BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE 2 2

[aszumilo]

4 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Nice! That brings us to...17 different versions of the standard US format?

I love this book so much.

 

Actually it brings us to 18 different versions (or 19, since CGC labels some 14th prints as DC Direct Edition.)

[RockMyAmadeus]

4 hours ago, aszumilo said:

8 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Nice! That brings us to...17 different versions of the standard US format?

I love this book so much.

 

Actually it brings us to 18 different versions (or 19, since CGC labels some 14th prints as DC Direct Edition.)

Excellent! Does the 14th have two actual different versions, or is it just a labeling inconsistency with CGC?

[aszumilo]

19 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Excellent! Does the 14th have two actual different versions, or is it just a labeling inconsistency with CGC?

From what I can tell the 14th and DC Direct Editions are one and the same.  I posted a thread in the CGC Registry section.  Some of the pictures are gone, as they were on Photobucket, so, I'll have see if I have them and upload to fix it.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

4 hours ago, aszumilo said:

The prices on the newsstand copies match the prices on the direct editions as well.

 

Correct. This would have been typical, though exceptions exist, especially for periodicals published for both markets.

4 hours ago, aszumilo said:

In 1980, agreement was reached between the EAN Authority and the International ISBN Agency to assign a specific 3-digit prefix to a fictitious country designated as "Bookland". The country codes 978 and 979 were reserved for this "country" to encode the ISBN.

978 - denotes ISBN code (Ficticous country of Bookland)
0930289454 - ISBN # (Last number is different due to difference in "check digits" between ISBN and EAN/UCC-13)
50495 - denotes price (50001-59998 = price of $0.01 to $99.98)

Correct....ISBN meaning "International Standard Book Number."

4 hours ago, aszumilo said:

As in the past, a leading digit (Currency Indicator) of "5" designates prices from US$ 00.01 (50001) to US$ 99.98 (59998).

That's what I was looking for! 

Apparently, the 13 digit code that's now used is slightly different from the 10 digit code used in the past. This was changed in 2007, I see, but not universally, since comics still use the 10 digit code.

But the 10 digit code is this:

The first digit tells the computer what type of item it is; in this case, a general UPC. The next five digits are the publisher code (Marvel, in this case), and the next five are the title code (Star Wars.) The "4" is the check digit, to make sure the rest of the code is correct. The five digits "on top" are broken down like so: the first 3 are the issue number, the 4th digit is the variation (or "edition"), and the 5th digit is the printing of that edition.

Obviously, it's an imperfect system, as you demonstrate above. *Technically*, according to common usage, the code for the 11th printing..."00121"...would indicate a variant of issue #1.

Like so:

But when you have more than 9 variants or editions, you run out of space:

In this case, this is the "36th" variant of Star Wars #1, but the code could be interpreted as "3rd variant/edition" and "6th printing of that variant/edition."

Nerd minutiae!

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

4 hours ago, aszumilo said:

The 6th print Newsstand is the first printing that uses a barcode and only one I have seen on the front cover.  All other printings, with a barcode, are on the back cover.
There were no UPC codes used on the Direct Editions until the 8th printing.

Which would have corresponded with the 1993 transition at the major publishers from UPC box art to codes, at the request of retailers. 

So, it's safe to date the 8th printing to around this time period.

 

[aszumilo]

1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Excellent! Does the 14th have two actual different versions, or is it just a labeling inconsistency with CGC?

Also,  it appears the 14th version has a print date of Jan 1988 and an on-sale date of June 2008.  That would make sense since the ad on the back cover says August 2008.

http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/item/9bad2ba8-b3c4-4e8d-a808-564b29ac0e62/Batman-The-Killing-Joke-Collector-Box-Set-1

You could also order it, but, appears not until Oct 2009

https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/batman-the-killing-joke-new-printing

[aszumilo]

On 1/11/2020 at 1:13 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

The part of the code that reads "50495" and "50595" has to do with the cover price. So, we can see that between the 11th and 13th printings, the cover price went up an additional $1.

As would be expected, the publisher code...in this case, "780930"...and the title code "289454", remained the same. Interestingly, between the 6th printing (sometimes in 1989 or early 1990) and the 11th printing (sometime in the 2000s), the publisher and title codes changed, likely because of the radical change in distribution that took place.

I've yet to discover what the "50...." part means, so if anyone knows, please feel free to share.

As for the Direct 11th print, it's 5 digit "printing code" is interesting...it's coded like a variant: "00121"...rather than as a later printing. Such a mess, these codes are. It's a wonder any of them actually scanned correctly.

Got the book today.  It is definitely the 11th printing.  So, that verifies it as the 11th print Newsstand edition.

[RockMyAmadeus]

3 minutes ago, aszumilo said:

Got the book today.  It is definitely the 11th printing.  So, that verifies it as the 11th print Newsstand edition.

Nice!

[valiantman]

On 1/11/2020 at 3:13 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

I've yet to discover what the "50...." part means, so if anyone knows, please feel free to share.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 50 represents a US Dollar Sign ($) and a zero for prices above 9.99.

52495 for $24.95

[aszumilo]

On 1/25/2020 at 7:01 AM, valiantman said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the 50 represents a US Dollar Sign ($) and a zero for prices above 9.99.

52495 for $24.95

I posted what it refers to above, but, you are correct on how it works.

50495 - denotes price (50001-59998 = price of $0.01 to $99.98), so, 50495 = $4.95

Quote

In 1980, agreement was reached between the EAN Authority and the International ISBN Agency to assign a specific 3-digit prefix to a fictitious country designated as "Bookland". The country codes 978 and 979 were reserved for this "country" to encode the ISBN.

978 - denotes ISBN code (Ficticous country of Bookland)
0930289454 - ISBN # (Last number is different due to difference in "check digits" between ISBN and EAN/UCC-13)
50495 - denotes price (50001-59998 = price of $0.01 to $99.98)

 Price Encoded in the Add-On: As requested by some retailers, the supplemental 5-digit add-on symbol may be used to encode cover price. Guidelines for its use have been revised and expanded to encode cover prices up to US$ 499.99.

As in the past, a leading digit (Currency Indicator) of "5" designates prices from US$ 00.01 (50001) to US$ 99.98 (59998).

The number 59999 was previously used to indicate a cover price greater than US$ 99.98. Thus, at this time, the cover price US$ 99.99 cannot be encoded.

Prices from US$ 100.00 to US$ 499.99 are to be encoded with significant numbers, i.e., 10000 to 49999. At this time the numbers 60000 to 89999 have no significance and meaning.
Add-on Data     Pricing Interpretation     Comments
50001 > 59998     US$ 0.01 > US$ 99.98     Previously Existing Rules
59999     Price is not encoded and is understood to exceed US$ 99.98. (Note: A price of US$ 99.99 cannot be encoded.)     This value indicates a price greater than US$ 99.98 and not encoded in the add-on, whether the price is within the expanded range or not.
10000 > 19999     US$ 100.00 > US$ 199.99     New increased range
20000 > 29999     US$ 200.00 > US$ 299.99     New increased range
30000 > 39999     US$ 300.00 > US$ 399.99     New increased range
40000 > 49999     US$ 400.00 > US$ 499.99     New increased range

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by aszumilo

[The Commissioner]

My copy of The Killing Joke that I picked up at one of my first Cons!

 

[aszumilo]

I submitted some of the newsstand issue.  Probably not going to grade very high, but, as long as they label them as Newsstand Editions I'll be happy.

4th Print Book of the Month Club Edition

11th Print Newsstand Edition

13th Print Newsstand Edition

Also sent in

UK Edition

10th Print (hoping for 9.8 on this one, to upgrade)

Italian Edition

Depending on how they label the Newsstand Editions I may submit the 6th Print Newsstand for a re-holder and have them label it as a Newsstand Edition.

[aszumilo]

3 hours ago, The Commissioner said:

My copy of The Killing Joke that I picked up at one of my first Cons!

 

 

Looks like a 9.4-9.6 from what I can see. CGC hammers this book hard due to the super glossy cover.  It shows scratches, scuffs, and fingerprints real well, especially on the back cover. Looks very nice.

[aszumilo]

On 4/13/2020 at 9:39 PM, aszumilo said:

4th Print Book of the Month Club Edition

11th Print Newsstand Edition

13th Print Newsstand Edition

So, my books are scheduled for grading.  They are showing the 4th Print BOMC on the list, but, not the newsstands.  Hoping they did not throw my attached notes away and will label these as newsstands.

[aszumilo]

Well, books are on the way back to me.  Looks like they did not pay attention to the notes I included about Newsstand variants.  It does appear that they acknowledged the BOMC variant, so, that is a good thing.  I had it at a 9.2-9.4 and it is coming back 9.6, so, happy with that.  The UK book was also a nice surprise as I had that as a 9,2.  Really thought the 10th print had a shot at 9.8, but, sadly not.  The 13th print (newwstand) is the only one I am really disappointed with.  Thought that and the 11th print (newwstand) would be in the 9.4-9.6 range.   Biggest letdown is that they don't appear to recognize the KJ newwstand variants.

[littledoom]

[Jasonmorris1000000]

I don’t suppose one of the 14 people out there who own a graded 10 want to share a high res scan of it?

[AlBogz]

I was going through my old comics in my mom’s attic and came across a copy of what looks to be a first printing of Killing Joke. However, it has a UPC sticker attached to the cover of the book.  I don’t remember where I would have bought this 25+ years ago that would have added that. Has anyone seen this before?  Any options to get this graded or am I out of luck unless I somehow can remove a 25+ year old sticker without leaving residue behind?

 

[Jasonmorris1000000]

Don’t remove it yet.  It may be a newsstand version.  You might want to ask the collectors in the “Show us your modern newsies” thread.

On 5/10/2021 at 3:00 PM, AlBogz said:

I was going through my old comics in my mom’s attic and came across a copy of what looks to be a first printing of Killing Joke. However, it has a UPC sticker attached to the cover of the book.  I don’t remember where I would have bought this 25+ years ago that would have added that. Has anyone seen this before?  Any options to get this graded or am I out of luck unless I somehow can remove a 25+ year old sticker without leaving residue behind?

 

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Jasonmorris1000000

[AlBogz]

33 minutes ago, Jasonmorris1000000 said:

Don’t remove it yet.  It may be a newsstand version.  You might want to ask the collectors in the “Show us your modern newsies” thread.

 

Will do.  Thank you.