bellrules

One of the best resources to start off is an article that was printed in Comic Book Marketplace #85 and #86. Then go to Doug Sulipa's website where he breaks down which issues he estimates are the rarest.

Well keep it going man! Are you a Whitman collector?

In regards to the art on the Balck Hole books, you're right it's pretty horrible. I own two unpublished pages from what was supposed to be issue #6. It didn't get any better.

That Popeye 159 looks familiar. I think it's the one Doug got from me in a trade deal. How much did it set you back? His prices are usually pretty fair.

Very nice Black Hole 4!

Just to clarify, the issues printed after 4/80 were only available as Whitman copies in bagged sets. All issues printed before then, could have Gold Key/Whitman variants. Nice Popeye copies BTW. As for the Price variants, they only exist for issues printed in 1/81. Those issues would be Bugs 223, Donald Duck 225, Huey 67, Lulu 262, Scrooge 182, Super Goof 63, Walt Disney Comics and Stories 484 and Pink Panther 78.

Apparently, the reason behind the white and yellow logos is that some of those books were sold through comic shops (without the bags) and the yellow ones were sold in the pre-packs. I have about 25 sealed prepacks and all of them have the yellow logos. Whitman did this after they switched to direct distribution and this was their way to differentiate the comic shop vs department store versions.

Kidcolt, you should put up a scan of the Popeye 158.

Peter Pan is listed under movie comics in Overstreet. Took me forever to find that out.

if in mint, guides at about 8-10 dollars

Here are some of the rarer ones.

1 to 3 are common, 4 is the only rare one in the title. Here's a scan of one still sealed in the bag.

I think that someone must have the research and yes they should be identified. Hopefully soon.

Doug Sulipa actually mentioned in Overstreet 38; that for most Gold Key comics published between 11/71 to 2/80, there are whitman variants of the Gold Key issues. After 8/80, everything reverted to just being published under the Whitman label. The Gold Key issues were sold through newsstand distribution and the Whitmans through bagged sets at drugstores and department stores. They used to be looked at as reprints but now command a premium over their Gold Key counterparts. Here's an example of both versions of Popeye 142.

If you want a great article about how spotty the distribution of these books was, pick up Comic Book Marketplace issues 85 and 86. Jon McClure did a fantastic job of breaking down what happened to the books as well as how they managed to put themselves out of business through self-distribution. The 8/80 to 12/80 issues are rare as they were when the company switched from newsstand distribution to direct distribution through sealed pre-packs. They are hard to find in high grade due to the fact that they were collected mostly by children and kids don't really take care of their comics, they read them. A few years ago, the Randon House File copies came out with anywhere between 10-20 copies of each book except for Uncle Scrooge 179. (there might be a few more) They are rare but not impossible to find. The lower grade copies might be more readily available but the forget about finding high grade copies at your LCS.

Here's an example of Whitman Error Price Variants from 1/81, still sealed in original bag. Most copies of Super Goof 63, WDCS 484 and Bugs 223 have 50 cent covers, not 40 cents like the ones in this bagged set. Not Canadian Variants as once believed.