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

[Get Marwood & I]

On 9/26/2023 at 6:24 PM, OtherEric said:

The Hot Wheels series is just crazy hard to find and, from what little I've seen, has jaw-droppingly good Toth art.  But I've only got one issue, and it's the one Toth didn't work on.

Indeed. I've heard that you have to fight Toth and nail to find them 

 

 

 

 

[Malacoda]

On 9/26/2023 at 6:20 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Sorry Rich, I keep forgetting you haven't been here that long, but it's actually illegal to post pictures of Michael McIntyring here. 

Sorry. I was going to replace him with somebody worse, but....well, you see the problem. 

[Get Marwood & I]

Afternoon 

I nabbed a few Charlies off of eBay the other day in support of a wider piece of mucking about that I've been working on for about 98 years now. Here's one of them and, as you can see, it has a rather nice 25p sticker on the bag from Odyssey who used it up and wore it out in the seventies:

There were three Charlies in total, or tree if you're of Irish (Price Variants don't exist)* descent:

*Always throw in a topical joke 

Anyroad, Fred Elliott, I was proper intrigued as to whom Odyssey might have been as it rang a bell. Being a bit of a smart arse, I cunningly Googleated "Odyssey" and the phone number on the sticker and came up with this issue of Starburst from 1982 with, happily, a Deckardian cover:

1982.... 

So, inside we had this ad page...

...with this ad:

Woohoo!

Then I saw the 7 and Googelated "Odyssey 7" and about eight thousand results came up, including this one:

Not so smart then, after all, missing Blake's number.

I recognise the chap in the ad from old ads in old magazines from old times.

Anyway, that's that meaningless ramble over, to take us back to 22k again.

See you next time 

 

BE SEEING YOU

[Albert Tatlock]

Yep, remember 'em well.

Just across from Delta Travel, who fixed up all and sundry, including yours truly, with cut price airfares.

[Albert Tatlock]

On 9/24/2023 at 10:47 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Love it.  A man after my own heart, Albert 

HRs&RCs has a full T&P window compliment as it goes:

It's a fun title

Here's a nice one of mine:

Another little batch of Hot Rods, this time Miller UKPVs from 1961 and 1962, priced to sell, even in a crowded market.

[Albert Tatlock]

On 9/18/2023 at 2:13 PM, Malacoda said:

"Here, let me just stamp that for you"

"No thanks, I'll take it how it is"

"Are you sure? You won't be able to bring it back."

"Oh go on then.  What's the harm?"

 

 

 

Another bargain at only 8d, but I reckon they could have got the full price of 9d if they had refrained from stamping it.

There is another stamp further down, somebody or other's books, it says, but I cannot make it out.

If I manage to decipher it, I will pop along and see what else is on the shelf. Can't go wrong at that price.

[Kevin.J]

On 9/27/2023 at 8:57 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

Another bargain at only 8d, but I reckon they could have got the full price of 9d if they had refrained from stamping it.

There is another stamp further down, somebody or other's books, it says, but I cannot make it out.

If I manage to decipher it, I will pop along and see what else is on the shelf. Can't go wrong at that price.

Thats a real tough book, I am complete from #90 onwards bar that book, it never turns up much and always goes higher than I expect when it does, maybe one day 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 9/27/2023 at 11:28 PM, Kevin.J said:

Thats a real tough book, I am complete from #90 onwards bar that book, it never turns up much and always goes higher than I expect when it does, maybe one day

Good luck, Kev,

You only live once, and it's only money, so leave the underbidders trailing in your wake.

8d was a lot of dosh then, but someone bit the bullet.

And if you tire of it, you should be able to find someone even dafter than your good self.

[Kevin.J]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:19 AM, Albert Tatlock said:

Good luck, Kev,

You only live once, and it's only money, so leave the underbidders trailing in your wake.

8d was a lot of dosh then, but someone bit the bullet.

And if you tire of it, you should be able to find someone even dafter than your good self.

Yeah, the last 2 that appeared on ebay, I put in what I thought were winning bids, only to find later that someone needed it even more

I am too busy wasting my money buying books I already have like a fool  

[Redshade]

On 9/27/2023 at 1:30 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Afternoon 

I nabbed a few Charlies off of eBay the other day in support of a wider piece of mucking about that I've been working on for about 98 years now. Here's one of them and, as you can see, it has a rather nice 25p sticker on the bag from Odyssey who used it up and wore it out in the seventies:

 

There were three Charlies in total, or tree if you're of Irish (Price Variants don't exist)* descent:

 

*Always throw in a topical joke 

Anyroad, Fred Elliott, I was proper intrigued as to whom Odyssey might have been as it rang a bell. Being a bit of a smart arse, I cunningly Googleated "Odyssey" and the phone number on the sticker and came up with this issue of Starburst from 1982 with, happily, a Deckardian cover:

 

1982.... 

So, inside we had this ad page...

 

...with this ad:

 

Woohoo!

Then I saw the 7 and Googelated "Odyssey 7" and about eight thousand results came up, including this one:

 

Not so smart then, after all, missing Blake's number.

I recognise the chap in the ad from old ads in old magazines from old times.

Anyway, that's that meaningless ramble over, to take us back to 22k again.

See you next time 

 

BE SEEING YOU

There was an Odyssey 7 in Leeds city centre until FP took it over/bought them out (sometime in the 90s I think). 

[yrag9591]

On 9/26/2023 at 6:24 PM, OtherEric said:

The Hot Wheels series is just crazy hard to find and, from what little I've seen, has jaw-droppingly good Toth art.  But I've only got one issue, and it's the one Toth didn't work on.

In the UK, issues 2 and 4 were very difficult to find. I think they are listed as ND in Alan Austin’s price guide, which was my note. The other issues weren’t so scarce. Issue 1 was the commonest by far.

[Malacoda]

On 9/27/2023 at 1:30 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Not so smart then, after all, missing Blake's number.

You were actually right both times, which you can see on the advert you posted.  The shop in the University Precinct on Oxford Road was called Odyssey 7 but they had another branch in the Corn Exchange (also on your ad) which was just called Odyssey.  The latter was totalled (along with a sizeable chunk of Manchester) in the 1996 IRA bombing.  After the bombing, during the rebuilding, FP bought them out and opened up a single shop but not at either of the previous locations, at a new location on Oldham St.  However, they re-hired a lot of Odyssey staff.  

 @Redshade 's Leeds branch, also just called Odyssey, is also on your ad. 

[Kevin.J]

On 9/28/2023 at 2:15 AM, Redshade said:

There was an Odyssey 7 in Leeds city centre until FP took it over/bought them out (sometime in the 90s I think). 

I went to that shop a few times when I worked in Leeds for a bit.

The same thing happened here to Timeslip  when FP took it over/turned it into a non comic shop/ruined it

[Malacoda]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:08 PM, Kevin.J said:

The same thing happened here to Timeslip  when FP took it over/turned it into a non comic shop/ruined it

I think it happened all over with a couple of exceptions.  Nostalgia & Comics in Birmingham retained its identity - they opened a separately branded FP store to sell all the merch and figurines.  N&C is now called World's Apart as is the one in Liverpool, but they are both owned by FP.   I guess the one we can't blame them for was the SF Bookshop in Edinburgh, a legendary shop now replaced by the anodyne FP on South Bridge: Penman and Hamilton who owned it became share holders in FP, so it's not as though they were railroaded into oblivion. 

On the plus side, the original premises, which you'd imagine are now a Baby Gap or a Starbucks are in fact a music shop, so that's something. 

[Kevin.J]

A few months ago I went into FP here for the first time in maybe 3 years and asked for silver & golden age backing boards, they said they dont carry things like that, I got the impression that the dude didnt even know what I meant 

For balance I went to the Travelling man next door and they didnt have any either, said they had been waiting for the supplier for about 2 years to get them in again, I said you need a new supplier, he laughed and said yeah 

There is really no point in me going to these type of shops anymore, no back issues, no storage supplies, just toys and games stuff, no thanks.

I came out the shop and noticed a new shop across the road "Comic book store and cafe" sounds great right? went in, couldnt see any comics asked the dude serving tea & coffee where the comic stuff was and he points me to a tiny rack of about 50 old graphic novels 

Had to buy the backing boards on ebay and pay crazy postage 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 9/28/2023 at 3:17 PM, Kevin.J said:

A few months ago I went into FP here for the first time in maybe 3 years and asked for silver & golden age backing boards, they said they dont carry things like that, I got the impression that the dude didnt even know what I meant 

For balance I went to the Travelling man next door and they didnt have any either, said they had been waiting for the supplier for about 2 years to get them in again, I said you need a new supplier, he laughed and said yeah 

There is really no point in me going to these type of shops anymore, no back issues, no storage supplies, just toys and games stuff, no thanks.

I came out the shop and noticed a new shop across the road "Comic book store and cafe" sounds great right? went in, couldnt see any comics asked the dude serving tea & coffee where the comic stuff was and he points me to a tiny rack of about 50 old graphic novels 

Had to buy the backing boards on ebay and pay crazy postage 

I have a stack of old posters, on quite heavy paper, A1 size, too many to sell during my few remaining years, so I get a local print shop to guillotine them up into just the exact size for the bags, then I use 2 of the resulting pieces, face to face so the blank outside is showing, in place of backing boards. They are not as sturdy as the bespoke backing boards, but they will do nicely for items of lower value, certainly for the books I propose to sell.

If I ever did run out, I would go to a local paper merchant and buy a quantity of suitably sized blank paper, board or card. They should be able, for a small extra fee, or possibly no extra charge to guillotine them to any required size.

Then all I would have to do is transport them back to my place of abode.

Maybe worth your while ringing a local paper merchant, they will be delighted to give you a quotation, free of charge or obligation.

Or you could just carry on lining the pockets of the fat cats in the higher echelons of Royal Mail.

[Malacoda]

On 9/28/2023 at 3:17 PM, Kevin.J said:

Had to buy the backing boards on ebay and pay crazy postage 

And the crazy price, probably.  Two years ago I was watching the price of silver age bags go up before my eyes, so I bought 500 to keep me going. Since then they've gone from 13p each to 18p each (which is a total con - modern size comic bags are 10p each, but who wants to bag those).  

Oh how I wish I'd bought a few thousand Mylites 5 years ago. 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 9/28/2023 at 10:54 PM, Malacoda said:

And the crazy price, probably.  Two years ago I was watching the price of silver age bags go up before my eyes, so I bought 500 to keep me going. Since then they've gone from 13p each to 18p each (which is a total con - modern size comic bags are 10p each, but who wants to bag those).  

Oh how I wish I'd bought a few thousand Mylites 5 years ago. 

Don't you realise you are driving the planet to ruin?

Forget plastic polluting bags.

Store your books in recycled brown paper, ecologically sound, envelopes.

Or just go back to the shoebox solution of our faraway youth.

Your grandchildren will salute your memory.

Going back a long way, I remember Jerry Bails counselling others to follow his lead, as he sold off his collection after committing its content to microfilm, not knowing at the time that microfilm is at least as prone to age-related degradation as cheap newsprint-type paper.

But they don't look quite as good in brown paper, do they?

Edited September 28, 2023 by Albert Tatlock
add 1 line

[Kevin.J]

On 9/28/2023 at 7:08 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

I have a stack of old posters, on quite heavy paper, A1 size, too many to sell during my few remaining years, so I get a local print shop to guillotine them up into just the exact size for the bags, then I use 2 of the resulting pieces, face to face so the blank outside is showing, in place of backing boards. They are not as sturdy as the bespoke backing boards, but they will do nicely for items of lower value, certainly for the books I propose to sell.

If I ever did run out, I would go to a local paper merchant and buy a quantity of suitably sized blank paper, board or card. They should be able, for a small extra fee, or possibly no extra charge to guillotine them to any required size.

Then all I would have to do is transport them back to my place of abode.

Maybe worth your while ringing a local paper merchant, they will be delighted to give you a quotation, free of charge or obligation.

Or you could just carry on lining the pockets of the fat cats in the higher echelons of Royal Mail.

If I de-boarded all the carp I dont really want, I probably have a lifetime supply of boards, it is a good idea though

[Albert Tatlock]

On 9/29/2023 at 12:31 AM, Kevin.J said:

If I de-boarded all the carp I dont really want,

So you collect mounted fish, too?