British Pence Variants

[r100comics]

I think it's a great idea to add a second pence variant run to an existing cent collection but, as a keen, young British collector in the 70s, actually having to rely on distributed All-Colour Comics could prove very frustrating.  I do have a natural inclination to prefer sameness and predictability, and so I hated it when, avidly looking forward to the next month's instalment in a storyline,  a book I was following was suddenly, unexpectedly absent from the newsstands.

 

Take the New X- Men, as a good example.

 

-- The first pence copy I bought was issue 97, and I couldn't get hold of GS XM 1 and issues 94 and 95, all Non-Distributed.  I didn't appreciate this because I was already a fan of Dave Cockrum by way of his earlier Legion work.

 

 Patchy distribution seemed to interfere with key storylines on this title...

 

--  issue 107 ND, 108 pence (Shi'ar /Imperial Guard)

 

-- issue 120 pence, 121 ND (first Alpha Flight)

 

-- issues in the Dark Phoenix Saga all pence, except 137, the finale - ND

 

-- issue 141 pence, 142 ND (Days of Future Past)

 

X-Men 121 's non-appearance over here was the tipping point event that made me finally decide to switch over completely to advance-imported cent copies and their greater reliability -  albeit at a price, of course.

 

Great analysis.

 

If you'd been willing to pay in 1975, which venues could you have picked up imported copies of X-Men 94 and GSX 1 from ?

[Ken Aldred]

If you'd been willing to pay in 1975, which venues could you have picked up imported copies of X-Men 94 and GSX 1 from ?

1975, I was 11 years old, buying from the bus station newsstand, had no LCS to go to and wasn't aware of any mail order source or that comic marts were being held fairly close by in Manchester city centre, nor even of anyone else who collected.  Complete vacuum, really, and I had absolutely  no chance of picking up GS XM 1, XM 94 or 95.

 

I acquired my first ND,  issue 95, a couple of years later when a local book shop started selling advance imports and back issues.  I think I paid 75p for it, which, despite being a very nice copy, was possibly  a little steep for the time.

 

I don't recall seeing an actual GS XM 1 or XM 94 until 1980, on one of my schooltime visits to the original FP in London.

[Ken Aldred]

I wish I'd kept my pence copies of the Englehart / Rogers Detective Comics run.

 

Their Mister Miracle run was great as well, and the Gerber / Golden issues which followed on from it.

[Warlord]

I am sure they are harder to find, but if there was more demand like Marvel I am sure more would pop up.

 

Yeah, that's one of those factors that is likely to influence search results.

[Warlord]

Searching for Bronze age Comics

 

10 results found for

dc (pence,uk,british)

 

223 results found for

marvel (pence,uk,british)

 

 

[nmtg9]

As I was growing up in the late 70's and early 80's I remember more Marvel than DC in the newsagents shops (every newsagent had an abundance of comics back then ).

 

Maybe DC were not as popular over here - remember we did not have them in any great amount until the late fifties, so British readers of that age did not have a big history with the original golden age issues (there were reprints and annuals etc. though).

 

When the Marvel age started British fans could get on board from day one so could invest more emotionally with title. As a result more Marvel were bought over here so more Marvel were printed. Hence less pence DC's available now.

 

Just a theory.

[Comicopolis]

The fact that Marvel had their own British reprints published on a weekly bases helped to get some of those buyers/collectors into buying the American originals. DC missed the boat there.

[Juswuh]

I think that for a long time DC books were just rubber-stamped with the British price when they got here.

[ComicVein]

 

 

 

 

 

[Waylander]

Hey Guys,

 

I thought I would add a X-Men #1 British pence variant for you to see.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Waylander

 

[nmtg9]

That is gorgeous Waylander.

 

Is there a story behind buying it? What grade you you give it?

 

there is only one above 6.5 in the census and 2 at 6.0

[etanick]

gorgeous copy. Hard to tell from the scan but that looks in the 8.0 or better range.

 

I wished the pence books are treated more like the price variant that they are so they can command a premium. It is a shame really that they are selling at a discount.

 

I adore this copy for quite sometimes.

http://www.comiclink.com/itemdetail.asp?back=%2Fsearch%2Easp%3Fwhere%3Dsell%26title%3Dx%2Dmen%2B1%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26ItemType%3DCB&id=874792

[Waylander]

That is gorgeous Waylander.

 

Is there a story behind buying it? What grade you you give it?

 

there is only one above 6.5 in the census and 2 at 6.0

 

Thank you for the kind comments.

 

I bought the comic back in 2001 completely on a whim. In the London that use to hold comic 'gatherings' where sellers would show their wares. They use to be in Camden or central London. I bought this one in central London. I walked in with about £150 to spend. I saw the comic and decided 'Hey I want it.' Which was completely out of character, especially when, at the time, I only wanted to collect from issue 94 upwards (oh and at the time no wife or kids) . So, ultimately, I left the show with my #1 in hand and only the cash in my pocket to last me until the next pay day.

 

Regarding grade - I would have graded it as 6.5 - 7.0 but there some marvel chipping and I have been told the graders at CGC do not like marvel chipping - so it may get down graded to 5.5 - which is a huge shame. Since I bought the #1, I have completed my 2 - 10 but all cents, so undecided whether in the future to change my #1.

 

I do have many pence British 'variant' bronze X-men as I was based in UK. For the bronze comics, I will probably double up with cents issues, going back, depends on funds.

 

Thanks again,

 

 

Waylander

 

(thumbs u

[the blob]

5% of the print run, but you know those brits are natural born pack rats/collectors haven't you ever seen cash in the attic? every copy probably got kept in top notch condition!

 

Unlikely. Before I started collecting properly, all I could find were pence copies from news stands, and I used to read them over and over again, carelessly, like most kids would do anywhere. The only outlet in town that I bought comics from at this stage was the bus station kiosk, so the books were often exposed to the North West's damp climate, and well thumbed through - not much in UHG available from that source. I eventually moved on to buying pence copies from an indoor market stall that got in a single, bundled mixture of comics each month, containing just one copy of each distributed Marvel and DC book, some Harveys and Charltons as well. Once again, the odds of obtaining every issue of a title I collected, month in, month out, in absolutely top notch condition, weren't exactly great.

 

buying comics from a newstand in the northeast united states would present similar problems