Albert Tatlock

Purple one worth 50% more according to comicspriceguide.com. I picked these up at the time, just thought one of them was a printing fault, kept both of them just out of curiosity.

While we are on an IW kick, although I am sure I have posted this before somewhere, I make no apologies as it is such a stunning cover, and as if that were not enough, it is enhanced by the application of a Miller stamp.

The comic goldmine of my youth (the best, but not the only one) was Salford Market, now long since entombed beneath the concrete of a redevelopment scheme, or, as I prefer to think of it, a heinous act of cultural vandalism, imposed upon the local community against their will by here today gone tomorrow petty apparatchiks. I have tried in vain to find a clip or photo of the bookstall there (there were three, but only one could be counted upon to bestow gems upon us). This You Tube clip references the close environs, the material of interest to us comes in at between 2 and 4 minutes.

Back on the fanzine track, I wish I had bought the 3 large cardboard cartons full of fanzines, lists, etc at the Ian Penman auction, but they were right near the end and I had just about maxed out my cc. Many of them later popped up on the Ancient Mariner auction, and it looks like the original buyer made a tidy profit. I bought a couple of lots, but missed out on some good stuff. I did, however, bag the one lot I really targeted, the Supermen Of America membership items sent to Ian in an envelope that cost DC 5 cents to send. I cannot make ot the date on the postmark, but it is probably mid to late 1960s.

I did, Hurrah Henri told me so at one of their toff's clubs.

Here are a few of 'em off to watch a Quidditch semi-final.

I believe the correct spelling is Bratfud. That is the place where all the footie fans sport Harry Potter scarves.

My recollection is that TTA # 55 was neither more nor less common than the surrounding issues. This 9d UKPV was probably routinely returned unsold by a retailer, and languished in T & P's warehouse until someone decided to send out a batch for a second bite at the cherry.

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!

Just noticed, shop to left has decimal prices, so could be 1972-ish. Amazed I never noticed the place at the time.

And I think the little sign on the door reads 'back in 6 months, or 4 with good behaviour'.

There is a better image here, with some cars outside. Maybe some anorak could use them to date the photo.

Places like this were an inestimable boon when I was trying to complete my early collection, before the advent of dealers or t'internet. The date of 1972 given is probably off by a decade or so, though. It is local, so I would certainly have spotted it and paid a visit, even though it would seem to cater for a more mature clientele than myself at the time. The only other explanation I can come up with is that it was open only very briefly. There is a large police station just along the road, and maybe the proprietor had insufficient funds to keep its inhabitants at bay. The shop next door has an interesting name. Couldn't be, could it? We wonders, yes we wonders. Not me peering at the display while playing pocket billiards, by the way.

And someone posted a while back about one with the distributor's (possibly retailer's) stamp from Thailand. So it looks like Uncle Sam was getting stuff to Asia and Africa, with no though for his staunch wartime ally. We had to wait until a couple of blokes in Leicester (wonder how they pronounce that in Noo Yawk?) got on the ball.

But this book never made it to the UK, it is from almost a year before T & P began receiving comics from DC, before that they had reprinted old material. The 2/- stamp has been covered before in this thread. No-one seems to know who applied it, but it seems to have been stamped on remaindered stock, well after decimalisation.

Here is one with the quite common 9d sticker, but no T & P stamp. I think most of them are found on T & P books, but I could be wrong?

No need for the sad face, it is encouraging that they are finding a good home where they will be appreciated. I did one have a full set of the PHM UKs, but upgraded them to cents as and when I found a better copy. Now I regret it, and am gradually rebuiding.

No wonder they have dried up here, they have all re-crossed the ocean blue.

The Atom # 1 WAS American. It may have had a 9d stamp, applied on arrival in the UK, but without that it would have been indistinguishable from the ones that never crossed the pond.

Please bring this, from the indicia of Kid Colt # 110 (UK price variant), to the attention of the foreign editions camp, it includes 'Printed in the U.S.A. by the Easter Color Printing Co' The 12 cent version of this same book has an identical indicia, except for the last line, which appeared only in that part of the print run earmarked for shipping to the UK. That answers the question of where printed, so the only issue to be resolved is when printed. The only likely answer, I believe, is that it was produced on the same day, as part of the same print run, so both are original first printings.

Too late! The invasion of the bodysnatchers has begun. They have claimed one of our number, who is next?

I think, Steve, that you could have convinced the doubters earlier by using your research into the 10 cent price fonts variants. Challenge the naysayers to look at these: and ask which of the 10 cents versions is the original, and which is the reprint. And if both of them can be original first printings, why not the pence version?

Just asked 'Which is the world's best football team?' and got this back: As an AI language model, I don't have real-time data access, and my knowledge cutoff is in September 2021. Therefore, I cannot provide information about the current state of football teams or declare the "world's best" team. The ranking and perception of the best football team can vary based on different factors, such as recent performances, historical success, and personal opinions. Football fans and experts often have their own preferences and biases. I recommend referring to reputable sports websites, following football news, and engaging with fellow football enthusiasts to stay updated on the latest developments in the sport. Might as well stick a pin in the football coupon. Facts are one thing, opinion will always be fluid. I was thinking of asking whether God can change his mind, but I don't think I would be any better informed. Let's just stick to those colourful little periodicals, preferably the long out of date ones.

And every one of the five sits proudly on the shelf of someone on this thread. Unopened, of course, still in plastic wrapper.

If the fancy ever takes you, you could do a lot worse than peruse this handy guide.