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Marvel Whitman Variant List

Started by fastballspecial,

128 posts in this topic

fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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Per the Marvel Direct Sale Website it does not exist yet. At least no picture for it yet.http://www.bipcomics.com/showcase/Direct/

 

What I would like to see is a Whitman/White Box PP 10 35 cent variant. Talk about a rare book if it exists. Similiar to Avengers 164 Whitman. I know I saw one once I could swear it now I can't find the pic. So does anyone know if 35 cent test copies were distributed to comic shops also? If so that would confirm an existence of a White Box 35 cent variant. Havent seen one yet. Anyone got a post of one?

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fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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Hay Fastball not sure I know what you mean crazy.gif.

 

confused-smiley-013.gif Do you mean their are 35 cent news stand price variants with no UPC, or do you mean their are the Diamond price 35 cent copy's of PP #10 and Avengers #164 with no UPC.

 

Either way I would like to see one grin.gif

 

Ah I see my error. makepoint.gif I mean that Diamond 35 cent burst or no burst with the Blank UPC. Its the type 2 verision according to the above website. I would like to see one. Got any? I am strictly talking about direct books that we discuss about being Whitman's. They are hard enough to find by themselves, what I want to know is did Marvel produce these direct books in 35 cent variants too or was this just for newstands/bookstores? confused-smiley-013.gif

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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Hey, does anyone have the OS 1980 and 1981 Guides and can scan the pictures noted in the text from that (cough) Direct Sale website?

 

From the 10th edition Overstreet Price Guide (page A-2)

From the 11th edition Overstreet Price Guide (page A-4)

 

We all know that Direct Sale really started up in 1979, and I wonder what actual photos and issues Overstreet used.

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gifflefunk

gifflefunk

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We all know that Direct Sale really started up in 1979, and I wonder what actual photos and issues Overstreet used.

 

The origins of Direct Sale can be traced back to Phil Sueling in 1974. Marvel began coding books differently for "special markets" in 1977. In 1979 Marvel expanded the coding to include all books sold via subscriptions and to non-newsstand outlets.

 

If I recall correctly, the 1980 OPG doesn't show a full cover, just the latest "diamond" design vs. the square box design (hence the mention of the spidey head in the UPC box which didn't begin to appear on Marvel comics until March 1980, so the diamond and UPC box in the 1980 OPG comes from a March 1980 or later issue).

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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Marvel began coding books differently for "special markets" in 1977.

 

What does that mean?

 

What I am really getting at, is that i have talked to different shop owners and distributors and none of them remember Direct Sale comics changing like that in 1977.

 

All point to those Whitman packs as the source of the very earliest Diamond price issues, and 1979 as the year Marvel instituted the Diamond price for direct/comic book shop issues. I would be very, very, very surprised if OS displayed something like ASM 165 and referred to it as a Direct Sale copy that was sent to comic shops.

 

It just seems that many on here take the statements from a SINGLE website and assign them as the gospel truth.

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gifflefunk

gifflefunk

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I have spoken with a dozen retailers from 1977/1978 and one recalled getting some diamond books. I cannot confirm or refute his statement.

 

John Miller (CBG), independent of my research, had also found accounts that suggest Marvel had experimented with these issues outside of their relationship with Western Publishing.

 

Also, Marvel didn't use a Whitman overlay on the early diamonds suggests that they tried different avenues of distribution. Marvel would have had no problems using a Whitman overprint if the books were to be sold exclusively by Whitman (for example, some of the Marvel Treasury issues have Whitman overprints and others have a diamond overprint).

 

This is the main reason why I don't proclaim these early issues as being exclusively sold in Whitman 3-packs. I do however think that Western Publishing is the _MAIN_ reason behind them and it is not far-fetched to call them Whitmans, I jdcided not to proclaim them as being "Whitman only" books until these other accounts can be refuted (hopefully by someone at Marvel that can verify/deny an exclusive contract with Western Publishing for that period).

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joe_collector

joe_collector

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I do however think that Western Publishing is the _MAIN_ reason behind them and it is not far-fetched to call them Whitmans,

 

Now this I can agree with. There is the chance that a small number went out as "test Direct editions" to stores, but the majority are from Whitman 3-packs.

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Metarog

Metarog

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I have never seen one like that before... where have you heard of that? It doesn't seem likely as a test variant since these were Direct Sale and thus not returned. If it does exist it is most likely a printing error of some sort or a cut and paste job like the one that happened to Terry on a Star Wars #1. I'll keep and eye out for it though.

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fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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I have never seen one like that before... where have you heard of that? It doesn't seem likely as a test variant since these were Direct Sale and thus not returned. If it does exist it is most likely a printing error of some sort or a cut and paste job like the one that happened to Terry on a Star Wars #1. I'll keep and eye out for it though.

 

You are correct sir. Since they were all returns it wasnt possible. I forget that minor detail. 27_laughing.gif

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Fan4Fan

Fan4Fan

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You can add Conan #93, Super Spidey Stories #36 and Peter Parker #23 to that list. I also think I saw a Thor #266 too but I don't have a pic.

 

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what these are.... can we can them the Diamond Price Logo variants? I think everyone can agree that whatever their origin these are tougher to find than the newstand editions of the same issues.

 

Is there a ranking (like the 30/35-cent variants) as to which of these are tougher than the rest?

 

I see these on more than a few occasions, but it seems (when I cross-reference with what is currently up on eBay) that the ones I see are the more common ones.

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Metarog

Metarog

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I don't think anybody has done a ranking as such but some are very comomn like the Star Wars, Micronauts and Shogun Warriors 1-3 and others are quite rare. I have only seen a couple of the Hulk 222 and several of the Conan and Spidey Super Stories are tough as well.

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cosmic-spider-man

cosmic-spider-man

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Is there a ranking (like the 30/35-cent variants) as to which of these are tougher than the rest?

 

hi.gif I may not be the one to answer this but I have been collecting these for a few years now and out of the ones from the first year 1977 the Nov. and Dec. issues all seem hard to find. The one book that I can not seem to find at all is Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man #10 and I see metarog posted one of those above PPSSM #9 also seems tough to find. crazy.gif

I have only been collecting the ones from 1977 and I am sure some 78 & 79 issues may be much harder to find than these hail.gif metarog or gifflefunk will know hi.gif

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