Albert Tatlock

Bilko is still around. He has conned his way onto the Man. Utd board.

Free Rupert Ritzik!

But this cannot possibly be a first use of the 1 stamp, which took place months before this example could have arrived in the UK.

It's not far off. # 42 should be a 1 stamp, so it is only a couple of months behind. If it is right, though, it is the earliest recorded JO to be shipped by DC. The earliest I ever managed to find was # 41.

The guy who has drawn Jimmy's face should be taken on as a regular.

No idea, unfortunately. The newsagents of the day did not seem to shelve or rack their comics in any particular order, so, unless you observed the delivery driver, it would be impossible to tell. The comics, when they arrived, were in a bundle tied up with string, with sheets of cardboard top and bottom. Sometimes you could see the dent made by the string on the top copy. I suspect they would have been bundled up by the local wholesaler and sent around in batches, varying in number according to the orders placed by each retail outlet.

Fantasy Advertiser contained frequent want lists with TTA # 62 prominent. I have some in my spares with a previously unrecorded stamp, which I will upload as soon as I find them, but it is a needle in a field of haystacks at the moment. There is an anecdote there, too, but I will leave it until I can find the actual items.

JIM # 110 was scarce, and does not appear on Frank Dobson's list. Alan Austin lists # 109 as 'rare' and # 110 and #111 as 'scarce', but I do not recall #111 as being hard to find. Alan did a lot of good work, but he cannot be relied upon 100%.

The shipping strike was over too quickly (less than 2 months) to affect comic distribution long-term. Alan Austin's guide of 1979 lists most of the late 1966 issues as 'scarce', but he does not give a reason.

They were not missing at the time. They were on sale as usual, but I was not paying attention to the cents or pence issue. Only ones which arrived out of sequence were the late '66 issues.

The only interruption in supply that I can remember was the late 1966 issues. I was buying all the main Marvel titles from early 1965 onwards, and they all appeared on schedule except for those 2 month's issues. They are there as a tell-tale gap in Frank Dobson's sales list sent out while they were still missing.

These are from '64 not '66. Note Astonish # 62, no UKPV and no stamp. Probably none were sent

Dock strike of 1966, quoting from a newspaper article: The next day 29 June: ‘The NUS executive agrees by 29 votes to 16 to accept a new offer from the shipowners.’ Despite ‘a vocal group of members saying the union should have held out for its demands in full’ the strike ended at midnight on 30 June. So, unless a serious backlog had built up on US docksides during the 2 month interruption, the July and later shipments should have gone ahead. And we still need an explanation of how the DCs got through.

Here, mate, hangover ebbing. I seem to remember Gold Star stickers being at top left, clear of the price. They were on gold foil, but were not very sticky. Will search my spares, but it may take a while. DD # 29 having the oblong stamp would make sense if the consignment had been delayed Stateside. It was on sale here at same time as # 22

Apologies, scan 2 should follow scan 3. It has been a long hard day. Just off to t'Rovers for a nightcap, the secret knock on the back door gets me in.

Attached are 2 scans of a page from Frank Dobson's Fantasy Advertiser #9, which first saw the light of day during the period when the late 1966 Marvels were still on the missing list. Hope it is legible, if not I ill redouble my efforts. They show up in the gaps of what Frank had available at the time. The third scan is of an ad by lad I knew whose collection of Marvels of the superhero period was almost complete. Note the Astonish # 62. It was on almost everyone's want list, and was, at the time, the most difficult superhero issue to find, trading at a higher price than Hulk # 1. Also, FF # 7 was fetching the same as FF # 1. If someone has the time and patience, try checking out how many slabbed pence copies there are of FF # 7 and Hulk # 4, because those were extremely thin on the ground at that time. There were 4 periods of drought for Marvels in the 1960s, always around November time, 1960 (nothing available, pence or cents across the main 4 titles, as referred to in the Marvel UKPV thread), 1962 (shortage of a few titles, although most were unaffected), 1964 (again a shortage, this time across most titles) and 1966 ( a complete absence of most titles, followed by a dramatic reappearance 6 months in arrears). More on Astonish # 62 later. It is common enough now, but was extremely lesser-spotted at the time.

Proof, if proof were still needed, of frequent latecomers to these shores.

I don't think the cargo ships would have been on the water above a month - any extra delay would possibly have had to do with unloading, processing, Customs clearance, etc. These 10d copies - I remember that just about all of them has a little sticker with 'GOLD STAR PUBLICATIONS' on, but they were not very sticky, and maybe there are none left that have not had the sticker peeled off. I have checked mine, and there is not one sticker left. If T & P had received them, they would surely have applied their standard stamp. Possibly Gold Star, who were already importing magazines, spotted a gap in the market when they learned of T & P's ill fortune, but it is also possible that T & P, having already paid for the consignment, preferred to collect the insurance rather than take delivery of 6 months outdated comics, leaving the shipment on the open market for whoever was willing to take a gamble, but, of course, that is just speculation. The affected issues were cover dated late 1966, but it was the summer of 1967 before they surfaced. Strange Tales # 151 hit the stands at the same time as # 158. What is puzzling, though, is that DC deliveries were unaffected at the time.

10d oblong FF# 56 and #57 attached. Also, ASM #34 price looks odd - is it the usual one?

The oblong 10d stamp appeared on a lot of Marvels at this time. I will try to upload a couple more. The Marvels of that time were delayed, possible due to a strike at the docks, and when they eventually appeared, about 6 months late, they were distributed not by T & P, but by Gold Star Publications, who were at that time involved more with the importations of magazines. There was a sticker attached to a lot of their comics, and it is possible that some will be found still attached. There was a big panic among collectors at the time, who believed, thankfully erroneously, that they would have a permanent gap in their holdings. This period's Marvels were definitely fewer in number than usual, after the dust had settled.. Here is a list of what I remember being delayed: Astonish # 85 and # 86, Journey Into Mystery # 133 and # 134, Strange Tales # 151 (the only one missing at the time), FF # 56 and #57, Daredevil # 22 (again only 1 skipped issue), Avengers # 33 and #34, X-Men #26, Fantasy Masterpieces # 5, MCIC # 6, Spider-Man #42 and #43. Suspense # 84 seemed to have got away with it. When they eventually arrived, I spent a couple of Saturdays cycling far and wide to find as many as I could, and selling them at a premium via ads in Fantasy Advertiser and Exchange & Mart. The FF were the ones most in demand.

Don't let that worry you, Eric. I don't know about the rest of you lot, but I only come here 'cos it stops me getting into worse mischief.

Here are a few 1 shilling stamps on MAD magazines I bought directly from T & P's London address, they bear a similarity to the triangles..

I bought several 'new'. They were displayed alongside the regular full priced comics.

Because a T & P stamp was already there, on the comics at least.

It will only be shot down in flames if someone can find a triangle stamp on an item which has NOT passed through the hands of Thorpe & Porter. Until then, just leave me raving on the sidelines, I have other T & P related fish to fry, but it may take a while to follow up all the threads.