SuperDragon Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My scanner is being difficult so cell phone photos will have to do. I just got it today, Batman #251 "Mark Jewelers Insert" mec3437 and Tri-Color Brian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygogolak Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Wow, great book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivrimark Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 My oldest "starred" comic, bought at the Vogelweh, Germany, Stars and Stripes bookstore. Does this mean we should shift this thread back to the Silver Age forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shark Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I normally go to one of our local comic shops (All Star Comics) to buy new comics and dig through their back issue boxes. I usually ignore their dollar boxes but over the weekend I decided to thumb through them and I'm glad I did. In addition to picking up about 20 other nice books (including 2 X-Factor 23s), I found Marvel Tales #76,87,88,90,94,103,108 and 109 all with Mark Jewelers inserts in them. And they were all pretty nice copies too. Tinker Air Force Base is here in Oklahoma City so I'm thinking someone from the base might have sold a small collection to them. Which means I need to go back and dig through their Marvel back issues again looking for more books with Mark Jewelers inserts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydogrules Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 My oldest "starred" comic, bought at the Vogelweh, Germany, Stars and Stripes bookstore. Does this mean we should shift this thread back to the Silver Age forum? Nope, there were no inserts NDS or MJ in the silver age. This thread should be moved or merged with the one that's already in the bronze age section. -J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivrimark Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 You didn't catch the wink, Jay Dog. I just wanted to throw a little silver age goodness into the mix, since the MJ topic shifted over to the Stars-and-Stripes star stamps. No worries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydogrules Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 no I got you. Though interestingly enough I notice after my last post we got teleported to the bronze section after all. -J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 So you are saying the books with the star stamp are not necessarily MJ books? So which are precisely the whereabouts of the star stamps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydogrules Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 The star stamp is not necessarily present on all NDS/MJ books. And not all books with star stamps have the inserts. -J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garlanda Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 So you are saying the books with the star stamp are not necessarily MJ books? So which are precisely the whereabouts of the star stamps? The star stamps seem to indicate that the comic was bought at the Stars & Stripes Bookstore/newsstand on US military bases where the book store had a separate cash register (to prove that the comic had been paid for), and the NDS/MJ inserts were focused on military bases, so there is a high likelihood that star stamps and MJ inserts correspond, but it's not a guarantee. Not every issue on the stands had the inserts, and not every issue with the insert got stamped. From what I've seen, the star stamps are usually on the issue number or price, somewhere that they are easily noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Many thanks for the explanation. I see it makes sense. The few MJ inserts I have do not have the star stamps, and I think I have a pair of books with the star stamp, but without the insert. So, the stamp basically reveals it was sold in these S&S Bookstores located within the bases? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 As I said in another thread (I thought they were combined?) that I can say with some assurance that there were no stamps in books in the mid-80s in Stars and Stripes stores on bases I shopped at when I was in Italy over a 4-5 year period of time, all of which did have the MJ inserts. It seems a lot of people who are talking about the stamps bought from Air Force or Army bases in Germany. A general stereotype both regarding the Army and Air Force (especially the Air force), and even Germany in general (if considering foreign national employees), is that they are much more... hmmm... attention orientated or formal than Navy bases overseas regarding details like this (just compare exchanges/px's and installation in general from service to service), not to mention I'd practically bet my life that no Neapolitan employee would do anything that tedious. To just give an example, it was very much a normal occurrence for families stationed in Italy (Naples, Gaeta, Sigonella) to periodically drive to Ramstein and other U.S. bases in Germany to go their comparatively Mall-like shopping circumstances on base. I could totally seeing the stamp being some Army/Air Force nuance of the MJ insert, though obviously my experience is of that limited time and those handful of bases. I'd definitely be interested in hearing if these stamps are on books people bought in more southern Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 As always, your experience (and perspective) are very interesting… What do you mean by «it was very much a normal occurrence for families stationed in Italy (Naples, Gaeta, Sigonella) to periodically drive to Ramstein and other U.S. bases in Germany to go their comparatively Mall-like shopping circumstances on base»? Sorry, but my english has some glitch here… And yes, definitely you would not have had clerks from Napoli agreeable to perform such a tedious task like stamping comics one-by-one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 As always, your experience (and perspective) are very interesting… What do you mean by «it was very much a normal occurrence for families stationed in Italy (Naples, Gaeta, Sigonella) to periodically drive to Ramstein and other U.S. bases in Germany to go their comparatively Mall-like shopping circumstances on base»? Sorry, but my english has some glitch here… And yes, definitely you would not have had clerks from Napoli agreeable to perform such a tedious task like stamping comics one-by-one! Sure, no problem. It's probably my English, ! I just meant that the Air Force and Army have, or at lead had, much more larger and nicer Exchanges/PX's (which are kind of the military equivalent to department stores) and servicemen and/or their dependents would make trips north largely to shop at them. We have to remember this is pre-net, you couldn't just order from Amazon and have stuff sent to your military PO Box for next to nothing, so these base exchanges were kind of bastions of "home" for many young people overseas. At the time, typically, Naval bases in the region weren't as extravagant and largely served a specific function (support for a ship, submarines, or an air wing). We have to remember, Germany at that time was a very significant strategic location for the U.S., and we had a TON of troops in Germany. With this info in hand, I'm calling that the non-stamped MJ Inserts are the rares, and we probably have individual Neapolitan "blahness" to thank for it. I remember the first thing I did when going to an Army or Air Force base up north was to check out their bookstore. SO MUCH nicer. I'd liken it to pre-net, driving to the "big city" in your region for shopping. They had much larger stores and were much better stocked. Not to mention, Germany is also where the U.S. Armed Forces resort/vacation spot is (Edelweiss Lodge and Resort), so kill two birds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Ah, I see, so you meant soldiers stationed in Italy were occasionally travelling to Germany bases just to shop. But maybe this happened in coincidence with holidays, i.e. when they had relatives or people visiting them? I think a trip to Germany would have costed some money regardless, so what they may have saved on the goods would have been not much… but of course it depends on what they were buying. Aside from the bases (of which I never thought previously), in Italy the import market for american comics re-bloomed (since the late 1960s) for some time when our local publisher (Editoriale Corno) went bankrupt and we stopped having italian editions. Exchange rates were high, but around the mid 1980s up to the early 1990s, many people started to pick the books in original edition, although most of them dropped them later on to follow the italian editions (or just because they were getting bad, as Marvel goes… ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Ah, I see, so you meant soldiers stationed in Italy were occasionally travelling to Germany bases just to shop. But maybe this happened in coincidence with holidays, i.e. when they had relatives or people visiting them? I think a trip to Germany would have costed some money regardless, so what they may have saved on the goods would have been not much… but of course it depends on what they were buying. Nah, it was pretty standard, frequent, and an understood practice. It was also not about saving money, more about availability and variety. Also, travel didn't cost much back then because the dollar, unlike today with the Euro, was INCREDIBLY strong against the lire. Living in Italy in the 80s as an American was VERY easy with the exchange rate. Also, if you planned it right you can take free hops to bases with airfields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaillant Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Also, travel didn't cost much back then because the dollar, unlike today with the Euro, was INCREDIBLY strong against the lire. Living in Italy in the 80s as an American was VERY easy with the exchange rate. Also, if you planned it right you can take free hops to bases with airfields. Right, I forgot about that. Most of my collecting of original books (Silver and Bronze) started in these years… you can figure how happy I was with the exchange rate… When I started (around 1986), before the import began more seriously, some of the few dealers offering import comics were selling a dollar for about 2500/3000 Lire, which would mean offering a dollar for 2-2.50 Euro right now… go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncannyX-Force Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 I normally go to one of our local comic shops (All Star Comics) to buy new comics and dig through their back issue boxes. I usually ignore their dollar boxes but over the weekend I decided to thumb through them and I'm glad I did. In addition to picking up about 20 other nice books (including 2 X-Factor 23s), I found Marvel Tales #76,87,88,90,94,103,108 and 109 all with Mark Jewelers inserts in them. And they were all pretty nice copies too. Tinker Air Force Base is here in Oklahoma City so I'm thinking someone from the base might have sold a small collection to them. Which means I need to go back and dig through their Marvel back issues again looking for more books with Mark Jewelers inserts. All Star Comics is my LCS, I always go there for everything and I also found some nice Mark Jewelers comics in their back issue bins recently(within the last 3 weeks). I picked up a ASM #201 + 202, Avengers #195 + 196, X-Factor #24 + Marvel Tales #98 + #106. A lot of the ASM's, Captain Americas, and Daredevils that are in their Dollar Bins are also Mark Jewelers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron von slabb Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I’ve been curious about these inserts (not just Mark Jeweler & National Diamond Sales) and catalogued the ones in my collection. I’ve listed them below, sorting by Insert Type, Year, Month, and Title. The most interesting one to me is the Pizzazz insert in Marvel Two-in-One 39. I only have this 1 Pizzazz centerfold variant. I found this copy on eBay of a CGC notation for a Pizzazz insert. Pizzazz Variant I think the Atari and CBS may have been standard or at least plentiful. Pizzazz 5/1978 Marvel Two-In-One #39 Unknown – I failed to record the type and haven’t dug them out – probably Mark Jewelers 3/1976 Werewolf By Night #37 11/1977 Captain Marvel #53 7/1980 Marvel Two-In-One #53 7/1981 Superman Family, The #208 6/1982 Unknown Soldier #264 10/1982 Flash, The #314 National Diamond Sales 6/1971 Amazing Spider-Man, The #97 6/1971 Sub-Mariner #38 5/1972 Creatures On The Loose #17 2/1973 Supernatural Thrillers #2 Mark Jeweler 1/1973 Kamandi, The Last Boy On Earth! #2 5/1973 Weird Worlds #5 7/1973 Superboy #196 8/1973 Kid Colt Outlaw #173 8/1973 Weird Worlds #6 10/1973 Action Comics #428 10/1973 Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos #115 11/1973 Amazing Adventures #21 11/1973 Captain Marvel #29 11/1973 Kid Colt Outlaw #176 12/1973 Action Comics #430 8/1973 Werewolf By Night #8 5/1973 Werewolf By Night #17 11/1974 Werewolf By Night #11 1/1974 Amazing Adventures #22 1/1974 Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos #117 3/1974 Amazing Adventures #23 6/1974 Action Comics #436 6/1974 G. I. Combat #171 7/1974 Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos #120 6/1975 Kamandi, The Last Boy On Earth! #30 11/1975 Flash, The #237 11/1975 Jungle Action #18 12/1975 Power Man #28 8/1976 Kull The Destroyer #16 9/1976 Conan The Barbarian #66 9/1976 Marvel Tales #71 11/1976 Conan The Barbarian #68 12/1976 Detective Comics #466 12/1976 Kull, The Destroyer #18 12/1976 Marvel Spotlight #31 2/1977 Adventure Comics #449 2/1977 Detective Comics #467 3/1977 Ragman #4 3/1977 Ragman #4 4/1977 Flash, The #248 4/1977 Kull, The Destroyer #20 8/1977 Adventure Comics #452 8/1977 Amazing Spider-Man, The #171 9/1977 Challengers Of The Unknown #82 11/1977 Amazing Spider-Man, The #174 11/1977 Marvel Super Action #4 11/1977 Unknown Soldier #209 12/1977 Defenders, The #54 12/1977 Marvel Premiere #39 12/1977 Marvel Two-In-One #34 1/1978 Rawhide Kid, The #143 2/1978 Batman #296 2/1978 Brave & The Bold, The #139 2/1978 Human Fly, The #6 2/1978 Marvel Premiere #40 2/1978 Mister Miracle #22 2/1978 Weird Western Tales #44 3/1978 Defenders, The #57 4/1978 Avengers, The #170 4/1978 Fantastic Four #193 4/1978 Flash, The #260 5/1978 Human Fly, The #9 6/1978 Captain America #222 6/1978 Marvel Two-In-One #40 6/1978 Mister Miracle #24 8/1978 Freedom Fighters #15 8/1978 Human Fly, The #12 9/1978 Flash, The #265 9/1978 Mister Miracle #25 9/1978 Warlord #14 11/1978 Flash, The #267 11/1978 Howard The Duck #28 11/1978 Marvel Two-In-One #45 1/1979 Marvel Tales #99 2/1979 Godzilla #19 3/1979 Fantastic Four #204 3/1979 Marvel Two-In-One #49 4/1979 Action Comics #494 4/1979 Captain America #232 4/1979 Flash, The #272 4/1979 Master Of Kung Fu #75 5/1979 Fantastic Four #206 5/1979 Flash, The #273 5/1979 Marvel Two-In-One #51 6/1979 Flash, The #274 7/1979 Marvel Two-In-One #53 7/1979 Spectacular Spider-Man, The #32 8/1979 Flash, The #276 8/1979 Marvel Super-Heroes #82 9/1979 Defenders, The #75 10/1979 Defenders, The #76 10/1979 Marvel Super-Heroes #84 10/1979 Marvel Two-In-One #56 10/1979 Spectacular Spider-Man, The #35 11/1979 Captain America #239 11/1979 Conan The Barbarian #104 11/1979 Marvel Two-In-One #57 12/1979 Conan The Barbarian #105 12/1979 Marvel Two-In-One #58 1/1980 Conan The Barbarian #106 1/1980 Marvel Two-In-One #59 1/1980 Spectacular Spider-Man, The #38 2/1980 Captain America #242 2/1980 Conan The Barbarian #107 2/1980 Marvel Team-Up #90 2/1980 Star Wars #32 3/1980 Conan The Barbarian #108 3/1980 Ghost Rider #42 4/1980 Conan The Barbarian #109 4/1980 Defenders, The #82 4/1980 House Of Mystery, The #279 4/1980 Marvel Team-Up #92 5/1980 Defenders, The #83 5/1980 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #263 5/1980 Marvel Team-Up #93 6/1980 Defenders, The #84 7/1980 Defenders, The #85 7/1980 Fantastic Four #220 7/1980 Jonah Hex #38 7/1980 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #265 7/1980 Shogun Warriors #18 8/1980 House Of Mystery, The #283 8/1980 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #266 8/1980 Marvel Team-Up #96 9/1980 Amazing Spider-Man, The #208 9/1980 Defenders, The #87 10/1980 Amazing Spider-Man, The #209 10/1980 Flash, The #290 10/1980 Marvel Team-Up #98 11/1980 Defenders, The #89 11/1980 Marvel Team-Up #99 12/1980 Brave And The Bold, The #169 12/1980 Defenders, The #90 12/1980 Iron Man #141 1/1981 Amazing Spider-Man, The #212 1/1981 Fantastic Four #226 1/1981 Marvel Team-Up #101 4/1981 Fantastic Four #229 5/1981 Flash, The #297 6/1981 Justice League Of America #191 6/1981 Marvel Team-Up #106 6/1981 Marvel Two-In-One #76 8/1981 Marvel Tales #130 9/1981 Amazing Spider-Man, The #220 9/1981 Marvel Team-Up #109 9/1981 Marvel Two-In-One #79 9/1981 Thor #311 10/1981 Amazing Spider-Man, The #221 10/1981 Marvel Team-Up #110 10/1981 Thor #312 11/1981 Amazing Spider-Man, The #222 11/1981 Marvel Team-Up #111 11/1981 Marvel Team-Up #111 12/1981 Marvel Team-Up #112 1/1982 Defenders, The #103 2/1982 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #284 2/1982 Marvel Tales #136 2/1982 Marvel Two-In-One #84 2/1982 Marvel Two-In-One #84 3/1982 Marvel Team-Up #115 3/1982 Marvel Two-In-One #85 4/1982 Marvel Team-Up #116 5/1982 Thor #319 11/1982 Marvel Two-In-One #93 12/1982 Marvel Team-Up #124 7/1983 Arak, Son Of Thunder #23 3/1984 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #309 6/1984 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #312 Atari 10/1976 Green Lantern #157 1/1981 Detective Comics #498 7/1981 Action Comics #521 7/1981 Dc Comics Presents #35 7/1981 Dc Comics Presents #35 7/1981 Wonder Woman #281 10/1981 Action Comics #524 10/1981 Batman #340 10/1981 Batman #340 10/1981 Superman Family, The #211 10/1981 Wonder Woman #284 11/1981 Action Comics #525 12/1981 Arak, Son Of Thunder #4 1/1982 Batman #343 1/1982 Flash, The #305 2/1982 Dc Comics Presents #42 4/1982 Batman #346 4/1982 Batman #346 4/1982 Batman #346 4/1982 Batman #346 4/1982 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #286 4/1982 Wonder Woman #290 4/1982 Wonder Woman #290 9/1982 Detective Comics #518 9/1982 Superman #375 9/1982 Wonder Woman #295 11/1982 Brave And The Bold, The #192 11/1982 Brave And The Bold, The #192 11/1982 Flash, The #315 11/1982 World'S Finest Comics #285 1982 All-Star Squadron Annual #1 3/1983 Batman #357 3/1983 Wonder Woman #301 CBS 12/1976 Green Lantern #147 12/1981 Action Comics #526 12/1981 Adventure Comics #488 12/1981 Batman #342 12/1981 Batman #342 12/1981 Detective Comics #509 12/1981 Detective Comics #509 12/1981 Detective Comics #509 12/1981 Legion Of Super-Heroes, The #282 12/1981 Superman #366 12/1981 Wonder Woman #286 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aweandlorder Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Once the Mark Jewelers movie is optioned theyll all skyrocket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
