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

[Malacoda]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:48 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

We've wasted our lives, Rich, dabbling outside the circle, being where others are not, flying in the face of popular interest. 

You say that, but do you actually feel that? We could have spent our time, energy & money becoming connoisseurs of artisanal bread, cultivating hipster beards, staying in yurts, following the Ed Sheeran tour and learning how to use the twenty-five million must have apps that we're missing out on, but we stayed in love with the thing we'd always been in love with. 

Actually, that's not really fair to millennials.  They do seem more interested in having experiences than owning possessions, which I think is great.  But nonetheless, we have found new ways to stay connected to something that meant the world to us as kids, and that's cool too.  

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:18 PM, Malacoda said:

You say that, but do you actually feel that? We could have spent our time, energy & money becoming connoisseurs of artisanal bread, cultivating hipster beards, staying in yurts, following the Ed Sheeran tour and learning how to use the twenty-five million must have apps that we're missing out on, but we stayed in love with the thing we'd always been in love with. 

Actually, that's not really fair to millennials.  They do seem more interested in having experiences than owning possessions, which I think is great.  But nonetheless, we have found new ways to stay connected to something that meant the world to us as kids, and that's cool too.  

That's probably what the 'then again....' meant 

This'll make you laugh - my latest Charlie arrival, courtesy of a drowned Rat Pat and his skin soaked cat

 

 

Not one...

Not two...

Not three...

Not four...

But five Tee and Pee nine dee price stamps, ah-ha-ha-ha-hah!

 

 

"Zat is truly out of zis vorld!"

[Malacoda]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:34 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

That's probably what the 'then again....' meant 

This'll make you laugh - my latest Charlie arrival, courtesy of a drowned Rat Pat and his skin soaked cat

 

 

Not one...

Not two...

Not three...

Not four...

But five Tee and Pee nine dee price stamps, ah-ha-ha-ha-hah!

 

 

"Zat is truly out of zis vorld!"

Brilliant.  And all 8's at 9d, not reductions or re-circulations.  Ethel just stamped it 5 times.  I get the feeling the top right was the last one. 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/1/2023 at 1:07 PM, Malacoda said:

Brilliant.  And all 8's at 9d, not reductions or re-circulations.  Ethel just stamped it 5 times.  I get the feeling the top right was the last one. 

In my minds eye, I can see her mucking about with Ethel, stamping it to the beat of a record on the wireless.

Sha-kin'-all-o-ver!

That last stamp, as you say - bang! 

[OtherEric]

On 11/1/2023 at 5:34 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

That's probably what the 'then again....' meant 

This'll make you laugh - my latest Charlie arrival, courtesy of a drowned Rat Pat and his skin soaked cat

 

 

Not one...

Not two...

Not three...

Not four...

But five Tee and Pee nine dee price stamps, ah-ha-ha-ha-hah!

 

 

"Zat is truly out of zis vorld!"

And with the unslabbed copy, you can actually read the Matt Baker story in the issue.  Not that it's a particular highlight of his work, sadly...

[Redshade]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:42 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

 

Anyway, is there another seven years in the tank, I wonder...?*

 

 

*In the name of all that is Holy, please NO!

I'm sure that there is Steve. May there be many more ruminations.

[Garystar]

On 11/1/2023 at 11:42 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

yesterday was our 7th anniversary on the CGC comic forum. Seven years of Marwood and I

Happy anniversary! I understand 7th is copper so treat yourself to a 1970s comic. 

[Malacoda]

Interesting.  Our old friend, Mr. Oblong Stamp, but this Gold Key is from December 1966, so did it rock up with the Marvel 66'ers from the second hiatus?  Gold Key were distributed by in the US by Western, not IND, but if T&P weren't paying the bills, presumably Western stopped supplying them too leaving consignments earmarked for the UK to fall into other hands. 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/1/2023 at 7:24 PM, Redshade said:

I'm sure that there is Steve. May there be many more ruminations.

 

On 11/1/2023 at 10:47 PM, Garystar said:

Happy anniversary! I understand 7th is copper so treat yourself to a 1970s comic. 

Thanks boys 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/2/2023 at 9:13 AM, Malacoda said:

Interesting.  Our old friend, Mr. Oblong Stamp, but this Gold Key is from December 1966, so did it rock up with the Marvel 66'ers from the second hiatus?  Gold Key were distributed by in the US by Western, not IND, but if T&P weren't paying the bills, presumably Western stopped supplying them too leaving consignments earmarked for the UK to fall into other hands. 

 

I'm one of the two current eBay watchers.

It's only the 3rd oblong I've seen on a Gold Key. There are a few of the shilling circles ones too, but their overall presence is less than prolific. That shilling circle vs 10d oblong dual presence is a funny one, isn't it. 

[Malacoda]

On 11/2/2023 at 9:47 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

It's only the 3rd oblong I've seen on a Gold Key. There are a few of the shilling circles ones too, but their overall presence is less than prolific. That shilling circle vs 10d oblong dual presence is a funny one, isn't it. 

Indeed. I think the only way we're ever really going to crack that is by building a big old sample base of stamps on other things (other comics, books, magazines etc) and determining for sure who those ones belong to. 

Also, I suspect you may have just answered your previous question. 

On 11/1/2023 at 11:42 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Anyway, is there another seven years in the tank, I wonder...?*

 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/2/2023 at 10:23 AM, Malacoda said:

Indeed. I think the only way we're ever really going to crack that is by building a big old sample base of stamps on other things (other comics, books, magazines etc) and determining for sure who those ones belong to. 

Yes, another one of those effort vs reward scenarios.

I don't feel inclined to go beyond adding to this personally:

But who knows...

On 11/2/2023 at 10:23 AM, Malacoda said:

Also, I suspect you may have just answered your previous question. 

God help us. 

[themagicrobot]

I just typed "November 1966" into eBay and came across this. Seymour Distribution are apparently currently the largest importer of foreign magazines into the UK. They were around as Seymour Press Ltd  in 1966 importing (in this case an edited) versions of Playboy. Would they have imported any comics too?

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/2/2023 at 10:58 AM, themagicrobot said:

I just typed "November 1966" into eBay and came across this. Seymour Distribution are apparently currently the largest importer of foreign magazines into the UK. They were around as Seymour Press Ltd  in 1966 importing (in this case an edited) versions of Playboy. Would they have imported any comics too?

Are you sure it was "November 1966" that you typed, to bring that up Robot? 

I've not heard of them myself. Maybe Richmond has come across them in his distribution deep dive. 

[themagicrobot]

No I typed "Adult Mag with tame cover".

Maybe the SBS stickers we have come across are Seymours??

[Malacoda]

On 11/2/2023 at 11:17 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I've not heard of them myself. Maybe Richmond has come across them in his distribution deep dive. 

I did...and that was when I was researching Playboy.  They are a massive company but have no entry on wikipedia, nor does their owner (Frontline). I didn't pursue them at the time, but, you know, any excuse.  

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/2/2023 at 11:20 AM, themagicrobot said:

No I typed "Adult Mag with tame cover".

Maybe the SBS stickers we have come across are Seymours??

That's a good shout - I've got a few of those stickers in the comic files. I never knew who they were but, again, the volumes weren't prolific enough to warrant reporting anything. If the first S is Seymour, what could the B.S. stand for then?

Actually, don't answer that 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/2/2023 at 11:23 AM, Malacoda said:

I did...and that was when I was researching Playboy.  They are a massive company but have no entry on wikipedia, nor does their owner (Frontline). I didn't pursue them at the time, but, you know, any excuse.  

Frontline, Streamline - we'll all be snorting a line at this rate.

[Malacoda]

Those Playboy books were published by New English Library, an American owned UK book publisher who published a variety of often-sleazy paperbacks (and more respectable fare) from 1961 to 1981.  They published under NEL, Signet and Mentor imprints. That being the base, I would guess that SBS is actually a retailer (Something Book Sellers).  

Edited November 2, 2023 by Malacoda

[Malacoda]

@themagicrobot  that insert you've captured is a great find too. It illustrates how ludicrous the Obscene Publications Act was.   Newsagents and wholesalers were forever asking for a list of banned publications or guidelines so they could avoid distributing them but they could never got one, so they just had to either pre-emptively guess what might qualify or wait for the raid and then go to court to argue for their stock back.  T&P were doing this non stop by the mid 70's which is why Warner's wanted to get shot of them.