Marvel Whitman Themed 3-packs 4 4

[electricprune]

18 hours ago, wormboy said:

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.

I was able to confirm that the Whitman version of Marvel's Greatest Comics #74 had a 30 cent cover price when the Marvel version had been raised to 35 cents. I don't think it's a variant though, just an error and an anomaly. If there are Whitman versions with a 35 cent cover, that would be interesting.

[RockMyAmadeus]

6 hours ago, electricprune said:

I was able to confirm that the Whitman version of Marvel's Greatest Comics #74 had a 30 cent cover price when the Marvel version had been raised to 35 cents. I don't think it's a variant though, just an error and an anomaly. If there are Whitman versions with a 35 cent cover, that would be interesting.

It's an interesting transition piece. It was right on the cusp between the 35c test covers and the 35c prices going company-wide in August of 1977, when these were printed. Notice, the price for the newsstand version (the 35 cent version) is the same font as the test versions, the "squashed font", while the font for the new 35c company-wide price was slightly different.

 

It would be interesting to see how it worked at Sparta during that press run. The Direct market ("Whitman") version is 30 cents, and was certainly among the very last batch of 30 cent comics Marvel ever printed. The 35c MGC #74 may even have been initially a continuance of the test program, and someone may have called Sparta and said "change all prices going forward to 35 cents" and away they went with the regular run, since the plate was already made.

Marvel Tales #85 got the same treatment, but the Direct version wasn't a 30c cover...but a 35. However, the regular newsstand version had the same squashed font as the test versions.

 

 

And, while this issue is fuzzy, it appears that the Direct version ("Whitman") is the same squashed font as the test versions, too (note squat cents symbol.) The next issue would see the "standard" 35c font that would be in use for the rest of that year, and well into 1978 (note elongated cents symbol.)

I can't recall if there are any other "squat price" regular issues...there might be one more that I can't recall at the moment. The rest of the line went to the elongated 35c price immediately.

[Warlord]

22 hours ago, Warlord said:

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.

Good news - I think I've searched all the various boxes and piles of multipacks where Tarzan might be hiding.  Bad news, it appears that it was just an error in my inventory... the only Tarzan multipack I found with #18 in it has Tarzan #s 18, 19, and 20.   So my caution due to the apparent overlap was well founded in this case because after the search I've done I don't think I have a Tarzan #16, 17, 18 multipack.  Sorry for the false hope!

Due to my extensive collecting of many of the DC Whitman packs I do know what you're talking about with Whitman doing some odd things with their multipacks.   For instance, I've found packs that have

• Wonder Woman 255, 256, 257 - makes sense
• Wonder Woman 258, 259, 260 - makes sense
• then the curve ball -- Wonder Woman 257, 255, 260 - really?

Add into the mix that they had 2-packs and 3-packs of DC Whitmans and there's quite a variety and a number of issues that can be found in more than one multipack combo.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 hour ago, Warlord said:

Good news - I think I've searched all the various boxes and piles of multipacks where Tarzan might be hiding.  Bad news, it appears that it was just an error in my inventory... the only Tarzan multipack I found with #18 in it has Tarzan #s 18, 19, and 20.   So my caution due to the apparent overlap was well founded in this case because after the search I've done I don't think I have a Tarzan #16, 17, 18 multipack.  Sorry for the false hope!

Due to my extensive collecting of many of the DC Whitman packs I do know what you're talking about with Whitman doing some odd things with their multipacks.   For instance, I've found packs that have

• Wonder Woman 255, 256, 257 - makes sense
• Wonder Woman 258, 259, 260 - makes sense
• then the curve ball -- Wonder Woman 257, 255, 260 - really?

Add into the mix that they had 2-packs and 3-packs of DC Whitmans and there's quite a variety and a number of issues that can be found in more than one multipack combo.

 

Leftovers! 

Whitman ordered so many books that they essentially supported the early Direct market for a couple of years. So they'd order tens of thousands of copies of these books, and store them in their massive warehouses, until they had enough to make 3-packs, and they did this almost entirely with consecutive issues, because that made the most sense, OR they did it with completely random issues, which also made sense.

But then they did the completely random issues of the same title...like WW #255, 257, and #260...almost certainly because they had leftovers.

It was an interesting business model, and it apparently worked for quite a few years...I want to say it started in the early 70's...it's all a bit muddled in the sands of time...but Western's Whitman program for DC was huge, as Paul Levitz reported. Here's Mark Evanier's article on it:

http://www.newsfromme.com/2007/05/02/more-on-comicpacs/

It is a fascinating intersection of comics history. 

The one thing we know about DC's program was that DC took the additional step...inspired, no doubt, by Western's own Gold Key vs. Whitman logos...to mark their Western books as "Whitmans" by 1978. 

It's nice, however, that after decades of mystery surrounding these books that the internet has allowed scholarship on these to advance as far as it has. For so many years, because they came out months after the fact, and because they were so closely tied to Star Wars reprints at the beginning of the program, these were thought of as reprints, but they never were. They were just Direct market versions, the vast majority of which went into Whitman 3-packs, at least during the mid to late 70's. 

I love the whole subject.

[RockMyAmadeus]

One more thing...I know that a lot of people think that the early Direct market books were EXCLUSIVELY Whitmans, and there is some anecdotal evidence and some direct evidence that this is true (see DC's "Whitman" logos), but I think it's important to call these books Direct market books, and NOT Whitmans, because there's also anecdotal evidence that these books were NOT strictly sold only to Western, and distributed only by Western.

Granted...no argument from me...that the vast majority of these mid to late 70's books ended up in Whitman 3-packs...perhaps exclusively with DC (hence the "Whitman" logos)...but the Direct market DID exist, and HAD been doing business since 1973-1974...plus there was DC's attempts at direct distribution with their comicpacs in the 60's, that sort of morphed into the Whitman program by the late 70's....and those books were ALSO non-returnable, and the publishers would have looked for a way to not have those returned through back channels as well, which is why I think that, while Western/Whitman CLEARLY drove the bulk of the Direct market during these years (1976-1979), I think that it's fair to say that the blossoming comic shop model also played a part in this situation, and received a good chunk of those Marvel "Diamond" books, too...and maybe even DC "Whitmans" as well. 

Hard to say, without actually having been there, but I think it's a fair argument to make. 

Anyone with contrary evidence, please, by all means, share it! 

[RockMyAmadeus]

(sorry, I could talk about the early history of the Direct market all night. I love it. )

[OtherEric]

Just a quick question, although the copy I have isn't in the bag:

Were there any known Spidey Super Stories bags, or was this released in some other fashion?  The GCD also has a #38 that looks like a Whitman, but I don't have that one.  And with #42 they go to what I think of as the more generically direct market appearance.

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 9/13/2017 at 10:30 AM, RockMyAmadeus said:

It's an interesting transition piece. It was right on the cusp between the 35c test covers and the 35c prices going company-wide in August of 1977, when these were printed. Notice, the price for the newsstand version (the 35 cent version) is the same font as the test versions, the "squashed font", while the font for the new 35c company-wide price was slightly different.

 

It would be interesting to see how it worked at Sparta during that press run. The Direct market ("Whitman") version is 30 cents, and was certainly among the very last batch of 30 cent comics Marvel ever printed. The 35c MGC #74 may even have been initially a continuance of the test program, and someone may have called Sparta and said "change all prices going forward to 35 cents" and away they went with the regular run, since the plate was already made.

Marvel Tales #85 got the same treatment, but the Direct version wasn't a 30c cover...but a 35. However, the regular newsstand version had the same squashed font as the test versions.

 

 

And, while this issue is fuzzy, it appears that the Direct version ("Whitman") is the same squashed font as the test versions, too (note squat cents symbol.) The next issue would see the "standard" 35c font that would be in use for the rest of that year, and well into 1978 (note elongated cents symbol.)

I can't recall if there are any other "squat price" regular issues...there might be one more that I can't recall at the moment. The rest of the line went to the elongated 35c price immediately.

PS...I came across another one which I had forgotten...Nova #15 has a "squashed font" test price, but is a regular issue:

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

9 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

Just a quick question, although the copy I have isn't in the bag:

Were there any known Spidey Super Stories bags, or was this released in some other fashion?  The GCD also has a #38 that looks like a Whitman, but I don't have that one.  And with #42 they go to what I think of as the more generically direct market appearance.

Nice. Like all of these, this is the Direct market version. It may have gone to Whitman...probably did...but it may have gone to a store, too. 

[Silver Surfer]

[Get Marwood & I]

On 19/09/2017 at 5:54 AM, OtherEric said:

Just a quick question, although the copy I have isn't in the bag:

Were there any known Spidey Super Stories bags, or was this released in some other fashion?  The GCD also has a #38 that looks like a Whitman, but I don't have that one.  And with #42 they go to what I think of as the more generically direct market appearance.

 

I used to have both - here are the scans I kept. 36 was very difficult to find as I recall

 

[wormboy]

4 hours ago, Marwood & I said:

 

I used to have both - here are the scans I kept. 36 was very difficult to find as I recall

 

The 38 is so cool! You get the starburst, the circle, and the diamond all in one!

[Get Marwood & I]

20 hours ago, wormboy said:

The 38 is so cool! You get the starburst, the circle, and the diamond all in one!

I know! I always liked the 'scruffy' looking starburst ones @wormboy. It's like whoever did them couldn't be bothered. Look at the ASM 186 below - Ahh, that'll do..... 

 

 

 

[wormboy]

classic. Love them.

[Silver Surfer]

Those are purdy.

[NoMan]

I got Star Wars 1-3 (reprints) in some sorta 3-pack plastic bag. Not Whitman tho 

Edited October 5, 2017 by NoMan

[wormboy]

Let's see!

[Get Marwood & I]

On 03/10/2017 at 8:38 PM, wormboy said:

classic. Love them.

Cheers @wormboy. Here are all the 'Whitman' ASM's that I used to have. I know they're not in three-packs, but they're nice to look at aren't they 

 

 

[wormboy]

Those are sweet! 

I think I've seen all of them in three packs.

I collect Whitmans for my runs, but man they are tough to find in high grade, and I don't want to open any of my packs to get them, so it requires a lot of patience, especially for the lesser titles.

[Get Marwood & I]

14 minutes ago, wormboy said:

Those are sweet! 

I think I've seen all of them in three packs.

I collect Whitmans for my runs, but man they are tough to find in high grade, and I don't want to open any of my packs to get them, so it requires a lot of patience, especially for the lesser titles.

It does! I always found 165 the hardest to get in high grade. I managed most, some in multiples but that 165 I posted has a massive back cover crease. I never found an upgrade prior to the sell off. Funny what you remember.