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

[Malacoda]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:04 PM, baggsey said:

On the topic of researching Bills of Lading and ship movements at Liverpool, it might be worth a trip to Merseyside to see the Liverpool Dock Registers which recorded dock movements up to and including the 1960s - see https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/archivesheet49   , which has not yet computerized.

I actually quoted this site previously for the article about Liverpool to NY sea crossing, which is fascinating in its own right.  It didn't occur to me that things like bills of lading would be there. 

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/merseyside-maritime-museum/exhibition/liverpool-new-york-only-way-cross

[themagicrobot]

Quote

If so, did any of the Marvels have indicias that credit T&P, which might indicate that they were from T&P stock, rather than coverless returns sourced from the States?

No those Marvels with T&P indicia were only available for a brief time in the very early 1960s. The Double Doubles were available between 1967 and 1971. Mostly containing DCs but sometimes a Marvel or ACG was slipped in. 

 

[Malacoda]

On 3/29/2023 at 11:10 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

The stamp 2 section there could be one of those 'repeat months' I suppose.

It could be, but I think it more definitely illustrates the other he was talking about, the months where he would suddenly get a whole run of a series coming in at the same time. Your table displays a pretty remarkable example of that.  

[yrag9591]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:09 PM, baggsey said:

That's an interesting thought, @LowGradeBronze .   Back in 1972, while on holiday in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, I picked up a 1966 Detective comic in crisp, immaculate condition from the spinner rack. It could very well be that the seaside retailers had an alternative source for their summer stock ; I always assumed it was in the back room, wheeled back at the end of the season.

That didn’t just happen by the seaside though. For example, I found a new-looking copy of Detective 341 in Walthamstow in about 1972/3. 

[themagicrobot]

At this rate there will soon be 5000 posts here. Now where should we put the price stamp on this comic Ethel?

[Get Marwood & I]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:28 PM, Malacoda said:

It could be, but I think it more definitely illustrates the other he was talking about, the months where he would suddenly get a whole run of a series coming in at the same time. Your table displays a pretty remarkable example of that.  

It does, if the stamp number was still in line with sequential shipments at that point. 

[Malacoda]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:35 PM, themagicrobot said:

Now where should we put the price stamp on this comic Ethel?

That was just asking for it, wasn't it? 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 3/27/2023 at 5:35 PM, OtherEric said:

I like things like that. I can date my Bugs #3 accurately now:

Speaking of dating comics from this period, it helps when the in-house ads give us some clues.

No date on the comic itself here.

The inside front cover has a list of titles scheduled to appear in October, but October of which year?

Back cover has an ad for Wagon Train Annual, and there are several on ebay giving its date as 1959 (presumably late in the year during the runup to Christmas that year).

Dealers' lists have helped to pin down the dates of the Annuals which bear no printed date, but even without that, there are the inscriptions found on the flyleaf along the lines of 'Happy Christmas 1958 to little Johnny from Auntie Doreen'.

Eventually it might be possible to date all the T & P, etc. reprint titles. We do already know the earliest possible dates from the material reprinted.

[Malacoda]

On 3/29/2023 at 8:35 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

Speaking of dating comics from this period, it helps when the in-house ads give us some clues.

No date on the comic itself here.

The inside front cover has a list of titles scheduled to appear in October, but October of which year?

The original is a Dell from Dec 1956 to Feb 1957, so likely 1957 earliest unless they were super speedy with the plates.  

According to the GCD, World published 20 issues of this Giant Comic in 1956 and 1957,  so assuming it was 20 monthly issues in a possible 24 month span, this one would have to be somewhere between August and November of 1957, which would be the right moment to be advertising the Xmas annuals for Little Johnny & Auntie Doreen.  Given, as you say, the interior ad is for October, that eliminates Oct & Nov, so my money is on September 1957. 

(Why do I feel like I just took all the fun out of that?)

Edited March 30, 2023 by Malacoda

[Malacoda]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:31 PM, yrag9591 said:

That didn’t just happen by the seaside though. For example, I found a new-looking copy of Detective 341 in Walthamstow in about 1972/3. 

Hang on, Gary, are you saying that Walthamstow is not a sun-drenched seaside paradise?  The Walthamstow Marketing Board would definitely beg to differ. 

[themagicrobot]

Many areas of London were (still are?) famous for their saturday street markets. In the regions market stalls appeared in the appropriately named Market squares often held on Fridays and Saturdays. In the 1960s I regularly visited 5 different local towns by bus or bicycle to buy (or swap two for one) old comics. Where I live the Market stalls are long gone. You bump into people you know in Tesco rather than when you're standing in the rain buying something from the Fish stall. But in their heyday every decent Market had at least one secondhand paperback book/comic stall. In this image the comic stall is just out of shot to the left and was there weekly until the early 1980s.

Also in the 1960s the family made many Saturday shopping trips to Derby or Nottingham. Derby Indoor Market was a favourite haunt. The two Newsagents within had a far greater range of periodicals than my local shops. I could get exotic things like Practical Wireless or Coin Collector magazine. They also had literally stacks of new comics. Often the newest arrivals hung on pegs on rope above the vendors head and you had to point to the Adventure or Worlds Finest you required. This photo was taken in the 1950s but hadn't changed a decade or more later. In fact the interior and exterior of this Victorian building stayed the same until quite recently when it finally was updated for the C21st.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by themagicrobot

[yrag9591]

On 3/30/2023 at 1:33 AM, Malacoda said:

Hang on, Gary, are you saying that Walthamstow is not a sun-drenched seaside paradise?  The Walthamstow Marketing Board would definitely beg to differ. 

I bow to no-one in my love for Walthamstow, but a seaside paradise? No. I was born there, and lived there and in Chingford for about 40 years. I’d move back if I could!

[yrag9591]

Magicrobot, I have similar memories of London markets. 

[themagicrobot]

The thing that has changed is that back then an old comic was sold for half its original cover price. The modern equivalent of those Market stalls is the Antique Centres which have sprung up everywhere. Often containing dozens if not hundreds of different sellers many of which who now think any old comic (often in poor condition) is worth a fortune.

[chaddesden33]

I remember it well. In fact Poyntons are still trading in the Derbion Shopping Centre and continue to carry an awesome array of new magazines, but not many new comics.

Derby outdoor market on the Morledge in the 1960s was also a great place to buy 'old' American comics as well as copious quantities of Fantastic and Terrific. Everything was 6d. and the proprietor didn't feel the need to mark them up with a felt pen. Anything over two years old made you feel like you'd discovered an ancient -script!

[Albert Tatlock]

On 3/30/2023 at 1:18 AM, Malacoda said:

my money is on September 1957. 

But the Wagon Train Annual on back cover has a copyright date of 1959.

August or September 1959, I reckon.

[themagicrobot]

Quote

Derby outdoor market on the Morledge in the 1960s was also a great place to buy 'old' American comics as well as copious quantities of Fantastic and Terrific. Everything was 6d. and the proprietor didn't feel the need to mark them up with a felt pen. Anything over two years old made you feel like you'd discovered an ancient --script!

Yes that was another of my hunting grounds. The Traders didn't want Beanos but as you say were happy with those Odhams Fantastics and Terrifics as although slightly larger looked similar to the American ones. It was there at the Morledge Market circa 1967 that I snagged in one hit six different Adventure comics for 3/- all featuring Tales of the Bizarro world. They were perhaps 6 years old but I thought I'd discovered treasures from the Golden Age of comics.

[Malacoda]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:21 AM, Albert Tatlock said:

But the Wagon Train Annual on back cover has a copyright date of 1959.

August or September 1959, I reckon.

Oops, missed that.  Apologies.  Yes, Duncan confirms and, ironically, so does the GCD. 

 

 

[LowGradeBronze]

Today's silly nonsense....

 

[Malacoda]

On 3/30/2023 at 9:49 AM, themagicrobot said:

Many areas of London were (still are?) famous for their saturday street markets.

Kingston (upon Thames) had one that ran all week.  I can't remember a bookseller, but there was a record seller who had some incredibly rare and expensive stuff.  I bought some great picture discs from him.