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The Last DC Newsstand Issues
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128 posts in this topic

I believe the comic books shown below were the last newsstand issues of Batman, Superman, Action Comics, and Detective Comics (note the $3.99 price tag).  After approximately 38 years of producing separate newsstand issues, the last ones have been produced (which seems pretty significant to me).  Has anyone seen any later DC newsstand issues than the ones I've shown?   

These were the last ones shown on Mile Highs website, and it looks to me like they were buying them off the newsstand every month and then re-listing them at outrageous prices.

If these really are the last newsstand issues, then the only newsstand issue that I've never seen from those 4 titles is Superman New 52 #8.   There's approximately 1800 of them, and that's the last one on my list to find.

BM SM newsstand.jpeg

Action TEC newsstand.jpeg

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12 hours ago, Cpt Kirk said:

I believe the comic books shown below were the last newsstand issues of Batman, Superman, Action Comics, and Detective Comics (note the $3.99 price tag).  After approximately 38 years of producing separate newsstand issues, the last ones have been produced (which seems pretty significant to me).  Has anyone seen any later DC newsstand issues than the ones I've shown?   

These were the last ones shown on Mile Highs website, and it looks to me like they were buying them off the newsstand every month and then re-listing them at outrageous prices.

If these really are the last newsstand issues, then the only newsstand issue that I've never seen from those 4 titles is Superman New 52 #8.   There's approximately 1800 of them, and that's the last one on my list to find.

 

How do you know a print run on a newssstand?

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1 hour ago, ygogolak said:

How do you know a print run on a newssstand?

Here's an in-depth article on the subject:   

https://rarecomics.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/comic-book-newsstand-editions-understanding-the-difference/

Since the new 52 started in 2011, almost all newsstand issues were only found in Barnes and Nobles stores.  They were also sold in actual newsstands, but those are few and far between.   I actually got to see the number of newsstand issues that were received by several Barnes and Nobles stores toward the end of the newsstand production.   That is because I asked several Barnes and Nobles stores if they ever had received a newsstand copy of Batman #30 (out of about 10 stores asked, none of them ever had one, and the clerks were usually willing to show me the number of each issue of Batman that they received AND sold).    For a popular title like Batman, a Barnes and Noble store would usually receive 3 copies.   In 2017, there were 633 Barnes and Nobles stores.   If we assume a total of 700 newsstand outlets, then there should be approximately 2000 newsstand issues produced of any Batman Rebirth issue.   Keep in mind that not all the Barnes and Nobles newsstand issues sold out, so the actual number of surviving copies I'm sure is less.  According to Comichron there were approximately 100,000 issues of each issue of Batman in that time period.    So the ratio of direct sales to newsstand is about 50 to 1 (or less), which sounds about right to me based on my experiences with trying to track down newsstand issues that I missed.

 

 

 

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So at the 50:1 ratio there would be ~4100 newsstand copies of New 52 Action #1, Batman #1, JL #1 at the peak, with the numbers dropping over time from there. 

How do the combo-pak numbers compare to the newsstand ones?

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11 hours ago, Cpt Kirk said:

That is a very inaccurate article, filled with misinformation, written by someone who isn't at all interested in having an accurate record. The very first sentence is false (the Direct market began in '73-'74, not 1979, and "distinct" copies were first produced with Feb. 1977 cover dates), and it just goes downhill from there.

These assumptions are not educated ones. They're just guesses. 

Accurate information about the Direct market isn't at all hard to find, it just takes a bit of hustle to find it. Here's a good article about the actual origins of the Direct market:

http://classic.tcj.com/history/a-comics-journal-history-of-the-direct-market-part-one/

I would hate to see people make financial decisions based on such grossly inaccurate fan blogs.

 

Edited by RockMyAmadeus
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41 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That is a very inaccurate article, filled with misinformation, written by someone who isn't at all interested in having an accurate record. The very first sentence is false (the Direct market began in '73-'74, not 1979, and "distinct" copies were first produced with Feb. 1977 cover dates), and it just goes downhill from there.

These assumptions are not educated ones. They're just guesses. 

Accurate information about the Direct market isn't at all hard to find, it just takes a bit of hustle to find it. Here's a good article about the actual origins of the Direct market:

http://classic.tcj.com/history/a-comics-journal-history-of-the-direct-market-part-one/

I would hate to see people make financial decisions based on such grossly inaccurate fan blogs.

 

Even better, isn't it all guesswork?

Unless you work at the factory.

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3 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That is a very inaccurate article, filled with misinformation, written by someone who isn't at all interested in having an accurate record. The very first sentence is false (the Direct market began in '73-'74, not 1979, and "distinct" copies were first produced with Feb. 1977 cover dates), and it just goes downhill from there.

These assumptions are not educated ones. They're just guesses. 

Accurate information about the Direct market isn't at all hard to find, it just takes a bit of hustle to find it. Here's a good article about the actual origins of the Direct market:

http://classic.tcj.com/history/a-comics-journal-history-of-the-direct-market-part-one/

I would hate to see people make financial decisions based on such grossly inaccurate fan blogs.

 

You're posting again? Excellent.

And yes, that website and everything with it I would take with a HUGE GIGANTIC MASSIVE IMMENSE grain of salt.

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7 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

You're posting again? Excellent.

No. Just passing through.

8 minutes ago, FlyingDonut said:

And yes, that website and everything with it I would take with a HUGE GIGANTIC MASSIVE IMMENSE grain of salt.

I don't mind misinformation as much as the (thus far successful) attempts to silence criticism by accusing critics of "bullying" him, while laughably "offering" to "listen" to "legitimate" criticism. That's not the work of a scholar who is interested in the truth. That's the work of someone who is only interested in his own opinions. And what do we call people who have no use for the truth? Actions speak louder than words, as always.

Silencing voices is the purview of despots and ideologues.

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1 minute ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

No. Just passing through.

I don't mind misinformation as much as the (thus far successful) attempts to silence criticism by accusing critics of "bullying" him, while laughably "offering" to "listen" to "legitimate" criticism. That's not the work of a scholar who is interested in the truth. That's the work of someone who is only interested in his own opinions. And what do we call people who have no use for the truth? Actions speak louder than words, as always.

Silencing voices is the purview of despots and ideologues.

You should jump into the Marvel 1999-2000 newsstand variant discussion. It may just be the two of us, but I value your opinions on this topic.

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1 minute ago, FlyingDonut said:

You should jump into the Marvel 1999-2000 newsstand variant discussion. It may just be the two of us, but I value your opinions on this topic.

That means a lot to me, Dan, but you know I can't. I'm doing my own research, though, and maybe someday there will be a platform to share it.

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3 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

You should jump into the Marvel 1999-2000 newsstand variant discussion. It may just be the two of us, but I value your opinions on this topic.

I'd value them too Rock

3 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That means a lot to me, Dan, but you know I can't. I'm doing my own research, though, and maybe someday there will be a platform to share it.

You can Rock, you can! Just be nice and share / debate information with like minded people :foryou:

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11 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

That is a very inaccurate article, filled with misinformation, written by someone who isn't at all interested in having an accurate record. The very first sentence is false (the Direct market began in '73-'74, not 1979, and "distinct" copies were first produced with Feb. 1977 cover dates), and it just goes downhill from there.

These assumptions are not educated ones. They're just guesses. 

Accurate information about the Direct market isn't at all hard to find, it just takes a bit of hustle to find it. Here's a good article about the actual origins of the Direct market:

http://classic.tcj.com/history/a-comics-journal-history-of-the-direct-market-part-one/

I would hate to see people make financial decisions based on such grossly inaccurate fan blogs.

 

Rock -- Thanks for sharing the article and pointing out the obvious errors in the one I cited.    

Back to my original question.... has anyone seen any newsstand issues of Batman or Superman after issue #29?   I hear rumor that there might be a newsstand #30, but none of the Barnes and Nobles stores seemed to have the #30 issue.  Barnes and Noble is about the only source for those newsstand issues.      

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18 hours ago, kimik said:

So at the 50:1 ratio there would be ~4100 newsstand copies of New 52 Action #1, Batman #1, JL #1 at the peak, with the numbers dropping over time from there. 

How do the combo-pak numbers compare to the newsstand ones?

Kimik -- Thanks for asking.   My estimate of the 50:1 ratio is just based on sales from about 2011 to the present.   My estimating method is a little rough but it is probably withing a correct order of magnitude.   

When newsstand issues were first produced for DC comics (with cover dates of October 1980 and beyond), there were probably more newsstand issue produced than direct sales for a short period of time (you can go onto ebay and see that the first direct market issues are a little harder to find than newsstand issues).    I remember collecting in the early 1980s, and it was just as easy (or easier) to find your comic books at the local drug store or book store than going to the nearest comic shop.    From my own personal experience of having to find and buy every single newsstand and direct sales issue of Batman, Superman, Detective and Action, I can tell you that the newsstand issues are pretty easy to find until approximately 1996 (some issues after 1996 take awhile to find).   And after the year 2004, some of them can be a serious challenge to find (I've gone so far as to have friends in Venezuela and Germany find some of the missing ones for me).

Most twenty-pack bricks, boxed sets, and 3-packs are not too hard to find (although we have never found the 20-pack brick containing DC comics with Mar 1994 cover dates).  You can see lots of examples on Revat's thread titled "Comprehensive list of DC Universe variants".   But the 2-packs with DC Universe variants are usually very hard to find.   Highly desired 2-packs can easily sell for $100 or more.   I suspect that there were plenty of DC Universe variants produced for those two-packs, but since they were only sold in stores like Toys-R-Us, they probably were mostly purchased for children and eventually got beat up and tossed in the trash.   If you ever find an unopened two-pack with DC Universe variants in the pack, you just hit the jackpot.  

Back to my original question.... has anyone seen any newsstand issues of Batman or Superman after issue #29?   I hear rumor that there might be a newsstand #30, but none of the Barnes and Nobles stores seemed to have the #30 issue.  Barnes and Noble is about the only source for those newsstand issue

Edited by Cpt Kirk
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1 hour ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Rock -- Thanks for sharing the article and pointing out the obvious errors in the one I cited.    

Back to my original question.... has anyone seen any newsstand issues of Batman or Superman after issue #29?   I hear rumor that there might be a newsstand #30, but none of the Barnes and Nobles stores seemed to have the #30 issue.  Barnes and Noble is about the only source for those newsstand issues.      

I actually went to four different Barnes & Noble a couple of months ago. None of them had any Supes or Bats after issue #29. I spoke to all the managers and they confirmed that #29 was the last issue. I would've grabbed what was left, but they were all beat to death. :pullhair:

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1 hour ago, mr_highgrade said:

I actually went to four different Barnes & Noble a couple of months ago. None of them had any Supes or Bats after issue #29. I spoke to all the managers and they confirmed that #29 was the last issue. I would've grabbed what was left, but they were all beat to death. :pullhair:

Thanks for weighing in Mr. Highgrade.  It is nice to get some separate confirmation.   Even the 29's were a little hard to find for me.   I tried about 4 different stores in the Atlanta GA area before I found one that carried the 29's (my local Barnes & Noble in Columbus GA didn't get any).    Truly the end of an era...  38 years of separately produced issues for newsstands and now they are a thing of the past.

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1 hour ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Thanks for weighing in Mr. Highgrade.  It is nice to get some separate confirmation.   Even the 29's were a little hard to find for me.   I tried about 4 different stores in the Atlanta GA area before I found one that carried the 29's (my local Barnes & Noble in Columbus GA didn't get any).    Truly the end of an era...  38 years of separately produced issues for newsstands and now they are a thing of the past.

Yep, I would always go out of my way to pick up some newsies when they were available in high grade. Too bad those days are over. :frown:

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On 2/2/2018 at 5:50 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

These were the last ones shown on Mile Highs website, and it looks to me like they were buying them off the newsstand every month and then re-listing them at outrageous prices.

A common theme from the top promoters of the "ultra-rare" newsstands.

Always trust those with a large financial interest in the product they're promoting as special and desirable. How can you possibly lose?

4 hours ago, Cpt Kirk said:

When newsstand issues were first produced for DC comics (with cover dates of October 1980 and beyond)

You've got this all backwards. Direct editions were the new version, produced for the new market. All regular comics were distributed through newsstands for decades before the creation of the new distribution channel.

 

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25 minutes ago, Lazyboy said:

You've got this all backwards. Direct editions were the new version, produced for the new market. All regular comics were distributed through newsstands for decades before the creation of the new distribution channel.

 

You are correct.... I should have been more careful about how I said that.   The distinction between newsstand and direct market only became relevant when DC started producing direct editions.   

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On 2/4/2018 at 1:59 PM, Lazyboy said:

 

You've got this all backwards. Direct editions were the new version, produced for the new market. All regular comics were distributed through newsstands for decades before the creation of the new distribution channel.

 

I was just thinking about this again...   

Comic books have been on the newsstands since the beginning of comic books.   I have fond memories of picking up my first comic books during the 1970s from spinner racks and newsstand shelves in grocery stores, pharmacies, book stores,... and even the Bait and Tackle shop near our favorite resort at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.    Up until last fall, you could still go to the newsstand section of Barnes & Noble and find Batman and Superman comic books.  I was in at Barnes and Nobles the other day, and the only comic books they had were Spongebob and Archie.     It looks like the days of finding a superhero comic book at a newsstand are now gone for good.    Now where's my cane, dagnabit?

 

Edited by Cpt Kirk
correct mis-spelling
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