Marvel 'L Miller & Co' UK Distribution Variants (May 1960 ~ September 1961) 5 5

[bc]

Went thru the rest of the titles and nothing noteworthy 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 12/21/2018 at 8:50 PM, bc said:

Went thru the rest of the titles and nothing noteworthy 

You'll only find L Miller indicias in these books BC (unless there's a title with a cloaking device out there):

 

The cents copies are cover dated Sep 60 to Sep 61.

I'm working on a big post about Thorpe & Porter indicias which will appear in my Marvel Pence Thread in the New Year. It turned out to be a lot more complex that at first glance. As well as 7 different T&P scenarios, there are T&P indicias in cents only books too (i.e. where no pence copy exists). I think I've got to the bottom of why. Watch this space!  (and thanks for checking your books - any reason to have a look eh) 

[Get Marwood & I]

The first ever mention of L Miller copies in Overstreet, courtesy of my input into Jon McClure's market report! 

 

Yay!

 

[bc]

Congratulations sir!

Excellent work & perseverance to get these recognized!

Edited July 22, 2019 by bc

[Get Marwood & I]

2 minutes ago, bc said:

Congratulations sir!

Excellent work & perseverance to get these recognized!

Cheers bc 

I like the idea that someone reads the OPG, reads that bit and says "what?". Then they start Googleating and.....

 

[Get Marwood & I]

Here we are back at my own personal favourite thread of mine. For the longest time I have been looking for a pence priced copy of Wyatt Earp #29. Up until now, the only copy I have ever 'seen' was a grainy image taken from a US comic site. Given that it's the final issue of the title and only just scrapes into the Marvel pence production window, it occurred to me that it may not even exist and that the image I saw was a mock up of some sort (although the '9d' looked authentic).

It's a key book for me - my own 'holy grail' in fact - for three reasons:

1. I need a copy to prove it exists in the first instance and to show that I've been right to include it in my 3,019 Marvel UK Price Variant list
2. I need it to see what indicia it has so that I can update my Marvel Thorpe & Porter Indicia research
3. I need to see if it's a Miller!

Regarding point 3, I have always speculated that it would be a Miller, as three of the five Marvel Western titles were picked up by them. Only Kid Colt was picked up by Thorpe & Porter for some reason and, given that Miller produced Wyatt Earp reprints, I thought it was more likely that WE #29 would be a Miller than not.

So when I saw an auction in the UK for a group of old western comics with a description including the words "Wyatt Earp 29" I got excited. Trouble was, it wasn't ebay and the auction house didn't show a picture of each book in the lot. Not being a comic based auction house, they weren't able to provide those pictures. It was a bit like "look, they're old comics. What more do you need to know?". That kind of thing.

So my choice was to bid blind and cross my fingers, or leave it and not potentially waste a lot of money.

I bid. Big. 

And I won.

The parcel arrived last Friday while I was in Norfolk and I have to say it was the most exciting comic thing I've contemplated for 52 years. If you love comics, you'll understand. Being a coconut half empty kind of guy, I speculated on the long drive home from seeing my Mum what could go wrong:

1. The auction house would send the wrong lot
2. It would be the right lot, but they'd post it to my neighbour. And he'd keep it
3. I'd get it, and it would be the Charlton Wyatt Earp #29. Cents copy too to rub it in
4. It would be the 10c copy of the Marvel/Atlas copy
5. It would have the price area torn off
6. Etc

Never be a coconut half empty guy, if you can help it. 

Anyway, when I got home, I opened it. 8 comics, mostly in a shocking state. I placed them on the table, face down. I turned each book over to reveal it's cover. Gunsmoke Western 76. Gunsmoke Western 77. Gunsmoke Western 75. Gunsmoke Western 72 (all pence copies ). Wyatt Earp #20. Wyatt Earp #9 (both Atlas).

And then the final one. Talk about suspense. They even packed them in order to drive me nuts. I have to say, it was exciting beyond words. Would I finally hold a pence copy of Wyatt Earp #29 in my hands? Would it be a Miller? Or a Thorpe & Porter? Or neither?

I turned the book....

[Get Marwood & I]

....no one interested? 

I'll save Wyatt for later then

In the meantime, some recent additions to the Miller vaults:

Cor! It's a Miller Torr! Phwooaar!

 

[Get Marwood & I]

A lickle bit of CT there...

Cool 9d cover stamp! Usually 6d. Usually. And no 'LM'

 

[Get Marwood & I]

Massive 6d cover stamp! Massive! No 'LM' though, again

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/14/2019 at 8:44 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

I have to say, it was exciting beyond words. Would I finally hold a pence copy of Wyatt Earp #29 in my hands? Would it be a Miller? Or a Thorpe & Porter? Or neither?

 

I turned the book....

....scroll to 2.25....

 

 

Spoiler

 

[porcupine48]

I

Love

It

What's around the corner now,Steve?

[Get Marwood & I]

1 hour ago, porcupine48 said:

I

Love

It

What's around the corner now,Steve?

A bus probably Jim 

Still two Millers left to confirm:

I'll carry on looking for those, and for the other confirmed copy I don't yet have.

Wyatt was the big one though. 

[tv horror]

1 hour ago, Get Marwood & I said:

....scroll to 2.25....

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Well done Steve I'm really pleased for you REALLY!

[Get Marwood & I]

10 hours ago, tv horror said:

Well done Steve I'm really pleased for you REALLY!

[Hepcat]

On 11/16/2019 at 5:37 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

Wyatt was the big one though. 

Wow! Success! The end of a most noble quest!

Edited November 21, 2019 by Hepcat

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/14/2019 at 8:44 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

For the longest time I have been looking for a pence priced copy of Wyatt Earp #29. Up until now, the only copy I have ever 'seen' was a grainy image taken from a US comic site

Do you ever get the feeling that the universe is just taking the piss? 

[KirbyJack]

Probably from all the universe's crack action.

[Get Marwood & I]

1 hour ago, KirbyJack said:

Probably from all the universe's crack action.

I suspect Plasma Gasification may be involved too...

@bc

[Aman619]

I actually forget what the issues you were originally seeking to solve with the variants... but I do recall that a big question was where and when these were printed: by Marvel, or overseas.  In retrospect, now it seems to me the answer was pretty obvious and in front of us from the get go.

Based just on the wording in these Thorpe and Miller indicias.:  "Printed Exclusively FOR......"  duh.   When a publisher prints their own comics, the wording is just like the US indices: title issue# owner publisher rates etc etc.  But all of these state that FURTHER to Marvel/Atlas' indicia fine print, that these copies were "Printed FOR" somebody else.  Only the primary publisher/printer would feel the need to say that to mean that these copies were being shipped overseas for sale there.  If Thorpe or Miller had hired a printer and banged them out, the indicia would include them in the main body of the text, with Atlas listed as " licensed from Atlas" or some phrase as to true ownership.

pretty obvious now really.   But the hard work still had to be done to suss it out. Scientific method, right?  

Edited November 23, 2019 by Aman619

[Get Marwood & I]

13 minutes ago, Aman619 said:

I actually forget what the issues you were originally seeking to solve with the variants... but I do recall that a big question was where and when these were printed: by Marvel, or overseas.  In retrospect, now it seems to me the answer was pretty obvious and in front of us from the get go.

Based just on the wording in these Thorpe and Miller indicias.:  "Printed Exclusively FOR......"  duh.   When a publisher prints their own comics, the wording is just like the US indices: title issue# owner publisher rates etc etc.  But all of these state that FURTHER to Marvel/Atlas' indicia fine print, that these copies were "Printed FOR" somebody else.  Only the primary publisher/printer would feel the need to say that to mean that these copies were being shipped overseas for sale there.  If Thorpe or Miller had hired a printer and banged them out, the indicia would include them in the main body of the text, with Atlas listed as " licensed from Atlas" or some phrase as to true ownership.

pretty obvious now really.   But the hard work still had to be done to suss it out. Scientific method, right?  

....hiding in plain site Aman 

To be fair, I've always said these (and all UK Price Variants) were printed in the US. I wasn't there personally to witness it of course, but the clues are there.

The question that has vexed everyone is in what order the books were printed, first, last or in the middle. I think I've more or less illustrated across my threads that the order differed by book, publisher and whether the moon was in the fourth quarter. I also feel that I have proven that very few collectors care either way.