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Charlton Canadian Price Variants
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78 posts in this topic

6 hours ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Cheers kimik. I think Zot was by Eclipse though, not Charlton. I'd love to see a 95c Funny Animals though - issue #1 (September 1984) would be eligible if Sal is right.

Oops. My mistake re: Zot.

There was a $0.95 version of Funny Animals #1 or Zoo #1 if I recall correctly. I was scooping up Canadian Newsstand copies of anything in high grade 15 - 20 years ago and clearly remember that one. I sold most of them 3 - 5 years ago, but still remember that cover since it was one of the few funny animal books I came across. I will take a look in my remaining longs of CDNs to see if I still have it.

Edited by kimik
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4 minutes ago, kimik said:

Oops. My mistake re: Zot.

There was a $0.95 version of Funny Animals #1 or Zoo #1 if I recall correctly. I was scooping up Canadian Newsstand copies of anything in high grade 15 - 20 years ago and clearly remember that one. I sold most of them 3 - 5 years ago, but still remember that cover since it was one of the few funny animal books I came across. I will take a look in my remaining longs of CDNs to see if I still have it.

:wishluck: :)

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Afternoon :)

I picked up two copies of Scary Tales #40 - one priced 75c, one 60c - in order to undertake 'the comparison exercise' that I like to do with all the other price variants that I bore everyone to tears with provide research information on. Here they be:

657463933_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)75cvs60c.thumb.jpg.786b44136c34bd76b85a710eeef8d712.jpg

 

Often, and oddly enough, the cover price is the only difference between differently priced copies. Funny that. But sometimes there are other cosmetic differences. A different masthead. Perhaps a unique indicia. Let's have a butchers hook at them side to side and see shall we?

First up, the covers:

1634844573_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)September1983(60c).thumb.jpg.5b335e683fed51d765f70a3d389538a9.jpg  1062225553_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)September1983(75c).thumb.jpg.452764bd57b9c251b6d30b9d08a020e6.jpg

 

Unless my beady eyes deceive me, the price is indeed the only difference. Odd that both copies carry a 25p price for Englandville. It occurred to someone to have two prices on each issue, but not three prices, which would negate the need for separate issues. Wonder why.

There is one other difference though - the 60c copy was cut with wonky scissors. Typical Charlton - sack the chopperer! (that's the industry job title for the person who's job it was to cut every copy by hand)

Turn the pages and what do we see:

188277398_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)75cvs60cb.thumb.jpg.ef0ee73d1a8ce57345c0bf79a9ca86f1.jpg

 

Identical indicias. Both say 'Price per copy 60c U.S.A. 75c Canada'. So, again, why not have that on the cover? Very odd.

The inside cover adverts are the same and both carry the 'mysterious numbers' ascending the top of the page:

464793325_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)75cvs60cc.thumb.jpg.ae9235845dc645a574169aa95d4a342e.jpg

 

After exhaustive research I've learned that these numbers are code for "Why didn't we put both prices on the cover Barry?" It's amazing what Google knows.

Everything is the same until we get to the centre pages where we discover that everything is the same:

1421275968_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)75cvs60cd.thumb.jpg.e3aad1b072e97e92982699b2834e51d0.jpg

 

This sameyness continues to the inside back covers where we discover a method for peeling away blackheads. On both copies of course. And they're the same:

233166997_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)75cvs60ce.thumb.jpg.dcbd8c672471e28569e4644a3d762c5f.jpg

 

You'll never guess what happens with the back covers though. 

Give up?

Right.

They're the same:

1911497696_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)September1983(60c)b.thumb.jpg.f9e3214da3b5ad8192636e9b64e6384d.jpg 513775822_ScaryTales40(Vol.9)September1983(75c)b.thumb.jpg.67288591696c5208505f0387bb2a2c76.jpg

 

So, there you have it. I can't speak for the other issues yet, but if this example is anything to go by, everything is the same. Except the price. No wonder they call them price variants!

Cheeooww :)

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On 8/17/2019 at 3:46 AM, SasquatchComics said:

This is awesome.

I've been looking for a complete list for these and have been trying to build a complete set.

So far I have about 33 with only 3 doubles....

...I can confirm that these issues exist in addition to the ones that you have already confirmed:

Ghost Manor 75

Ghostly tales 163 167

Haunted 70 71 72 73

Scarry tales 43

I remembered there being a tricky one that was 75c but wasn't a cdn. Can't remember which one though.

How on Earth did I miss your post Sasquatch! 

Just re-reading the thread, and I'm seeing it for the first time. You snuck in under the radar! Very annoying doh!

Any chance you could post images of the additional copies? My own research rule is that it doesn't exist until I've seen it :foryou:

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23 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Great work Steve,I'm enjoying this.Still haven't found any at home,but I'll be looking.

Cheers Jim - kicking myself for missing @SasquatchComics post. Doesn't look like they've been online since. Fingers crossed they'll pop back at some point :wishluck:

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I've been in touch with The King of Canada (Doug Sulipa) and he has double checked his inventory and believes my date range is the right one. So any mention you may see elsewhere online / in Overstreet of CPVs existing as far back as February 1983 can be discounted - unless someone wants to surprise us that is!

So I make it 12 titles with 64 possible books, and I personally have confirmation of 47 of them:

930990535_ConfirmedNumberList13_09_19.thumb.PNG.94ee5c3d2a4a7a7199ec3c5896c29d97.PNG

I'm hoping SasquatchComics will return at some point with images of the additional copies he mentioned. Until then, I'll continue to trawl online for the others / any new ones 

All good fun :)

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Morning all :)

Every once in a while I pay a visit to the King of Charlton's lovely comic website and swap stories and information with the Defiant1 (possibly the nearest equivalent to me you'll find, as far as documenting obscure comic minutiae goes)

I noticed today that he had a few Charlton Canadians that were missing from my list. They were Haunted #71 for which he had an image and Ghostly Tales #164 for which he didn't. 

So I've updated my sheet with the Haunted #71, adding that image to the files, and have asked for sight of the GT#164. 

That makes 48 confirmed copies out of a maximum of 64 (assuming all issues exist between the documented dates) with a further one to add if GT#164 appears:

 

canch.thumb.PNG.b8cd67d06467281f454ab4e6f015ca82.PNG

 

71.PNG.889a6458e7746c56659755cb2bdfc3ba.PNG 71.jpg.7af15e7975158d3535e84fce9bf5eea4.jpg

 

Some of the images aren't the best, and I hope to find better copies as the hunt goes on. 

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Afternoon Charlies :)

Here's a little Charlton variant interlude while we await further Canadian sightings.

In July 1980, Charlton produced these eight titles:

1146077274_July1980Titles.thumb.PNG.28476dede09aa3e53c31a655140236da.PNG

 

If you look closely, you'll see that three titles have a blank UPC box, one a black box, and the rest have regular barcode UPCs. As far as I can tell, this is the only Charlton cover month which has titles with black / blank UPCs - all applicable copies before and after have the standard barcode and - to my knowledge - only the one US issue type.

If we look a little closer at our four 'non-standard' titles, we find that each has two UPC types - one blank and one black. Here's Battlefield Action to illustrate:

1437479380_BattlefieldAction63(July1980)BlackUPC.thumb.jpg.90dad99e05b3e7bb7148fbda338a2db0.jpg 1865243966_BattlefieldAction63(July1980)BlankUPC.thumb.jpg.0318ac49d2af7921be2814d4928f89ba.jpg

 

The UPC's seem to be the only differences - everything else is the same in the copies I have, including the indicias:

1744862335_thumbnail(1).thumb.jpg.fbff7a32a68cd304ca26305ca09d394b.jpg

 

I expect the other three titles will be the same, and will let you know once I pick copies up:

Capturex.thumb.PNG.8c761646864c87519098805dff41cf84.PNG

 

As is often the case, I haven't yet determined why these variations exists. Perhaps someone reading will know. I can understand having a blank UPC to prevent a book from being scanned for a particular reason (similar to the Marvel early direct / Whitman bagged copies perhaps). But why a blank and a black version? Surely that serves the same purpose doesn't it? And why only these four titles? Why no regular barcode versions?

And who won the FA Cup in 1964?

We may never know.

Anyway, nice things all the same, regardless of the whys and wherefores. Something else to look out for why we wait for the missing (?) Canadians to surface :)

thumbnail.jpg.05ae8a827e099126f80448aabb1fe5d4.jpg

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45 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

:)

I MAY have that issue of Haunted #50- but I think it MAY be a Modern reprint.Around the time I got it,I remember they were in three or five pacs,I'm sure that's where mine came from,it's one of my old childhood comics.Would that explain the black,blank UPC?If I'm remembering right,the Charltons and Modern comics I got at the time came from the same store,a Woolworths.They had all kinds of odd repacked comics,often with different publishers inside.My Eternals number one came from one of those weirdos and it would have been YEARS old by the time it came into my hands.

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15 hours ago, porcupine48 said:

I MAY have that issue of Haunted #50- but I think it MAY be a Modern reprint.Around the time I got it,I remember they were in three or five pacs,I'm sure that's where mine came from,it's one of my old childhood comics.Would that explain the black,blank UPC?If I'm remembering right,the Charltons and Modern comics I got at the time came from the same store,a Woolworths.They had all kinds of odd repacked comics,often with different publishers inside.My Eternals number one came from one of those weirdos and it would have been YEARS old by the time it came into my hands.

Cheers Jim. As far as I know, the Haunted #50 has a regular barcode - I haven't found any black/blank UPC versions of it. Have a look when you get a spare mo.

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On 10/17/2019 at 7:50 AM, Get Marwood & I said:

Cheers Jim. As far as I know, the Haunted #50 has a regular barcode - I haven't found any black/blank UPC versions of it. Have a look when you get a spare mo.

I took a look(my brain can work magic sometimes,especially finding comics I've had thirty fiveish years) and I was just a BIT off!This isn't my copy,but it's what I was thinking of,sorry fer the mix up

588219.jpg

I think I'd like to put a set of Modern together,they are brutal cheap....

 

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I don't think there are Canadian Variants of the Funny Animal Charlton books. All the copies I've looked at had 75 cent prices. I could be wrong, but i look for them whenever I see them. Same goes for the Thane and Timmy the Timid Ghost. I think those later issues (the ones with the changed logo and pricing layouts) only had 75 cent prices. Photos could change my mind however. :) 

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20 minutes ago, bellrules said:

I don't think there are Canadian Variants of the Funny Animal Charlton books. All the copies I've looked at had 75 cent prices. I could be wrong, but i look for them whenever I see them. Same goes for the Thane and Timmy the Timid Ghost. I think those later issues (the ones with the changed logo and pricing layouts) only had 75 cent prices. Photos could change my mind however. :) 

I don't think we'll ever see them Bell. 

An incorrect set of dates for these books has remained in place, unchallenged for years. I've challenged it, stated what I believe to be the correct dates, and anyone who's anyone now agrees with it. There's a few more that may turn up within the dates, but there won't be anymore outside them.

He says.....

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