• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Comprehensive List of DC Universe Logo UPC Variants
18 18

2,151 posts in this topic

I've been looking for 5 years for the DC Universe variant of Superman Man of Steel #42. Was starting to think it didn't exist. Then found 2 of them in one week. One is the regular version, and the other is a stickered version. The stickered one is a little beat up, but I'm glad to have found it. Here they are:

 

<a  href=MOS%2042%20DCU_zpszvmhlbgw.jpg' alt='MOS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:headbang:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very cool! Congrats! :applause:

 

I don't have that issue yet either, but still lots of holes in my collection so I didn't realize it was gonna be tough to find.

 

Where do you stand on completing the DCU sets for all the titles you've been collecting?

 

I have two different issues with stickers, Superman 104 and Detective 690, so that's three with stickers. I haven't found a non-sticker version of either of those though. Have you found any other stickered issues beyond these three?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a fun side-line I've been collecting a few DCU's as I find them in collections I buy

 

I have these 10 so far -

 

Advs 508, 509, 535 x2, 536

Impulse 16

Superboy 6

Supergirl 3

Superman Ann 18

Catwoman 15

 

They seem very scarce in the UK

 

Q: Of the master list what are the top 10 rarest ones from your experience?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very cool! Congrats! :applause:

 

I don't have that issue yet either, but still lots of holes in my collection so I didn't realize it was gonna be tough to find.

 

Where do you stand on completing the DCU sets for all the titles you've been collecting?

 

I have two different issues with stickers, Superman 104 and Detective 690, so that's three with stickers. I haven't found a non-sticker version of either of those though. Have you found any other stickered issues beyond these three?

 

 

Awesome find on the MOS!

 

I've got a Green Lantern book with a sticker. If you scan back through this thread there is a pic someplace. If I weren't on my phone I'd locate it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very cool! Congrats! :applause:

 

I don't have that issue yet either, but still lots of holes in my collection so I didn't realize it was gonna be tough to find.

 

Where do you stand on completing the DCU sets for all the titles you've been collecting?

 

I have two different issues with stickers, Superman 104 and Detective 690, so that's three with stickers. I haven't found a non-sticker version of either of those though. Have you found any other stickered issues beyond these three?

 

 

Yes, the Superman 104 and TEC 690 both have "non-stickered" DCU Universe variants. I have the "stickered" and "non-stickered" version of both issues. Besides Mysterio's Green Lantern "stickered" DCU and this SM MOS 42 DCU, I haven't seen any other stickered ones. I imagine there are some out there, though. Normal "non-stickered" DC Universe variants are hard enough to find.... I have probably seen 500 DCU Universe variants through my searching through thousands of comic books, and these 4 are the only stickered DC Universe variants I have seen.... so they are hard to find, indeed. In other words, they are the "best of the best of the best, sir!"

 

Here's the DC Universe variants I'm missing in the titles I collect:

Action 706 (I don't know anyone who has it)

Batman - have them all (at least the known ones, that is!)

Detective -- have them all

Adv of Superman 530 and 531 (Zillacat has 531, and I don't know anyone who has 530)

Superman 95, 98 (Jerome has it), 117 (I don't know anyone who has 95, 117)

SM Man of Steel 49 (I don't know anyone who has it)

Justice League of America (1986 series) -- have them all

 

For some reason, Jerome believes that all of these exist.

 

 

Edited by Cpt Kirk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a fun side-line I've been collecting a few DCU's as I find them in collections I buy

 

I have these 10 so far -

 

Advs 508, 509, 535 x2, 536

Impulse 16

Superboy 6

Supergirl 3

Superman Ann 18

Catwoman 15

 

They seem very scarce in the UK

 

Q: Of the master list what are the top 10 rarest ones from your experience?

 

Of the titles I collect (see post above), I would say the ones I'm missing are pretty rare because I've been looking for 5 years on ebay and stores all over the country and haven't found them (I still say they are probably in the closet of someone's little brother because they came in those 20-packs from Toys R Us). The following are also very rare in the titles I collect (I've paid up to $100 in some cases to get copies):

 

Action 686, 718

Adv of Superman 499

Superman 77, 96

Superman Man of Steel 20

Detective 680, 682 (orange cover), 685, 691

Batman 517, 524

 

If you find any of these, buy them right away and don't sell them for cheap!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been looking for 5 years for the DC Universe variant of Superman Man of Steel #42. Was starting to think it didn't exist. Then found 2 of them in one week. One is the regular version, and the other is a stickered version. The stickered one is a little beat up, but I'm glad to have found it. Here they are:

 

;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here Mysterio, I had to find your image. Green Lantern #59. Nice!!! I have a non-sticker version of this one.

 

 

One other book I picked up was kind of interesting. It was my first sticker book, and I can't recall if any Green Lantern books had been previously known to have stickers. I just remember Batman and maybe Superman books. Anyway, here it is.

 

GL59.jpg

Edited by Warlord
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem with the stickers is that they CAN be taken off and placed on other books.

 

Very true. But if you were lucky enough to find the sticker, I can't figure out why you would take it off one comic book and put the sticker on a different comic book.

 

The thing I've wondered is whether nor not someone could figure out a way to make those stickers. Probably not likely since there's really not much demand for these DC Universe variants to warrant the trouble of trying to make exact replicas of these stickers (I've rarely seen anyone crazy enough to pay a huge premium for them except for me). Perhaps the CGC should use carbon dating to figure out the age of the sticker (just kidding!)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a fun side-line I've been collecting a few DCU's as I find them in collections I buy

 

I have these 10 so far -

 

Advs 508, 509, 535 x2, 536

Impulse 16

Superboy 6

Supergirl 3

Superman Ann 18

Catwoman 15

 

They seem very scarce in the UK

 

Q: Of the master list what are the top 10 rarest ones from your experience?

 

Of the titles I collect (see post above), I would say the ones I'm missing are pretty rare because I've been looking for 5 years on ebay and stores all over the country and haven't found them (I still say they are probably in the closet of someone's little brother because they came in those 20-packs from Toys R Us). The following are also very rare in the titles I collect (I've paid up to $100 in some cases to get copies):

 

Action 686, 718

Adv of Superman 499

Superman 77, 96

Superman Man of Steel 20

Detective 680, 682 (orange cover), 685, 691

Batman 517, 524

If you find any of these, buy them right away and don't sell them for cheap!

 

Just to add something as the basis for my statement of rarity. I know three other guys who have tried vigorously to find DCU Universe variants in these titles. The ones listed above and the ones I'm missing have been very hard for the other guys to find as well.

Edited by Cpt Kirk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem with the stickers is that they CAN be taken off and placed on other books.

 

Very true. But if you were lucky enough to find the sticker, I can't figure out why you would take it off one comic book and put the sticker on a different comic book.

 

The thing I've wondered is whether nor not someone could figure out a way to make those stickers. Probably not likely since there's really not much demand for these DC Universe variants to warrant the trouble of trying to make exact replicas of these stickers (I've rarely seen anyone crazy enough to pay a huge premium for them except for me). Perhaps the CGC should use carbon dating to figure out the age of the sticker (just kidding!)

 

 

Like any sort of "add on" to a book, if the book itself became valuable because of that add-on, the unscrupulous would certainly attempt to switch stickers from a more common book to a rare one.

 

I would like to know why DC felt the need to sticker these books in the first place. Of course, the books were designed to be part of (discounted) packs, and they didn't want the same problem that occurred with the 70's 2- and 3-packs, whereby retailers were accidentally scanning the one book as the price for the whole pack, but since many of them seem to have been made *only* for the boxed packs, which had universally covered UPC areas, the sticker seems unnecessary.

 

hm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem with the stickers is that they CAN be taken off and placed on other books.

 

Very true. But if you were lucky enough to find the sticker, I can't figure out why you would take it off one comic book and put the sticker on a different comic book.

 

The thing I've wondered is whether nor not someone could figure out a way to make those stickers. Probably not likely since there's really not much demand for these DC Universe variants to warrant the trouble of trying to make exact replicas of these stickers (I've rarely seen anyone crazy enough to pay a huge premium for them except for me). Perhaps the CGC should use carbon dating to figure out the age of the sticker (just kidding!)

 

 

Like any sort of "add on" to a book, if the book itself became valuable because of that add-on, the unscrupulous would certainly attempt to switch stickers from a more common book to a rare one.

 

I would like to know why DC felt the need to sticker these books in the first place. Of course, the books were designed to be part of (discounted) packs, and they didn't want the same problem that occurred with the 70's 2- and 3-packs, whereby retailers were accidentally scanning the one book as the price for the whole pack, but since many of them seem to have been made *only* for the boxed packs, which had universally covered UPC areas, the sticker seems unnecessary.

 

hm

 

It would appear that there are very few known examples of stickered books for any of these examples. If these are the only four known books, with possibly single examples (or maybe two) of each known to collectors of these things, then it wouldn't be worthwhile to potentially damage the book or the sticker to try to manipulate anything. At best it would be a lateral move. I'd be much more concerned with potential counterfeits (because they are pretty simple designs and fairly rough printing quality) than removing legit stickers to place on other books.

 

I am also curious about the rationale for the stickers. My guess is that they may have needed some additional books to round out some of the multi-packs, so rather than go back to print on covers with the DC Universe logo they may have simply taken some regular printings and placed stickers on them. I suspect that this could have been some form of inventory control, similar to printing "not for retail sale" on some things, to prevent retailers from buying discounted multipacks and then reselling the books inside at cover price. But that is pure speculation on my part.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem with the stickers is that they CAN be taken off and placed on other books.

 

Very true. But if you were lucky enough to find the sticker, I can't figure out why you would take it off one comic book and put the sticker on a different comic book.

 

The thing I've wondered is whether nor not someone could figure out a way to make those stickers. Probably not likely since there's really not much demand for these DC Universe variants to warrant the trouble of trying to make exact replicas of these stickers (I've rarely seen anyone crazy enough to pay a huge premium for them except for me). Perhaps the CGC should use carbon dating to figure out the age of the sticker (just kidding!)

 

 

Like any sort of "add on" to a book, if the book itself became valuable because of that add-on, the unscrupulous would certainly attempt to switch stickers from a more common book to a rare one.

 

I would like to know why DC felt the need to sticker these books in the first place. Of course, the books were designed to be part of (discounted) packs, and they didn't want the same problem that occurred with the 70's 2- and 3-packs, whereby retailers were accidentally scanning the one book as the price for the whole pack, but since many of them seem to have been made *only* for the boxed packs, which had universally covered UPC areas, the sticker seems unnecessary.

 

hm

 

It would appear that there are very few known examples of stickered books for any of these examples. If these are the only four known books, with possibly single examples (or maybe two) of each known to collectors of these things, then it wouldn't be worthwhile to potentially damage the book or the sticker to try to manipulate anything. At best it would be a lateral move. I'd be much more concerned with potential counterfeits (because they are pretty simple designs and fairly rough printing quality) than removing legit stickers to place on other books.

 

I am also curious about the rationale for the stickers. My guess is that they may have needed some additional books to round out some of the multi-packs, so rather than go back to print on covers with the DC Universe logo they may have simply taken some regular printings and placed stickers on them. I suspect that this could have been some form of inventory control, similar to printing "not for retail sale" on some things, to prevent retailers from buying discounted multipacks and then reselling the books inside at cover price. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

I had this similar thought, and it seems like a reasonable guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am also curious about the rationale for the stickers. My guess is that they may have needed some additional books to round out some of the multi-packs, so rather than go back to print on covers with the DC Universe logo they may have simply taken some regular printings and placed stickers on them. I suspect that this could have been some form of inventory control, similar to printing "not for retail sale" on some things, to prevent retailers from buying discounted multipacks and then reselling the books inside at cover price. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

I had this similar thought, and it seems like a reasonable guess.

The rationale that I've heard is that the packaging might allow a barcode from a single comic to show, which would make the multi-pack ring up at a single comic price. The only way to guarantee that a multi-pack rings up at the multi-pack price would be to cover all the other barcodes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am also curious about the rationale for the stickers. My guess is that they may have needed some additional books to round out some of the multi-packs, so rather than go back to print on covers with the DC Universe logo they may have simply taken some regular printings and placed stickers on them. I suspect that this could have been some form of inventory control, similar to printing "not for retail sale" on some things, to prevent retailers from buying discounted multipacks and then reselling the books inside at cover price. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

I had this similar thought, and it seems like a reasonable guess.

The rationale that I've heard is that the packaging might allow a barcode from a single comic to show, which would make the multi-pack ring up at a single comic price. The only way to guarantee that a multi-pack rings up at the multi-pack price would be to cover all the other barcodes.

 

also reasonable!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am also curious about the rationale for the stickers. My guess is that they may have needed some additional books to round out some of the multi-packs, so rather than go back to print on covers with the DC Universe logo they may have simply taken some regular printings and placed stickers on them. I suspect that this could have been some form of inventory control, similar to printing "not for retail sale" on some things, to prevent retailers from buying discounted multipacks and then reselling the books inside at cover price. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

I had this similar thought, and it seems like a reasonable guess.

The rationale that I've heard is that the packaging might allow a barcode from a single comic to show, which would make the multi-pack ring up at a single comic price. The only way to guarantee that a multi-pack rings up at the multi-pack price would be to cover all the other barcodes.

 

Yes, but that was the point I made earlier. The boxes were all made to cover up the UPC quite well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem with the stickers is that they CAN be taken off and placed on other books.

 

Very true. But if you were lucky enough to find the sticker, I can't figure out why you would take it off one comic book and put the sticker on a different comic book.

 

The thing I've wondered is whether nor not someone could figure out a way to make those stickers. Probably not likely since there's really not much demand for these DC Universe variants to warrant the trouble of trying to make exact replicas of these stickers (I've rarely seen anyone crazy enough to pay a huge premium for them except for me). Perhaps the CGC should use carbon dating to figure out the age of the sticker (just kidding!)

 

 

Like any sort of "add on" to a book, if the book itself became valuable because of that add-on, the unscrupulous would certainly attempt to switch stickers from a more common book to a rare one.

 

I would like to know why DC felt the need to sticker these books in the first place. Of course, the books were designed to be part of (discounted) packs, and they didn't want the same problem that occurred with the 70's 2- and 3-packs, whereby retailers were accidentally scanning the one book as the price for the whole pack, but since many of them seem to have been made *only* for the boxed packs, which had universally covered UPC areas, the sticker seems unnecessary.

 

hm

 

It would appear that there are very few known examples of stickered books for any of these examples. If these are the only four known books, with possibly single examples (or maybe two) of each known to collectors of these things, then it wouldn't be worthwhile to potentially damage the book or the sticker to try to manipulate anything. At best it would be a lateral move. I'd be much more concerned with potential counterfeits (because they are pretty simple designs and fairly rough printing quality) than removing legit stickers to place on other books.

 

I am also curious about the rationale for the stickers. My guess is that they may have needed some additional books to round out some of the multi-packs, so rather than go back to print on covers with the DC Universe logo they may have simply taken some regular printings and placed stickers on them. I suspect that this could have been some form of inventory control, similar to printing "not for retail sale" on some things, to prevent retailers from buying discounted multipacks and then reselling the books inside at cover price. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

I think you have the right idea here. I don't believe any of the known stickered DCU's came from 20 packs. The last 20-pack was for issues dated Nov 1994 and the 4 known stickered DCU's were dated after Nov 1994. That leads me to believe they came from boxed sets or two packs. My stickered Superman 104 DCU actually came from a sealed boxed set (i.e., Superman's Greatest Foes) that I opened myself. I don't know why DC felt the need to place the sticker on the boxed copy since the sticker doesn't show through the box (and interestingly, it was the only stickered comic book among the 6 comic books in that boxed set). Maybe the stickers were placed on there because those comic books could be sold in either boxed sets or two packs (the UPC codes are visible in the two packs and would therefore need to be covered up)

 

For whatever it is worth, the sticker on my Superman 104 covers a newsstand UPC. The sticker on my Detective 690 and SM MOS 42 covers a direct sales UPC.

 

I don't know what possesses me to care about these things, but DC also produced stickers to cover some errors on newsstand bar codes. In case you didn't see my posting on that, you can see it in the following link:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=9240642#Post9240642

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am also curious about the rationale for the stickers. My guess is that they may have needed some additional books to round out some of the multi-packs, so rather than go back to print on covers with the DC Universe logo they may have simply taken some regular printings and placed stickers on them. I suspect that this could have been some form of inventory control, similar to printing "not for retail sale" on some things, to prevent retailers from buying discounted multipacks and then reselling the books inside at cover price. But that is pure speculation on my part.

 

I had this similar thought, and it seems like a reasonable guess.

The rationale that I've heard is that the packaging might allow a barcode from a single comic to show, which would make the multi-pack ring up at a single comic price. The only way to guarantee that a multi-pack rings up at the multi-pack price would be to cover all the other barcodes.

 

Yes, but that was the point I made earlier. The boxes were all made to cover up the UPC quite well.

Was the box packaging a later addition?

 

The two Acclaim books that ended up being (re-?)printed without a UPC box on the cover also ended up in packaging that covered up the UPC box. It seems like Acclaim solved a problem with the new covers that ended up not being a problem at retail time. Perhaps the DC Universe stickers did the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
18 18