In Praise of Newsstand Editions

[CardiacKid-migration]

Or "How I came to love the UPC"

 

Disclaimer: This journal won't be for everyone. I fully realize that what I am about to discuss here has nothing to do with how good or bad any particular comic book is. In fact, this discussion has nothing to do with the content of any comic at all. I realize that I am about to make an argument about a topic that most collectors won't care about -- and which will probably be seen by most as superficial and silly. Of course, let's admit that we all have our quirks in collecting. So maybe my peculiar quirk here ends up making you feel a little less quirky and a little more normal. If that turns out to be the case, well, I'm glad to be of service. But just know in advance that I fully realize how ridiculous this is. With that said, let's get right to it.

 

Newsstand Editions. At the outset, let's please stop calling them "variants," or "newsstand variants." I say this will a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, in light of my preferences here, but please realize that before the direct-sales editions existed, the only editions published were newsstand editions. That Amazing Fantasy 15 worth tens of thousands of dollars? That's a newsstand edition. Detective 27? Newsstand. Everything prior to 1979, from every comics company (except Whitman, which I will discuss in a few moments) in existence? All newsstand editions. I was around, in full collecting mode, when the direct-sales editions were born and I didn't like them from the start. I never bought one . . . and still won't. In my mind, the direct-sales editions are the "variants."

 

So let me take you back to 1979, when these direct editions invaded the comics collecting world. I am going to discuss the newsstand-vs.-direct-edition war in the context on my favorite run at the time . . . which is still my favorite run today: Frank Miller Daredevils. This is a good set to use, because DD 158 was the last issue of DD before the direct-edition invasion. The cover of 158 has that "40¢" blurb in the upper left-hand corner of the cover. And it had the box with the UPC code on the lower left.

 

Ah, the UPC box. That's partly what this is about. We collectors tend to like uniformity in our collections. Most people reading this journal right now collect CGC comics, which means most -- if not all -- of of us have collections which fit neatly inside holders of identical size, inside boxes built for them, stacked somewhere in a room or closet. There's something appealing about that. We can compare one comic to the next -- whether for condition, design or whatever -- in a one-to-one comparison. When we get a comic in a larger or smaller format, we don't really know what to do with it, right? It doesn't quite seem to "fit" in our collection -- both literally and figuratively. It's a little bothersome. Admit it.

 

Mind you, I didn't like the UPC box when they first started putting them on comics. On Daredevils, that bothersome box first arrived on the cover of issue 130, in early 1976. I remember thinking at the time that it was a dumb idea, because they were covering up the cover art for no good reason with something boring and unsightly. I formed this opinion with my teenaged sensibility, of course. It took a few years, but in time, I got used to the UPC. After a while, in fact, I began to not even notice it. Nowadays, we're used to seeing them all over the place on just about everything we buy. Well, that started happening in the 1970's. I know that because I remember the era through the comics I was buying. But I digress.

 

Let's get back to the issue of uniformity of format, and its desirability to collectors. The UPC box was something that every comic had in the mid-to-late 70's. Starting with DD 159, however, two different-looking editions were published. The newsstand edition looked like the previous thirty or so Daredevils that came before it. The direct-sales edition sort of looked like them . . . except the UPC box had a diagonal black line through it. If the UPC box was boring and unsightly before, the UPC box, crossed out, was both ugly and more distracting. I decided, upon seeing both, that I would stick with newsstand editions. It wasn't even a close call.

 

The crossed-out UPC box stuck around on direct-sales editions for about eight months. Daredevil was published bi-monthly in those days, so that meant issues 159 through 162 had that ugly and distracting, crossed out code in the rectangular box.

Starting with DD 163, something even worse was put in the box: Spider-Man's masked face. Ugh. Okay, at least it was a piece of "art," rather than something that looked like a mistake that a teacher corrected on the cover. But if you were a Daredevil fan in those days, having Spidey on all of your DD covers was more maddening. The only analogy that comes to mind is an appropriate one for me, as a lifelong Red Sox fan. Today, the Red Sox are one of the premier franchises in all of baseball. The Sox have won more World Series in this century than any other team. They've got great owners, great management, winning players and a terrific farm system. For most of my life, however, they always played second fiddle to the Yankees . . . and they always lost to the Yankees (and to everyone else!) when it really mattered most. That obviously gave a Red Sox fan a chip on his shoulder when it came to the mere mention of the NY Yankees. You couldn't bring up the Red Sox in those days without also bringing up their rivalry and inferiority to the Yankees.

 

So it was with Spider-Man and Daredevil. Today, mainly as a result of Frank Miller, Daredevil is a popular and top-tier character. Back when I was collecting DD comics as a teenager, however, Daredevil was always thought of as a poor-man's Spider-Man. It seemed as though DD was always on the verge of cancellation. I was collecting DD's when his circulation was downgraded from monthly to bi-monthly. At the same time, Spider-Man was all over the place -- in his own title, in Marvel Team-up every month, in Marvel Tales reprints, on TV. Well, I liked Spidey as much as the next guy, but I felt a stronger connection to Daredevil (for reasons that I'll probably discuss in another journal) and I didn't like Spidey invading the cover. After all, Spider-Man was featured prominently on the very first DD ever published! In my mind -- with a Red-Sox-sized chip on my shoulder, Frank Miller's Daredevils should stand on their own! Now I have to look at Spidey's masked face on every issue going forward?

 

Not if I kept buying newsstand editions! Over time, esthetically, the clean (and not crossed-out) UPC code was no longer boring and unsightly. It became appealing. It carried on the uniform tradition from prior issues and focused more attention on the terrific Frank Miller covers. The Spidey face in the direct-sales box instead reminded us all that Spidey is a better and more popular character.

 

And we haven't even talked about the price box in the upper left-hand corner. To give you a little background here, that black diamond-shaped price box existed prior to direct-sales editions. In the '70's, you could walk into a Walgreens or some other drug store and purchase a plastic bag containing three random back issue Marvel comics. You could see the issue in the front, but the others were hidden and basically pot-luck. You could get a Marvel Western or Romance comic behind the Fantastic Four which peered out at you from inside the bag. Those Whitman editions were distinct from the "real" ones I was buying at my newsstand because they had the same funny-looking price box as the direct sales editions. My teenaged collecting buddies and I always felt that they were the "fake" editions because you couldn't buy them individually -- they were always 3-to-a-bag -- and they looked different than ours. We stayed away.

So when that black-diamond price box resurfaced in the new direct-editions -- with the ugly, crossed-out UPC boxes and with Spidey's face -- it gave me yet another reason to stick with my preferred newsstand editions.

 

So now we come to today's collecting habits, many years later. I contend that the newsstand editions are rarer in a couple of ways. First, over time, they published fewer of them. Second, the ones that they did publish were distributed . . . on newsstands. Duh, I know. What that means, though, is that they probably were not handled as carefully as the direct-sales editions, which were mainly distributed at comics shops, to collectors, who had more of an interest in keeping them in nice condition. I've noticed that there are others out there who feel the same way that I do, because the newsstand editions always go for a higher price. I think they're more valuable. I also think more people will realize that over time.

 

For the last decade or so, I have been scouring eBay, ComicLink and many other sites looking for the best-looking newsstand Miller DD's I can find. I've mostly succeeded, but there are still some issues in my run which aren't perfectly centered or wrapped. In my search for this perfect newsstand collection, I've noticed that I could have bought direct-sales editions of every Miller issue many times over in 9.8. So I do have a little anecdotal evidence, too, that the newsstand editions are rarer.

 

I really don't buy new comics these days, so I don't have a dog in the newsstand/direct fight regarding newly published comics. I have noticed, however, that some new direct-sales editions now feature the UPC code, similar to the newsstand editions.

 

I take this as proof that my teenaged preferences, formed many years ago, have finally won out.

 

See more journals by Cardiac Kid

[CardiacKid1]

Hmmm. I guess I mistakingly published this journal twice. Can someone please delete the second posting?

[HarveySwick]

[bagofleas]

I totally agree with you on this subject. Many others on here would not.

 

I started collecting comics in 1986. At first I was more into the direct editions than I was the newsstand ones. Like everyone else, it was for aesthetic reasons.

 

But now that I am a CGC collector, I have come to appreciate newsstand editions far more than I did before, mainly for the very reasons you described in your journal.

 

They are far rarer in top grade condition due to massive mishandling for the most part.

 

Given the choice, I would actually much rather have a newsstand edition than direct edition on my graded comics and while that is contrary to most CGC collectors, I don't mind being different in this case.

 

My Star Wars #103, Alpha Flight #10, New Mutants #17 and even a couple of Dazzlers (#1 was the first direct edition comic printed!) are prized possessions of my CGC collection.

 

Mile High Comics charges more for raw newsstand edition comics than their direct edition counterparts! You can even see evidence of this within the CGC world. Look at Spawn #9. It has recently taken off like a shot due to a renewed popularity of Angela, and the newsstand edition is the most sought after version of the issue in graded form. The same goes for the UPC Gold edition of Spider-Man #1. The only version more sought after is the Platinum edition.

 

So don't feel like you are alone. There are a few others on here who share your opinion. I am among them.

 

Check out my copy of Thor #374! I even had it double signed by Sal Buscema and Walt Simonson! http://i1313.photobucket.com/albums/t544/Stephen_Bagley/image_zps5ed4d358.jpg' alt='image_zps5ed4d358.jpg'>

[HarveySwick]

To give you a little background here, that black diamond-shaped price box existed prior to direct-sales editions. In the '70's, you could walk into a Walgreens or some other drug store and purchase a plastic bag containing three random back issue Marvel comics. You could see the issue in the front, but the others were hidden and basically pot-luck. You could get a Marvel Western or Romance comic behind the Fantastic Four which peered out at you from inside the bag. Those Whitman editions were distinct from the "real" ones I was buying at my newsstand because they had the same funny-looking price box as the direct sales editions. My teenaged collecting buddies and I always felt that they were the "fake" editions because you couldn't buy them individually -- they were always 3-to-a-bag -- and they looked different than ours. We stayed away.

Obviously you know the Miller DD run is my favorite as well. And we've discussed newsstand vs. direct before. And I've always liked the black diamond... until I just read this.

 

Now I feel like you're going to succeed in turning me into a newsstand fan despite my prior attempts to resist.

[Brandon Shepherd]

Good journal, I'm partial to the direct editions myself but I have come to understand and respect the newsstand editions over the years. I also like your point about consistency, best of luck in your collection.

[mzhammer]

Very interesting, I've always taken note of, but had no real knowledge of the history. I mainly always wondered... "Why didn't they just put the barcode on the back and not cover the artwork?

[SW3D]

Awesome journal!

 

I love Newsstand Editions!... I was weened on them.

 

However, I also came to love comics specifically marketed for Conic Shops that I couldn't find on the Newsstand Racks... so this forced me to love them both.

 

But my first comics came from the racks, so they will always have a special place in my heart, but nowadays it's incredibly difficult to find Newsstands which sell comic books. I found a few, but they carry just a handful of titles.

 

Lamentably, I believe, the Newsstand Edition will be a thing of the past.

 

Thanks for this wonderful journal! Would love to read more!

 

SW3D

 

 

[Ronnylama]

I enjoy the way you write. Go Seahawks......

[pubmonkey]

Interesting journal, thanks for that. Having started reading/collecting comics in my teens in the mid 80's I missed the whole shift to direct sales from newsstand and most of the books that I bought new were direct sales. I get it and how it irks you but the mere thought of having to replace all my existing books with newsstands is a scary and expensive proposition and I simply don't have the bandwidth to cope. As a result I am happy to collect either newsstand or direct sales and will continue to do so with no preference...However, you have succeeded in planting the seed of thought and these preferences may change over time.

 

I agree with you about the off sized books, I admit it. For me the original run of Mirage Studios TMNT are gems but they are bigger than comics and not quite magazine size. They caused me problems back in the 80's as no box fit them perfectly. They lounged with my odd stuff for years until slabbed and now reside with my CGC magazine and graphic novel collection. "It's a little bothersome. Admit it" yes it is and I do...but it's also another reason I love those books so much. It made them harder to keep in good condition as is evidenced when trying to complete a 9.8 set of the 10 oversized one shots and regular series editions.

I look forward to another journal by you detailing your connection with Daredevil...

[CardiacKid1]

Now I feel like you're going to succeed in turning me into a newsstand fan despite my prior attempts to resist.

 

I'm picturing you as the Hulk on the classic Steranko (King Special 1) cover. My journal is starting to crush your back and I can see your word balloon. "Must . . . Not . . . Succumb!"

[HarveySwick]

Too late! Lucky for me there aren't that many 9.8's available right now!

[surfer99]

Awesome journal!

 

But my first comics came from the racks, so they will always have a special place in my heart, but nowadays it's incredibly difficult to find Newsstands which sell comic books. I found a few, but they carry just a handful of titles.

 

Lamentably, I believe, the Newsstand Edition will be a thing of the past.

 

Thanks for this wonderful journal! Would love to read more!

 

SW3D

 

 

Barnes and Nobles still carries a great selection of comics.

 

It's funny, the first thing I did after reading this journal was check out how many UPC editions I had in my CGC collection...turns out I have 18, which isn't bad. Also, most of my books were printed before the UPC came into play so I'm good there.

 

 

[Studio 25]

I understand where you're coming from.

I started buying my comics in the mid 1970's, like mostly everyone here off the rack. But it became a nuisance when the comics I was looking for were somewhat beat up from prior handling by others, or they were sold out and I miss my issue(s) for that month.

When I started to realize that there were stores strictly selling comics, I gravitated towards them in order to make it easier for me to obtain a copy every month of the titles I was collecting, mostly ASM, MTU and Spec. Spider-Man ( I collected others but these were my priority).

I never gave it a second thought on the newstand edition after that.

To me personally it doesn't matter either way, knowing that newstand copy's offer fewer prints and higher value I just enjoy collecting comics.

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

There were direct market editions before 1979, and they aren't all Whitmans.

[CardiacKid1]

There were direct market editions before 1979, and they aren't all Whitmans.

 

The direct market existed since the early 1970's. Other than Whitmans, however, and prior to 1979, the direct editions were identical to newsstand editions. They were the same books... No?

[bagofleas]

Yes there were. Here is an example of a pre-Dazzler #1 direct edition.

 

They had a strikethrough on the barcodes.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

There were direct market editions before 1979, and they aren't all Whitmans.

 

The direct market existed since the early 1970's. Other than Whitmans, however, and prior to 1979, the direct editions were identical to newsstand editions. They were the same books... No?

 

No.

 

Whitman was not the only direct market distributor in the late 70's...just the biggest.

 

The direct market labeling program began at Marvel in 1976, for books cover dated February of 1977.

 

While it is common to call the fat diamonds "Whitmans", they are not. They were made for the burgeoning direct market, of which Whitman/Western Publishing was only a part.

[CardiacKid1]

There were direct market editions before 1979, and they aren't all Whitmans.

 

The direct market existed since the early 1970's. Other than Whitmans, however, and prior to 1979, the direct editions were identical to newsstand editions. They were the same books... No?

 

No.

 

Whitman was not the only direct market distributor in the late 70's...just the biggest.

 

The direct market labeling program began at Marvel in 1976, for books cover dated February of 1977.

 

While it is common to call the fat diamonds "Whitmans", they are not. They were made for the burgeoning direct market, of which Whitman/Western Publishing was only a part.

 

Hmmm. Whitmans were the only ones I saw in those days, What other companies were distributing direct editions? And does anybody here have any direct edition books that they can show us, cover dated from 1977 or 1978? It seems to me those would actually be rarer than the newsstand books from those two years.

 

But still uglier.

[RockMyAmadeus]

There were direct market editions before 1979, and they aren't all Whitmans.

 

The direct market existed since the early 1970's. Other than Whitmans, however, and prior to 1979, the direct editions were identical to newsstand editions. They were the same books... No?

 

No.

 

Whitman was not the only direct market distributor in the late 70's...just the biggest.

 

The direct market labeling program began at Marvel in 1976, for books cover dated February of 1977.

 

While it is common to call the fat diamonds "Whitmans", they are not. They were made for the burgeoning direct market, of which Whitman/Western Publishing was only a part.

 

Hmmm. Whitmans were the only ones I saw in those days, What other companies were distributing direct editions? And does anybody here have any direct edition books that they can show us, cover dated from 1977 or 1978? It seems to me those would actually be rarer than the newsstand books from those two years.

 

But still uglier.

 

All "fat diamonds" (and later skinny diamonds) are direct market editions. Early in the program, Whitman was having problems with the UPC code being still printed on the books; clerks were scanning the single comic at 30 cents, rather than the bag at 89 cents (or 59 cents for the two packs.)

 

Whitman contacted Marvel, and they arranged to have the blank UPC books made up so that the only bar code would be on the bag. Whitman/Western would order thousands of copies at a time, and they would pile up in their (presumably Wisconsin) facilities, until they had enough to put three different books in their 3-packs. They didn't order every issue; no one has found out why not. This is one of the reasons why they were seen as "reprints" (the other major reason being the Star Wars phenomenon)...they always showed up months after the "original" books had already hit the newsstand. But they weren't reprints (with the exception of the aforementioned Star Wars), they were printed at the exact same time as the original newsstand runs.

 

While it is safe to say that most of the blank UPC codes were made for Whitman, not all of those copies ended up in 3-packs (leftovers sat around and were absorbed by employees over the years, and various inventories were dumped over the years with acquisitions and mergers.

 

But the fat diamonds (and some of the skinny diamonds prior to June of 1979!) are part of the direct market experiment, and not all of them were distributed through Whitman (a fact we know because Phil Seuling, at the very least, was the progenitor of the dm, and had his own distribution company, Seagate distribution...along with Bud Plant, and others.)

 

Now...a question naturally arises: why didn't Marvel print them for every month, if they were really part of the direct market? What happened for stores that ordered their comics through direct market distributors like Seagate (Phil Seuling) for example? Well, that's easy...they simply got regular newsstand editions during those months. Remember, this was an EXPERIMENT to see if the dm could sustain itself. DC didn't even bother with dm markings (other than their exclusive Whitman program) until mid-1980, well over a year AFTER Marvel went company-wide with the program.

 

No other companies have direct market, because the only companies that existed at the time were Gold Key (Whitman/Western), DC, and Marvel. Eclipse had only just begun publishing, and that was DM only.