Low Distribution?

[namisgr]

The census is enlightening for books that have been listed in Overstreet as having low distribution, such as Silver Surfer 4 and Conan 3 (unrestored copies, slabbing abundance):

 

Surfer 4

9.8-9.9 4

9.6 8

9.4 39

9.2 40

9.0 51

 

Surfer 3

9.8-9.9 0

9.6 8

9.4 17

9.2 22

9.0 21

 

Surfer 5

9.8-9.9 1

9.6 9

9.4 23

9.2 20

9.0 17

 

Conan 3

9.8-9.9 0

9.6 5

9.4 23

9.2 37

9.0 51

 

Conan 2

9.8-9.9 4

9.6 10

9.4 21

9.2 21

9.0 12

 

Conan 4

9.8-9.9 1

9.6 11

9.4 27

9.2 20

9.0 5

 

 

From these data, I draw the following conclusions: (i) the higher Overstreet value is a strong driving force for slabbing (obvious, I know); (ii) the census is unlikely to be an accurate measure of issue abundance; (iii) the books listed as having low distributions may, in fact, be similar in abundance to other issues published at nearly the same time; and (iv) Silver Surfer 4 and Conan 3 are probably not worthy of the premium price they command, in comparison with issues of these titles published at around the same time.

[PUNYHUMAN]

Bob Beerbohm wrote a article about low distribution books like Conan # 3, years ago which was pretty interesting,these books if I remember right were being hoarded before they made to market!! I think his articles were in Comic Book Marketplace & Alter Ego or it may have been Comic Book Artist!!!

[supapimp]

i think chuckles from MHC mentioned books were being hoarded too.

[PUNYHUMAN]

I remember reading about that also ,now that you mention it. There was something about organized crime behind the scenes of alot of those books!!!

[Rip]

Yep, I heard the same thing on the Conan

[blowout]

the books listed as having low distributions may, in fact, be similar in abundance to other issues published at nearly the same time

 

This has been discussed many times on the boards before. It seems the books had low distribution in some areas , but overall there were just as many copies of these issues as the surrounding ones. With the advent of eBay and easier access to available copies, there is now no distribution problem.

So the the notation in Overstreet is misleading, as low distrubution really refers to poor distribution and not to a shortfall in copies.

[Zonker]

Bob Beerbohm wrote a article about low distribution books like Conan # 3, years ago which was pretty interesting,these books if I remember right were being hoarded before they made to market!! I think his articles were in Comic Book Marketplace & Alter Ego or it may have been Comic Book Artist!!!

 

original thread

 

The beerbohm article actually ran in issue 6 of Comic Book Artist. He quotes a personal acquaintance who speculated on Conan 1 when it came out, "acquiring" 25,000 copies. I use the quote marks because beerbohm speaks of personal experience in the early 70s of dealers getting comics out the back door from the independent distributors, who then turned around and filed affadavit returns with the publisher, basically an honor-system pledge that "Yes, your Honor, I did in fact destroy all those unsold Conan #1's, now please credit my account." Anyway, beerbohm says this same guy similarly hoarded Conan #2 and Conan #4, but for some reason missed out on #3! According to beerbohm, this one unnamed guy's failure to hoard #3 is the sole reason for its listing in Overstreet!

 

The article is highly recommended-- hopefully his book on the subject will eventually be published. There's a quote from Paul Levitz that points out the paradox of fan-favorite titles of the day being sold in significant quantities through the back door, thereby depressing the "official" sales figures: The more popular the book with comics fans, the less its official sales.

 

Finally, some first-hand claims beerbohm makes for his own personal speculating at the time:

 

200 issues each of:

Silver Surfer #1

Nick Fury #1

Sub-Mariner #1

Iron Man #1

X-Men #56 (he increased his 200 issue stockpile on subsequent Adams X-Men)

Adams Brave & Bold

Adams Batman

 

beerbohm claims to have personally stocked away 600 copies of Conan #1! He implies that all his stockpile found its way onto the market after he opened one of the early comics shops.

 

Interesting read.

Z.