presume the other three are from the 50s?

[paw broon]

I think I can help with that.
Justice Traps etc ran from '51 to '54 making your #3 from 1951 (could just be '52 but I think they started earlyish in '51, and #28 should be '53 but I'm sure anyone with better knowledge will be able to agree or set us right.) This title ran to 43 issues but there were other JTTG comics. United Anglo-American published one issue in 1949, and Top Sellers (you could almost have guessed this) issued 8 issues in the '60's. All contain Prize reprints and some of the art varies from reasonable to not very good, imo.
Crime Patrol is from '53. The title only ran for 5 issues and contains reprints from a number of American titles - according to the guide.
Sam Hill is '52. Again, only 5 issues and they are reprints from Closeup Inc.