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

[Garystar]

2 hours ago, Malacoda said:

Right, agreed, but then where do you get mid July from?  It's the 'mid' I'm querying. 

I believe mid July arises because July is the phase over month; Marvels cover dated July that were released mid April, on or before 13 April, have T&P stamps, those released after 13 April only exist as UKPV.

[Garystar]

3 hours ago, Get Marwood & I said:

I agree.  I think TTA 62, FF 80, Nick Fury 14 and Silver Surfer 10 are The Unfindables.

In May 1973 I went into a holiday gift shop, the ones that sell buckets and spades and all kinds of tat, in Cornwall. They had a rack of Marvel comics, I was familiar with the characters from UK reprints but had never seen real American Marvels before. I bought four, I read the two Thor issues (172 and 173) and then read Silver Surfer #10 - I was instantly hooked and began collecting that day. I have no recollection of how they were priced - UKPV, T&P stamp or some other method. What I can say is I have always had a fondness for SS#10 and have bought many over the years (now down to three and have the surfer image literally tattooed on me) and look out for it in shops, marts and ebay - in nearly 50 years of watching out for this comic I have never seen a UKPV or T&P stamped issue.

[Malacoda]

1 hour ago, Garystar said:

In May 1973 I went into a holiday gift shop, the ones that sell buckets and spades and all kinds of tat, in Cornwall. They had a rack of Marvel comics, I was familiar with the characters from UK reprints but had never seen real American Marvels before. I bought four, I read the two Thor issues (172 and 173) and then read Silver Surfer #10 - I was instantly hooked and began collecting that day. I have no recollection of how they were priced - UKPV, T&P stamp or some other method. What I can say is I have always had a fondness for SS#10 and have bought many over the years (now down to three and have the surfer image literally tattooed on me) and look out for it in shops, marts and ebay - in nearly 50 years of watching out for this comic I have never seen a UKPV or T&P stamped issue.

That's amazing.  So you have an absolutely crystal clear memory of buying SS 10 (and we all have some memories we know are 100% correct) via a channel that must have been normal 'high street' distribution but have never seen another copy.  So you know absolutely that it happened once, but only once. It certainly does reinforce the idea that leftover cents copies were distributed, particularly to seaside towns, as US returns long after publication. The fact that it was over 3 years after publication indicates it had a very strange journey.  I don't suppose there's any chance that one of the 3 you have left is...the one?

[Malacoda]

2 hours ago, Garystar said:

I believe mid July arises because July is the phase over month; Marvels cover dated July that were released mid April, on or before 13 April, have T&P stamps, those released after 13 April only exist as UKPV.

So you're assuming that the July cover dated UKPV's went to World and the CS's went to T&P?

[Get Marwood & I]

3 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Seriously, though, just to find one unexpected stamped copy would mean nothing other than that particular item was in the wrong place at the wrong time, as is likely to have been the case with the recently discovered Showcase 22. Who is to say that a lone copy of TTA 62 could not have lain about unnoticed until someone chucked it in with a later shipment.

If it's out there, we'll find it Albert. We will look for it, we will find it, and we subject it to critical analysis. 

2 hours ago, Garystar said:

It looks right if you are saying this is generally the pattern because as we have seen there is phasing during cover months e.g. Nov 64, Aug 65, Nov 67 some titles are UKPV some are stamped.

Yes, it takes account of the overlap months - always difficult to plot those staggered UKPV months

2 hours ago, Garystar said:

I believe there are no T&P stamps post July 71, there are certainly none from Nov 71 onwards (cover dates).

Is that the latest example you have seen - November 71?

1 hour ago, Garystar said:

In May 1973 I went into a holiday gift shop, the ones that sell buckets and spades and all kinds of tat, in Cornwall. They had a rack of Marvel comics, I was familiar with the characters from UK reprints but had never seen real American Marvels before. I bought four, I read the two Thor issues (172 and 173) and then read Silver Surfer #10 - I was instantly hooked and began collecting that day. I have no recollection of how they were priced - UKPV, T&P stamp or some other method. What I can say is I have always had a fondness for SS#10 and have bought many over the years (now down to three and have the surfer image literally tattooed on me) and look out for it in shops, marts and ebay - in nearly 50 years of watching out for this comic I have never seen a UKPV or T&P stamped issue.

I love a childhood holiday comic story 

[Garystar]

9 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Is that the latest example you have seen - November 71?

No the latest I have seen is July 71. November 71 is the double sized month when I’m sure there are no stamps. The period Aug to Oct 71 I don’t believe there are any stamps but....... maybe???

[Get Marwood & I]

Just now, Garystar said:

No the latest I have seen is July 71. November 71 is the double sized month when I’m sure there are no stamps. The period Aug to Oct 71 I don’t believe there are any stamps but....... maybe???

OK, I'll have a scout about

All of you - DC had T&P stamps all the way up to 1979, with the UKPVs starting from Feb 1978. Who are we saying was handling the distribution for both types?

[Garystar]

18 minutes ago, Malacoda said:

So you're assuming that the July cover dated UKPV's went to World and the CS's went to T&P?

More of a hypothesis. If all of July’s had gone to the one distributor you would have expected them all to follow same pattern. That there is a clear difference based on a date (13 April release) at least makes this plausible. 

[Albert Tatlock]

Not sure whether I have seen this stamp before - a Miller, but a larger than usual size - 1 and a quarter inches diameter. The price had a blank sticker over it, which I have removed.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Albert Tatlock
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[Garystar]

32 minutes ago, Malacoda said:

That's amazing.  So you have an absolutely crystal clear memory of buying SS 10 (and we all have some memories we know are 100% correct) via a channel that must have been normal 'high street' distribution but have never seen another copy.  So you know absolutely that it happened once, but only once. It certainly does reinforce the idea that leftover cents copies were distributed, particularly to seaside towns, as US returns long after publication. The fact that it was over 3 years after publication indicates it had a very strange journey.  I don't suppose there's any chance that one of the 3 you have left is...the one?

Absolutely 100% sure as SS made such an impression on me. I also got Cap America #122 at same time. Went back couple of days later and got Avengers 73, cap 123, iron man 20, 21, Sgt fury 73 and x-men 64. They must have had a steady supply because a few weeks later I had a friend who was going to same location and got him to get me a few comics - he came back with Surfer 12 and 13, DD 60 and FF 96 which weren’t there when I looked. They were all in new condition. I no longer have any of these originals, they would have been read till they fell apart and then sold as I got better condition copies. 

[Garystar]

21 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

23 minutes ago, Garystar said:

No the latest I have seen is July 71. November 71 is the double sized month when I’m sure there are no stamps. The period Aug to Oct 71 I don’t believe there are any stamps but....... maybe???

OK, I'll have a scout about

From what @Malacoda has input it’s looking like July 71 is when Marvel distribution moved from T&P to World Distributors. If so then we won’t find any stamps after that date. 

[Get Marwood & I]

Just now, Garystar said:

From what @Malacoda has input it’s looking like July 71 is when Marvel distribution moved from T&P to World Distributors. If so then we won’t find any stamps after that date. 

I haven't! 

So far.....

[Malacoda]

12 minutes ago, Garystar said:

Absolutely 100% sure as SS made such an impression on me. I also got Cap America #122 at same time. Went back couple of days later and got Avengers 73, cap 123, iron man 20, 21, Sgt fury 73 and x-men 64. They must have had a steady supply because a few weeks later I had a friend who was going to same location and got him to get me a few comics - he came back with Surfer 12 and 13, DD 60 and FF 96 which weren’t there when I looked. They were all in new condition. I no longer have any of these originals, they would have been read till they fell apart and then sold as I got better condition copies. 

And there it is. Those new ones were all from around Q1 1970, so whatever these batches were, they were long-stashed leftovers of some description. There are many stories like this and they always come from holiday & seaside towns. And we know from Alan Class, Dez Skinn and everyone else that sending the leftovers to holiday resorts in subsequent summers is exactly what they used to do. 

[Malacoda]

10 minutes ago, Garystar said:

From what @Malacoda has input it’s looking like July 71 is when Marvel distribution moved from T&P to World Distributors. If so then we won’t find any stamps after that date. 

Yup and your April 13th date is looking pretty good. Shaken but not stirred.  Subby #39 was on sale 6/4/71 yet has no stamps, and there definitely were Subby stamps for 37 & 38, but that's the only upset so far. 

[Albert Tatlock]

8 minutes ago, Malacoda said:

sending the leftovers to holiday resorts

Bundle of Mister Miracle 3, which was scarce at the time, turned up in Bournemouth July 1972.

And Hero For Hire 1, of which I found several copies on Copenhagen railway station in August 1974.

Let's face it, no-one was going to throw them away, they just got handed on from one dealer to another and they could finish up anywhere. There could be a shedful waiting to be discovered just around the corner.

[Malacoda]

19 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

I haven't! 

So far.....

I didn't find any for Subby, Iron Man, FF, Daredevil or Avengers after July. 

[Get Marwood & I]

Just now, Malacoda said:

I didn't find any for Subby, Iron Man, FF, Daredevil or Avengers after July. 

I don't think they're there - you get a feel for it don't you, and my gut is telling me they won't appear. I'm not going to spend too much time looking therefore - July 71 it is for me, until your ND work says otherwise Rich. 

[Get Marwood & I]

47 minutes ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Not sure whether I have seen this stamp before - a Miller, but a larger than usual size - 1 and a quarter inches diameter. The price had a blank sticker over it, which I have removed.

Nice spot. I've gathered a lot of examples of that later 9d Miller stamp type - it's usually found on Harveys and Charltons though, Albert. IWs usually have the small 6d one:

There's a shilling version too:

 

[Malacoda]

3 minutes ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Bundle of Mister Miracle 3, which was scarce at the time, turned up in Bournemouth July 1972.

And Hero For Hire 1, of which I found several copies on Copenhagen railway station in August 1974.

Let's face it, no-one was going to throw them away, they just got handed on from one dealer to another and they could finish up anywhere. There could be a shedful waiting to be discovered just around the corner.

Glenn Miller (not that one) tells the story that there are thousands of comics he processed as a distributor which he then ended up handling a second time working for a retailer and then a third time......." It was in fact bought by Chris and Maurice and ended up being part of the stock for Comics and C.D’s, the comic shop I worked in on and off from around 1992 to 1994.In fact that Neptune stock haunts me even today when I help Chris and Maurice out at marts when I sort out comics that I’ve probably been sorting out the same comic for nearly 25 years…"

And he even posts a picture of the very shed you postulate, Albert....

 

 

[Malacoda]

12 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

I don't think they're there - you get a feel for it don't you, and my gut is telling me they won't appear. I'm not going to spend too much time looking therefore - July 71 it is for me, until your ND work says otherwise Rich. 

Yeah, leave this one with me. I would be surprised if absolutely zero turned up. There were bound to be loads that were seized at T&P that were eventually returned by the Police and ended up in places like Gary's bucket-and-spade shop (so pre-July but rocked up years later)  but, yes, if you look before July 71 you immediately see loads & loads of both PV's and CS's and after July, the CS's  completely  fall off a cliff. 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Malacoda