Marvel Whitman Themed 3-packs 4 4

[wormboy]

On 7/21/2017 at 9:02 PM, OtherEric said:

Speaking as somebody whose subscription to Star Wars began with #21, and getting 4-18 in the 3 packs around that time, I can tell you with great certainty that I never saw them.  My family spent about a year looking every single time we got to the store; up until we moved overseas for a few years.  I remember my parents promising they would buy the pack even if it meant getting an extra copy of #21, just so I could have the issues.

Oddly, we never found the 1-3 pack, either.  I didn't get those until around 1981, when my parents ordered me all the missing issues from Mile High, as well as another subscription to the title.  Even then, the #19 and #20 were out of stock; I think it wasn't until 1986 or so when I was back in the US and discovered comic book stores that I finally tracked down the #19 and #20.  Ironically, I found them at Golden Age Collectables at the Pike Place Market in Seattle; which existed in the 70's and for all I know had had them in stock since we were first looking.  We just didn't know the store was there, even as we got up into Seattle every couple of months. 

Ah, memories of the hunt.  Those were the first back issues I ever went searching for...

Great info, thanks! 

You had very cool parents.

Yeah, that place is down in the catacombs of Pike Place! Hard to find even when you know it's there 

[fastballspecial]

Yes its sealed and its only one book thats what threw me. I know they are supposed to have 3 inside the bag just like this auction below.

Anyone seen one like that ever?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARVEL-COMICS-SHOGUN-WARRIORS-1-3-DIRECT-MARKET-WHITMAN-3-PACK-SEALED-/272743282020?epid=85436026&hash=item3f80c43564:g:Vo4AAOSwcB5ZEk1b

 

Edited July 23, 2017 by fastballspecial

[wormboy]

Never seen one.

[wormboy]

On 1/22/2017 at 11:34 AM, Marwood & I said:

 

If i can quote The Housemartins, Bah bah bah bah BUILD!

So I finally got around to building this Whitman Battlestar Galactica display.

 

It was really well designed and went together quickly. I was happy to see that all of the places you were supposed to fold it had guide lines already pressed into place (don't know the technical term), so I didn't have to try to fold hard cardboard in a straight line, and it also folded right back into place and looked flat again after I disassembled it. 

Here are some photos:

 

[wormboy]

Here's where I'm at with the checklist. [UPDATED 9/12/17]

There may be a few I missed from Marwood's post, but it appears that image may have been a victim of the photo bucket disaster.

If you have any of the unknown packs (shown in yellow) please post confirmation and a pic if possible 

 

Edited September 13, 2017 by wormboy
Updated list

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 1/21/2017 at 4:46 PM, wormboy said:

 

Fantastic Four

 

200-202?, Mine has Gold Key Boris Karlof in the middle of 201 and 202? . Anyone have one that has #200 in it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#200 wouldn't be in a 3 pack, because it was a 60 cent double sized issue. Whitman was already annoyed that they had to price $1.05 in cover price in a 99 cent bag...and then $1.20 in a $1.09 bag (!)...they weren't about to put $1.30 worth of books in a 99 cent bag.

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 1/21/2017 at 9:09 PM, ShieldAgent said:

wormboy said:

Thank you kind sir! Now if only we could find a price variant in a 3-pack!

 

I would be like

That'd require such a confluence of totally unrelated events that the universe might pop out of existence.

[wormboy]

3 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

#200 wouldn't be in a 3 pack, because it was a 60 cent double sized issue. Whitman was already annoyed that they had to price $1.05 in cover price in a 99 cent bag...and then $1.20 in a $1.09 bag (!)...they weren't about to put $1.30 worth of books in a 99 cent bag.

Are you sure? The first Conan 3 pack has #100, which is a 60 cent double size issue, and $1.40 cover price in a $1.09 bag.

Edited September 12, 2017 by wormboy

[RockMyAmadeus]

6 minutes ago, wormboy said:

Are you sure? The first Conan 3 pack has #100, which is a 60 cent double size issue, and $1.40 cover price in a $1.09 bag.

I expect that would have been a mistake, and they just said "ah, screw it." 

Conan #100 came out after FF #200.

[wormboy]

8 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

I expect that would have been a mistake, and they just said "ah, screw it." 

Conan #100 came out after FF #200.

Do you mean just the Conan bag I own is a mistake, or they were all like that, and were all mistakes?

Do you own the FF bag? Does yours also not have 200?

I'd love to confirm this either way.

[RockMyAmadeus]

5 minutes ago, wormboy said:

Do you mean just the Conan bag I own is a mistake, or they were all like that, and were all mistakes?

Do you own the FF bag? Does yours also not have 200?

I'd love to confirm this either way.

I think Whitman ordered Conan #100...keeping in mind that this was past the time when Marvel went company-wide with Direct market...and didn't realize it was a double sized issue, and said "ah, screw it." I don't have an FF bag. Your example suggests what I'm saying, with the random Boris Karloff in it.

[wormboy]

1 minute ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

I think Whitman ordered Conan #100...keeping in mind that this was past the time when Marvel went company-wide with Direct market...and didn't realize it was a double sized issue, and said "ah, screw it." I don't have an FF bag. Your example suggests what I'm saying, with the random Boris Karloff in it.

Got it.

Yeah, your argument for no 200 is logical (and of course is supported by my bag not having 200) were it not for the Conan 100.

I guess your guess about Conan 100 is as good as any. 

I'd still love it if someone with another FF bag could confirm it matches mine. 

[electricprune]

May not be the best place to ask, but it looks like most of the Whitman scholars hang out here.

Are there Whitman "Reverse Price Variants?" Meaning that Marvel raised the price of an issue, but the Whitman's did not have the price increase. If so, are all of that issue with just one price, or could some have the old price and raised price. Thanks for any info.

[wormboy]

2 hours ago, electricprune said:

Are there Whitman "Reverse Price Variants?" Meaning that Marvel raised the price of an issue, but the Whitman's did not have the price increase. If so, are all of that issue with just one price, or could some have the old price and raised price. Thanks for any info.

I don't believe so. As far as I know, Whitman cover price always matched the standard cover price, they were just distributed differently. Now, they would give a discount for multiple purchases, as shown here, where buyers get two or three books for one slightly discounted price - but that wasn't reflected on the cover price, just the bag price.

[wormboy]

I just got confirmation on a few more (Thanks Marwood & I!):

ASM 181,184,185

ASM 202-204

I've updated the list and hope to add the photos shortly.

[wormboy]

I've updated the list and added the photos in the thread above to keep the photos in alphanumeric order. Definitely making progress!

One of Marwood's photos was this one, of ASM 202-204:

 

Marwood, did you notice that one side does not have the printed ASM logo as most (all?) of the others do?

I wonder if this was a mistake, or if all the 202-204 bags are like this? The bar code and Whitman logo were printed, just not the Spidey logo.

[Warlord]

That's an extremely cool BG pack display, thanks for sharing it!

According to my inventory I have a 3-pack of Tarzan #16, 17, and 18.   That does seem odd that it would overlap issue #18 with the #18-#20 pack you have listed so I have to hope I've not made an error.  Not sure when I'll have time to hunt for the box that it's in, but I'll put it on the to-do list and see if I can confirm that pack for you with a pic or two.  Your research is impressive and I'd like to make a small contribution to its completeness.

[wormboy]

Thanks!

It wouldn't surprise me if they did overlap. The Star Wars packs had overlaps, and it seems Whitman did other weird stuff as needed.

I'll change it on the list for now and leave it yellow until you can take a pic (no pressure haha).

Edited September 13, 2017 by wormboy
SP

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 9/11/2017 at 9:51 PM, wormboy said:

Got it.

Yeah, your argument for no 200 is logical (and of course is supported by my bag not having 200) were it not for the Conan 100.

I guess your guess about Conan 100 is as good as any. 

I'd still love it if someone with another FF bag could confirm it matches mine. 

I don't think there's a pack for ASM #200, either, which came out after Conan #100. The 3-packs cover so few double sized issues, it's hard to say for sure. The only thing we can surmise is that they put 3 30 cent books (90c) in 79c packs, 3 35c books ($1.05) in 99c packs, and 3 40c books ($1.20) in $1.09 packs, which was their common practice of the time. 

 

I think, because of the absence of FF #200, ASM #200, TOD #70, and  Invaders #41, the only double sized regular issues (not annuals or reprints) of the time period from Marvel,  and because of their pricing structure, I think it's fair to say that Conan #100 was just an oops. If I'm not mistaken, Conan #100 was only the second double sized regular run issue Marvel ever did, after FF #200, followed a couple of months later with Invaders #41, TOD #70, and ASM #200 in rapid succession, all in 1979. 

Then, of course, Marvel went bonkers with the double sized issues, including Hulk #250, X-Men #137, Avengers #200, and Conan #115 (oddly enough), all in the span of three months in mid-1980, before they finally ditched the square bound format for double sized issues and went to saddle stitched with MTU #100. 

It's my understanding that Whitman was slowly abandoning the 3-pack market with the newly established success of the Direct market (of which it was a part) in comics stores of the time, finally closing shop altogether in 1984 (at least with comics.) I don't quite know when the last Marvel 3-packs were, but I suspect the program was ended for good in 1980 (as seen, for example, with ASM #202-204, which were initially published {though not released by Whitman} in early 1980.)

Whitmans are such an interesting part of comics history, especially with their intimate ties to the early Direct market. I really should get my notes together, do some interviews, and publish an article about them.

[wormboy]

I don't think there's a pack for ASM #200, either, which came out after Conan #100. The 3-packs cover so few double sized issues, it's hard to say for sure. The only thing we can surmise is that they put 3 30 cent books (90c) in 79c packs, 3 35c books ($1.05) in 99c packs, and 3 40c books ($1.20) in $1.09 packs, which was their common practice of the time. 

These are good points.

I think, because of the absence of FF #200, ASM #200, TOD #70, and  Invaders #41, the only double sized regular issues (not annuals or reprints) of the time period from Marvel,  and because of their pricing structure, I think it's fair to say that Conan #100 was just an oops. If I'm not mistaken, Conan #100 was only the second double sized regular run issue Marvel ever did, after FF #200, followed a couple of months later with Invaders #41, TOD #70, and ASM #200 in rapid succession, all in 1979. 

Yes, you make a convincing argument on the Conan 100 - I'm sold. 

Then, of course, Marvel went bonkers with the double sized issues, including Hulk #250, X-Men #137, Avengers #200, and Conan #115 (oddly enough), all in the span of three months in mid-1980, before they finally ditched the square bound format for double sized issues and went to saddle stitched with MTU #100. 

God I love all those double sized issues. I'm working on collecting them all.

It's my understanding that Whitman was slowly abandoning the 3-pack market with the newly established success of the Direct market (of which it was a part) in comics stores of the time, finally closing shop altogether in 1984 (at least with comics.) I don't quite know when the last Marvel 3-packs were, but I suspect the program was ended for good in 1980 (as seen, for example, with ASM #202-204, which were initially published {though not released by Whitman} in early 1980.)

Good info, thanks.

Whitmans are such an interesting part of comics history, especially with their intimate ties to the early Direct market. I really should get my notes together, do some interviews, and publish an article about them.

I agree. Do it! I'm always looking for more detailed history. There are bits and pieces around but it would be great if someone could wrap it up.