rakehell

Simply put, Blighty. We live in a land of mists and gloom. Mostly. Also, especially in the early days, the comics were shipped as sea cargo. So, more damp. Have a look at the census for Silver Age keys like Hulk #1, Amazing Fantasy # 15, etc. Anything higher than an 8 is bloody rare.

Sad but true, I'm afraid. Even here in Penceland they're very much frowned upon. Having said that I and several others have noticed a general lift in prices for key issues, especially high grade keys. They're so rare in comparison to cents copies. On the bright side, it's cheaper to build a decent collection! Search the census to compare numbers. Then check out more of the pence related threads. Informative.

First, sfcityduck, thanks for keeping it going. Second, nitpicking alert! The important thing to note about the indicias of these books, whether or not they have a T&P or L. Miller blurb, is that they all indicate the sale price in US currency, not UK currency. For pence priced variants, there exists no indicia which states, "sale price 9d per issue." This is how they vary from their siblings with 10c on the cover. This is also why I'm not comfortable calling them "UK editions" (more on this below). Again, that's me picking nits. Also, when considering these comics, Thorpe & Porter were a distributor, not a publisher. The Classics Illustrated editions you refer to were printed in the UK after the US editions were released. In this case, Thorpe & Porter acted as publisher and distributor. These books are part of the same edition, because they were all printed in the same run. Only the covers differ, requiring a pause in printing to change the price point. This: This: And this: all came off the same press at the same time, differing only in price point. They are all "first edition" copies of Star Wars #2. The same process resulted in the change from 30c to 35c to 12p, though not necessarily in that order. On reflection, I guess what I'm saying is that these are all variants within an edition. The UK edition of Star Wars #2 looks like this: printed and published in the UK six months after the first edition by Marvel UK, a subsidiary of Marvel Comics. Again, I know I'm nitpicking. But we all know that this hobby is filled to the rafters with folk who focus a little too closely on the small stuff. Welcome to our rabbit hole. It's a cozy place to hang out if you don't mind Coco Puffs all over the place.

Can do, Captain!

This is an important point, but one answered by the fact that the pence variants are variants because they vary. They were not printed for a UK publisher, but for distribution in the UK by a US publisher. They all have cents indicias. All of the foreign books I own have either a foreign indicia or no indicia at all. The interior pages of the pence variants are identical to the US distributed copies because they came from the same pile at the printers. The only difference to the book as a whole is the price point on the cover. In my early days in the UK, I looked down on pence variants as well, because they weren't what I was used to. Looking into the history, though, these are dictionary definition variants. No different from US price experiment or Canadian or newsstand or Canadian newsstand or what have you. That's me done for a few weeks...

I both understand and appreciate your work, Steve. I just like to stand silently in the corner, watching...

Yeah, don't get me started. I live a minimum of 3500 miles from my nearest family for several very good reasons. So much tragedy...so much pain... But, hey! Comics!!

They look like something printed in someone's basement or something. There was even a sideways bound one, for copies of Titans and Super Spider-man. The other interesting thing with these is that they left the covers on. These aren't my pictures, btw. I don't have any of these. I wish I'd known about them when I was a kid, living in the states & frequenting B Dalton as I did. Having said that, they would have gone the way of my Atari 2600 & GI Joe figures & other goodies; sold by mother/sisters at garage sales when I was living away from home.

Yeah, I was good up to about 20 quid. They're a fun little gamble if you don't overpay. A couple of those looked in pretty good shape, too. There's a similar thing that works in the opposite direction. Where someone took a bunch of remaindered Marvel UK titles, rebound them & shipped them off to the states for sale in the now defunct B Dalton book stores. I keep trying to bag these when I see them, but they always seem to go for more than I want to pay.

Anyone in Penceland manage to grab this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-Silver-Age-UK-Reprints-x11-/323703899433?hash=item4b5e418529%3Ag%3AAuAAAOSwpp1cbp72&nma=true&si=bLjDbNu45 Just wondering what's inside...

Re: printing defects on price variants... the pence variant of Star Wars #2 always seems to have this black smudge across the logo. This isn't a particularly good scan, but on some copies you can tell it's actually a reverse of the Spalding Street Ball ad from the back cover. They must have been stacked when the ink was still wet or something. Also, just for fun, here are the other three pence price variants...

The beginnings of my attempt at a set of pence variants...

Good point. We're at parity already with most non-key books. After all, how much are you going to pay for a VG copy of Conan the Barbarian #64, regardless of its original price point?

I agree completely. I'm in the fortunate (dubious?) position of experiencing both sides of this issue. I was born in the US & started collecting in the early 70's. One of my earliest comic book memories is of picking a brand new ASM 129 from the spinner rack in King Super in Littleton, Colorado. I've lived in the UK for the last 26 years & collected the whole time. My first job in the UK was managing the Birmingham branch of Stateside Comics (remember them?) & my first thought on being presented with boxes full of pence covers was "What the hell is this cr*p?" I've since become a bit of an evangelist for the UK price point, mostly because of the scarcity attached to some of the books. The climate over here & the shipping conditions mean that finding nice copies of some of the Silver Age books presents a real challenge. I see it all the time, but usually on low grade non-key books. The price is either obscured by a smear of black felt tip, or it's been picked at, or made to look like it's been picked at, possibly to remove a secondary market price sticker. The reality is that most UK collectors prefer the cents covers, too. Silly, I know, but it helps to be philosophical about it. It means I can get my pence copies cheaper.

If you're interested in foreign editions, this is a good thread: & this is a good website: https://foreigncomiccollectors.com/

Snap. Take it easy on the kid. Everybody's gotta learn sometime.

Welcome to the boards Garystar. For a first posting you've kind of blown the lid off. Both of those are on the 'missing list'. You don't happen to have JIM #61, 64 or 65, do you? Or any more Patsy Walker? Again, welcome, welcome, welcome! Marwood? You seeing this?

I also love it when sellers list them as 'reprints'. Had a quick look through the Census. AF15 has 2962 cents copies versus 48 pence, but the 1962 Hulk series is a better example of the randomness of the pence issues. It is one of the very few (if not only) Silver Age Marvel series with a pence variant for every issue. #1 has 1541 cents versus 39 pence, #2: 943/6, #3: 737/0, #4: 863/9, #5: 773/0 &#6: 874/0. No order or predictability about it at all.

It's the only one I've seen, at least recently. Thought there was one on e-Bay UK, but spent about three hours just now trying to find it & couldn't, so I must have got it confused with another early FF with a Submariner cover. A lot of individual issues are really rare. Mostly due to shipping problems back in the 60's, I guess. Either that or they printed fewer of some than of others. As you know from the rest of this thread, there was little or no regularity to the portion of the print run set up for pence. Of course, that's what makes them so addictive... Nice find. I'd be happy to have one in any grade.

Spotted this on e-Bay UK this morning... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/journey-into-mystery-76-silver-age-Marvel/253698949923?hash=item3b11a2c323:g:rtkAAOSwSatbKS~I Again, not on the missing list, but another one I hardly ever see, cents or pence. I notice it's the same seller as the JIM #71. It might be worth following to see if #61, 64, 65 or 70 show up later.

Not on the missing list, but nice to see with a pence printed cover... Currently on e-Bay UK. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silver-age-comic-Strange-Tales-89-Key-edition1st-Fin-Fang-Foom/113072703582?hash=item1a53a8885e:g:-kYAAOSwk7BazNPG

That's great, Steve! I didn't realise the JIM #71 was on the missing list. Glad I could help in the hunt! Again, I'll be watching...

Marwood, Don't know if you've seen this. Might come in handy for your forthcoming Dell/Gold Key pence thread. https://www.startrekcomics.info/aboutgoldkey.html I tried to copy the images in here, but I'm doing this at work & the server freaked out over it. Cheers

Yeah, I've been collecting for over forty years, in the US & in Penceland & that is the only copy of JIM #71 that I've seen (cents or pence) that wasn't just a picture in a book. Like I said, rocking-horse poop. Also, it is abundantly clear how hard you've been working & I for one appreciate your persistence. I've got my own spreadsheets, all based on your lists. So, cheers for that. The hunt continues... Chin chin. "Two pints of cider and two large gins. Ice in the cider."