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

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/24/2023 at 8:29 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

or whatever the plural of hiatus is

"Gaps"

[LowGradeBronze]

On 7/24/2023 at 7:22 PM, themagicrobot said:

PS: Have recently unearthed a couple of Fantasy Unlimited fanzines from 1975 which I plan to read tomorrow in the sunshine (if it ever stops raining). 

I hope you'll share any interesting morsels gleaned from your perusal. (!) I fondly remember my trips to FU back in the late 70s. Stupidly I never bought anything really worthwhile by today's collecting ideals, but I was happy with my bag of comics on the train home afterwards. I took in as many comic shops as I could in the day. Vintage Magazines (expensive) Mega City Comics and others. Fantasy Unlimited was my favourite though.

[Malacoda]

On 7/24/2023 at 7:28 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Did anyone take that offer up, I wonder?

I suspect that selling direct to the public was just gravy. I'd imagine that this is the start of Nick Landau's CMDS primarily importing to sell to the dealers who were coming to the comic marts he organised. Eventually, after LL&L found FP, CDMS goes on to become Titan Distributors. 

What you have here, my friend, is an origin story. 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/24/2023 at 9:16 PM, Malacoda said:

Eventually, after LL&L found FP, CDMS goes on to become Titan Distributors.

Who let The Sugarhill Gang in? 

[Malacoda]

On 7/24/2023 at 9:18 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Who let The Sugarhill Gang in? 

You're showing your age now.  

 

 

 

 

[Malacoda]

On 7/24/2023 at 9:16 PM, Malacoda said:

Eventually, after LL&L found FP, CDMS goes on to become Titan Distributors. 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

Late 1972, undated #4. Charlton mention!

[LowGradeBronze]

So Stan comes to merry olde England, and we put him in a cellar....... 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/25/2023 at 6:54 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

So Stan comes to merry olde England, and we put him in a cellar....... 

Never mind all that, LowGrade - W.H. Smiths weren't selling bi-monthlies 

[Malacoda]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:11 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Never mind all that, LowGrade - W.H. Smiths weren't selling bi-monthlies 

Indeed. That is the key takeaway.  Keeping in mind that T&P operated a fleet of reps and distributed directly to thousands of newsagents, kiosks, corner shops etc.  World did not do that, they distributed via mainstream circulation (WH Smith, Surridge Dawson, John Menzies etc), so the bi-monthly thing had probably not been an issue before. Suddenly with World's different distribution network, if you're not in Smith's (and therefore potentially not in Woolies, John Menzies, Littlewoods etc) that's a massive chunk of their network cut out. 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:27 PM, Malacoda said:

Indeed. That is the key takeaway.  Keeping in mind that T&P operated a fleet of reps and distributed directly to thousands of newsagents, kiosks, corner shops etc.  World did not do that, they distributed via mainstream circulation (WH Smith, Surridge Dawson, John Menzies etc), so the bi-monthly thing had probably not been an issue before. Suddenly with World's different distribution network, if you're not in Smith's (and therefore potentially not in Woolies, John Menzies, Littlewoods etc) that's a massive chunk of their network cut out. 

All good fun. I've got another distribution snippet to post later which is interesting. Just got to look something up first. I quite like these old fanzines. 

[themagicrobot]

So of all the people who ever interviewed Stan, would you have ever guessed that Marc Bolan would have been one of them.

 

[themagicrobot]

October 1975. Britain's DCs restart? Did they stop?

[Yorick]

On 7/24/2023 at 1:18 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Who let The Sugarhill Gang in?

OMG!  All those times when I see a "blank" posting with just a gif, I should be highlighting the area for secret white-font notes?!!!

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:48 PM, Yorick said:

OMG!  All those times when I see a "blank" posting with just a gif, I should be highlighting the area for secret white-font notes?!!!

So many have slipped by....

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:37 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

On 7/25/2023 at 7:27 PM, Malacoda said:

Indeed. That is the key takeaway.  Keeping in mind that T&P operated a fleet of reps and distributed directly to thousands of newsagents, kiosks, corner shops etc.  World did not do that, they distributed via mainstream circulation (WH Smith, Surridge Dawson, John Menzies etc), so the bi-monthly thing had probably not been an issue before. Suddenly with World's different distribution network, if you're not in Smith's (and therefore potentially not in Woolies, John Menzies, Littlewoods etc) that's a massive chunk of their network cut out. 

All good fun. I've got another distribution snippet to post later which is interesting. Just got to look something up first. I quite like these old fanzines. 

Here we go. Remember when I did the DC stamp number plotting exercise and took a selected group of titles all the way up to cover date 1970? And, towards the end, the number sequencing went from the broadly monthly (shipments) of the early cycles to show a lot of bunching in the latter cycles which, if replicated in practice, would have meant that shops got a few successive issues at the same time? Well this snippet, while referring to 1971, indicates that that sort of thing was indeed happening:

This is from Fantasy Domain #4. The title started in 1972, so maybe those distribution problems were happening before 1970 too, hence the bunching on my plotting tables. Two separate bits of evidence pointing in the same direction is always a good thing, isn't it  

[Get Marwood & I]

Wizzard sighting!

[themagicrobot]

All the Pop stars used to read comics. The Move's second LP was called Kimota I think.

[Get Marwood & I]

I spotted this lot on eBore in the week - lots of Miller's Book Exch. stamps and stickers in evidence (love that 9d sticker):

 

The seller was Philip. I know this because I wrote to him, not because I recognised his sock in the picture.

He said:

A bit of Googleation later and I find it's still there!

So I email the manager of the market and after a chaser get this from Helen:

Nothing since.

@Albert Tatlock Albert, you're a Northerner aren't you. Going to Brick Bradford anytime soon? 

Is this theirs, or nay!

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/25/2023 at 8:33 PM, themagicrobot said:

All the Pop stars used to read comics. The Move's second LP was called Kimota I think.

Well that Kimota the blue.

 

 

Sorry