The Distribution of US Published Comics in the UK (1959~1982) 15 15

[Get Marwood & I]

A nice Charlton UK distribution piece here from our friend @themagicrobot:

https://themagicrobot.wordpress.com/2022/05/01/1958/

Clearly a robot of taste 

[themagicrobot]

Here's something you don't see every day. In fact I've never ever seen one in 50 years so it must be a unicorn. This Giant Superman Album was supposedly sold by T & P and consisted of bound remaindered/unsold/returned? copies of their Super DC publication in a homage to their Double Double comics.

 

It has no connection with the Australian Planet Comics Giant Superman Albums.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/16/2022 at 7:52 PM, themagicrobot said:

Here's something you don't see every day. In fact I've never ever seen one in 50 years so it must be a unicorn. This Giant Superman Album was supposedly sold by T & P and consisted of bound remaindered/unsold/returned? copies of their Super DC publication in a homage to their Double Double comics.

 

It has no connection with the Australian Planet Comics Giant Superman Albums.

Batman' s had one pie too many there, hasn't he, Robot 

Annoyingly, I had a copy of this a few years back. I sold it on the bay for a few pennies and can't recall much about it now. There are some interior shots here, in a sold copy on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GIANT-SUPERMAN-ALBUM-250-PAGES-VINTAGE-1960-039-S-Read-for-condition-/284670840339?hash=item4247b44e13%3Ag%3AVS4AAOSwH95iAoNp&nma=true&si=fpkS%2BXxU882zcICOoOnRhQ6tevg%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

They do indeed look like Super DC stories in there - and the wording seems to suggest so at the foot of the inside cover:

[OtherEric]

We do consider pulps comic-adjacent here, right?

Just noticed this; I'm used to seeing dual-priced books from after decimalization but I can't recall many magazines having the price in LSD.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/17/2022 at 6:48 PM, OtherEric said:

We do consider pulps comic-adjacent here, right?

Just noticed this; I'm used to seeing dual-priced books from after decimalization but I can't recall many magazines having the price in LSD.

Nice.

I don't know much about those, Eric, but here's something similar:

 

Oh, and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 

[OtherEric]

On 5/17/2022 at 11:18 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Nice.

I don't know much about those, Eric, but here's something similar:

 

 

Thank you for the birthday wishes!

The one you posted is actually a UK specific edition, the yellow circle would normally have the publisher's logo.  (Sorry I can't find a better image.)  But all the copies of Analog had the 5/- on them.  So now I'm wondering where dual pricing on all copies began.  From what I vaguely recall, Charlton was actually the first to do that regularly on comics, but I'm not sure.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/17/2022 at 7:31 PM, OtherEric said:

Thank you for the birthday wishes!

The one you posted is actually a UK specific edition, the yellow circle would normally have the publisher's logo.  (Sorry I can't find a better image.)  But all the copies of Analog had the 5/- on them.  So now I'm wondering where dual pricing on all copies began.  From what I vaguely recall, Charlton was actually the first to do that regularly on comics, but I'm not sure.

Yes, it was Charlton - I did a post on it in one of my threads. Too many of them now, really. I've lost track.

I haven't checked, but there's bound to be an Analog website out there somewhere, with covers. I'd take a peak but I've got tunnel vision - usually the precursor to a banging headache - and have a kaleidoscope of lights bang in the centre of my vision. I could be typing any old dross!

 

 

Don't say it  

[Get Marwood & I]

....I've Googleated and found dual priced issues back to 1963, and then a few with just UK prices on, printed in London under license. It's no good though, I can't see. You'll have to do the leg work tonight, Eric. Find us that first DP date. Some time after 1962 looks likely...

 

[Get Marwood & I]

I couldn't resist battling on for one more. October 1963:

 

[Yorick]

On 5/17/2022 at 10:48 AM, OtherEric said:

We do consider pulps comic-adjacent here, right?

I think that would make the thread too broad, but allow me to add some more UK pulp variants. 

I believe Manhunt was the first "St John" publication (comic publisher!) after the death of Archer St John (or maybe they printed Nugget first, I'm too lazy to open another tab on my browser to look).  Matt Baker was given the art director credit on the first issue, but was removed for subsequent issues.  He did provide interior illustrations for the first few issues.  And of course the UK edition interiors were published in black and white (love those cost saving b&w UK books!!!).

PS. Happy Birthday, Eric!

[OtherEric]

On 5/17/2022 at 11:41 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

....I've Googleated and found dual priced issues back to 1963, and then a few with just UK prices on, printed in London under license. It's no good though, I can't see. You'll have to do the leg work tonight, Eric. Find us that first DP date. Some time after 1962 looks likely...

 

Here's hoping you feel better soon!

Here's what I've been able to determine:  The regular inclusion of the UK price began on Analog in February 1964.  The switch from LSD to decimal was in January of 1972, a bit behind the curve.  The UK price was dropped again in March of 1977.

Related to comics, Analog was originally published by Street & Smith under the name of Astounding Science Fiction, the name gradually changed around the time the book was sold to Conde Nast.  By gradually, I mean they spent about a year when they were printing both names on the cover, with Analog slowly becoming more boldly printed and Astounding fading away.

Not my scans, while I have several of these issues they're in storage.

[OtherEric]

To add one more pulp to the discussion, I'll mention that Amazing Stories added a UK price in September 1971, after decimal day.

[Get Marwood & I]

To clarify, I don't view pulps as in scope for my own research into UK distribution which centres around our seven US UKPV comic bearing publishers and all those who imported comics with stamped UK prices. And the dual pricers of course. But this thread has long since moved away from all that and I don't mind discussing things like pulps and such stuff here. Anything published overseas with a UK price on it is interesting to me. 

[rakehell]

Is this any use to you, Velma?

An over-stickered stamp.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/18/2022 at 9:23 AM, rakehell said:

Is this any use to you, Velma? An over-stickered stamp.

Only in as much as I love it Daphne 

You don't often see them on Marvels - now Towers on the other hand....

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/17/2022 at 10:37 PM, OtherEric said:

Here's hoping you feel better soon!

Cheers Eric - it passed quite quickly in the end 

On 5/17/2022 at 10:37 PM, OtherEric said:

Here's what I've been able to determine:  The regular inclusion of the UK price began on Analog in February 1964.  The switch from LSD to decimal was in January of 1972, a bit behind the curve.  The UK price was dropped again in March of 1977.

Related to comics, Analog was originally published by Street & Smith under the name of Astounding Science Fiction, the name gradually changed around the time the book was sold to Conde Nast.  By gradually, I mean they spent about a year when they were printing both names on the cover, with Analog slowly becoming more boldly printed and Astounding fading away.

Not my scans, while I have several of these issues they're in storage.

Coolio in the glass house.

I had a look myself and found early 1960s UK reprints, made under licence, then it seems that someone cottoned on to dual pricing. It's the sort of thing you could easily enjoy exploring in more detail. One for another day, maybe. 

[Get Marwood & I]

I haven't updated this table for a long time, but still occasionally look for those 'missing list' T&P stamped first issues:

Still no October dated Wonder Woman #109, but when you constantly see this pattern from original owner collections, you start to see why: 

[OtherEric]

On 5/18/2022 at 2:50 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Cheers Eric - it passed quite quickly in the end 

Coolio in the glass house.

I had a look myself and found early 1960s UK reprints, made under licence, then it seems that someone cottoned on to dual pricing. It's the sort of thing you could easily enjoy exploring in more detail. One for another day, maybe. 

I may go digging on the matter in the future... those Analogs are the earliest US books I've seen with dual US/UK pricing of any sort.  I think (but am not positive) that I've seen paperbacks published in the UK with US pricing that date earlier.  Now I need to decide how far down the rabbit hole I want to go looking...

Even if it's not directly comic books I consider it definitely related to the overall subject of when stuff switched to dual pricing since that tells us interesting things about the import market overall.

[Albert Tatlock]

Someone at T & P had an itchy stamping finger.

Stamping UKPVs just to stay in practice.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 5/18/2022 at 7:18 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

Someone at T & P had an itchy stamping finger.

Stamping UKPVs just to stay in practice.

A 9 numbered 9d stamp on a printed 9d cover. Call the Police!