The Avengers #19 for Sale - First Appearance of Swordsman - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: The Avengers (Marvel, 1963 series)
Issue: #19
Publication date: August 1965
Key date: 1965-08-00
On-sale date: 1965-06-08
Indicia publisher: Vista Publications Inc.
Price: $0.12
Pages: 36
Rating: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance of Swordsman - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Jacques Duquesne - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Blackie Barker - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

Origin story on record for: Hawkeye, Swordsman.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	The Coming of... the Swordsman!	cover	1	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby, Don Heck; inks: Frank Giacoia, Don Heck; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Sam Rosen	Clint Barton, Captain America, Jacques Duquesne First, Hawkeye, Pietro Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff, Quicksilver, Steve Rogers, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman First
2	The Coming of... the Swordsman!	comic story	20	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Don Heck; inks: Dick Ayers; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Artie Simek	Jacques Duquesne First, Swordsman First, Blackie Barker First, Clint Barton, Captain America, Hawkeye Origin, Pietro Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff, Quicksilver, Steve Rogers, Scarlet Witch
3	-	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Wally Wood; inks: Steve Ditko, Sol Brodsky, Mike Esposito, Wally Wood; letters: Sam Rosen, Sam Rosen	Spider-Man [Peter Parker]; Molten Man; Nick Fury; HYDRA; Doctor Strange; Fantastic Four [Mister Fantastic [Reed Richards]; Invisible Woman [Sue Storm]; Thing [Ben Grimm]; Human Torch [Johnny Storm]] Frightful Four [Wizard [Bentley Wittman]; Sandman [Flint Marko]; Trapster [Peter Petruski]; Medusa];
12	-	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby; inks: Steve Ditko, Sol Brodsky; letters: Sam Rosen, Artie Simek	Spider-Man; Thor; Hercules; Loki; Radioactive Man [Chen Lu]; Duplicate Thor; Lava Man
13	-	in-house column	1	pencils: Jack Kirby	Clint Barton, Captain America, Ben Grimm, Hawkeye, Pietro Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff, Quicksilver, Steve Rogers, Scarlet Witch, The Thing
14	-	letters page	2	script: Stan Lee

Plus 10 pages of advertisements and other matter across 12 sequences, as published.

Printings and variants

Edition	How to tell
British	price 10d [0-0-10 GBP]

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Marvel Triple Action #13	1973	On eBay ›
Marvel Masterworks #9 ISBN 0-87135-595-7	1989	On eBay ›
The Avengers Log #1	1994	On eBay ›
Essential Avengers #1 ISBN 0-7851-0701-0	1999	On eBay ›
Avengers #5	2010	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Check spine ticks and cover gloss in the photos; silver-age Marvels chip at the edges easily.
Look for tanning at the page edges and transfer stains on the inside covers.
Confirm the cover price against the plate; higher prices can mean a later or foreign printing.

Series context

‹ #1819 of 402#20 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com