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

[Get Marwood & I]

7 minutes ago, Kevin.J said:

Well whatever, its only in our threads here where something like Peter the little pest, Gorgo and Valley of the Dinosaurs get any love 

I've always loved the unloved Kev. Who else would pull that many pages out of Charlton pence copies 

Shame I had to give up on it...

 

[Kevin.J]

1 minute ago, Get Marwood & I said:

I've always loved the unloved Kev. Who else would pull that many pages out of Charlton pence copies 

Me, I would, but us here in these threads are in the minority, so many people just looking for the next way to make money, I wish everything was worth £1, then I could afford the stuff I dont have  

[Get Marwood & I]

Just now, Kevin.J said:

Me, I would, but us here in these threads are in the minority, so many people just looking for the next way to make money, I wish everything was worth £1, then I could afford the stuff I dont have  

Nice though isn't it, a niche audience. See ya tomorra Kev 

[Kevin.J]

1 minute ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Nice though isn't it, a niche audience. See ya tomorra Kev 

The threads here you created and the other regulars boardies that contribute do so with a sincerity I dont see much elsewhere, sure we all love comics but I am finding that reading about comics and discovering the history and personal knowledge is an even greater passion and its awesome to interact with peeps that feel the same way, nn mate

[Get Marwood & I]

Morning my fellow Pencificators (look it up, it's in the dictionary and everything) 

I tell you, this can be hard work at times. I've been plotting this out for a few hours this afternoon and my head hurts. Kudos to @Garystar whose excellent Marvel analysis spreadsheet helped no end with what follows.

Now, I wanted to try and position some Marvel distribution research findings in a more clear, one page visual manner as sometimes it's hard to keep track of written explanations (especially some of mine which are, alas, necessarily detailed). Accordingly, here is the updated summary page that I posted earlier:

It's bloody complicated so I've failed miserably on the easy to follow front! Pictures are nice though.

What makes it difficult to plot is the nature of the three UKPV hiatuses, which are staggered by title over a few months. Here's what I mean. The first UKPV hiatus exists between October 1964 and August 1965 with most monthly titles experiencing a gap of 9 to 10 months during that 11 month window. As you can see from the extract, Spidey loses ten issues but JIM only nine:

The second hiatus covers only a three month window covering October, November and December 1966, and titles miss either one or two issues:

The third printed UKPV hiatus covers a whopping 17 month gap from November 1967 to March 1969 with most ongoing monthly titles missing between 16 and 17 consecutive issues:

So you can see how that makes it difficult to plot as the UKPV existence dates overlap.

Anyway, I had a go anyway and this is the result (again):

I want to focus for a second on the 'Second Printed UKPV Hiatus' as follows:

We already know from previous posts that there are 10d oblong stamps in existence that look like this:

So, looking at every title that has one or two UKPVs missing for those months, I found the vast majority have some form of stamp, sticker or handwritten price for their applicable missing issues. Here is a picture of the file in which they sit:

It's quite remarkable when you look at them all lined up. Only Daredevil and the X-Men are missing and the 10d oblong stamps are rife. So this tells us that someone took the trouble of importing and stamping up the missing issues. Who it was, and when they did it, will likely remain a mystery, but there was clearly an attempt.

This snapshot of Gary's spreadsheet, highlighted to show the UKPV issues between the first and third hiatuses, shows the absence of the second hiatus issues (in orange) but also the near total absence of stamped copies of any sort while the UKPVs existed:

So for this period's phases, the broad pattern is clear:

• When there was a UKPV, that was it. No stamped copies (accepting the Millers at the start)
• Where there was no UKPV, in came the stamped copies (from either T&P alone or them and 'a n other' if the oblong and other non-branded stamps aren't theirs)

As I noted earlier, the presence of the stamped copies means that the UKPV gaps cannot be down to shipping strikes, as previously suggested. 

That's quite cool isn't it, to work that out after all this time. I'm going to continue the exercise right up to the demise of UKPVs for Marvel, so we'll see what else turns up. Thanks again Gary for your spreadsheet and analysis. Let me know if anything on my one pager looks off mate

Now, does anyone know where I can get a new pair of eyes....? 

[Get Marwood & I]

Some Thor examples of the two missing UKPVs, 133 & 134:

 

  
                      #133 10d Oblong stamp                                     #133 One Shilling stamp

  
                     #134 One Shilling stamp                                #134 'O.P' One Shilling stamp

The O.P. stamp was from @Albert Tatlock 

[Get Marwood & I]

Avengers 33 & 34:

 

       
              #33 10d Oblong stamp                             #34 One Shilling stamp

[Get Marwood & I]

Strange Tales #151:

                                             #151 10d Oblong stamp

[Garystar]

37 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

It's quite remarkable when you look at them all lined up. Only Daredevil and the X-Men are missing and the 10d oblong stamps are rife. So this tells us that someone took the trouble of importing and stamping up the missing issues. Who it was, and when they did it, will likely remain a mystery, but there was clearly an attempt.

I think Albert identified the oblong stamps as belonging to Gold Star Publications. Here’s the two xmen ( my copies)

[Get Marwood & I]

9 minutes ago, Garystar said:

I think Albert identified the oblong stamps as belonging to Gold Star Publications. Here’s the two xmen ( my copies)

You're right Gary, he did. I've got my fingers in so many pence pies at the moment it's hard to keep up! A leaky memory doesn't help either...  

You haven't got these two in oblong have you?:

[Garystar]

11 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

You haven't got these two in oblong have you?

No, my copies are unstamped but I'm pretty sure I've had 22 with the oblong in the past. None on ebay at present but I'll keep an eye out.

Good job with the "picture table" however I think the last para here is a bit confusing, perhaps when mentioning hiatus if you said STARTING....

Other comment would be table ends March 1969 - Volunteering even more work for you but there is the period April 69 - July 71 when T&P stamps were still extant (alongside UKPVs).

1 hour ago, Get Marwood & I said:

What makes it difficult to plot is the nature of the three UKPV hiatuses, which are staggered by title over a few months.

When I did my table I wondered if the titles would line up more uniformly if the table was by distribution date rather than cover month but I decided this would be a major task.

Well done good work.

[Garystar]

Completely off topic but one job I've taken advantage of lockdown/restrictions to do is copy my CDs to USB, I'm just starting The Smiths - every album seems like a greatest hits!

[Get Marwood & I]

38 minutes ago, Garystar said:

No, my copies are unstamped but I'm pretty sure I've had 22 with the oblong in the past. None on ebay at present but I'll keep an eye out.

Good job with the "picture table" however I think the last para here is a bit confusing, perhaps when mentioning hiatus if you said STARTING....

Other comment would be table ends March 1969 - Volunteering even more work for you but there is the period April 69 - July 71 when T&P stamps were still extant (alongside UKPVs).

When I did my table I wondered if the titles would line up more uniformly if the table was by distribution date rather than cover month but I decided this would be a major task.

Well done good work.

Cheers Gary - I've spotted another flaw too, so more work is needed....

[Kevin.J]

My Xmen 25 has a circular stamp but too faint to see

[Get Marwood & I]

46 minutes ago, Garystar said:

Completely off topic but one job I've taken advantage of lockdown/restrictions to do is copy my CDs to USB, I'm just starting The Smiths - every album seems like a greatest hits!

We must be brothers from different mothers Gary - I've done the same during lockdown. The Smiths are one of those musical rarities like Squeeze, Costello and a few others who appear to be unable to make a bad song, let alone record. Whilst I know every Smiths song by heart, you can still get a thrill once in a while from them. I'm quite into Morrissey's hugely underappreciated later albums at present and they keep me company on my lockdown walks and attempts at cross training (I'd be the size of a house if not for that). I've probably mentioned this before but I met Morrissey outside a Billy Bragg Christmas concert at the Hackney Empire many years back (I didn't realise L Miller had been camping down the road at the time of course). Quite the enigmatic chap he was. A true one off regardless of current thinking.

One thing I've done in lockdown is look over and reappraise the past. Lots of time to do that. One thing I am certain of - as I'm sure all ages are of their time - is that we lived through the very best of everything. Music, TV, Film, Comics, culture. That time will never come again - the time when anything was possible, and everything could still be new. Rose tinted spectacles aside, there was a charm back then that is sorely absent from modern living. I'd give anything to go back. Star in my own Life on Mars maybe. I'd visit a few comic shops, I can tell you. 

[Get Marwood & I]

There are no printed UKPVs for Kid Colt #130, 131 and 132:

131 is missing as expected as it sits in the second hiatus 3 month window, and the other two are absent, presumably, as they are 25c copies vs the normal 12c price for which 10d pence copies exist.

For the missing pence copies, I've found these for #130:

These for #131:

And this for #132:

 

So here's a question. If the 10d oblong stamps are the work of Gold Star, that would indicate a temporary distribution problem between Marvel and T&P. So why do T&P copies exist for the Kid, in the 'Gold Star' window?

 

[Albert Tatlock]

Back on November 2nd I did write to David Gold, at his home address, and have confirmation of delivery, to find out whether he had any recollection of the late 1966 late appearance of Marvels, but no reply. Maybe he is just too busy.

[Get Marwood & I]

1 minute ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Back on November 2nd I did write to David Gold, at his home address, and have confirmation of delivery, to find out whether he had any recollection of the late 1966 late appearance of Marvels, but no reply. Maybe he is just too busy.

You'll get a gold star from me, if he does Albert.

[Albert Tatlock]

Here is one of Gold Star's from 1972

[Albert Tatlock]

From David Gold's autobiography..............................

My brother would sell fresh mint – quick and easy to grow - down the market whilst I would be helping my mother to make the garlands, or getting on a bus to the wholesaler to buy comics to sell as we began to add products to our stall. This was a further sign of our entrepreneurial spirit. It wasn’t the regular comics like Beano and Dandy I chose because those could be purchased in any newsagent.. Instead I bought the newly available American comics with superheroes like Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Spiderman. These were the very early imports; colourful and highly collectable.