The Distribution of US Published Comics in the UK (1959~1982) 15 15

[Albert Tatlock]

4 hours ago, Garystar said:

 

Post it again, please, so I can collect more royalties.

[Albert Tatlock]

Gary Fox's 1983 ad attached.

So after more than 20 years, an experienced collector and dealer had not seen hide nor hair of 3 of the 7 missing 1960 items, not counting any Westerns likewise affected.

No doubt Gary and many others had been ransacking all the Popular Book Centre, etc shops, street markets and the rest, but these few issues steadfastedly refused to show.

I am convinced that neither Mr T nor Mr P ever had these fall into their clutches.

So the First Hiatus should, by rights, be re-dubbed the Second Hiatus

 

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by Albert Tatlock
better scan

[Albert Tatlock]

This one is better, but I wish I could find a way to edit Ena out.

 

[Get Marwood & I]

12 hours ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Gary Fox's 1983 ad attached.

Thanking thee

Quote

So after more than 20 years, an experienced collector and dealer had not seen hide nor hair of 3 of the 7 missing 1960 items, not counting any Westerns likewise affected.

No doubt Gary and many others had been ransacking all the Popular Book Centre, etc shops, street markets and the rest, but these few issues steadfastedly refused to show.

I am convinced that neither Mr T nor Mr P ever had these fall into their clutches.

So the First Hiatus should, by rights, be re-dubbed the Second Hiatus

I disagree Albert. For a UKPV hiatus to be worthy of the name it must surely have to affect all titles. A few missing issues staggered across a handful of titles in the very early months of their existence isn't indicative of a hiatus especially when at least one UKPV exists in each of the affected cover months and multiple distributors are in play. A ten month window in which all monthly titles miss at least 8 consecutive issues however is a tangible break, worthy of hiatus status.

Did you like that - ''hiatus status". It could catch on. 

[Get Marwood & I]

I plotted Actions Comics today beyond the first four cycles all the way up to the 18th cycle, the point where the numbered stamps cease.

Action #358 starts the 131 issue run with an 8 stamp in cycle 1:

The last numbered stamp I could find was #388, stamped a 3 in the 18th plotted cycle:

And each issue subsequently was unnumbered as follows with a standard T&P:

 

Following my previous exercises, I wanted to see if the broad ratio of one calendar month equalling one stamp would hold true. It didn't, with 149 stamps existing within the 127 calendar months:

 

It all starts off well, with a close alignment in the first ten cycles....

 

....and then goes horribly wrong from the eleventh, going from a couple of issues off track to eight, increasing to thirteen...

 

....and ending miles off of where it should be if each stamp represented one calendar month:

 

I won't post all 18, but there are lots of slots with no issues and an equal number with a lot of consecutive, bunched issues:

 

I've been looking to see whether any of the cycles should / could logically merge to reduce the misalignment but I can't see it at the moment. My early conclusion is that at some point around the time of the 9th cycle, the sequential nature of the stamps went out the window. There are 22 more stamps than months so about 3 cycles would need to merge to maintain a monthly stamp to calendar / cover month balance. Maybe the stamps in the slots in which no issues appear were not used?

I'll have to ponder it.

Some interesting events along the way - Action 347 is cover dated April, #348 March - probably something due to #347 being an 80 page giant (and stamped one and six).

The same happens with #373 (another one off 80 page giant stamped both one and nine and also two shillings) and #374 (back to 10d regular).

#353 is the last 10d issue I found, with #354 being the first printed one shilling copy - although I found a shilling stickered #353 too:

 

There are quite a few more quirks to be found within the 476 examples that I filed across the 131 issues and I may have found a 5p phenonemenomeoenom. 

More later, if you're lucky....

 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:18 PM, Garystar said:

My mate’s recollections;

“comics that I recall buying were usually the current month or a month or two behind so would have been released in the States 3 or 4 months earlier. We were behind US release probably due to slower sea shipping back then. This continued for years I think until the late 70’s or so. Also I’m pretty sure that they were firm sale as you could often find comics a couple of years old on the spinner racks. I can recall buying a Spidey # 37 (1966) in a newsagents in Crownhill in 1968. The newsagent at Peverell where I bought mine would receive his US comics once a month. They were always mixed together DC/Marvel and wrapped in newspaper and tied up with string. I would go up to the shop early on the Saturday morning when they arrived (with pocket money that I had saved each month) and while he was setting out his newspapers he would give me some scissors to open the parcel. I then had first pick of the new books and when finished put what’s left in the spinner. I would sometimes sneakily put books that I couldn’t yet afford behind older comics so that I could come back later when I had more money and could afford them. Happy  days!”

Here's a copy of a T&P stamped Action #328:

 

• Cover date - September 1965
• T&P stamp - 8
• Arrival date (Mikes Comic Newsstand) - July 29 1965
• Actual stamped arrival date - July 28 1965

Being a copy with a US arrival date stamp we assume it is a return that it did not sell in the US.  Speculating:

• Hits US newsstand 28/07/65
• Taken off one month later - 28/08/65
• Two months to cover return / shipping / stamping
• On sale in the UK 28/10/65

That is two months behind, in line with the recollections and makes the 8 stamp slot of the ninth cycle UK star date October 1965:

Probably!

 

[Mr Thorpe]

Re the apparent misnumbering of Action #347 and  #348 in terms of their cover months.

347 is actually Mar-Apr 1967 and was on sale Jan 10th 1967 so did pre-date 348 which had an on sale date of Jan 31st 1967.

Wherever DC put the cover month in a black outline, it was 'bi-monthly', with the latter month in the black box, so April in this case. Check out their regular bi-monthly titles -Metal Men, Teen Titans etc.

They also did it with 80 page giants which were presumably meant to sit on the newstands for 2 months to maximise sales.

Quirky T&P UK distribution fact on bi-monthlies

The odd thing about 'bi-monthly' covered comics distributed here (in the UK) was that we always got them a month 'late' to coincide with the non black bordered proper monthlies. It used to be quite annoying because you knew it was a month late. So over here we would have seen Action #348 distributed with all the other March 1967 comics and #347 a month later with the Aprils. Thinking about it now, it's possible T&P got the bi-monthlies a month later because they had an extra month on the newstand in the States. It does makes sense thinking about it now!

[Albert Tatlock]

http://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2012/02/myron-fassthorpe-porter-and-me.html

[Albert Tatlock]

http://www.fiawol.org.uk/fanstuff/THEN Archive/comics2.htm

[Albert Tatlock]

Surprising what you can find when you've nowt better to do.

Off to t'Rovers for a nightcap. Back by breakfast time, possibly.

[Albert Tatlock]

http://www.fiawol.org.uk/fanstuff/THEN Archive/comics.htm

Just one last link before my half a mild obeys the law of gravity down my gullet.

[Albert Tatlock]

Just found an old book with purchases recorded, all new on the stands at the time:

28 September 1968:  House Of Mystery # 174 (June 1968)

13 December 1968     Strange Adventures # 213 and Adventure #371 (both August 1968)

28 May 1969:              Creeper # 5 and  # 6 (February and April 1969), Showcase # 80 (February 1969), Strange Adventures # 216 and # 217 (January and April 1969)

1 June 1969            Anthro # 5 (April 1969)

Some of these were bimonthlies, with an indicia date a month earlier than cover date.

My recollection is that I expected DCs to be at least 2, and usually 3, months behind cover date.

I have a few more records, roughly along the same lines, and I see that in several cases I bought 2 consecutive issues of the same title from the same shop on the same day, both new arrivals.

Also, there were occasionally new arrivals up to 6 months out of date. Some I already had, those which I did not, I bought. I never worried about missing a DC issue, as I knew it would eventually cross my path, even if I had to buy it second hand. Not all shops received all the titles that I wanted, so I had to travel around, but there were a couple that regularly received a better supply than others, so I headed to those first of all and filled any gaps as and when I could.

 

[Albert Tatlock]

On 12/2/2020 at 5:48 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

• Hits US newsstand 28/07/65
• Taken off one month later - 28/08/65
• Two months to cover return / shipping / stamping
• On sale in the UK 28/10/65

Would make more sense for the newsagent to retain current issues for at least 2 months, as to take them off sale after only 1 month would leave him, at least temporarily, with no stock.

Also, many were bimonthlies, with a built-in shelf life of 2 months.

[Albert Tatlock]

On 11/30/2020 at 9:39 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

e didn't get Strange Tales # 78, JIM # 61, TTA # 11, 12, 13, and TOS 11 and 12. Why not?"

I have also come across an entry for 5 July 1969, when I bought Astonish # 8 and # 11 from a local collector, so there were the odd one or two in circulation (I already had # 9, and so did a couple of other lads, so I reckon a few copies of that did make it across, although I am pretty sure they will be cents).

Numbers 8 and 11 were, however, even back then, acknowledged as scarcities, and the seller knew it, so I had no choice but to meet his steep asking price of 10/- each.

At the same time, he sold me JIM # 60 for 4/6 and Strange Tales # 94 (an upgrade for me) for 3/6, about the going rate at the time.

[Redshade]

I have just seen this on another site and just had to share it.

[Albert Tatlock]

1 minute ago, Redshade said:

I have just seen this on another site and just had to share it.

Could someone airbrush Ena out? Please??

[Redshade]

8 minutes ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Could someone airbrush Ena out? Please??

I think that it was Adamson (Len Fairclough) who was airbrushed out.

[Albert Tatlock]

3 minutes ago, Redshade said:

I think that it was Adamson (Len Fairclough) who was airbrushed out.

Yes, he is getting a funny look from across the other side. Somebody knew the score.

[Garystar]

On 12/1/2020 at 2:28 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

 

On 11/30/2020 at 9:30 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

The question still remains, why did no late 1960 (Strange Tales # 78, JIM # 61, TTA # 11, 12, 13, TOS # 11, 12) Marvels arrive, pence or cents?

I've speculated quite a bit about the missing UKPVs in my Marvel, Miller and US Price Font threads.

There were 19 titles running when the UKPVs started up from cover date May 1960. Of those 19, 6 have no UKPVs at all so we can discount them (Date with Millie, Kathy, Love Romances, Millie the Model, My Own Romance & Teen-Age Romance). 4 were distributed by L Miller so we can discount them (Gunsmoke Western, Rawhide Kid, Wyatt Earp and TGK).

Of the remaining 9 titles, distributed by T&P, the gaps plot by cover date as follows:

There is no calendar month where at least one 9d UKPV does not appear and no real overarching patterns (e.g. the same gaps across the board or volume of issues per calendar month). Although KCO's three missing issues corelate with TTA's and JIM's one correlates with ST. Fairly tenuous

 

I’ve taken Marwood’s spreadsheet and added and sorted by release date (taken from Mikes Amazing World of Comics).

If we accept that Patsy Walker, Patsy & Hedy and My Girl Pearl just got dropped, then there seems a bit more consistency, if looking at release date then in all months Marvels were either all UKPV or none were. Of course there is as always a hic-up in May 1960 which has UKPV and non arrivals.

You may see something I'm not, perhaps I'm seeing something not there but I think there is something in release dates rather than cover dates. Might explain why Albert missed some issues as certain release date months appear to have no Marvels.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 12/2/2020 at 11:47 PM, Albert Tatlock said:

http://www.fiawol.org.uk/fanstuff/THEN Archive/comics.htm

Just one last link before my half a mild obeys the law of gravity down my gullet.

Three nice links there Albert, thanks