The Whitman Thread 15 15

[stormflora]

On 12/15/2023 at 3:51 AM, bellrules said:

Actually found these in two separate shops today. Black hole in one and the other two in another (which makes sense given Scrooge and Huey came in the same pack in Canada. 

Ah, LCSes. I should really try visiting more near me. But the one that I did go to was rather uneventful—it was pretty much on the brink of dying. The suburbs of Toronto’s are just not very comic-centric at all. 

[Brock]

On 12/15/2023 at 3:55 AM, stormflora said:

Ah, LCSes. I should really try visiting more near me. But the one that I did go to was rather uneventful—it was pretty much on the brink of dying. The suburbs of Toronto’s are just not very comic-centric at all. 

Go west, young man… I find that places like antique malls are better than LCSes for these kind of books. Think of Waterloo, Stratford, Woodstock, London…

[Brock]

On 12/14/2023 at 9:56 PM, MAR1979 said:

A scan to go along with what @Brock mentioned:

 

From June 1980 Comic Reader a follow up:

In July 1980 Comic Reader, simply a list. Some (all?) of the books noted are now known to only have been in Pre-Pack's

Aug 1980 same situation as July:

Thanks for all of these… there’s more buried in these issues as well. In that first one (April 1980) there’s a lengthy discussion in the letter column that might be described as “what if DC took over distribution of the Whitman books?”

if anybody else comes across anything in other sources, please share! I’m working on an article/essay to pull some of these things together in a documented way… the only in-depth article on this stuff that I’m really aware of is John McClure’s piece in Comic Book Marketplace 85 and 86, and it’s full of errors and undocumented assumptions.

[MAR1979]

On 12/15/2023 at 6:10 AM, Brock said:

Thanks for all of these… there’s more buried in these issues as well. In that first one (April 1980) there’s a lengthy discussion in the letter column that might be described as “what if DC took over distribution of the Whitman books?”

if anybody else comes across anything in other sources, please share! I’m working on an article/essay to pull some of these things together in a documented way… the only in-depth article on this stuff that I’m really aware of is John McClure’s piece in Comic Book Marketplace 85 and 86, and it’s full of errors and undocumented assumptions.

[bellrules]

On 12/14/2023 at 9:56 PM, MAR1979 said:

A scan to go along with what @Brock mentioned:

 

From June 1980 Comic Reader a follow up:

In July 1980 Comic Reader, simply a list. Some (all?) of the books noted are now known to only have been in Pre-Pack's

Aug 1980 same situation as July:

Here’s a few more. Posted these previously but a good idea to keep them all together.

[bellrules]

On 12/15/2023 at 6:01 AM, Brock said:

Go west, young man… I find that places like antique malls are better than LCSes for these kind of books. Think of Waterloo, Stratford, Woodstock, London…

Given they were bagged in Cambridge, that makes sense

[Brock]

On 12/15/2023 at 10:49 AM, bellrules said:

 

When I first saw this, I wondered if the March of Comics issues might also be scarce, falling into this period. After watching for a bit on places like eBay, though, they seem to be relatively plentiful. As these made their way into the marketplace differently, this is another piece of (circumstantial) evidence that Whitman's internal distribution system collapsed in 1980 - distribution by others (in this case) seems to have continued normally.

It does raise an interesting question, though... If these scarce books were printed but just not distributed, where are they now? Perhaps they were eventually pulped, but if they were being shipped to and bagged in Coffeyville, Kansas, is there an outside possibility of a warehouse find? Coffeyville is about 75 miles north of Tulsa, OK - I wonder what the antique malls and bookstores of that region might yield?

[stormflora]

On 12/15/2023 at 6:01 AM, Brock said:

Go west, young man… I find that places like antique malls are better than LCSes for these kind of books. Think of Waterloo, Stratford, Woodstock, London…

Yeah... I'm not nearly as hardcore as most collectors here, so it doesn't make sense for me to take a road trip just for some antique comics

[bellrules]

Another hit today at an antique mall. Given that WDCS 481 came with Daisy 46, I’m going to assume the other two came packaged together. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by bellrules

[OtherEric]

On 12/15/2023 at 7:49 AM, bellrules said:

 

If anybody wants to see the unpublished Buck Rogers #10:

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/complete-story/al-mcwilliams-buck-rogers-unpublished-issue-10-complete-22-page-story-original-art-western-1981-total-22/a/7236-95287.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515

[ThothAmon]

On 12/15/2023 at 1:09 PM, OtherEric said:

Buck Rogers

 

[picon3]

Saw this today @ a used book store that sells "Vintage Comics".  I snagged it for the $3.00. 

 

[stormflora]

You guys are lucky to have nearby antique/vintage stores that don't nickel and dime you while only providing scraps. Sucks to live in a major city like mine. I'm forced to resort to online shopping, which isn't necessarily bad per-se due to the increased availability of comics and convenience, but the shipping costs add up.

[Brock]

On 12/16/2023 at 1:16 AM, stormflora said:

You guys are lucky to have nearby antique/vintage stores that don't nickel and dime you while only providing scraps. Sucks to live in a major city like mine. I'm forced to resort to online shopping, which isn't necessarily bad per-se due to the increased availability of comics and convenience, but the shipping costs add up.

Big cities are good, too… I travel pretty much all the time for my work, and pretty much everywhere. In most places, big or small, there’s usually a couple of honey holes. You just have to find them, and keep going back. Used bookstores, junk shops, larger LCSes in big towns or forgotten LCSes in smaller towns, antique shops, etc. are all good. A lot of places will have a section for “kid’s comics”, which are typically overlooked by most comic hunters. Dealers who know their superheroes but nothing else are great.

i don’t have near as much luck as @bellrules but I do pretty well…

 

[bellrules]

On 12/16/2023 at 4:10 PM, Brock said:

Big cities are good, too… I travel pretty much all the time for my work, and pretty much everywhere. In most places, big or small, there’s usually a couple of honey holes. You just have to find them, and keep going back. Used bookstores, junk shops, larger LCSes in big towns or forgotten LCSes in smaller towns, antique shops, etc. are all good. A lot of places will have a section for “kid’s comics”, which are typically overlooked by most comic hunters. Dealers who know their superheroes but nothing else are great.

i don’t have near as much luck as @bellrules but I do pretty well…

 

Most of my finds have been in bigger cities. Small towns don’t yield the same type of results. Found a Scrooge 179 at Calgary Expo for 1.00. Books are out there, you just have to look. 

[bellrules]

And just to add to an already incredible week. 

[MAR1979]

On 12/15/2023 at 6:10 AM, Brock said:

Thanks for all of these… there’s more buried in these issues as well. In that first one (April 1980) there’s a lengthy discussion in the letter column that might be described as “what if DC took over distribution of the Whitman books?”

if anybody else comes across anything in other sources, please share! I’m working on an article/essay to pull some of these things together in a documented way… the only in-depth article on this stuff that I’m really aware of is John McClure’s piece in Comic Book Marketplace 85 and 86, and it’s full of errors and undocumented assumptions.

Folks let me know if any demand to post rest of the article Brock referred to in his post.

@RockMyAmadeus why confused?

Edited December 18, 2023 by MAR1979

[RockMyAmadeus]

[Brock]

On 12/17/2023 at 10:10 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

 

On 12/15/2023 at 6:10 AM, Brock said:

and it’s full of errors and undocumented assumptions.

My goal is to just help set the record straight.

[MAR1979]

On 12/17/2023 at 10:10 PM, RockMyAmadeus said:

Is there a story? I've never seen the name before.