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The Distribution of US Published Comics in the UK (1959~1982)
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On 11/25/2021 at 7:06 PM, Kevin.J said:

Yeah, I have a few from those big 6 days :( 

1973429843_Daredevil2.thumb.jpg.fecd4cc6b5180bc9cfc292bd8ec51c68.jpg

 

When I was a kid Kev, the owner of my local comic shop in Barking - Rodney's it was called, presumably because he, the owner, was called Rodney - used to slap massive marker pen prices on everything. He'd hold about twenty comics in one hand, then rattle off the prices with a flourish. To my untrained child's eye, it looked like there was a method to his pricing, rooted in a deep understanding of market values. Now I'm older, and looking back with wiser eyes, I realise he was completely winging it and just putting 6 on everything.

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On 11/25/2021 at 7:13 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

When I was a kid Kev, the owner of my local comic shop in Barking - Rodney's it was called, presumably because he, the owner, was called Rodney - used to slap massive marker pen prices on everything. He'd hold about twenty comics in one hand, then rattle off the prices with a flourish. To my untrained child's eye, it looked like there was a method to his pricing, rooted in a deep understanding of market values. Now I'm older, and looking back with wiser eyes, I realise he was completely winging it and just putting 6 on everything.

A bookshop I went to as a kid used to sell and trade back issues for 10p, at the end of the month any comic he hadn't sold would get a diagonal marker pen line through it and would go in the the 5p box, then he wouldn't accept the comics with the line through them back in trade as he thought that if he couldn't sell it for 10p in a month, he couldn't sell it at all, he ruined a lot of great comics :( 

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On 11/25/2021 at 9:33 PM, Kevin.J said:

A bookshop I went to as a kid used to sell and trade back issues for 10p, at the end of the month any comic he hadn't sold would get a diagonal marker pen line through it and would go in the the 5p box, then he wouldn't accept the comics with the line through them back in trade as he thought that if he couldn't sell it for 10p in a month, he couldn't sell it at all, he ruined a lot of great comics :( 

Indeed. To be fair though, how were they to know that some of that old carp would one day be worth sixty bazillion quid. Or thereabouts. 

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Although I'd been reading them for a while, the first comic I chose to buy from the shop was Power Man 23 from a stall in the Shambles in Stockton. 

It had a huge 5 on the cover. 

I know comics were throwaway back in the day but they could've had some respect for the covers. 

Yet still we bought them.. 

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Hi,  Since I have an original art cover from this series, I was curious and discovered there are other covers that appeared both in the US and UK around the same time with slight alterations.  I compiled a short list using comics.org for anyone else who may be curious like I was!  Best wishes, David

 

Super Spider-Man And Captain Britain

 

Cross-published UK Variant Covers

 

233  Spectacular Spider-Man 3

236  ASM 165

238        166

240  Spec. SM 4

242               5

247  ASM 169

249        170

251  Nova 12  (shown)

 

 

nova12crop.jpg

nova12pianocrop.jpg

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On 12/3/2021 at 6:10 PM, aokartman said:

Hi,  Since I have an original art cover from this series, I was curious and discovered there are other covers that appeared both in the US and UK around the same time with slight alterations.  I compiled a short list using comics.org for anyone else who may be curious like I was!  Best wishes, David

 

Super Spider-Man And Captain Britain

 

Cross-published UK Variant Covers

 

233  Spectacular Spider-Man 3

236  ASM 165

238        166

240  Spec. SM 4

242               5

247  ASM 169

249        170

251  Nova 12  (shown)

 

 

nova12crop.jpg

nova12pianocrop.jpg

Hi David, 

That effect where you're turning the cover page of Nova #12 is fantastic - not just good looking, but very useful. 

I'm probably having a dumb day here, but I'm not clear what you're highlighting?  UK reprint titles were weekly as you know, so they re-used pretty much all the covers from the US originals and then required additional new art (which was created in NY for Tony Isabella / Scott Edelman by the likes of Jim Starlin, John Buscema, Pablo Marcos, Gene Colan and others).  There are some exceptions to this e.g.  The Avengers also reprinted Shang Chi  & Iron Fist, so, due to the kung fu craze they got a lot of the covers at that time, but for the most part, whichever title was the headline / masthead star, those covers were recycled.  

Here’s a little gallery of Mighty World Of Marvel from 100 to 111.

The cover art is recycled from:

MWOM 100 = Hulk 1

MWOM 101 =  Original cover

MWOM 102 = Hulk 136

MWOM 103 = Original cover

MWOM 104 = Hulk 137

MWOM 105 = recycles the new cover Starlin drew for the reprint of TTA 92 in Marvel Super Heroes 47

MWOM 106 = Hulk 138

MWOM 107 = Hulk Special 2

MOWM 108 = Hulk 139

MWOM 109 = Original cover

MWOM 110 = Hulk 141

MWOM 111 = is a substantial re-draw of GS Defenders #1, replacing Doc Strange, Subby & the Surfer with DD, the Thing & the Torch.

2021-12-04.jpg

Edited by Malacoda
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On 12/4/2021 at 1:24 PM, Malacoda said:

Hi David, 

That effect where you're turning the cover page of Nova #12 is fantastic - not just good looking, but very useful. 

I'm probably having a dumb day here, but I'm not clear what you're highlighting.  UK reprint titles were weekly as you know, so they re-used pretty much all the covers from the US originals and then required additional new art (which was created in NY for Tony Isabella / Scott Edelmann by the likes of Jim Starlin, John Buscema, Pablo Marcos, Gene Colan and others).  There are some exceptions to this e.g.  The Avengers also reprinted Shang Chi  & Iron Fist, so, due to the kung fu craze they got a lot of the covers at that time, but for the most part, whichever title was the headline / masthead star, those covers were recycled. 

 

Hi, It was just information for the Captain Britain run, if anyone was searching about Super Spider-Man 231-253 like I was.  You notice ASM 167 and 168 covers were not reprinted for the UK in that run.  Similarly, as you point out, some (many, due to the frequency) UK covers did not see publication in the US, though using the same artist stable.  232 cover ...edit...Lieber/Giacoia shown.  Best, David

ssm232crop.jpg

Edited by aokartman
artist credit
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On 6/12/2021 at 2:35 AM, Malacoda said:

This is completely off topic, but I thought you might find it interesting.  I've been looking at the Transworld reprint titles (what we used to call British Marvel) from 72 to 79 and a couple of things which I already knew really came alive for me. 

Firstly, it always seemed that Transworld reprinted anything and everything as fast and as much as they could.  My favourite reprint title was The Super Heroes because it reprinted initially the Silver Surfer and the X men and later a really delirious, almost wilfully obscure collection of Marvel second stringers, such as The Cat, Doc Savage, Giant Man,  The Scarecrow, Bloodstone & The Black Knight. It was a great way for serious UK collectors to get the series they were never going to get in the original, but as a commercial title it was doomed to failure: the strips it printed were ones that had already failed in the States and even if they did catch on in the UK, there was only a limited supply as the source material was a cancelled comic.

It seemed like Transworld just re-printed everything.  The surprise is that they actually did.

With the exception of the Panther run in Jungle Action, Transworld took a swing at every single Marvel title printed from 1961 to 1975 (meaning the shared MU, not romance & westerns).  They didn’t get through every issue of every one, but they gave it a good try. I never realised this because so many of them were back up strips in the comics I didn’t read:  Kazar, Gulliver Jones, Doc Doom, Warlock & Captain Marvel in POTA, Werewolf by Night, Man Thing & Ghost Rider in Dracula Lives,  Kull in Conan, and Star Lord, Warlock, Micronauts, Deathlok and Guardians of the Galaxy in Star Wars.  

Literally everything was tapped to one extent or another except Jungle Action and The Frankenstein Monster (although I was sure this was reprinted in Drac?).

The second surprise was this: we know that the reason Stan asked Dez Skinn to revamp British Marvel was because Marvel UK was running out of content, but I didn’t realise that it actually hit the buffers.  I knew POTA and Drac had exhausted their material early on because they only had a 29 issue head start with Drac and POTA was reprinted from the bi-monthly magazine, not a comic, so they ran out almost immediately (and created original content for the UK comic which was then re-used for the US magazine).   However, the marquee titles were getting close to the end as well.  Avengers was 85% depleted, Daredevil 82%, Transworld had burned through 16 years of Fantastic Four in 6 years & 4 months, so they were 5 months away from running out, but Hulk was even nearer.  MWOM finished in Jan 1979, at which point it was reprinting Hulk from December 1978. Even given the different lengths in production schedules, MWOM would have tapped Hulk out completely within one more month.  The record would have been set by Rampage Weekly: if they hadn’t changed the format in June 78, Rampage would have printed the entire run of Defenders (up to that point) in 14 months, running it out even before Dez Skinn’s Revolution.

I knew both of these things were true, but I’m astonished by how true they are.

BTW, this is complete coincidence, but, as you know, World were prevented from distributing US titles which were UK masthead or lead features.  Avengers was NON D from #121 to #152, and then became distributed again from #153.   The last Marvel UK issue of Super Spider Man (#310) reprinted Avengers #152.  So the reprints eventually covered the exact period it was Non D. If you’d bought the US originals when they were available and the UK reprints when they weren’t, you’d have an exactly full set of Avengers.

Also, can anyone please advise, which would taste worst...a harvest of terror or a harvest of fear?

Incredible_Hulk_Vol_1_230.jpg

mwom jan 1979.jpg

Just realised something.  A while back I posted the covers of Hulk 230 and MWOM 328 and wondered why they changed the word 'fear' to 'terror'.  But I don't think they did.  I think the original artwork for Hulk 230 said Harvest of Terror, but 'horror' and 'terror' are 2 words that were specifically prohibited from being on the cover by the CCA, so I think it was actually Hulk 230 that was changed and they pulled out the original artwork for MWOM. 

What makes this interesting is that MWOM was only a month away from catching up to Hulk, so it seems likely that the original artwork had already been re-pasted for MWOM when they realised they were in the trouble with Hulk 230.  There would have been no need/point in changing MWOM as you're allowed to say the word 'terror' to British kids. 

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Just a quick MERRY CHRISTMAS from I to the pence brethren :)

78539748_DellGiant39WaltDisneysMerryChristmas(1960)2Shillings.thumb.jpg.2cb2f8642346c9b32aff0cab28219b28.jpg

Marwood said you can all shove it.

See you all in 2022! :headbang:

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On 12/23/2021 at 12:48 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Just a quick MERRY CHRISTMAS from I to the pence brethren :)

78539748_DellGiant39WaltDisneysMerryChristmas(1960)2Shillings.thumb.jpg.2cb2f8642346c9b32aff0cab28219b28.jpg

Marwood said you can all shove it.

See you all in 2022! :headbang:

Appreciated guv'nor! As I usually only get to shove ha'penny, not a whole pence! (Great thread and having reached the 'century' I hope you don't retire to the pavilion just yet, unless it's with a big pile of SA under yer arm.):peace:

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On 1/1/2022 at 5:29 PM, Malacoda said:

Oooh . Are we still playing who's got the best comic marred by a giant 6? 

Yay. I win.

And yet....somehow...it doesn't feel like a victory....

2052153898_IMG_2880(2).thumb.JPG.5a3593090d201b6d256ce97352f07220.JPG

 

Nah, I still dont think you win

Imagine this book not selling for the 6 and having to be reduced further, oh for a time machine :cry:

1070598359_Hulk1.thumb.jpg.7d6f5d85cc5c613f222a92c81c4d7f10.jpg

765121384_hulk6.png.36f38f52175664afdfa608467758b91c.png

 

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On 1/2/2022 at 7:58 PM, Kevin.J said:

Nah, I still dont think you win

Imagine this book not selling for the 6 and having to be reduced further, oh for a time machine :cry:

1070598359_Hulk1.thumb.jpg.7d6f5d85cc5c613f222a92c81c4d7f10.jpg

765121384_hulk6.png.36f38f52175664afdfa608467758b91c.png

 

Oh you definitely win.  Hulk 1 is literally about 10x the value of FF2 and that one was re-priced twice. 

Indeed a time machine would be handy and you wouldn't have to go back that far.  I remembered paying an eye-watering amount for that FF2, but when I took it out to photograph it, I discovered the bill of sale with it.  £175.  I mean, the FF hasn't even had a decent movie to push the prices up yet.

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On 1/3/2022 at 2:49 AM, Malacoda said:

Indeed a time machine would be handy

The down side of getting in a time machine is that upon arriving at your destination, especially if it is before your birth, you will find that the atoms and molecules that currently make up your body are scattered right across Earth (some maybe yet to arrive on our planet), so you would be a disembodied wraith, a severe handicap if you would like to pick up a book and read it. Of course, returning to your point of origin in time would be out of the question, so make sure that you settle your financial affairs before pressing the start button. Additionally, the seller of the book would be unlikely to accept whatever form of electronic transfer of funds you propose, having never heard of such wizardry, so you would need a pocketful of those old metallic discs which served that purpose back in the day.

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