Mark Jewelers inserts... 19 19

[Beyonder123]

I'm currently putting all my books in mylars, and so I was able to photograph some of these. I have half a shortbox or so full, and I've got alot of them over the past 7-8 years from 50 cent and dollar bins.

Btw when did people really start collecting these? Back when I started it almost felt like no one knew anything about them, but maybe that was just my perception.

The ones from the early 90s are interesting. I rarely find them.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites...

Edited November 23, 2022 by Beyonder123
Early 90s not late.

[Cpt Kirk]

This is just an educated guess, but I don't think people really started to chase these down until the early 2000's.   

On 11/22/2022 at 11:37 PM, Beyonder123 said:

I'm currently putting all my books in mylars, and so I was able to photograph some of these. I have half a shortbox or so full, and I've got alot of them over the past 7-8 years from 50 cent and dollar bins.

Btw when did people really start collecting these? Back when I started it almost felt like no one knew anything about them, but maybe that was just my perception.

The ones from the early 90s are interesting. I rarely find them.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites...

Thanks for the great images... love it.   To answer your question, I don't think that collecting jeweler variants really started to be a thing until the early 2000's.   I've been in hot pursuit of them since 2010.  In the five titles I collect (Batman, Detective, Superman, Action and JLA), I'm only missing 7 out of approximately 690 possible jeweler variants.   If you or anyone else can produce a copy of the ones I'm missing, I would love to hear about it.  I'm missing Batman 245, 247, 390, Detective 470, 548, Action 579 and JLA 107.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Cpt Kirk

[djzombi]

MJ jackpot, 2 bux each. 

For those tallying variants, the order of the comics is the same in the cover shots and insert shots. 

The Kull might be my first cardboard insert. A shame one of them had the coupon removed. 

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by djzombi

[Get Marwood & I]

Living things aside, is there anything better in the world than a gleamingly bright, high grade Ross Andru Spidey Mark Jewelers Insert copy?

I say thee nay!

[SpineTic]

On 11/28/2022 at 8:54 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Living things aside, is there anything better in the world than a gleamingly bright, high grade Ross Andru Spidey Mark Jewelers Insert copy?

I say thee nay!

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/28/2022 at 2:02 PM, ak47po said:

It's pleasingly firm, ak47po, an observation that all good MJI collectors will understand 

[THE_BEYONDER]

What are “U.S. Army”inserts?

@Get Marwood & I

Edited November 29, 2022 by THE_BEYONDER

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/29/2022 at 4:57 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

What are “U.S. Army”inserts?

@Get Marwood & I

Defenders #9 is cover dated 10/73 - the corresponding ASM (#125) has the Alka Seltzer / US Club Wrap additional insert - I'm guessing they mean that:

  

[Get Marwood & I]

The awe4one site seems to have been down for a while, but I did find this earlier:

https://nerdsonearth.com/2021/10/mark-jewelers-comic-book-insert/

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 11/29/2022 at 1:22 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Defenders #9 is cover dated 10/73 - the corresponding ASM (#125) has the Alka Seltzer / US Club Wrap additional insert - I'm guessing they mean that:

  

Thanks

And it wraps just like the mennon inserts?(inside front cover)

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/29/2022 at 6:48 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

Thanks

And it wraps just like the mennon inserts?(inside front cover)

It does, yes. I had two back in the day, a nice one and a crappy one. Can't find a saved image anywhere though, annoyingly - it's not in order in my old ASM folder. Must've filed it elsewhere, as I made a nice custom label for it....

 

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

I'll have to check to learn if I own other CGC graded comic books with the "MJ"I.

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 12/1/2022 at 5:38 AM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

I'll have to check to learn if I own other CGC graded comic books with the "MJ"I.

Childhood fave 

[THE_BEYONDER]

Another childhood upgrade, with the bonus of a MJ insert....

[Spidey 62]

I have a ASM 238 MJ graded 6.0, but I don't believe I can show it here as it is graded by another company.  It presents like a 7.5 - 8.0 but there is a defect inside that they hit hard. 

[FlyingDonut]

Mail call from yesterday. All Mark Jewelers inserts.

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

Anybody seen this before? 

Edited December 26, 2022 by THE_BEYONDER

[Spawnfreak]

On 7/11/2022 at 7:14 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

Finally.  After approximately 10 years of searching, I have acquired every single Mark Jeweler insert in the title of Superman Comics.   The run includes all 158 jeweler variants from Superman 255 (August 1972) through 420 (Jun 1986).    The only issues that don’t have inserts in this title are as follows:  272/278/284 (square-bound giants), 285/286 (jeweler ads were not inserted into DC Comics during those two months), 377 (Masters of Universe insert), 400 (giant sized issue), 411 (Mask comic book insert), and 421 (slick Mask advertising insert).

I don’t know of anyone who’s reached this goal in a long-standing run of DC Comics (and I’m not sure it’s ever been done in similar fashion with any long-running Marvel Comics titles either).  If it has, I would love to hear about it.

Here’s what I had to do to reach the goal:  Over the years I bought a bunch of jeweler variants from MyComicShop and Mile High Comics because they made note of these variants when they got them.  I kept a saved searches on ebay called “Superman jeweler”, “Batman Jeweler”, “Detective Jeweler”, etc for most of those 10 years and looked the ebay email hits for those searches every morning. I periodically did internet searches on “Superman Mark Jewelers” which led me to a sellers such as a “Burning Comics” in Belgium and “We Got Issues” in Ireland.  The really good guy at Burning Comics had nearly all Superman jeweler variants in very high grade from issue 301 through 400 as well as a bunch of jeweler variants in the other titles I collect.  Furthermore, I had a friend in Germany who was constantly on the lookout for jeweler inserts since they were mostly sold in military PX’s overseas and there are a lot of U.S. military bases in Germany.  I queried more than 1,300 sellers on ebay to ask “Does your issue of Superman or Batman XYZ have the 4-page Mark Jewelers advertising insert?  If yes, I will bid or buy it right away.”   This question led me to the ebay seller who unknowingly had the last Mark Jeweler variant I need to complete the Superman run (namely, Superman 292).

Here's the crazier part: I’ve bought several duplicates over the years because I wanted to get every jeweler variant in FN or better condition.  I’ve done that except for all the titles I collect except for one issue (my Superman 291 jeweler variant is in vg condition).  Probably 90 percent or more of my jeweler variants are in VF or better.

For your viewing pleasure below are the first and last Mark Jewelers in the run of Superman (namely 255 and 420).   The SM 255 is NM and the 420 is VF+.   It is amazing to me that they can be in this condition because they had to travel overseas, sit on a newsstand rack in a military PX, and then make it all the way back to the U.S.   If I had to guess, something kept the SM 255 from making that normal journey because it is in flawless condition.

Here is Superman 255 (note the "rstuvwx" code in the lower right hand corner of the jeweler insert when it is opened at the centerfold... I believe this was the first type of insert used in DC Comics... some of the DC comic books that were cover dated August 1972 but released later in that same month only had an "rst" code on the lower right hand corner of the insert (an example of that would be Action Comics 415)):

 

And here is Superman 420:

 

Hi, Mon Capitaine, Q here. I see that 255 was not newsstand. Does that mean I have to re-check my early DCs? This is my mark jewelers double cover. We've talked before. Sorry no pic, computer malfunction.

[Spawnfreak]

On 12/26/2022 at 4:24 AM, Spawnfreak said:

Hi, Mon Capitaine, Q here. I see that 255 was not newsstand. Does that mean I have to re-check my early DCs? This is my mark jewelers double cover. We've talked before. Sorry no pic, computer malfunction.

Here is a list of my MJs. Continually looking! And have never spent more than $5 for any of them.

That includes the ASM comics. 

 Action Comics 527, 577

     Amazing Spider-Man 234, 269, 270, 272, 280, 281(2), 284, 285, 288, 291, 305, 329

     Avengers 216, 218, 219, 230, 251, 260, 263, 269, 270, 271(2), 273, 274, 275, 284, 285, 287, 288, 292, 295

     Captain America 281, 330, 336, 337, 338 340, 341, 342

     Classic X-Men 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25

     Daredevil 248, 249, 250, 251, 253, 255, 256, 259

     DC Comics Presents 92, 93

     Fantastic Four 235, 238, 260, 265, 266, 267, 268, 284, 285, 293, 308, 309, 310, 313, 314, 315, 317, 318

     Firestorm 22, 29, 35, 36, 38, 49

     Flash 325, 329

     Green Lantern 191

     Incredible Hulk 256, 259, 269, 275, 282, 317, 319, 321, 322, 324, 325, 329, 330, 332, 333, 339

     Iron Man 221, 230, 232, 233, 234, 235

     Justice League Of America 158, 163, 194, 210, 223, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 244, 251

     Marvel Comics Presents Wolverine 2, 3
     
     Marvel Tales 194, 197, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216

     Mighty Thor 390, 394

     New Mutants 62, 65, 67, 

     Questprobe 2

     Silver Surfer 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 

     Solo Avengers Hawkeye 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11

     Spectacular Spider-Man 99, 106, 117, 118, 119, 121, 127,128, 132, 134, 135, 140, 143

     Speedball 2

     Superman 415, 417
     
     The Mighty Thor 391

     Uncanny X-Men 196, 204, 206, 209, 212, 213(2), 219, 220, 222, 225, 228, 229, 230

     Web Of Spider-Man 10, 19(2), 20, 21(2), 22, 23, 33, 37, 42, 43, 44 

     West Coast Avengers  16, 22, 23, 27,(2), 29, 31, 34, 36, 37

     World's Finest 290, 299, 303, 304 306- 306 is double cover

     X-Factor 22, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33

     And these are the only two mjs I have graded.

     

[Spawnfreak]

On 12/26/2022 at 4:54 AM, Spawnfreak said:

Here is a list of my MJs. Continually looking! And have never spent more than $5 for any of them.

That includes the ASM comics. 

 Action Comics 527, 577

     Amazing Spider-Man 234, 269, 270, 272, 280, 281(2), 284, 285, 288, 291, 305, 329

     Avengers 216, 218, 219, 230, 251, 260, 263, 269, 270, 271(2), 273, 274, 275, 284, 285, 287, 288, 292, 295

     Captain America 281, 330, 336, 337, 338 340, 341, 342

     Classic X-Men 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25

     Daredevil 248, 249, 250, 251, 253, 255, 256, 259

     DC Comics Presents 92, 93

     Fantastic Four 235, 238, 260, 265, 266, 267, 268, 284, 285, 293, 308, 309, 310, 313, 314, 315, 317, 318

     Firestorm 22, 29, 35, 36, 38, 49

     Flash 325, 329

     Green Lantern 191

     Incredible Hulk 256, 259, 269, 275, 282, 317, 319, 321, 322, 324, 325, 329, 330, 332, 333, 339

     Iron Man 221, 230, 232, 233, 234, 235

     Justice League Of America 158, 163, 194, 210, 223, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 243, 244, 251

     Marvel Comics Presents Wolverine 2, 3
     
     Marvel Tales 194, 197, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216

     Mighty Thor 390, 394

     New Mutants 62, 65, 67, 

     Questprobe 2

     Silver Surfer 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 

     Solo Avengers Hawkeye 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11

     Spectacular Spider-Man 99, 106, 117, 118, 119, 121, 127,128, 132, 134, 135, 140, 143

     Speedball 2

     Superman 415, 417
     
     The Mighty Thor 391

     Uncanny X-Men 196, 204, 206, 209, 212, 213(2), 219, 220, 222, 225, 228, 229, 230

     Web Of Spider-Man 10, 19(2), 20, 21(2), 22, 23, 33, 37, 42, 43, 44 

     West Coast Avengers  16, 22, 23, 27,(2), 29, 31, 34, 36, 37

     World's Finest 290, 299, 303, 304 306- 306 is double cover

     X-Factor 22, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33

     And these are the only two mjs I have graded.

     

Thank you, gentlemen!