Get Marwood & I

You won't Pete, trust me.

I'm glad somebody noticed

All sounds quite plausible Dude and it's as good a theory as any at the moment. Let's see if anyone reading can come up with another.

Is that mold Sufer? Great issue of Spidey but this is one to leave alone if that is mold. If it's just grubby, I'd say around a 1.0 from what I can see (the pictures aren't the best I'm afraid)

Poop Minus?! What nonsense. That book is a Very Carp Plus all day long.

I don't know, I've forgotten.

Sorry, which number?

Revised list following input offline from Bill. If anyone reading as any images of the absent issues they'd be happy to share, please dive in:

1, 9, 9, 9, 9...

I hope you thanked them?

It doesn't always hold true, but the exceptions seem to prove the rule I've found Bob. 3, 3, 8:

Sartorially, I've always leaned more towards the Catweazle meets Doctor Who in a car crash look, yes.

Somewhere I think, yes. I lose track if I'm honest Interesting theory Dude. They must signify something of course. When you look at comics in general, cover differences are there for a reason - the later 'early direct editions' had the different price formats and barcodes to distinguish them from the point of view of newsstand returns vs direct sales. There has to be an operational need somewhere for a distinction. So maybe the stamp numbers indicate a particular distribution point, or UK returns process? I've yet to see anything concrete on what happened to unsold copies in the UK. Did they sit on the newsagent shelves forever until sold or were they thrown away? Or was there a way to send them back to T&P as unsold (UK unsold US unsolds, as the case may be)? Maybe the numbers signified something along those lines. Why else would it be important for a price stamp to be numbered if not to indicate to the distributor or seller something that they needed to know in order to do something operationally. The distributor distributes, the seller sells. If there are no returns, why would either require a numbered stamp? If the number signified something to do with dates, e.g. shelf life, why aren't there 12 numbers aligned to the calendar months? The books were produced monthly in the main, so why stop at 9? What could '9' mean in the context of a 12 month calendar year? If the numbers are for different operatives, why do we see more or less the same numbers on all extant copies? Would T&P really go to the trouble of a productivity assessment for those it employed to stamp up the books? Similarly, if the numbers related to regional distribution points - nine across the country say - why do we see the same books with the same numbers on eBay all the time and not a spread of them (see Detective Comics #280 example)? If the stamps indicate a shipping pattern - a book numbered 7 came in on ship X say - why would anyone need to know that, or care? And if the books were ballast in the first place, again, who would care to track anything in that way? Also, that would indicate that the stamps were applied in the US prior to shipping wouldn't it? My gut tells me that T&P would have done that in Leicester where they were based. Lots of theories and speculation but, alas, no concrete answer. I like to speculate like this though, and propose potentially unfounded scenarios, as the urge to correct people is a strong human trait and, if the right person gets to read this, in they will dive with the answer

Only two Conan magazines left to find now - both for Conan Saga - numbers 54 and 56: Conan the Savage and The Savage Sword of Conan are both complete. And here's an image from eBay of issue 75 of Conan Saga in a polybag: Quite cool looking isn't it. I like the bag art. It's by 'Crom', apparently.

Thanks Dude - I always like it when someone comments in one of my threads, even if it's just to say they enjoyed reading it. A good thought, yes, and one which I'd considered. In a separate exercise before I started the thread I looked to see if the numbers stayed the same or varied on the same issue. Here's an example from the files of four copies of the same issue of Detective Comics #280: Four different copies, from four different eBay sellers - all have a number 7 stamp. If the stamp numbers indicated regional distribution, you would expect to see different numbers on the same comic, yes? The scenario here with the four Detectives however - and the pattern exists throughout my research - indicates that that is unlikely. There's another one on eBay UK now - also a seven. That's too unlikely for me, that 5 copies appear on eBay and all from the same 'number 7' distribution source (if that's how you meant it). My understanding - although I haven't gone into too much detail on it - is that during the 1950's ban years we in the UK got either our own homegrown comics or reprints of US comics via the UK publishers like L Miller, Thorpe & Porter (Arnold), Alan Class and Streamline. There are suggestions that US original comics were sold illegally here and there but again, that's not an area I've looked into in any great depth. The UK reprint titles from Miller, Class and the like were wonderful books in their own right and there were loads of them. I've owned many down the years and, in another life, I'd collect and document them all. But the 'keys' reprints have already started to move out of my financial sight - gone are the days when you could pick this book up (reprints Amazing Fantasy 15) for a few pounds:

Cheers EP! That's a great cover isn't it. What's she doing up there in her yellow suit? Love it Looking forward to seeing the rest, if any are stamped

Things have a funny way of turning out sometimes don't they. No sooner do I remind the universe that the above MSH #104 seems to be the only copy in existence then up pops this book - our 3,021st Marvel UKPV - courtesy of a chap called Rich who may or may not join the party at some point (we've been talking pence stuff offline for some time now ): To recap, I spent years looking for the books that now comprise my Marvel UKPV issue list, many before I ever joined here. Literally thousands of hours spent over many years looking for books like this one. I've said many times that you can 'never say never', but also that the fact that a certain book that never appears in hundreds of searches over many years likely doesn't exist. And this book fell into that latter category - until now. I lost track of how many times I searched for this book in the early days of my research. Logic said that it should exist, being in the date range and with no pattern of other missing books to suggest it wouldn't, but it consistently failed to materialise. Indeed, I can remember now how many times the Direct Edition of the book would appear in pence group shots for the title on eBay UK - I've got a folder full of such examples (Gap Studies) for many of the conspicuous books: There's a lot on eBay right now (albeit with a 37 and 36 in cents): So I was absolutely gobsmacked when Rich spotted the book on the bay and sent me the picture. He was kind enough to step aside and let me snatch it for 99 Earth pence and it's on its way to Marwood Towers as we speak (it was hiding in plain site by the way, relisted four times before he spotted it): MSA #37 was the last issue in the run, so it may well have had limited numbers in cents, never mind pence. But even so, much like the MSH #104, you would expect to see a copy or two of such a late in the day pence book on your extensive travels wouldn't you? Remarkable. It reopens the possibility of some of the other missing 20p issues surfacing - Iron Man #146, ROM #23 etc - and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't had a good fresh look for them all. Only time will tell, as ever. But what a great thing that a new issue from 1981 can turn up this late in the day. I may have to go back and re-search everything now. Brilliant.

I agree. Still, 13 pages later....

I'm in touch with Bill, and he's sent a few more pics over to me so I now have images of 66 of the 113 possible books within the known 15cv cover date range. I'll post a snapshot of each of the twelve titles over the coming days - here is The Fly, showing all possible copies as confirmed: Click to enlarge:

I don't know what's going on! (I don't know what's going on!) Frank Castle's got a six foot shlong! (Frank Castle's got a six foot shlong!) Frank is one of our cool band! (Frank is one of our cool band!) Holds that shlong in his big left hand! (Holds that shlong in his big left hand!) Who's shlong? (Our shlong!) Our shlong? (Your shlong!)

Whoops.

In the army

It was so bad Frank shot him.

Thanks PeterP - I'm in touch with Bill - he doesn't post here anymore - and hopefully will be able to increase on the 63 on my current known list.