Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man 11 - Need Info

[Ron_Nasty]

Picked up this copy recently, anyone knows why the price box is different from the regular (square) box? Also, UPC box is blank.

[delekkerste]

Well, it has been a hotly debated topic on the Boards in the past, but I have always relied on the guideline that a diamond price box + blank UPC box = WHITMAN REPRINT edition (which are nowadays attempted to be passed off as "Whitman VARIANT" editions). There is another line of thought that these are early direct market editions, but I don't think that either case has been proved conclusively.

 

There was an X-Men #118 version slabbed by CGC on eBay a while back and they did not note either Variant or Reprint on the label. CGC responded to my inquiry by saying that whether or not the book was a reprint was inconclusive, or something to that effect, so it was not noted.

 

Gene

[Ron_Nasty]

That's interesting. The one I bought at the newsstand back in the 70's, has the square price box and the UPC has the bars.

 

Hey, hang on! I'm just reading the text at the bottom of page one, half way thru it says "Reprint courtesy of Magazine Management Co, Inc."

 

So...is this one a second printing then?

[delekkerste]

A reprint it is!

 

Gene

[PovertyRow]

Speaking of UPC Codes - what is the significance of a black marker drawn diagonlly through it? I've seen that a number of times. Also, how does it impact grade?

[supapimp]

what is the significance of a black marker drawn diagonlly through it? I've seen that a number of times

 

that is highly common on daredevil 159

[Kevin Boyd]

Isn't that line PRINTED on the comic? I don't recall ever seeing one drawn on!

 

If it was drawn on it would have a MAJOR effect on the grade. However, since it is actually PRINTED on then it does not have ANY effect.

 

Kev

[Kevin Boyd]

Well, I don't know how hotly debated it is.

 

No month diamond box books are known to be Whitmans (whether you want to call it a reprint or a variant).

 

Any book dated prior to summer 1978 with a black diamond (month or not) is a Whitman distribution copy (irregardless of what is going on in the UPC box).

 

Any Marvel cover dated summer 1978 and after with the black diamond is a direct sales copy (irregardless of what is going on in the UPC box).

 

Kev

[blowout]

Well, I don't know how hotly debated it is.

 

You obviously missed the thread on here about Whitman books a good few months back.

[Kevin Boyd]

Dude. I was an active participant in those debates/threads!

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Kev

[blowout]

Sorry man, I stand corrected.

[murph0]

First of all, that's a reprint that was sent out through a doctor's office type program back in the 80's which didn't last long. Second, whitman's are not reprints..they were printed at the same time as the originals..the only difference is the price box and sometimes the UPC. If whitman's are reprints then it stands to reason that a newstand edition book is a reprint of a direct edition one. B/c they were printed first.

 

Brian

[Ron_Nasty]

This is the info on page 1.

Where did you read that it was sent out in the early 80's?

[murph0]

That was when the program was formed, however it may be earlier then that, I can only state from memory due to the sheer amount of Spidey stuff I encounter on a day-to-day basis. I don't recall all the details surrounding it..but it was in part of an effort to get children reading material at places where your customers had to wait for a service. Regardless it is a reprint.

 

Brian

[MW1]

I don't know if this helps, but I remember buying these (the 30 cent diamond "variants") directly off of the newsstand or at supermarkets. Quite often, they came with a few other comics -- usually wrapped or bagged in a pack of three. I never remember them being available at the same time as the original copies, only later. Usually, the distributors would also mix titles.

[Crowzilla]

what is the significance of a black marker drawn diagonaly through it?

 

In the mid-early days of the direst market (right about the time Glenwood was formed and it was more than just Phil Seuling), this line was put through the UPC box to distinguish non-returnable (direct market) copies of comics.

 

The reason this was needed was because of the deep discounts being given to the direct market retailers (50%+ depending on volume), some very crafty ones were ordering huge numbers of books, then cutting a deal with the local newstand distributor (where discounts were usually 25%) to return them through the newstand outlet, and making a nice tidy profit every month. So Marvel (and later DC) had to quickly change how they marked them to stop this little scam.

 

It wasn't until sometime later that Marvel decided, that maybe comics retailers could actually use that barcode info to track sales and that it was still handy.

what? - comic shops with UPC scanners - what's this world comin' to?