Canadian Price Variants

[RockMyAmadeus]

And here are examples from the beginning (Oct, 1982 cover date):

 

 

(Direct)

 

 

(US Newsstand)

 

 

(Canadian Newsstand)

 

DC:

 

 

Direct

 

 

(US Newsstand)

 

 

(Canadian Newsstand)

 

(I could not find anything older than Nov 1982 for DC. Can anyone find something earlier?)

[RockMyAmadeus]

I personally believe that, while Canadian price versions aren't rare in and of themselves....they could be extraordinarily rare to non-existant in high grade, especially as there were plenty of Direct Market copies to go around (which are indistinguishable as to where they were sold, even in the UK.)

 

It's been theorized that there was 1/10th the copies printed for the Canadian newsstand market...so it's quite possible that the vast majority of Canadian newsstand versions don't exist above 8.0.

 

Just a theory.

[FlyingDonut]

what about ASM?....i just picked up a run from Toronto, 54 - 440 and he bought them all from comic stores up here. how would i spot a Canadian Variant on ASM, if there are any?

 

This is the best I can come up with without going through all of them. Any 95 cent cover price book is a Canadian. Also, look at the indicia, as that's the easiest way to see. The individual price per copy is listed in there, and often split for US and Canada. Match the indicia to the coverprice, and there you go.

 

Quick reference:

Amazing Spider-Man 224-273: 75 cent cover price is the Canadian

Amazing Spider-Man 274: 95 cent cover price

Amazing Spider-Man 275: $1.50 cover price

Amazing Spider-Man 276-288: 95 cent cover price

 

 

hmmm, well i've got a few then.....if I sent them to CGC they'll slab between 9.2 and 9.6. is it worth the money to get them slabbed???

 

You could just send them to me! (thumbs u

[comicwiz]

I personally believe that, while Canadian price versions aren't rare in and of themselves....they could be extraordinarily rare to non-existant in high grade, especially as there were plenty of Direct Market copies to go around (which are indistinguishable as to where they were sold, even in the UK.)

 

It's been theorized that there was 1/10th the copies printed for the Canadian newsstand market...so it's quite possible that the vast majority of Canadian newsstand versions don't exist above 8.0.

 

Just a theory.

 

My experience with buying these books is that they were sold in convenience stores (family-run and chains). The majority of these stores were managed by folks who didn't pay the same regard to comic books as a comic store owner might. Even in the height of comic books (and even sports card) values, many of the stores I bought from didn't go to the same trouble to keep the books in the best shape possible. Nor did they put aside the books that were in demand, bag and board them, and resell them at a later time for a premium. One store I remember was a family run Beckers (chain) and one of the son's of the store owner used to read every single book. I knew this because whenever he would be working at the store, he would talk about an aspect of the storyline he liked/disliked when I would take the books up to the cash register.

 

There were many books that I never saw hit the newstand at all. I mean, I hit every store in the neighbouring area (which was 3 near me, and 4 if I count one 7-Eleven that was a good distance from where I lived). There was one other guy in the neighbourhood that collected comics, and he got me hooked on going down to the Silver Snail comic shop on Queen. I didn't particularly rely on this as a source for my comic collection just because it meant that every time I went there, it was because I missed a book at the newstands, and there was a good chance that it was a wall book being sold for 10-50x the original cover price.

 

Two books I found myself doing this with were The Dark Knight (especially 1 and 2) and the Punisher Limited Series. All the other books from that time period, I was able to find on the newstand, but the Punisher LS was definitely not one of them. I recall very well that this series went for $50-$70 in some shops, and the first issue went as high as $50 in select shops. This was not even a month after the book hit the stands.

 

The conditions during that time period made it impossible for certain books to be purchased in convenience stores, and I would say that certain books had reduced distribution numbers for factors we might never know, but my hunch is that at some point, the publishers started rethinking their models, and begain concentrating on distribution channels that were driving in reliable numbers - a process that might have leant itself to a refocus on demographics data that made it less appealing for certain books to be successfully marketed in certain areas (my area might have been one hit hard, as it was an area disproportionately populated with immigrant families, and I could count on one hand the number of kids in that area that collected comics).

 

For all the reasons mentioned above, and many others, my theory seems to be consistent with the idea that the Canadian Price Variants are in fact very difficult to find in high-grade, and I would rank the Punisher LS as the toughest LS that came out within this time frame of Canadian priced copies, and at par with GI Joe 21 and Wolverine 2 as some of the toughest books from that time period:

 

$1.50 (Canadian) Price Variant

 

 

$1.25 (Direct)

 

 

$1.25 (US)

 

[BEAUMONTS]

[BEAUMONTS]

[skinny_white_boy]

Could you make your scans a little smaller please?

[BEAUMONTS]

[comicwiz]

I came across a string of Harvey Rockomics for New Kids on the Block. I noticed having at least 5 or 6 different variations of the New Kids titles (I'm sure there are many more) - below is an example pulled from Google Images (not the Canadian Price Variant). The Canadian Price Variants have $1.75 price:

 

 

I've never seen these anywhere before, and what's different about these Harvey comics (unlike the Bronze Age Richie Riches and other titles), they don't list a price for US and Canadian Newstand in the copyright. Has anyone else seen examples of Harvey Comics with the Canadian Price from the copper period?

 

I guess we could now officially add them to the list of publishers that published Canadian Price Variants - next time I go back to my place in the city, I'll take a few and post some scans.

[500Club]

I personally believe that, while Canadian price versions aren't rare in and of themselves....they could be extraordinarily rare to non-existant in high grade, especially as there were plenty of Direct Market copies to go around (which are indistinguishable as to where they were sold, even in the UK.)

 

It's been theorized that there was 1/10th the copies printed for the Canadian newsstand market...so it's quite possible that the vast majority of Canadian newsstand versions don't exist above 8.0.

 

Just a theory.

 

Yeah, this is the rub..... the books are out there, but the cutoff for high grade collectible is lower than direct edition copper. It's likely the case that 9.0-9.2 for these books is equivalent supply wise to 9.4-9.6 for direct editions.

 

One of the best sources for info on these Cdn price books is Doug Sulipa's annual market reports in the OSPG. He details date ranges for Marvel and DC newsstand copies.

 

And, as an aside..... Archie comics/digests CURRENTLY have Cdn price newsstand editions.

[Loki]

I didn't realize there was any question about Harvey having Canadian price editions. I had pretty much stopped buying Harveys by the time the variable pricing took effect, but I do have one 75-cent copy (below). The subscription rate listed in the index states $7.20 for 12 months, so I'm pretty sure it was a 60-cent copy in the US.

 

 

 

[Loki]

 

I guess given the fact that Harvey stopped publishing in 1982, there probably aren't many variant copies. Assuming they switched pricing with the October '82 issues like Marvel did, a lot of their titles had already stopped by that time. The Sad Sack I posted above was the Oct. '82 issue and also the last one until #288 in the early 90s. It's possible that there's only a handful of 80s Harvey issues with Canadian pricing...

[comicwiz]

I didn't realize there was any question about Harvey having Canadian price editions. I had pretty much stopped buying Harveys by the time the variable pricing took effect, but I do have one 75-cent copy (below). The subscription rate listed in the index states $7.20 for 12 months, so I'm pretty sure it was a 60-cent copy in the US.

 

 

 

Interesting - the price variant I was referring to in my previous post didn't have a multi-price format like the Sad Sack you posted. On my copies, there is only a $1.75 price.

[Loki]

The Sad Sack is definitely a price variant. Mile High has a 60-cent copy for sale on eBay. Strangely enough, it also shows the UK pricing on the cover...

 

60-cent Sad Sack 287

[comicwiz]

I brought the Harvey's I was referring to in the previous post - I'll try getting a scan in the next day or so.

 

I also grabbed one of these - the $1.25 Price Variant ($1.00 is Direct/US Newstand) - one of my favourite covers and series growing up:

 

[Silver Surfer]

Very cool thread. I recently went through all my long boxes and pulled about 20 variants I bought off the rack back in the day. Is there a master list or is this a work in progress for now?

[comicwiz]

Very cool thread. I recently went through all my long boxes and pulled about 20 variants I bought off the rack back in the day. Is there a master list or is this a work in progress for now?

 

silverspider contributed a fantastic list in this same thread, but I've found some new ones since so I have to think for the most part this is still a work in progress.

[THE_BEYONDER]

I came across some multiples today.........

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

[THE_BEYONDER]