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Variants of Batman 414
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55 posts in this topic

3 hours ago, RCheli said:

This is all you need in your life: more multi-printing Copper Age books! Your house will be filled with these variants, leaving no room for furniture!

You are right on the money.  I have ten thousand comic books, and half of them are variants.  It wasn't like that until the New 52 came along.   When it did, the number of variants shot  through the roof.

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On 1/2/2019 at 7:55 PM, Cpt Kirk said:

I don't know why DC chose Batman 414 to make so many printings.   But what I do know is this:

Most of the additional printings that occurred in Batman comic books from issue #397 through #497 came from 2-packs, 3-packs and, toward the end, 20-packs.   Most of these packs were produced during the crescendo of popularity, speculation, and hoarding that occurred during the early to mid-1990s.   Packs containing reprints were sold in stores like Kay-Bee Toys, Toys-R-Us, and Costco to meet that demand.   I also remember an explosion in the number of comic book shops at the time.  Batman 414 just happened to come out during this hey-day and was included in several different packs.  

 

Exactly.  I picked up this book (and several others) in multi-pakcs from K-mart in 1993, and didnt realize it was a reprint until years later (at which point I threw it away, kinda wish I had kept it now).  

Going through my batbooks, and I still have a Batman 399 that I'm positive came out of those multi-packs, but it doesnt say anywhere in or on it that its a reprint.

Edited by waaaghboss
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On 1/22/2019 at 3:20 PM, waaaghboss said:

Exactly.  I picked up this book (and several others) in multi-pakcs from K-mart in 1993, and didnt realize it was a reprint until years later (at which point I threw it away, kinda wish I had kept it now).  

Going through my batbooks, and I still have a Batman 399 that I'm positive came out of those multi-packs, but it doesnt say anywhere in or on it that its a reprint.

You might have the 5th printing of BM 399.    The 5th printing is different from 1st printing as follows:  inside back cover = Ironsword, back cover has NEC ad;  The 5th printing is identical to BM 399 4th printing except the printing number is not specified in the indicia. 

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9 hours ago, Cpt Kirk said:

You might have the 5th printing of BM 399.    The 5th printing is different from 1st printing as follows:  inside back cover = Ironsword, back cover has NEC ad;  The 5th printing is identical to BM 399 4th printing except the printing number is not specified in the indicia. 

Oh wow, you re right.  The iron sword and has copyright 1989, and the book says it was published in 1986.  I'd always assumed they marked the reprints.  Thanks!

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On 12/30/2018 at 10:28 PM, FlyingDonut said:

Killing Joke. 17(?) printings that I can think of.

Killing Joke has 14 US printings.  The 14th printing is also shown as the "Direct Edition" by CGC, but, it is really the 14th print that came with the action figures.  There are a whole slew of foreign editions.  I have seen 40 different foreign variants at this time, there may be more hiding out there.

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This thread inspired me to dig these out of my boxes. Looks like they're somewhere in the 5th through 7th printing range. Anyone have one of these sets opened and know which ones are inside? Wondering if a certain printing was only found in this particular pack. Also curious what printing 415 and 416 are. Hmmm...I've got three sealed packs, should I open one up in the name of research???

IMG_6329.JPG

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Has anyone got a copy of the list of the Batman multipack reprints from the old comic price guide forum - I can't remember who started it but in the end it was pretty comprehensive with several people filling in details for missing printings - I contributed a few to the list but I don't seem to have a copy on my current PC 

 

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On 2/6/2019 at 4:38 PM, David Buck said:

Has anyone got a copy of the list of the Batman multipack reprints from the old comic price guide forum - I can't remember who started it but in the end it was pretty comprehensive with several people filling in details for missing printings - I contributed a few to the list but I don't seem to have a copy on my current PC 

 

I don't think I've got that list but I do have a list of almost all Superman and Batman packs (2 packs, 3 packs, 10 packs and 20 packs) 

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On 2/5/2019 at 8:38 PM, F For Fake said:

This thread inspired me to dig these out of my boxes. Looks like they're somewhere in the 5th through 7th printing range. Anyone have one of these sets opened and know which ones are inside? Wondering if a certain printing was only found in this particular pack. Also curious what printing 415 and 416 are. Hmmm...I've got three sealed packs, should I open one up in the name of research???

IMG_6329.JPG

Yes, I've opened several of those packs.   Just as you said, they contain the 5th thru 7th printing of BM 414.   But it is very difficult to tell which is which until you open the pack.

The 6th and 7th pack are identical.   The 5th printing (which says "3rd printing" in the indicia) has a different back cover, so you might be able to discern a difference if you pry on the pack at little bit to see the back covers without opening the pack.

 

Edited by Cpt Kirk
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7 hours ago, Cpt Kirk said:

Yes, I've opened several of those packs.   Just as you said, they contain the 5th thru 7th printing of BM 414.   But it is very difficult to tell which is which until you open the pack.

The 6th and 7th pack are identical.   The 5th printing (which says "3rd printing" in the indicia) has a different back cover, so you might be able to discern a difference if you pry on the pack at little bit to see the pack covers without opening the pack.

 

You're a Master Detective at this stuff, @Cpt Kirk !

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On 2/12/2019 at 3:08 PM, F For Fake said:

You're a Master Detective at this stuff, @Cpt Kirk !

Thanks.  I meant to say "see the back covers without opening the pack" in my message above, by the way.    I love these variants that were made before the days when the publishers start creating variants for the sake of creating "rarity".

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On 2/16/2019 at 7:45 AM, Cpt Kirk said:

Thanks.  I meant to say "see the back covers without opening the pack" in my message above, by the way.    I love these variants that were made before the days when the publishers start creating variants for the sake of creating "rarity".

To me, these are true "variants". "Variant covers" aren't variants, they're a totally new book. So you're speaking my language here.

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34 minutes ago, David Buck said:

finally found a version of the list that was done on the CPG forum courtesy of the wayback machine - this is fairly complete but not the final version - good useful info. in there though

https://web.archive.org/web/20081013042550/http://www.comicspriceguide.com/boards/Topic345-18-1.aspx

 

 

Nice, thanks! I started building my spreadsheet off of this and never finished. One day I went back to chip away at it some and my link was kaput. Now do I have the energy to start back up again?

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It was a fun project at the time - filling in the missing printings -  I remember when I spotted the wonder woman letters page that appeared halfway through on the Issue 414 printings - that  odd accident really helped sort out the order 

 

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6 hours ago, archivist said:

Do you have the information which issues were included in the "Best of 1994" Collector's Set ? If not, I can try to find my copy of it.

Batman Adventures # 21 - Bat Symbol in UPC box, Collector Pack First Printing in indicia

Wonder Woman # 90 - DC Universe in UPC box, Collector Pack First Printing in indicia

Superman: The Man Of Steel # 30 - DC Universe in UPC box, Collector Pack First Printing in indicia

Superboy # 8 - DC Universe in UPC box, no note in indicia

Robin # 9 - DC Universe in UPC box, no note in indicia

Flash # 91 - DC Universe in UPC box, Collector Pack First Printing in indicia

Damage # 0 - DC Universe in UPC box, no note in indicia

Aquaman # 1 - DC Universe in UPC box, no note in indicia

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