Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) comic books graded by CGC

Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) 115 CGC 5.5

Paper: Off white

Label #1362288007

Cover pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Steve Ditko. Dr. Strange's 4th appearance finally provides his origin in "The Origin of Dr. Strange," script by Stan Lee (co-plot, script) and Steve Ditko (co-plot, un-credited), art by Steve Ditko; Dr. Stephen Strange, a top neurosurgeon, damages his hands in an accident and seeks out a mystic for help; He saves the seer from his treacherous student, becoming his pupil and finding a new purpose; First mentions of Dormammu and the All-Seeing Agamotto (though no actual appearances). Baron Mordo appearance. Second appearance (and brief origin) of the Sandman in "The Sandman Strikes!", script by Stan Lee (co-plot, script) and Dick Ayers (co-plot, un-credited), art by Dick Ayers; The Human Torch fights and defeats Spider-Mans old enemy Sandman. "Zero of Time" text story. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.12.

Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) 136 CGC 8.0

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4419733009

Cover pencils by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko (bottom tier), inks by Mike Esposito and Steve Ditko (bottom tier). "Find Fury or Die!", script by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (co-plot), pencils by Jack Kirby (layouts) and John Severin, inks by John Severin; HYDRA agents tail Fury intent on finding SHIELD's HQ, but Fury is aware he's being followed. HYDRA Section Leader B, a "Hydra-Hunter," runs the mission and hands over his hood to the Imperial Hydra so he will have no place to hide should he fail; When a few HYDRA agents show up at the barber shop which is the secret entrance to SHIELD's HQ, they're captured and hypnotized into believing the HQ is located in a warehouse blocks away. "What Lurks Beneath the Mask?", script by Steve Ditko (plot) and Stan Lee (dialogue), art by Steve Ditko; Dormammu imprisons Clea, telling her she will witness Strange's defeat. Mordo tells Dormammu that Strange is searching for "Eternity" and is puzzled by the dark lord's violent reaction; Strange continues his search, going from one mystic to another with no results, until The Aged Genghis tells him only he and The Ancient One know the secret; He gives him a scroll, which leads Strange to a being imprisoned in another dimension; a trap he barely escapes. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.12.

Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) 138 CGC 8.5

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4064961007

Cover pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by John Severin. "Sometimes the Good Guys Lose!", script by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (co-plot), pencils by Jack Kirby (layouts) and John Severin, inks by John Severin; Aboard SHIELD's Intercontinental Ballistic Plane Fury uses the Televiewer Tube to locate the Betraton Bomb launch site; It is destroyed but the bomb was already launched; Agent G unsuccessfully implores her father, Imperial Hydra to come to his senses; He sends HYDRA's Fox Division to deliver his terms to every nation on Earth; Tony Stark prepares to show Fury the Braino-Saur,a new weapon when HYDRA agents capture him. "If Eternity Should Fail!", script by Steve Ditko (plot) and Stan Lee (dialogue), art by Steve Ditko; In another dimension that defies description, Dr. Strange comes face-to-face with Eternity, who learns that Strange is indeed worthy of The Ancient One's trust; He knows that if Mordo & Dormammu are not stopped, all mankind will be in jeopardy; But after all Strange has been through, Eternity tells him he already has the power he needs; First appearance of Eternity; Appearance by Clea. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.12.

Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) 157 CGC 8.0

Paper: Off white to white

Slab: Scuffing to inner well of case

Label #3774617005

Cover art by Jim Steranko. Nick Fury stars in "Crisis!", script and art by Jim Steranko; Strucker announces that the impregnable dome over Hydra Island will keep them safe from the "Death Spore" plague, and plans to use Fury's body as the basis for an army of HYDRA androids to "police" the world, once he's dead from the Alpha Ray beam; But Fury escapes!; As SHIELD searches the Heli-Carrier for the bomb with no result, Fury, "playing it by ear", takes on one group of HYDRA thugs after another, until Strucker faces him one-on-one. "The End of the Ancient One!", script by Stan Lee and Marie Severin (co-plot), pencils by Marie Severin, inks by Herb Trimpe; In order to pass his powers onto his disciple, The Ancient One allows Zom to defeat him; Before Strange's eyes, his mentor is fused with one of the giant rocks at Stonehenge, but not before he utters a warning; A battle ensues; First appearance of the Living Tribunal. Merry Marvel Marching Society info and coupon. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.12.

Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) 158 CGC 8.0

Paper: Off white

Label #3774617006

Cover pencils by Marie Severin. Nick Fury stars in "Final Encounter!", script and art by Jim Steranko; The battle between Fury & Strucker rages until Fury manages to remove his Satan glove; Minutes later, as HYDRA thugs enter the room, they discover 2 Strucker's! One of them is revealed to be wearing a mask, panics, and is incinerated in an Alpha-Particle Reactor Cube; The other orders Laura put aboard the Dyna-Soar and takes off from Hydra Island, despite the imminent detonation of The Death Spore bomb. "The Sands of Death," script by Roy Thomas and Marie Severin (co-plot), pencils by Marie Severin, inks by Herb Trimpe; The Living Tribunal decrees that because Doctor Strange has unleashed a menace to the cosmos Earth must be destroyed; Before he recites the Incantation of Oblivion he recounts events leading up to his decision, agreed upon by his 3 faces of Equity, Revenge & Necessity; Doctor Strange challenges the Tribunal to let him deal with the menace, having defeated the forces of darkness in the past. Strange is granted a reprieve for as long as it takes the Sands of Death to run out of a mystic Hourglass resting in the middle of Stonehenge; Cameos by Dormammu and Umar. Letter to the editor from comics writer Bill Mantlo. Merry Marvel Marching Society info and coupon. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.12.

Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) 169 CGC 8.5

Paper: White

Label #4102698002

Cover art by John Romita. "Brother Voodoo," script by Len Wein, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Dan Adkins; Part one of the origin of Brother Voodoo, who is the union of Daniel Drumm's spirit in twin brother Jericho Drumm's body; Drumm returns to Haiti to find his brother dying from the curse of Damballah This is the first Brother Voodoo story; The first appearance of the character occurred in an article in Tales of the Zombie 2. 36 pgs., full color. Cover price $0.20.