Hepcat Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I always heard that that deal was why Hulk had to get cancelled after #6 so that Marvel could launch Amazing Spider-man. They had only so many titles they could do, and they wanted to get a title for Spidey so bad they had to drop Incredible Hulk. Is that how that happened, or have I been clinging to bad information for 25 years (which wouldn't be the first time, of course...)? DC had agreed to distribute no more than eight Atlas titles per month (which amounted to sixteen bi-monthly titles at the time) in 1957 when Atlas could find no other distributor which was probably a fallout from the Kefauver Senate hearings on the threat to the nation's youth poised by comics. I doubt, however, that the Incredible Hulk's cancellation was linked precisely to the desire to launch the Amazing Spider-Man. The title that gave way to the Amazing Spider-Man was none other than Amazing Fantasy. The timeline fits since with the cancellation of Amazing Fantasy Marvel had room for one more title. Moreover the last issue of the Incredible Hulk ran in March 1963 which was the same month that saw the launch of Amazing Spider-Man which would have amounted to a doubling up in that month. Edited January 19, 2011 by Hepcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlasFan Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Here is my first (and probably only) win from the January Clink auction. I also went after the #4 but didn't bid as high as I probably should have because I really wanted the #5 and couldn't really afford them both. Did any boardies win the #4? Nice Book. I love Amazing Adventures! I didnt will the Clink auction, but here is my copy of #4 Here is not only one of my favorite pre-hero robot covers, but stories as well! A great morality play about what it really means to be human -- and how a machine can show ... wait a minute. I posted this the other day...Nevermind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thought it sounded familiar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysterio Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thought it sounded familiar... I thought it did too! I do love your copy of #4, it is nicer than my slabbed 5.0. I feel like I am posting here a lot lately, but I picked up another nice round of books from the Clink exchange and then one more in the auction last night. The Strange Tales books have always been high on my list, particularly the #97 (love the PQ too) with the May and Ben prototypes. (I just grabbed the Clink scans, so sorry they are a bit wonky.) I got the TOS #30 in the auction last night for what I felt was a good price. My wife has been very patient with me this month, so many nice books got listed I think I spent my first 6 months worth of comic budget just in January! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR.X Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 That Strange Tales #89 sure looks better than a 5.0. But what do I know, I'm close to the cellar in the contest. DR.X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Really nice Strange Tales books! Key Pre-Heroes rule! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trmoore54 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Thought it sounded familiar... I thought it did too! I do love your copy of #4, it is nicer than my slabbed 5.0. I feel like I am posting here a lot lately, but I picked up another nice round of books from the Clink exchange and then one more in the auction last night. The Strange Tales books have always been high on my list, particularly the #97 (love the PQ too) with the May and Ben prototypes. (I just grabbed the Clink scans, so sorry they are a bit wonky.) I got the TOS #30 in the auction last night for what I felt was a good price. My wife has been very patient with me this month, so many nice books got listed I think I spent my first 6 months worth of comic budget just in January! Very nice ST 97! That would fit perfectly into my set...lemme know when you want to sell it to me... (Gotsta get me some ST 97!) Very nice books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan57 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I always heard that that deal was why Hulk had to get cancelled after #6 so that Marvel could launch Amazing Spider-man. They had only so many titles they could do, and they wanted to get a title for Spidey so bad they had to drop Incredible Hulk. Is that how that happened, or have I been clinging to bad information for 25 years (which wouldn't be the first time, of course...)? DC had agreed to distribute no more than eight Atlas titles per month (which amounted to sixteen bi-monthly titles at the time) in 1957 when Atlas could find no other distributor which was probably a fallout from the Kefauver Senate hearings on the threat to the nation's youth poised by comics. I doubt, however, that the Incredible Hulk's cancellation was linked precisely to the desire to launch the Amazing Spider-Man. The title that gave way to the Amazing Spider-Man was none other than Amazing Fantasy. The timeline fits since with the cancellation of Amazing Fantasy Marvel had room for one more title. Moreover the last issue of the Incredible Hulk ran in March 1963 which was the same month that saw the launch of Amazing Spider-Man which would have amounted to a doubling up in that month. In 1958, 1959 and 1960, Independent News was distributing 8 titles per month for Atlas/Marvel. In June 1960, they began publishing 10 titles per month -- with the exception of December 1960 when no titles were released. 11 titles were distributed in June 1961, 10 titles in July and 12 titles in August. The numbers alternated between 10 and 12 titles (with the odd exception) until June 1963 when annuals pushed the monthly release to 15. The monthly numbers ranged between 11 to 16 until the end of 1965 (this is where my area of interest ends). We can see the numbers of books crept up slightly but books still needed to be cancelled in order for Martin Goodman to juggle the titles. ___________________________ Amazing Fantasy #15 was cancelled June 1962 and replaced in August 1962 with the return of Two-Gun Kid with issue #60. Note that these are newsstand distribution dates and not cover dates which post-dated the actual month of release by two or three months. Linda Carter, Student Nurse was cancelled with issue #9 in October 1962 and was replaced with Amazing Spider-Man #1 in December of 1962. The Incredible Hulk was cancelled with issue #6 in January 1963 and replaced in March of 1963 with Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1. Gunsmoke Western was cancelled with issue #77 in May 1964 so that Amazing Spider-Man could go monthly in July 1963 with issue #5. Images courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber-Bob Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I always heard that that deal was why Hulk had to get cancelled after #6 so that Marvel could launch Amazing Spider-man. They had only so many titles they could do, and they wanted to get a title for Spidey so bad they had to drop Incredible Hulk. Is that how that happened, or have I been clinging to bad information for 25 years (which wouldn't be the first time, of course...)? DC had agreed to distribute no more than eight Atlas titles per month (which amounted to sixteen bi-monthly titles at the time) in 1957 when Atlas could find no other distributor which was probably a fallout from the Kefauver Senate hearings on the threat to the nation's youth poised by comics. I doubt, however, that the Incredible Hulk's cancellation was linked precisely to the desire to launch the Amazing Spider-Man. The title that gave way to the Amazing Spider-Man was none other than Amazing Fantasy. The timeline fits since with the cancellation of Amazing Fantasy Marvel had room for one more title. Moreover the last issue of the Incredible Hulk ran in March 1963 which was the same month that saw the launch of Amazing Spider-Man which would have amounted to a doubling up in that month. In 1958, 1959 and 1960, Independent News was distributing 8 titles per month for Atlas/Marvel. In June 1960, they began publishing 10 titles per month -- with the exception of December 1960 when no titles were released. 11 titles were distributed in June 1961, 10 titles in July and 12 titles in August. The numbers alternated between 10 and 12 titles (with the odd exception) until June 1963 when annuals pushed the monthly release to 15. The monthly numbers ranged between 11 to 16 until the end of 1965 (this is where my area of interest ends). We can see the numbers of books crept up slightly but books still needed to be cancelled in order for Martin Goodman to juggle the titles. ___________________________ Amazing Fantasy #15 was cancelled June 1962 and replaced in August 1962 with the return of Two-Gun Kid with issue #60. Note that these are newsstand distribution dates and not cover dates which post-dated the actual month of release by two or three months. Linda Carter, Student Nurse was cancelled with issue #9 in October 1962 and was replaced with Amazing Spider-Man #1 in December of 1962. The Incredible Hulk was cancelled with issue #6 in January 1963 and replaced in March of 1963 with Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1. Gunsmoke Western was cancelled with issue #77 in May 1964 so that Amazing Spider-Man could go monthly in July 1963 with issue #5. Images courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. Great information, thanks for sharing ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan57 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 You're welcome. Sometimes it's hard to shut me up on the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttock Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I always heard that that deal was why Hulk had to get cancelled after #6 so that Marvel could launch Amazing Spider-man. They had only so many titles they could do, and they wanted to get a title for Spidey so bad they had to drop Incredible Hulk. Is that how that happened, or have I been clinging to bad information for 25 years (which wouldn't be the first time, of course...)? DC had agreed to distribute no more than eight Atlas titles per month (which amounted to sixteen bi-monthly titles at the time) in 1957 when Atlas could find no other distributor which was probably a fallout from the Kefauver Senate hearings on the threat to the nation's youth poised by comics. I doubt, however, that the Incredible Hulk's cancellation was linked precisely to the desire to launch the Amazing Spider-Man. The title that gave way to the Amazing Spider-Man was none other than Amazing Fantasy. The timeline fits since with the cancellation of Amazing Fantasy Marvel had room for one more title. Moreover the last issue of the Incredible Hulk ran in March 1963 which was the same month that saw the launch of Amazing Spider-Man which would have amounted to a doubling up in that month. In 1958, 1959 and 1960, Independent News was distributing 8 titles per month for Atlas/Marvel. In June 1960, they began publishing 10 titles per month -- with the exception of December 1960 when no titles were released. 11 titles were distributed in June 1961, 10 titles in July and 12 titles in August. The numbers alternated between 10 and 12 titles (with the odd exception) until June 1963 when annuals pushed the monthly release to 15. The monthly numbers ranged between 11 to 16 until the end of 1965 (this is where my area of interest ends). We can see the numbers of books crept up slightly but books still needed to be cancelled in order for Martin Goodman to juggle the titles. ___________________________ Amazing Fantasy #15 was cancelled June 1962 and replaced in August 1962 with the return of Two-Gun Kid with issue #60. Note that these are newsstand distribution dates and not cover dates which post-dated the actual month of release by two or three months. Linda Carter, Student Nurse was cancelled with issue #9 in October 1962 and was replaced with Amazing Spider-Man #1 in December of 1962. The Incredible Hulk was cancelled with issue #6 in January 1963 and replaced in March of 1963 with Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1. Gunsmoke Western was cancelled with issue #77 in May 1964 so that Amazing Spider-Man could go monthly in July 1963 with issue #5. Images courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. Great information, thanks for sharing ! Yeah, what he said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysterio Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Yep, awesome info, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyJack Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Great post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajaxfarrell Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 How did you get all of that information ? Really interesting stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan57 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 How did you get all of that information ? Really interesting stuff. I spread-sheeted information from Marvel Comics Group 1939-1980 . Joseph William Marek has done a remarkable job with this site. In a reformatted monthly checklist form, it's possible to draw some interesting conclusions. I might also recommend Raphael and Spurgeon's Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (2003); Ro's Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution (2004) (to a slightly lesser extent); and Jones's Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book (2004). Men of Tomorrow is DC-focussed but gives insight into the nature of the distribution business. It's also a "real" history -- not traditionally footnoted as such but each chapter is documented at the back of the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajaxfarrell Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 So you pieced together all of that information from various sources....WOW...excellent observations. I never knew anything about the actual distribution process....this was all really GREAT info.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trmoore54 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 How did you get all of that information ? Really interesting stuff. I spread-sheeted information from Marvel Comics Group 1939-1980 . Joseph William Marek has done a remarkable job with this site. In a reformatted monthly checklist form, it's possible to draw some interesting conclusions. I might also recommend Raphael and Spurgeon's Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (2003); Ro's Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution (2004) (to a slightly lesser extent); and Jones's Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book (2004). Men of Tomorrow is DC-focussed but gives insight into the nature of the distribution business. It's also a "real" history -- not traditionally footnoted as such but each chapter is documented at the back of the book. XLNT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollarbill Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Bronze age fan* Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Cool book! Never saw that one! I love seeing covers for the first time of books that I have had on my want list for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber-Bob Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Cool book! Never saw that one! I love seeing covers for the first time of books that I have had on my want list for years. This book was voted the Best TTA Pre Hero Cover by the Boards last year. I know it's my favorite ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
