The Whitman Thread 15 15

[OtherEric]

On 2/24/2022 at 9:52 AM, bellrules said:

It’s called “We Have Issues” in Edmonton Alberta Canada 

Another data point for the “big eight were distributed in Canada but not the US” theory.

[Brock]

On 2/24/2022 at 1:55 PM, OtherEric said:

Another data point for the “big eight were distributed in Canada but not the US” theory.

To add to the list of data points, of the last 5 DCCP 22s that were sold on eBay:

• 2 came out of Canada (one from Edmonton and one from Toronto)
• 2 came out of Freeport, Maine, where it wouldn't totally surprise me to find that some retail distribution actually came from Canada, rather than from the US
• 1 came out of Madison, Wisconsin - I have bought a fair number of Whitmans from Wisconsin over the past year or two

[shadroch]

On 1/13/2022 at 3:28 PM, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

Thank you for sharing this.

I really enjoyed the use of the term " special market editions" when trying to classify the distinction between these and their direct counterparts. 

I also could see this being a good term to use in many other similar situations. 

You could say Marvel Special Market Editions or you can say Marvel Whitmans.  Is it correct?  Who cares . The people that correct you will also tell you the US doesn't have a penny coin.  

[Get Marwood & I]

Here's a question then, for those that know better. If these blank UPC books were meant to be in Whitman bags, hence the blank UPC, how does a bloke in England find boxes of them loose in a sweet shop store cupboard?

eBay Listing text:

5x COPIES (From a discovered batch Of 125 copies)

Of MARVEL COMICS ISSUE #271 THE MIGHTY THOR (MAY 1978)

Great condition for comics 43 years old (ex newsagents stock unused/unread)

So here’s the lowdown on THESE particular comics for sale.....

During a recent house renovation/clearance a box was discovered stored away in a room containing a batch of 125 identical copies of this comic issue #271 of Thor ALL in amazing condition for their age

(published by Marvel 43 years ago May 1978)

The comics originally belonged to a gentleman who once owned/ran a newsagent and the box containing these comics were all part of his excess stock, they have been sitting in their boxes/containers for over 4 decades now and so was an very exciting find to say the least!

[OtherEric]

In today.  A bit of an oddball title even by Whitman standards, but this thread needs a bump in any case.  I've already got the #1 somewhere.

[Warlord]

On 3/9/2022 at 5:36 PM, OtherEric said:

In today.  A bit of an oddball title even by Whitman standards, but this thread needs a bump in any case.  I've already got the #1 somewhere.

Those are so very cool!

[Warlord]

OK, here's another comic to help liven up the thread.  A recent upgrade of Godzilla #3!

[Warlord]

Already cross posted in two other threads with more details, so here's just a quick pic of Flash #283 hiding in a multi-pack

[Brock]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:48 AM, Warlord said:

Already cross posted in two other threads with more details, so here's just a quick pic of Flash #283 hiding in a multi-pack

Also interesting to note that the bag contains a direct edition Marvel, rather than a fat diamond Marvel.

[Warlord]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:19 AM, Brock said:

Also interesting to note that the bag contains a direct edition Marvel, rather than a fat diamond Marvel.

Marvel transitioned to the small diamond layout for all titles in June 1979.  This pack would have been released about six months after that, so the small diamond Marvels were to be expected by then.  There are many Whitman labeled packs that contain the late 1979/early-80s Direct edition Marvel comics.

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

Just got these in today courtesy of @inanimateobject

Thank you !!

[ADAMANTIUM]

No where near high grade, but might be a decent read. At $3

[OtherEric]

Here are some Whitman-adjacent books I think people here will enjoy seeing, at least:

[OtherEric]

One more.  This one has over 90 pages of Matt Baker art!

[OtherEric]

And, in case anybody objects to the above two as off topic, a few definitely Whitman books.  Al Williamson was amazing:

[MAR1979]

On 4/9/2022 at 5:27 PM, OtherEric said:

Here are some Whitman-adjacent books I think people here will enjoy seeing, at least:

 

 

 

 

I've a soft sport for that one!

[Brock]

On 4/9/2022 at 5:27 PM, OtherEric said:

Here are some Whitman-adjacent books I think people here will enjoy seeing, at least:

There are some very rare variants of these with a black bar printed over the price.

You pictured the Lassie book as well, but there are a few other of these, including (IIRC) Questar, Mickey Mouse Club, Walt Disney Christmas, Ripley’s, and 3 different UFO books.

[MAR1979]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:16 AM, Brock said:

There are some very rare variants of these with a black bar printed over the price.

 

Was the black bar printed on the cover or something applied during distribution?  $1.95 was decent money then. Before my time but I'd guess it woudl have been around same cost as a new hardcover book.  Was the bar added to sell them at a lower price?

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by MAR1979

[Brock]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:56 AM, MAR1979 said:

Was the black bar printed on the cover or something applied during distribution?  $1.95 was decent money then. Before my time but I'd guess it woudl have been around same cost as a new hardcover book.  Was the bar added to sell them at a lower price?

 

My guess (and this is pure speculation) is that it was printed as part of the larger run, but with the intention of capturing additional sales through discount stores. My OO copies were purchased c. 1980 at a Canadian discount retailer called "Bargain Harold's" (maybe somewhat akin to Five Below in the US today). As far as I know, only the Star Trek books were part of this - I've never seen such editions of the other Golden Press books.

Interestingly enough, Bargain Harold's also carried Modern Comics 2-packs, and discounted editions of Dynabrite comics.

As an aside, I recall $1.95 being the going price for new paperbacks at the time... Hardcover books were an astronomical $4.95. 

[OtherEric]

On 4/10/2022 at 6:16 AM, Brock said:

There are some very rare variants of these with a black bar printed over the price.

You pictured the Lassie book as well, but there are a few other of these, including (IIRC) Questar, Mickey Mouse Club, Walt Disney Christmas, Ripley’s, and 3 different UFO books.

I just posted the ones I have.  I had one of the UFO books as a kid and read it to pieces, I've tried a couple times to track it back down but it doesn't show up often.  I believe the Questar book reprints most of the stories from the Starstream issues I showed above.  I wonder why the name change?