Publication Date vs In Store Date

[matchstick johnny]

It is my understanding that the publication date on Marvel comics is and has always been two months ahead of the shipping(in store)date?

 

For example, The Amazing Spider-Man #163 has a publication date of December 1976. Is it safe to say I purchased it in October of 1976?

 

Thanks!

[Doc Joe]

I have been told that the date on the comic is the date is was supposed to be removed from the shelf.

[asteroid-comix]

+1

 

It's like a "good until" date. It's not limited to comics, I'm pretty sure that most magazines do the same thing.

[marvelcollector]

Generally it's three months.

 

A December xx cover probaby came out in September xx.

[Toz]

Once upon a time a magazine with a December date ment that it would come out and be on the shelf in December.Competition pushed publishers to "cheat" on the cover date so that it would appear they were beating their competitors to the shelf.Over time the gap widened to about 3 months and was much more noticeable in comic books.It may have started with comics early on.Can't remember where I read this,may have been in an issue of CBA.

[ryvan-migration]

It is my understanding that the publication date on Marvel comics is and has always been two months ahead of the shipping(in store)date?

 

For example, The Amazing Spider-Man #163 has a publication date of December 1976. Is it safe to say I purchased it in October of 1976?

 

Thanks!

 

Mike says that ASM #163 was on sale September 1976.

 

http://www.dcindexes.com/timemachine/gallery.php?month=9&year=1976&type=calendar&order=alpha&site=marvel

 

But ASM was monthly - wouldn't the retailer (non-LCS) pull # 163 off (for returns?) when # 164 arrived, making the dates irrelevant?

[FlyingDonut]

It is my understanding that the publication date on Marvel comics is and has always been two months ahead of the shipping(in store)date?

 

For example, The Amazing Spider-Man #163 has a publication date of December 1976. Is it safe to say I purchased it in October of 1976?

 

Thanks!

 

In the 70s it was three months. Your ASM 163 came out in September 1976. It was the one of the first ones that came out in the school year that year.

 

Check all the Christmas cover Marvels from the 70s. They're all dated "March".

[Ogami]

I'm reading through my GA Marvel Comics (Marvel Mystery Comics) Omnibus, and in the introduction, it says that this innovation was done by Martin Goodman to beat out DC on the racks!

 

Goodman realized his books would look newer and staffers not paying attention would pull DC books, thinking they were out of date.

 

Make of that what you will. This would have been 1940 forward.