Dell UK Price Variants 3 3

[Get Marwood & I]

"That's right Dusty - you take the balls in your hand, and grip them tightly like this..."

[OtherEric]

On 11/7/2023 at 5:11 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

What a jolly cover this is 

Lifts the spirits.

You are quite right to note just how charming that cover is. 

It's not at the GCD, were you going to add it or may I use your image to do so?

My copy is the US version:

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/7/2023 at 5:16 PM, OtherEric said:

may I use your image to do so?

Of course, go ahead...

[OtherEric]

On 11/7/2023 at 9:28 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Of course, go ahead...

I really should go through and see what other issues in this thread need to be added.  Thank you again!

[Get Marwood & I]

Evening 

Those in the know of the all knowing knowledge will know that Dells sometimes have different back covers, and front cover dressings.

One such example is that of our Nelson. That's Ricky, by the way, not the one who doesn't know how to label a subsequent printing of a first appearance. Behold below two US of A 15c copies, one with a competition banner and one conspicuously without:

Hong Kong Phoo-ey! Never met the Nelson guy. 

Or did he...? 

Now, those in the full knowing knowledge of the full knowing data will know that a UK Price Variant one shilling copy exists for Ricky, or Fork Holler #1192 as he is sometimes known. Given that the competition (PRIZES - PRIZES - PRIZES!) wouldn't have been open to the denizens of Englandville, or would at least have probably expired by the time they got their mitts on a copy, it's clear to see why they chose the competition banner free version to add the shilling price to:

Oh.

Anyway, it looks very nice that shilling price, being the same colour (with a u) as the background colouring (also with a u) on that FC (without a u. And k, thankfully). It's almost like it was meant to be there.

In the meantime, the hunt for a banner free you kay pee vee goes on. 

Here endeth the usual nonsense cloaked learning point. 

See you next time 

[OtherEric]

On 11/25/2023 at 9:30 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Evening 

Those in the know of the all knowing knowledge will know that Dells sometimes have different back covers, and front cover dressings.

One such example is that of our Nelson. That's Ricky, by the way, not the one who doesn't know how to label a subsequent printing of a first appearance. Behold below two US of A 15c copies, one with a competition banner and one conspicuously without:

Hong Kong Phoo-ey! Never met the Nelson guy. 

Or did he...? 

 

 

On one hand, the obligatory video any time Hong Kong Phooey gets mentioned.  I sometimes think my ultimate purpose on these boards is to post this in as many threads as possible:

On the other hand, may I once again have permission to add your image of the UK variant to the Grand Comics Database?

And on the gripping hand, allow me to reiterate just how much I enjoy your posts detailing UK variants, even if I don't always have a comment to add.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/25/2023 at 6:00 PM, OtherEric said:

On one hand, the obligatory video any time Hong Kong Phooey gets mentioned.  I sometimes think my ultimate purpose on these boards is to post this in as many threads as possible:

That's handy.

On 11/25/2023 at 6:00 PM, OtherEric said:

On the other hand, may I once again have permission to add your image of the UK variant to the Grand Comics Database?

Oui oui. And ditto the future, to save you asking.

On 11/25/2023 at 6:00 PM, OtherEric said:

And on the gripping hand, allow me to reiterate just how much I enjoy your posts detailing UK variants, even if I don't always have a comment to add.

Thank Bod for you, Eric. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune have been keeping me at bay for a bit, but I can always rely on a warm welcome back from you my online friend 

I'm off to enjoy the return of another old friend now. I'm sure you know Who....

[OtherEric]

On 11/25/2023 at 10:18 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

I'm off to enjoy the return of another old friend now. I'm sure you know Who....

You're not making any sense.  Do you need the Doctor?

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/25/2023 at 6:20 PM, OtherEric said:

You're not making any sense.  Do you need the Doctor?

I try very hard to avoid making cents, Eric...

 

[themagicrobot]

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/25/tv-tonight-david-tennant-and-catherine-tate-finally-reunite-in-the-tardis

On the 23rd November 1963 I was sitting in a terraced house watching my grandparents rented black and white television. The sport and the news had just finished. I think previously on Saturdays we had watched the Lone Arranger. On this particular day a new series began that I only realised was a science fiction show halfway through. The electronic music was especially memorable and I didn't miss an episode for the next 10 years.

[Get Marwood & I]

 

"Hello. Is that Marwood Towers? It is. Great. Could you tell me how many You Kay Pee Vees are left for me to collect please, before I have the full set of 223?" 

 

"Certainly Sir, one moment. OK, that would be quite a few, still"

 

"Fair enough. I'll keep at it then. Thank you"

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 6/1/2022 at 12:35 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

I waste my time here 

Now, I haven't actually found the smoking gun that says who was responsible for soliciting and distributing Dell UK Price Variants in the UK. At an estate sale the other day I picked up this gleaming 1959 book from World Distributors:

 

That's a cracker, isn't it. An absolute riot of colour.

Now, on the back cover, what do I find hiding in plain sight?

All the titles match, as do the dimensions and the 9d price. The ad doesn't appear to be referring to any of the WDL reprint titles - they were priced at 6d and one shilling as far as I can tell. But the reprints fit too - both their comics and annuals are taken from original Dell content.

So is this the smoking gun, finally? Is it really that straightforward? And why haven't I seen this ad before, after all this time! 

 

 

 

Evening 

Back in June 2022, in the post above, I showed the back cover to WDL's Flash Gordon #3 which, for the first time, told me who the distributor was for the Dell UK Price Variants (World Distributors Ltd, funnily enough). Whilst browsing eBay the other day I spotted that same ad on the back of WDL's undated Crime Buster #2 and was just about to dismiss it when I noticed a subtle difference. In this example, instead of saying 'Now on sale', it said 'commencing in March':

 

The picture above is from the eBay listing I won - I'll replace it when the book arrives - but the wording seems to fit nicely with the start of the UKPVs in Blighty.

On my Dell UKPV tracking spreadsheet, I note the first UKPVs as being dated April 1960:

A number of titles start that month, some of them being dual-month copies (see my spreadsheet note above as to how I chose to record those). Anyway, Sea Hunt #5 is one such April 1960 title - here's my 9d priced UK copy:

Lloyd Bridges, incidentally, bore an uncanny resemblance to my maternal grandad. Must be where I got the stunning good looks of James Bond without being a wanker from. 

According to the late Mike's Comic Newsstand, Sea Hunt #5 was on sale in the US from the 25th of February:

That date matches this actual copy closely, which has an arrival date of the 23rd:

It's likely that the books were printed a week or so prior to that date and the UK priced copies would have presumably gone straight to the port to be shipped to the UK. The actual shipping time to the UK has been debated as being anything from one to three months but there are no definitive records on this. Speculating, if it was, say, two months, then a book printed in the US in early Feb may well have turned up in the UK in late March / early April.  We'll never know that, but it's clear that there is a close match between the 'commencing in March' date of the Crime Buster back cover ad and the start of UKPVs dated April arriving in the UK around that same time. If the ad said 'commencing in September', then we'd have a problem. But it doesn't, so we don't.

All good fun.