Auctions: comic books December 1973

Captain America (1968 1st Series) 168 CGC 9.2

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4381374005

First appearance of Helmut Zemo in "And a Phoenix Shall Arise!" Script by Roy Thomas and Tony Isabella. Pencils by Sal Buscema. Inks by John Tartaglione and George Roussos. Cover by Sal Buscema and John Verpoorten. On a rooftop in Manhattan, a mysterious assailant ambushes the star-spangled avenger! Cap doesn't know who the surprise attacker is, but he calls himself the Phoenix. And he really seems to hate Captain America! The fight is short and inconclusive, so the next evening Cap patrols the same area...and runs into the Phoenix again! However this time the new villain wins! And as shown on the cover, the Living Legend soon finds himself dangling over a vat of Adhesive X. Hold on, Adhesive X was the calling card of the late Baron Heinrich Zemo. Is the past coming back to haunt the Sentinel of Liberty? Thankfully, the Falcon and Redwing make sure it's not today. But one of Cap's greatest foes -- and also one of the Avengers' -- is born! Flashback cameos by Baron Heinrich Zemo and the Red Skull. (Note: Helmut Zemo returns several years later in Captain America 275 and officially adopts the name and uniform of his father.) 36 pages. Cover price $0.20.

Dead of Night (1973) 1 VG- 3.5

Water spotting.

Cover art by John Romita. The Ghost Still Walks, art by Joe Sinnott; A fraternity initiation leads to a death. House of Fear!, art by Jim Mooney; A haunted house investigator and a reporter visit an old mansion. My Brother... the Ghoul, script by Hank Chapman; A graverobber with an identical twin meets his doom. He Dwells in a Dungeon; A woman plans to kill her disfigured future brother-in-law, but makes a fatal mistake. 32 pgs.$0.20. Cover price $0.20.

Special Marvel Edition (1971) 15 CGC 4.5

Paper: Off white to white

Label #4012023003

Written by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. Art and cover by Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom. Shang Chi, making his first appearance, is a master of martial arts and the son of Fu Manchu, a Chinese mandarin and scientist. Fu Manchu sends Shang Chi to England in order to assassinate the evil Dr. Petrie for the common good. Shang Chi reluctantly agrees, but after the deed is done he is confronted by Sir Denis Nayland Smith, a former British intelligence officer who tells him the truth about Fu Manchu; that he is a nearly immortal evil mastermind. Shang Chi travels back to his father's secret lair in New York and renounces him. Text articles by Roy Thomas and Englehart about the creation of Shang-Chi. Ad for Astonishing Tales #21. A brief obituary for Syd Shores. Ad for the Marvel fan club FOOM (Friends of Ol' Marvel). 36 pages, full color. $0.20. Cover price $0.20.

Swamp Thing (1972 1st Series) 7 CGC 9.6

Paper: White

Label #4482302003

"Night of the Bat." Swamp Thing goes to Gotham City and encounters Batman. Both are after Mr. E, who is leader of the Conclave. Script by Len Wein, art and cover by Berni Wrightson. Cover price $0.20.

Walt Disney Comics Digest (1968 Gold Key) 44 NM- 9.2

Gold Key edition with 50c cover price. NOTE: There is a 69c cover-priced Whitman variant of this issue. Donald at His Duckiest. Classic multi-part Carl Barks stories: Donald Duck and the Mummys Ring, Luck of the North, Donald Duck in Ancient Persia, and The Pixilated Parrot. 4.75. x 6.5. 128 pages. Cover price $0.50.