Mall Variants of Adventures of Superman 443 - was there ever a DC issue with more variants prior to New 52? 6 6

[BCoffee]

1 hour ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Thanks to @converseba, one of the two known copies of the Deerbrook Mall variant has been rejoined with its relatives.  Now I’m able to show a photo of 13 of the 16 known variants together, plus the direct sales and newsstand versions.

 

So I suppose a person could do an archival research of local newspapers for each of the cities that has a Homart mall to see if you could find an advertisement similar to the one shown below (found by AJ at RecalledComics.com). If you found that advertisement, then you could assume that there a mall variant exists for that mall, and start doing a search in that area to find the mall variant.  But I think finding a missing mall variant would be harder than the dickens to do.  First of all, it seems reasonable to assume that a good portion of these free giveaways were stashed away or even thrown away (especially since this issue of Adventures of Superman would otherwise have little to no value).   To add to the problem, most of the mall variants in my possession ended up being found a long distance from the originating mall. For example, my spare copy of the Georgetown Park mall variant (which originated from the Georgetown Mall in Wash DC) was later found on the opposite side of the United States in Redmond Washington.

I’ve been chasing these mall variants down for 8+ years.   @converseba is the first person I’ve met who has direct recollection of picking up these comic books at a mall.  In his own words (and with his permission) is his story:

“We moved to Conroe, Texas, which was, at the time, a small town far enough outside of Houston to feel like a really small town. Which brings us to 1988, Superman's 50th anniversary. Suddenly, my relatively low-public-interest hobby was everywhere. Since we lived in a small town, the only malls were about 20-30 minutes away, but since it was the 80s, you were going to go to the mall, regardless. That meant either Willowbrook or Deerbrook (there was one other mall, but people were regularly shot there). Given my overall excitement over the 50th anniversary at the time, I would guess I had seen something regarding the giveaway and pleaded with my mother to go. I do not have any memories to back that up, so it's possible this was just happenstance. Either way, a stack of these free books was just sitting on a table in the mall waiting to be taken. I imagine I tried to take the whole stack, but I'm sure my mother most likely limited me so others wouldn't be left out (the right thing to do, but saddening in retrospect with regard to these books).  I don't recall any other 50th anniversary activities going on, but again, my memories of that specific mall visit are a little fuzzy 32 years on.”

So Cool! Congratulations!

These Mall variants are really something special. LOVE to see your collection coming together.

 

[oldbsturgeon]

It’s definitely not the dumbest thing I have heard related to comic releases but it’s pretty high up on the list.

Mall variants? Really?

[converseba]

8 minutes ago, oldbsturgeon said:

It’s definitely not the dumbest thing I have heard related to comic releases but it’s pretty high up on the list.

Mall variants? Really?

It's definitely of its time. Malls were always packed in the 80s, just people everywhere, so as a marketing scheme, it was probably a reasonably good idea in terms of reaching a wider audience. Tim Burton's Batman wouldn't be released until the next year, ushering in a new era of comic book popularity, but at this point, we had just had Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987, so the general public wasn't exactly clamoring for comic content. Malls provided a reliable captive audience that varied widely in age and other demographics, so as a co-op promotion that could pull both the mall audience and potentially what there was of the comic crowd, it's not the worst idea ever. I doubt you would see it today given the death of shopping malls.

[BCoffee]

Possibly because of the nostalgia of being a young boy at the time, but Superman comics from the mid to late eighties have always been a high water mark of Superman comics to me. Byrne, Ordway, Grummett, Gammill, McLeod, are all giants in my mind. Shopping Malls were also a big part of the 80's to me. I just think it's cool that there are Mall branded variants for a Superman comic from this time. Yes, it's totally cheesy and a promotional gimmick, but if anyone wants to sell me a copy, I'll take it : ) 

[oldbsturgeon]

2 hours ago, converseba said:

It's definitely of its time. Malls were always packed in the 80s, just people everywhere, so as a marketing scheme, it was probably a reasonably good idea in terms of reaching a wider audience. Tim Burton's Batman wouldn't be released until the next year, ushering in a new era of comic book popularity, but at this point, we had just had Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987, so the general public wasn't exactly clamoring for comic content. Malls provided a reliable captive audience that varied widely in age and other demographics, so as a co-op promotion that could pull both the mall audience and potentially what there was of the comic crowd, it's not the worst idea ever. I doubt you would see it today given the death of shopping malls.

I was 7 when this would have been available but I wasn’t really aware of mall culture as I imagine the giant 80s malls. 
ours which is still around is single level and I rarely went, instead going to stores like kmart/hills/hecks/ames instead.

superheroes weren’t on my radar then much either.  I doubt I would have wanted it then

[Cpt Kirk]

On 6/5/2020 at 2:56 PM, BCoffee said:

Possibly because of the nostalgia of being a young boy at the time, but Superman comics from the mid to late eighties have always been a high water mark of Superman comics to me. Byrne, Ordway, Grummett, Gammill, McLeod, are all giants in my mind. Shopping Malls were also a big part of the 80's to me. I just think it's cool that there are Mall branded variants for a Superman comic from this time. Yes, it's totally cheesy and a promotional gimmick, but if anyone wants to sell me a copy, I'll take it : ) 

I hope you can find some more, my friend. These mall variants are tough to find.  If I had to guess, a few hundred might have been made for each mall.  A short 8 years ago, only 5 or 6 of them were known.  Now after 8 more years of searching and getting the word out, we have found 16 of them. I suspect more will surface over the next several years. I've got a saved search on ebay for Adv of Superman 443 and so far in the last 8 years, I've seen many copies of Adv of SM 443.  Only one uninformed seller listed a mall variant for sale, and my mentor Jerome Wenker snapped it up before I could do that.  So he bought it for about $2 and I bought it from him for approx $100 when he retired from collecting 2 years ago. 

Edited June 14, 2020 by Cpt Kirk

[Cpt Kirk]

For the record, another copy of the Washington Park Mall variants of Adv of Superman 443 surfaced on ebay this week and sold for $67 in vg to vg- condition.  There were 6 different bidders for this comic book.   My max bid was $50 so I didn't win it.  We believe this comic book came from Washington Park Mall (in Bartlesville OK, which is near Tulsa) and this is the 3rd copy that I have seen (I had two, and traded my undercopy plus some cash to get the Town East mall variant).   If the price is reasonable, I try to buy any of these variants for future trade value.

[BCoffee]

11 hours ago, Cpt Kirk said:

For the record, another copy of the Washington Park Mall variants of Adv of Superman 443 surfaced on ebay this week and sold for $67 in vg to vg- condition.  There were 6 different bidders for this comic book.   My max bid was $50 so I didn't win it.  We believe this comic book came from Washington Park Mall (in Bartlesville OK, which is near Tulsa) and this is the 3rd copy that I have seen (I had two, and traded my undercopy plus some cash to get the Town East mall variant).   If the price is reasonable, I try to buy any of these variants for future trade value.

Dang it! Wished I caught that.

[Cpt Kirk]

Thanks to @onlyweaknesskryptonite another mall variant has joined it's brothers and sisters.  Pictured below is the NewPark Mall variant of Adv of Superman 443.   The group photo shows 14 mall variants in one place (the only known ones I haven't been able to get are Westgate Mall, Fiesta Mall, and the Parks at Arlington).  NewPark Mall is in the San Francisco Bay area, in Newark CA.   @onlyweaknesskryptonite seems to have a knack for staying on top of new ebay listings, so he spotted it on sale on ebay and snagged it before anyone else could get it.  The seller was @SearchlightComics-migratio and the seller apparently was aware of the value due to initial asking price of $250.   After having chased these mall variants for almost 9 years, I think the $250 asking price is near the upper end of what people would be willing to pay, but I was glad to get it for that price.  The NewPark Mall variant is probably in the condition range of 7.5 to 9.0, which puts it on the high end of the condition of the ones that were already in my collection.  If you ever see one of these, I suggest buying it in any condition you can find.  Only one copy of each example below has surfaced with the exception of Deerbrook, Rhode Island, Georgetown Park, Washington Park, and Spring Hill.  As noted earlier in this thread, @converseba  had the only two known Deerbrook copies and he was the original owner (from the time he was a kid, which is awesome.... if not for his mother, he says he would have gotten the whole stack at the mall... lol!)

 

Note that NewPark Mall (along with a few of the others) doesn't appear to have been a Homart Mall, whereas most of the other malls that distributed this variant were Homart malls.

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Cpt Kirk

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

1 hour ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Thanks to @onlyweaknesskryptonite another mall variant has joined it's brothers and sisters.  Pictured below is the NewPark Mall variant of Adv of Superman 443.   The group photo shows 14 mall variants in one place (the only known ones I haven't been able to get are Westgate Mall, Fiesta Mall, and the Parks at Arlington).  NewPark Mall is in the San Francisco Bay area, in Newark CA.   @onlyweaknesskryptonite seems to have a knack for staying on top of new ebay listings, so he spotted it on sale on ebay and snagged it before anyone else could get it.  The seller was @SearchlightComics-migratio and the seller apparently was aware of the value due to initial asking price of $250.   After having chased these mall variants for almost 9 years, I think the $250 asking price is near the upper end of what people would be willing to pay, but I was glad to get it for that price.  The NewPark Mall variant is probably in the condition range of 7.5 to 9.0, which puts it on the high end of the condition of the ones that were already in my collection.  If you ever see one of these, I suggest buying it in any condition you can find.  Only one copy of each example below has surfaced with the exception of Deerbrook, Rhode Island, Georgetown Park, Washington Park, and Spring Hill.  As noted earlier in this thread, @converseba  had the only two known Deerbrook copies and he was the original owner (from the time he was a kid, which is awesome.... if not for his mother, he says he would have gotten the whole stack at the mall... lol!)

Note that NewPark Mall (along with a few of the others) doesn't appear to have been a Homart Mall, whereas most of the other malls that distributed this variant were Homart malls.

 

Thank you. Glad this one could join the rest . You have built an amazing collection and these look great together.  When I first read this thread it took me back to the memories of strolling around the malls hitting the toy shops and book stores hunting for comics. Now that most of these malls no longer exist finding some of these gems has that nostalgic feeling of the hunt.  Congratulations again! 

[Cpt Kirk]

On 6/5/2020 at 1:30 PM, converseba said:

It's definitely of its time. Malls were always packed in the 80s, just people everywhere, so as a marketing scheme, it was probably a reasonably good idea in terms of reaching a wider audience. Tim Burton's Batman wouldn't be released until the next year, ushering in a new era of comic book popularity, but at this point, we had just had Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987, so the general public wasn't exactly clamoring for comic content. Malls provided a reliable captive audience that varied widely in age and other demographics, so as a co-op promotion that could pull both the mall audience and potentially what there was of the comic crowd, it's not the worst idea ever. I doubt you would see it today given the death of shopping malls.

Well said @converseba.  I remember those times well.  There was definitely media attention at the time with Superman becoming "50 years old".  Somehow Superman made it to the cover of Time Magazine for his 50th birthday.  So in retrospect, I'm guessing DC was trying to use that 50th birthday party was a way of selling more comic books.  In addition to the mall variants and the big party they threw in NYC, I recall they did something at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. for Superman's 50th birthday.  At that time, DC probably needed everything they could think of to keep comics going.  Then the Batman movie and Miller's Dark Knight seemed to change everything.... all of a sudden DC comics became very cool and sought after (that's my memory anyway.... and given my memory, it's probably not entirely accurate... lol).

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

Although I did not end up winning this one, I did get pictures of all of it. Here is the 50th anniversary of superman promo/press release kit. I was curious if the mentioned the Mall promotion,  but did not see a reference in it.

[Cpt Kirk]

15 hours ago, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

Although I did not end up winning this one, I did get pictures of all of it. Here is the 50th anniversary of superman promo/press release kit. I was curious if the mentioned the Mall promotion,  but did not see a reference in it.

amazing find!   I seem to recall that free issues of the Superman: Man of Steel mini series were given away for free at the Smithsonian as part of this event.

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

57 minutes ago, Cpt Kirk said:

amazing find!   I seem to recall that free issues of the Superman: Man of Steel mini series were given away for free at the Smithsonian as part of this event.

I remember several events.  They mentioned a Ballon release( 1000 Red , White , and Blue) at the White House after the Easter Egg Roll and the Anti Drug message Superman delivered to the children present. 

The Action Comics 1 Nestle Quick Promotion  was also mentioned in the paperwork. Here are better images of the paperwork shown.

In addition to the Nestle Quick, They also bad a 50th Anniversary Action Comics 1 reprint.  Metropolis held a Birthday Event that had all kinds of stuff from promos, license plates, stickers, coins, cards . Which I am sure this was some of what they meant by many regional and national events in the paperwork. Same for the Mall Events.

[Cpt Kirk]

21 hours ago, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

I remember several events.  They mentioned a Ballon release( 1000 Red , White , and Blue) at the White House after the Easter Egg Roll and the Anti Drug message Superman delivered to the children present. 

The Action Comics 1 Nestle Quick Promotion  was also mentioned in the paperwork. Here are better images of the paperwork shown.

In addition to the Nestle Quick, They also bad a 50th Anniversary Action Comics 1 reprint.  Metropolis held a Birthday Event that had all kinds of stuff from promos, license plates, stickers, coins, cards . Which I am sure this was some of what they meant by many regional and national events in the paperwork. Same for the Mall Events.

Yup... I remember it well.  I saw the offer for the free Action 1 and "Superman Meets the Quick Bunny" comic books on our cannister of Quick (we must have drank gallons of that stuff).  Anyway, I mailed away for the free comic books and I still have them in my collection.

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

5 minutes ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Yup... I remember it well.  I saw the offer for the free Action 1 and "Superman Meets the Quick Bunny" comic books on our cannister of Quick (we must have drank gallons of that stuff).  Anyway, I mailed away for the free comic books and I still have them in my collection.

Yeah I was a sucker for these mail away comics. Still have the Quick, as well as my last submission included the Safeguard that got a 9.8 WP. The Peanut Butter Action 1 . Then at that point started after some of the giveaways.  Turns out that was a rabbit hole, which eventually lead me to this thread about mall variants. 

[converseba]

Went ahead and had my Deerbrook copy graded, so that should be showing up in the census. Came in at an 8.0, which I'm pleased enough with given that I got it for free from a folding table at the mall as a kid. 

[Cpt Kirk]

On 11/17/2020 at 3:49 PM, converseba said:

Went ahead and had my Deerbrook copy graded, so that should be showing up in the census. Came in at an 8.0, which I'm pleased enough with given that I got it for free from a folding table at the mall as a kid. 

Amazing.   

[Brock]

On 11/10/2020 at 11:07 AM, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

I remember several events.  They mentioned a Ballon release( 1000 Red , White , and Blue) at the White House after the Easter Egg Roll and the Anti Drug message Superman delivered to the children present. 

The Action Comics 1 Nestle Quick Promotion  was also mentioned in the paperwork. Here are better images of the paperwork shown.

In addition to the Nestle Quick, They also bad a 50th Anniversary Action Comics 1 reprint.  Metropolis held a Birthday Event that had all kinds of stuff from promos, license plates, stickers, coins, cards . Which I am sure this was some of what they meant by many regional and national events in the paperwork. Same for the Mall Events.

I was in the UK at the time, and they had a 50th anniversary edition of Radio Times, the British equivalent of TV Guide. It included a brief (2 or 3 page) Superman comic story with art by Dave (Watchmen) Gibbons. I thought it was very cool, but I ended up listing my copy on ebay a couple of months ago, where it’s attracted very little interest.

[converseba]

Got my shipment and figured I would post an image since the "Mall" tag is fairly new.