Excalibur Special Edition 0

[I like pie]

I have always been curious if the census was accurate on this book and was hoping someone had raw copies to confirm.

I bought this copy at a 7-Eleven as a kid. From my understanding, this is the newsstand copy. The direct copy has a cover price along with the second and third printings.

The census has them listed as 1987 but mine was labeled 1988 and I've never seen another no "price variant" from 1988. Maybe just a mis-label?

[OtherEric]

According to the GCD the newsstand only has the price on the spine, that certainly looks like the newsstand version to me.  Mike's Amazing World has the on-sale date as December 1987, with a cover date of 1988.  So if the date wasn't actually on the book, 4/88 is probably a decent guess as to what other books on the stand were dated when it came out.

My guess is somebody didn't recognize it was a known variation and put what they could on the label.

[F For Fake]

This is what MCS says:

NOTE: there were 2 versions of the first printing and 2 different reprints. #1A, the scarcer first printing (04/1988), does not have a cover price. #1B first printing (04/1988) has a cover price of $3.25. #1C second printing (12/1989) has a cover price of $3.50. #1D reprint (1992) has a cover price of $4.50. 

Now personally, I own a stack of these books, and have never seen a "no price variant" which did not also have a newsstand code on the back. So I've always assumed that the "nn variant" and "newstand" are the same thing. If anyone could prove that wrong, I'd desperately like to see a copy (and own it!)

Now, to me, the true "2nd print" is the $3.50 cover price book, which I've also only seen with a newsstand UPC on the back. I sometimes see the $3.25 cover price copies listed as "second print", but I'm pretty sure these are just 1st print DIRECT's that the sellers have misidentified.

To me, the price is the thing more than the UPC.

1st prints: $3.25 - 1st prints directs have that on the cover, 1st print newsies don't have it at all, but do have the UPC on the back

2nd: $3.50 - all have UPCs on the back

3rd $4.50 - Also has "The Sword is Drawn" logo on the cover, so these are always easy to spot right away.

Now it's possible that the 1st no-price books had UPC's but were not newsstand exclusive, right? So it may be more correct to simply refer to them as "no-price variant" or "UPC variant", rather than "newsstand". But I'm not sure. Again, no expert, happy to be proven wrong, but I've bought every single copy of this book that I've ever found in a dollar bin for the last 20 years or so, and that's what I've found. Would love to turn up more weird variations, as this is one of my all time favorite books.

 

[I like pie]

Thanks for the help guys. I looks like mine just has the wrong date printed on the label but the description is correct.

I also just picked this up. It's labeled as a first print but am pretty sure this is the third. CGC has a rough time with this book.

[F For Fake]

On 12/23/2021 at 8:37 AM, I like pie said:

Thanks for the help guys. I looks like mine just has the wrong date printed on the label but the description is correct.

I also just picked this up. It's labeled as a first print but am pretty sure this is the third. CGC has a rough time with this book.

Beauty! And yup, that's absolutely the third. Nice pick up!

[I like pie]

Finally acquired all the copies I have been looking for. 

I don't have any interest in the standard/direct first print, since it is the most common.

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by I like pie

[F For Fake]

On 5/12/2022 at 9:39 PM, I like pie said:

Finally acquired all the copies I have been looking for. 

I don't have any interest in the standard/direct first print, since it is the most common.

Sweet! Such a great book.

[MetalPSI]

On 5/12/2022 at 7:39 PM, I like pie said:

Finally acquired all the copies I have been looking for. 

I don't have any interest in the standard/direct first print, since it is the most common.

I say, well done

[Qalyar]

On 5/12/2022 at 8:39 PM, I like pie said:

Finally acquired all the copies I have been looking for. 

I don't have any interest in the standard/direct first print, since it is the most common.

My level of OCD would demand a copy of the normal printing, too, just for completionism. Regardless, those are nice copies of -- for a couple of them, especially -- fairly tough printings of a great book.

[MattrixAlien]

Loved the Excalibur team as a kid & the Alan Davis art is gorgeous. One of my favourite titles back in the day for the 1st 2 years or so. It's a series with almost no keys. Nice to see it getting a thread. If Captain Britain appears in the MCU and Excalibur follows maybe that will change one day  

Edited May 16, 2022 by MattrixAlien

[F For Fake]

Indeed, it’s a terrific book. Davis was at the peak of his powers, and it featured my two favorite X-Men, Kitty and Nightcrawler. I never get tired of this book. I keep nicer copies bagged and boarded in my collection, but if I find $1 copies, I throw them into my comic rack. I’ve got dozens of copies, and the $3.25 cover is by far the most represented, followed distantly by the $4.50. I only have a handful of the second print by comparison.

My other big nostalgia hoard book is Meltdown. I never turn away a dollar copy! Newsstands are uncommon but not rare.

[Dave2739]

On 5/17/2022 at 3:43 PM, F For Fake said:

Indeed, it’s a terrific book. Davis was at the peak of his powers, and it featured my two favorite X-Men, Kitty and Nightcrawler. I never get tired of this book. I keep nicer copies bagged and boarded in my collection, but if I find $1 copies, I throw them into my comic rack. I’ve got dozens of copies, and the $3.25 cover is by far the most represented, followed distantly by the $4.50. I only have a handful of the second print by comparison.

My other big nostalgia hoard book is Meltdown. I never turn away a dollar copy! Newsstands are uncommon but not rare.

Nice rack! No pun intended 

[F For Fake]

On 5/17/2022 at 3:52 PM, Dave2739 said:

Nice rack! No pun intended 

Aw shucks, you’ll make me blush! :teehee: 

[AGGIEZ]

On 5/13/2022 at 1:47 PM, F For Fake said:

Sweet! Such a great book.

Outside of nostalgia, why?

[F For Fake]

On 5/18/2022 at 10:30 PM, AGGIEZ said:

Outside of nostalgia, why?

I’m not sure if a person with zero connection or affinity for classic X-Men comics would get much out of it, but it’s classic Claremont zaniness matched with Alan Davis at his absolute best, so even without the layer of nostalgia, I’d think that would count for something. I can’t separate it from that context, so it’s impossible for me to say how it would read to someone without those connections. But to me, it’s a classic copper age superhero book.

[I’m Rick Jones bitch]

So, to be clear, $3.50 2nd print much less abundant than $3.25 1st print? 

[F For Fake]

On 5/31/2022 at 1:09 AM, I’m Rick Jones person_without_enough_empathy said:

So, to be clear, $3.50 2nd print much less abundant than $3.25 1st print? 

In my experience, this is correct. Now again, this is anecdotal, based on my experience collecting the book for 30 years around here. I can only speak for myself. I generally pick up any $1 (or relatively cheap) copy I find, and have done so for many years.

So, with that big caveat, the non-priced 1st print is still the hardest to find (though to be fair, NONE of these are rare. Print runs were very healthy,) and the $3.50 cover is the next in line. I have stacks of dozens of copies of the $3.25 1st print, and I have a healthy stack of $4.50 3rd prints. But I only have, like, two or three copies of the $3.50 cover, and the same for the no-price 1st print.

So, in my limited personal experience of buying this book, the $3.50 cover is uncommon. I would stress that I don't think any of them are "rare", but I definitely don't see the $3.50 cover much at all.