Auctions: comic books September 1970

Amazing Spider-Man (1963 1st Series) 88 VG/FN 5.0

"The Arms of Doctor Octopus!" Part 1 of 3. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by John Romita. Inks by Jim Mooney. Cover by John Romita. The mechanical arms of Dr. Octopus are on display in the New York Museum of Natural Science! And since Doc Ock is in prison a thousand miles away, he is unable to mentally control his arms. Or so everyone thought. Oh no! When Otto Octavius' arms escape from the museum, the police and the wall-crawler attempt to corral them, but they cannot. Eventually, the arms make it allthe way to the Midwest...and free their master! Dr. Octopus is back in business! The six-armed super-villain swiftly resumes his criminal ways by hijacking an airplane and holding it for ransom! And thus setting up a battle on the tarmac vs. your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Cameoappearances by Gwen Stacy, Professor Miles Warren, J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson, Betty Brant, Joe Robertson, and Captain Stacy. (Notes: The web-slinger previously clashed with Doc Ock in Amazing Spider-Man #56. This issue was reprinted in Marvel Tales #69.) 36 pages. Cover price $0.15.

Amazing Spider-Man (1963 1st Series) 88 VG/FN 5.0

"The Arms of Doctor Octopus!" Part 1 of 3. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by John Romita. Inks by Jim Mooney. Cover by John Romita. The mechanical arms of Dr. Octopus are on display in the New York Museum of Natural Science! And since Doc Ock is in prison a thousand miles away, he is unable to mentally control his arms. Or so everyone thought. Oh no! When Otto Octavius' arms escape from the museum, the police and the wall-crawler attempt to corral them, but they cannot. Eventually, the arms make it allthe way to the Midwest...and free their master! Dr. Octopus is back in business! The six-armed super-villain swiftly resumes his criminal ways by hijacking an airplane and holding it for ransom! And thus setting up a battle on the tarmac vs. your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Cameoappearances by Gwen Stacy, Professor Miles Warren, J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson, Betty Brant, Joe Robertson, and Captain Stacy. (Notes: The web-slinger previously clashed with Doc Ock in Amazing Spider-Man #56. This issue was reprinted in Marvel Tales #69.) 36 pages. Cover price $0.15.

Batman (1940) 225 CGC 8.5

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4542890013

The 2002 series wasn't the first time Batman (or Bruce Wayne) faced a murder charge. Here's a 1970 Batman two-part story, "Wanted for Murder-One, the Batman!" in which Batman faces a charge of murder. Script by Frank Robbins, pencils by Irv Novick, inks by Dick Giordano. Commissioner Gordon faces the possibility that his old friend, Batman, may be a murderer. But things can't be that bad because the problem is resolved early enough for there to be a backup story, "The Shutdown on Yoyr Street!" Script by Mike Friedrich, pencils by Novick, inks by Mike Esposito. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.15.

Fantastic Four (1961 1st Series) 102 VG/FN 5.0

"The Strength of the Sub-Mariner" Part 1 of 3. Guest-starring the Sub-Mariner. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by Jack Kirby. Inks by Joe Sinnott. Cover by John Romita and John Verpoorten. Prince Namor travels to Antarctica to explore a mysterious subsea shockwave! The Sub-Mariner's investigation leads to the Savage Land and an unconscious man lying on the ground. Who is this gentleman? Readers of the X-Men would know...but unfortunately the Avenging Son does not! Once the Atlanteans take the Master of Magnetism back to Atlantis, he begins to encourage Namor to attack the surface world. Will the Sub-Mariner fall for Magneto's ploy? Regrettably, the Fantastic Four make the choice easy for Namor, when the Thing accidentally fires a missile at Atlantis! Cameo appearance by Franklin. (Notes: Magneto previously appeared in Uncanny X-men 63. This is Magneto's first appearance after the X-Men series went into reprint in the early 1970's. This is also Jack Kirby's final issue as the regular penciler on the Fantastic Four series. Jack Kirby pencils part of issue 108.) 36 pages Cover price $0.15.

Fantastic Four (1961 1st Series) 102 CGC 3.0

Paper: Cream to off white

Label #4625274011

"The Strength of the Sub-Mariner" Part 1 of 3. Guest-starring the Sub-Mariner. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by Jack Kirby. Inks by Joe Sinnott. Cover by John Romita and John Verpoorten. Prince Namor travels to Antarctica to explore a mysterious subsea shockwave! The Sub-Mariner's investigation leads to the Savage Land and an unconscious man lying on the ground. Who is this gentleman? Readers of the X-Men would know...but unfortunately the Avenging Son does not! Once the Atlanteans take the Master of Magnetism back to Atlantis, he begins to encourage Namor to attack the surface world. Will the Sub-Mariner fall for Magneto's ploy? Regrettably, the Fantastic Four make the choice easy for Namor, when the Thing accidentally fires a missile at Atlantis! Cameo appearance by Franklin. (Notes: Magneto previously appeared in Uncanny X-men 63. This is Magneto's first appearance after the X-Men series went into reprint in the early 1970's. This is also Jack Kirby's final issue as the regular penciler on the Fantastic Four series. Jack Kirby pencils part of issue 108.) 36 pages Cover price $0.15.

House of Secrets (1956 1st Series) 87 VG+ 4.5

Centerfold detached at one staple. Water spots.

Cover art by Neal Adams. "Death Has Marble Lips!", script by Robert Kanigher, pencils by Dick Dillin, inks by Dick Giordano; A sculptor offers to barter his soul to Satan if his latest beautiful creation can take the form of a living woman, and it happens, but she doesn't know that her kiss is cursed and it turns the artist to stone. "The Man," script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Mike Esposito; A woman falls in love with a man who turns out to be a robot. "The Coming of Ghaglan," script by Raymond Marais, art by Mike Kaluta; Archaeologists find an Egyptian scroll that can be used to raise the dead to wipe out humanity, but they lose it to someone who has been seeking it for quite a long time. Letter from writer Alan Brennert. 36 Pages, Full Color. Cover price $0.15.

Silver Surfer (1968 1st Series) 18 CGC 7.5

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4590436001

"To Smash the Inhumans!" Final issue of the series. Guest-starring the Inhumans. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by Jack Kirby. Inks by Herb Trimpe. Cover by Herb Trimpe (with possible layouts or pencils by Marie Severin.) The Silver Surfer renounces his peaceful ways and decides to fight against mankind instead of with them! And despite their best efforts, the Inhumans cannot convince the cosmic sky-rider otherwise! Unfortunately, the story ends on a cliffhanger as the series was canceled. Appearances by Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton, and Maximus. (Note: The surfer's next chronological appearance comes in Webspinners Tales of Spider-Man (1999) #4 where the dangling plotline (from 29 years earlier) is at last addressed.) 32 pages. Cover price $0.15.

Tower of Shadows (1969) 7 CGC 9.4

Paper: White

Label #4664127009

New stories: "The Scream of Things." Script by Allyn Brodsky, pencils by Barry Windsor-Smith, inks by Vince Colletta. "Of Swords and Sorcery!" Script and art by Wally Wood. Reprint: "I Was Trapped by Titano, the Monster That Time Forgot!" Pencils by Jack Kirby. Cover price $0.15.

Where Creatures Roam (1970) 2 FN+ 6.5

Cover pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Steve Ditko. All reprints: "I Spent Midnight With the Monster on Bald Mountain!", art by Steve Ditko; A sculptor build two statues, one representing good and the other, evil, when lightning strikes the evil one and begins it to life. "I Dared Defy the Floating Head!", art by Paul Reinman; A giant floating head appears over New York, claiming that it is the advance scout of an alien invasion, and ordering everyone to evacuate. "I Am the Man Without a Face!", art by Joe Sinnott; A bigot rounds up some thugs to don black hoods and drive some harmless gypsies out of town. "He Waits for Us in the Glacier!", art by Don Heck; A nuclear submarine finds an alien hibernating in a glacier. 36 pgs., full color. $0.15. Cover price $0.15.