• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

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

Started by Get Marwood & I,

6,232 posts in this topic

themagicrobot

themagicrobot

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hey guys, look at all this cool stuff you can get mail-order. I'm sending off for a Skull Ring AND a trick Baseball. It's not like it matters cutting the cover of this modern comic. Its never going to be worth anything although I heard that Superman Number 1 from 30 years ago is fetching $10. $10 for an old comic book. That's crazy.

 Untitled.jpg.3e5163a3a5f81b123b87e42c8f830ae2.jpg

 

morecut.thumb.jpg.24fc1415a6d17da56e73b824b90ce525.jpg

 

Edited by themagicrobot
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Malacoda

Malacoda

Posted
Posted
On 12/16/2023 at 6:28 PM, themagicrobot said:

Hey guys, look at all this cool stuff you can get mail-order. I'm sending off for a Skull Ring AND a trick Baseball. It's not like it matters cutting the cover of this modern comic. Its never going to be worth anything although I heard that Superman Number 1 from 30 years ago is fetching $10. $10 for an old comic book. That's crazy.

 Untitled.jpg.3e5163a3a5f81b123b87e42c8f830ae2.jpg

 

morecut.thumb.jpg.24fc1415a6d17da56e73b824b90ce525.jpg

 

Weirdly, I literally (10 minutes ago) finished watching Spider Man: Homecoming, which I had completely forgotten nods to those legendary Ditko panels....and here it be. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Malacoda

Malacoda

Posted
Posted
On 12/17/2023 at 9:24 AM, themagicrobot said:

I'm sure you mean these, and the dramatic full page image that follows.

Indeed. What I love about this is how Ditko uses the panel size on the page and the size of Spidey within the panels.  At the start the panels are tiny and seen from a distance so Spidey is tiny, dwarfed by the sheer tonnage of metal and concrete on top of him, then as he begins to exert himself, not only do the panels get larger, but he fills more and more of the frame, the camera zooms in, as it were, as if he is physically changing as he summons every ounce of strength he has.  It's really a masterclass in visual storytelling.  When I was kid, I was blown away by this but without even realising how Ditko was manipulating my eye. 

image.thumb.png.619aa9dbf83bba00d862677eca992d63.pngimage.thumb.png.f4409835e1ccd60173b1dbe5145c9ccb.png

image.thumb.png.f74a61aa04f6e4302206c8ac972e4cec.png

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Malacoda

Malacoda

Posted
Posted (edited)

When you compare it to the kind of hackery he was turning in when he came back, you can see he had clearly given up.  'You want it fast and least-possible-effort? Well here you go.'

image.thumb.png.e536f4b0e75e2815304447c707cbc9f5.png

Edited by Malacoda
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Malacoda

Malacoda

Posted
Posted
On 12/17/2023 at 6:55 PM, themagicrobot said:

Ethel did have at least one helpmate. Was it Gladys or Enid? Or were there a whole team of stamperers? Two Superboy 164s. One has a T&P stamp. The other appears to have a T3P stamp seen more clearly on another April 1970 DC.

Yup, that's spot on. The stamping number system had long since got to pot by 1970, but the stamps with numbers on continued to be used randomly (purely as pricing tools).  Then in 1970 the ampersand stamps arrive and they are used in tandem with the number stamps for a few months, but by the last quarter of 1970, they go fully over to ampersands. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock

Albert Tatlock

Posted
Posted
On 12/15/2023 at 8:30 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

I know this is pure speculation at this point, but do you think Ethel or Donna collected comics or at the very least, took some home each week for her little brother. Or would it have been a busman's holiday? Imagine, being so bored of seeing piles of pristine (or very fine to near mint) comics that they did nothing for you! (There are no emojis awful enough to convey that!)

The very nice lady who lived next door to us at this time worked in the nearby McVities biscuit factory and was always bringing round bagfuls of broken biscuits, a staff perk common at the time, which no doubt the bean counters have put a stop to by now.

She also bestowed the occasional comic on me, I remember ASM # 10 being one of them. I already had it, but accepted it and mumbled my gratitude in case she decided to find a more worthy recipient, dental inspections of gift horses not being the done thing.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LowGradeBronze

LowGradeBronze

Posted
Posted
On 12/18/2023 at 5:44 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

The very nice lady who lived next door to us at this time worked in the nearby McVities biscuit factory and was always bringing round bagfuls of broken biscuits, a staff perk common at the time, which no doubt the bean counters have put a stop to by now.

 

My old dad used to work for Cadbury's which became Cadbury Schweppes at some point. Then McVities came and joined the party along with  KP in their quest to ruin everyone's teeth and waistline.He used to bring home brown paper bags of broken biccies. Those were the days, but you're right they put a stop to it PDQ once a certain new top boss came a calling at the Bournville office. He saw they had table tennis and bowling greens, all provided when it was just Cadbury's, scorned the idea of making employees feel like family and it all came to a very abrupt end. No more broken biccies.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock

Albert Tatlock

Posted
Posted
On 12/18/2023 at 6:59 PM, LowGradeBronze said:

My old dad used to work for Cadbury's which became Cadbury Schweppes at some point. Then McVities came and joined the party along with  KP in their quest to ruin everyone's teeth and waistline.He used to bring home brown paper bags of broken biccies. Those were the days, but you're right they put a stop to it PDQ once a certain new top boss came a calling at the Bournville office. He saw they had table tennis and bowling greens, all provided when it was just Cadbury's, scorned the idea of making employees feel like family and it all came to a very abrupt end. No more broken biccies.

 

McVities have now been taken over by a Turkish firm, Pladis, but they haven't brought much Delight with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
Kevin.J

Kevin.J

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted
On 12/20/2023 at 12:31 AM, Malacoda said:

Zoinks. If this is issue #1, I assume it's from before ABC joined T&P, so it was distributed by Millers? 

Yes, Arnold if memory serves.

I have never seen the #2, dunno if it exists

1.thumb.jpg.defa8efec1c23f510a6291890421a23d.jpgbackcover.thumb.jpg.b8572a624133a7143083c76c76ba1137.jpg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
15 15
Go to topic listing