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RE: The Whitman rares...

ThreeSeas — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:22:24 GMT

[quote][b]Earl Davis (3/8/2010)[/b][hr]Hi Tim. Work into researching which issues ofWestern's titleshad both Gold Key and Whitman logo editions printed has been ongoing for the last few years and we are always adding new finds to the database. The Western/Whitman/Gold Key/KK listings are still far from complete. I have been adding where the Whitman only logo's started but have not yet completed all titles.

Earl.[/quote]

This makes me all the more want to dig through my collection. I will see if I can do that this spring/summer and I will provide you information on what I have. My grandparents (Grandmother was the buyer) had bought us kids each one to two of the comics packs each week non-stop from the earliest time they started selling them that way up until my grandfather passed away in mid-1981, so I have quite a range of samples.

I do remember getting comic packs one week and then getting a few singles at a different time and the singles would have the Gold Key logo and the packs would all be Whitman, but there were a couple of times where I remember seeing some Gold Keys in the plastic wrapped packs, but they could have been plastic-wrapped by the store itself.

RE: The Whitman rares...

expander — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:47:15 GMT

sounds daunting earl thanks!!!!

RE: The Whitman rares...

Earl Davis — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:15:52 GMT

Hi Tim. Work into researching which issues of Western's titles had both Gold Key and Whitman logo editions printed has been ongoing for the last few years and we are always adding new finds to the database. The Western/Whitman/Gold Key/KK listings are still far from complete. I have been adding where the Whitman only logo's started but have not yet completed all titles.

Earl.

RE: The Whitman rares...

expander — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:00:10 GMT

so in light of that does this show up in the guide with those notations? just wondering i've been puzzled by these since i found them. i love the stories and art but listing them in the guide has been a head scratcher. i mean because there are some listings in the guide that don't have a notation that points to a Whitman alternate but were some Whitmans that were never Gold Keys and vice verse?

RE: The Whitman rares...

Shadow — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:43:48 GMT

[quote][b]oxbladder (7/17/2009)[/b][hr][quote][b]ThreeSeas (7/16/2009)[/b][hr]Hi All,

New poster here. (I just discovered this website a few days ago and have much to read. I shall see if there is a “Who I am” page where members tell a little bit about themselves so I can properly introduce myself.)

Some Whitman’s are rare?

My grandparents used to buy me at least one bag of them a week from the mid-70’s until until 1981 or so. When I first seen the Whitman logo I used to think that I was getting an inferior comic. I would ask my grandma to try to buy the “real” Gold Key comics. She often got me duplicates. If I remember correctly there were many different titles with the Whitman logo. Mostly I got Disney’s but there were also Looney Tunes, some Star Trek, and other comics in the mix.

I will have to dig through my collection and see what Whitman’s I have. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it any time soon but I will try.
[/quote]

First off Whitmans are not reprints or "inferior" in any way. Whitman and Gold Key were both imprint under the Western Publisher banner. One was for newsstand distribution and one was for direct sales (ie comic book shops). I don't remember which was the direct imprint and which was not.

I believe in 1980 they discontinued the dual imprint and went just with the Whitman imprint. That year there were several months where Whitman distributed several issues of all their titles via what were called "Pre-Packs" where two or three books were poly-bagged together. Most titles with a September to December 1980 cover date are the ones that are hard to find because they had "low distribution". This is a bit of a head-scratcher though considering records from Western show that they never printed less copies at the time. Therefore some believe that this "rarity" may be false and over time the record will be adjusted. However, since it became widely known I don't think there has been an ever increasing number of these "rare" issues show up.

What I suspect is that most copies (many thousand) got purchased by parents for kids or by kids themselves and they basically read them to death. I remember my Mom buying some pre-packs (well before 1980 if I remember correctly) and while I still have most of them somewhere they are beaten and worthless. So most of these books are probably lost to dumps and recycling bins long ago so that very few remain (much like Archie comics).[/quote]

Hmmm...not sure that is totally correct...:hmmmm:

Many of the oldest "Whitman" copies were sold in poly-bagged sets...but not in comic shops but in dime stores and variety stores in their "pegged toy" sections...

And I had a comic shop in the late 1970's...my direct copies were "Gold Key" not Whitman...
We didn't get "Whitman" issues until they had abandoned the Gold Key logo...

RE: The Whitman rares...

expander — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:28:26 GMT

I may have to work on punctuation:hmmmm: in the future SORRY!!!!!

RE: The Whitman rares...

expander — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:26:58 GMT

i knew there was something else i wanted to say. i was also going to ask if there was any way to find old production numbers on these and any comics. because i worked in a factory where they needed to keep track of supplies and materials and the best way to do that is to monitor how much of what was being put out. and then compare that to what was brought in material wise then you'd know what was made and how much so i 'm curious to know if the process was monitored this way (or similarly) back then or was it all done on the fly. I'd try to find some one who used to work there or still does for companies that are not defunct and just ask questions about how records were kept i know there's a great site for Valiant comics with the cgc census and productions #'s but is this the only one out there maybe cpg could provide some info (where it's know) in the guide i 've seen some on limited variant runs of like 4 and 5 thousand and i've even submitted books to the guide that were one of only 500 but i think i'd be great if all collectors could helpus all to know this stuff i'd be easier and more fun to be able to know if you just paid $20.00 at a yard sale for nothing when the whole box was only worth $4 because you saw something old and thought (VALUABLE!!!)only to find out later that there were 70 million of those and you have one (and b.t.w. it's a 3.5) but not to knock this thread ( i wouldn't dream of it) has been very informative and thanks earl and shadow! wow this post is quickly turning into an op-ed! alrighty on that note i turn the forum back to the public,Tim

RE: The Whitman rares...

expander — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:05:39 GMT

I never got alot of whitmans and still have a hard time finding nice ones. i noticed early on that most of my books were "claimed" in pencil or crayon by their original owners right on their covers. ( i think so they could keep track at the recess trading posts.) i even found one where the original name was erased and overwritten in ink!!! but as far as reading them goes i let my kids read them because the ones i have would be lucky to be in 3.5 or 4. the art is great though. i love the old advertisements they're almost more entertaining than the story!!!!

RE: The Whitman rares...

oxbladder — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:09:12 GMT

[quote][b]ThreeSeas (7/16/2009)[/b][hr]Hi All,

New poster here. (I just discovered this website a few days ago and have much to read. I shall see if there is a “Who I am” page where members tell a little bit about themselves so I can properly introduce myself.)

Some Whitman’s are rare?

My grandparents used to buy me at least one bag of them a week from the mid-70’s until until 1981 or so. When I first seen the Whitman logo I used to think that I was getting an inferior comic. I would ask my grandma to try to buy the “real” Gold Key comics. She often got me duplicates. If I remember correctly there were many different titles with the Whitman logo. Mostly I got Disney’s but there were also Looney Tunes, some Star Trek, and other comics in the mix.

I will have to dig through my collection and see what Whitman’s I have. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it any time soon but I will try.
[/quote]

First off Whitmans are not reprints or "inferior" in any way. Whitman and Gold Key were both imprint under the Western Publisher banner. One was for newsstand distribution and one was for direct sales (ie comic book shops). I don't remember which was the direct imprint and which was not.

I believe in 1980 they discontinued the dual imprint and went just with the Whitman imprint. That year there were several months where Whitman distributed several issues of all their titles via what were called "Pre-Packs" where two or three books were poly-bagged together. Most titles with a September to December 1980 cover date are the ones that are hard to find because they had "low distribution". This is a bit of a head-scratcher though considering records from Western show that they never printed less copies at the time. Therefore some believe that this "rarity" may be false and over time the record will be adjusted. However, since it became widely known I don't think there has been an ever increasing number of these "rare" issues show up.

What I suspect is that most copies (many thousand) got purchased by parents for kids or by kids themselves and they basically read them to death. I remember my Mom buying some pre-packs (well before 1980 if I remember correctly) and while I still have most of them somewhere they are beaten and worthless. So most of these books are probably lost to dumps and recycling bins long ago so that very few remain (much like Archie comics).

RE: The Whitman rares...

Shadow — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:06:31 GMT

Welcome!

There are many, many Whitman editions of the Gold Key books...and we are slowly getting all of them in our database...:D

RE: The Whitman rares...

ThreeSeas — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:57:45 GMT

Hi All,

New poster here. (I just discovered this website a few days ago and have much to read. I shall see if there is a “Who I am” page where members tell a little bit about themselves so I can properly introduce myself.)

Some Whitman’s are rare?

My grandparents used to buy me at least one bag of them a week from the mid-70’s until until 1981 or so. When I first seen the Whitman logo I used to think that I was getting an inferior comic. I would ask my grandma to try to buy the “real” Gold Key comics. She often got me duplicates. If I remember correctly there were many different titles with the Whitman logo. Mostly I got Disney’s but there were also Looney Tunes, some Star Trek, and other comics in the mix.

I will have to dig through my collection and see what Whitman’s I have. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do it any time soon but I will try.

RE: The Whitman rares...

oxbladder — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:06:09 GMT

[quote][b]gallyangel (5/19/2009)[/b][hr]
I figure the Disney are the most sought after, but what else is there?

[/quote]

Actually the last time I looked the Little Lulu #261 (if I remember correctly) is easily the hardest one to locate and realizes around the same or more than the Uncle Scrooge 279 which is more common.

RE: The Whitman rares...

Shadow — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:06:40 GMT

[quote][b]bellrules (6/1/2009)[/b][hr]There are actually more rare Whitmans and the list goes as follows:

Battle of the Planets #7,8,9

Beep Beep Roadrunner #91,92, 93

Black Hole #4 (the rarest of them all even though some say no but there are no copies graded by CGC yet)

Buck Rogers #8, 9

Bugs Bunny #221, 222, 223 (40 cent variant)

Chip N Dale 67, 68, 69

Daffy Duck #129, 130, 131

Daisy and Donald #45, 46, 47

Daffy Duck #129, 130, 131

Donald Duck 221, 222, 223, 224, 225 (40 cent variant)

Flash Gordon #30

Huey, Dewey and Louie # 65, 66, 67 (40 cent variant)

Little Lulu # 260, 261, 262 (40 cent variant)

Looney Tunes #33, 34, 35

Mickey Mouse #207, 208, 209

Pink Panther 75, 76 ,77, 78 (40 cent variant)

Popeye #158, 159

Porky Pig #97, 98

Super Goof #60, 61, 62, 63 (40 cent variant)

Tom and Jerry #330, 331, 332

Tweety and Sylvester #105, 106, 107

Uncle Scrooge 179, 180, 181, 182 (40 cent cover variant)

Walt Disney Comics and Stories #480, 481, 482, 483, 484 (40 cent variant)

Winnie the Pooh #20, 21, 22

Woody Woodpecker #190, 191

Yosemite Sam #68, 69, 70

The 40 cent variants are from Whitman issues published in 1/81 and are NOT Canandian Price Variants (nor are the 50 cent versions). They seem to have been printed in error and were changed during the print run. The rest of the Rare Whitmans were published between 8/80 and 12/80. There are 2 cover prices as well for Bugs# 222 and Flash Gordon #30. The 50 cent versions of those books are reprints printed in Jan 1981. You can tell by the difference in the ads. They match the other 1/81 issues and not the original printings.[/quote]

Thanks for the additional info...;)

RE: The Whitman rares...

bellrules — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:22:15 GMT

There are actually more rare Whitmans and the list goes as follows:

Battle of the Planets #7,8,9

Beep Beep Roadrunner #91,92, 93

Black Hole #4 (the rarest of them all even though some say no but there are no copies graded by CGC yet)

Buck Rogers #8, 9

Bugs Bunny #221, 222, 223 (40 cent variant)

Chip N Dale 67, 68, 69

Daffy Duck #129, 130, 131

Daisy and Donald #45, 46, 47

Daffy Duck #129, 130, 131

Donald Duck 221, 222, 223, 224, 225 (40 cent variant)

Flash Gordon #30

Huey, Dewey and Louie # 65, 66, 67 (40 cent variant)

Little Lulu # 260, 261, 262 (40 cent variant)

Looney Tunes #33, 34, 35

Mickey Mouse #207, 208, 209

Pink Panther 75, 76 ,77, 78 (40 cent variant)

Popeye #158, 159

Porky Pig #97, 98

Super Goof #60, 61, 62, 63 (40 cent variant)

Tom and Jerry #330, 331, 332

Tweety and Sylvester #105, 106, 107

Uncle Scrooge 179, 180, 181, 182 (40 cent cover variant)

Walt Disney Comics and Stories #480, 481, 482, 483, 484 (40 cent variant)

Winnie the Pooh #20, 21, 22

Woody Woodpecker #190, 191

Yosemite Sam #68, 69, 70

RE: The Whitman rares...

gallyangel — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:56:49 GMT

It's only natural that after an article comes out on something rare like that, more hit the market. On the opening page of CPG you recently had an article about how the auction of action #1 turned up another copy. The information that this was something which had value, finally got to the person who knew he had one.

Who knows what lurks in basements, attics, old boxes, or trunks across the U.S.?
It's all part of the fun.

Thanks for the info.

G.

RE: The Whitman rares...

Shadow — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:21:22 GMT

[quote][b]Earl Davis (5/19/2009)[/b][hr]You are probably remembering the list by that fantastic dealer Doug Sulipa that appeared in the Overstreet Guide several years back now. Two initial points, the list was the (very well informed) opinion of a single dealer and the article prompted many of the issues on the list to come to market after it was issued so more are now 'out there' than would have been had the article not been published.

I am not that informed on the Disney's but I do collect the DC Whitmans and there is a big difference in availiability of those with the Warlord and SGt Rock issues being among the most difficult to find.

Some think the following are the most rare of the cartoon titles...

Battle of the Planets #7
Beep Beep Roadrunner #92
Beep Beep Roadrunner #93
Black Hole #4
Bugs Bunny #221
Daffy Duck #130
Huey, Dewey and Louie #66
Little Lulu #62
Looney Tunes #35
Mickey Mouse #208
Popeye #158
Super Goof #61
Super Goof #62
Tom and Jerry #331
Tom and Jerry #332
Tweety and Sylvester #105
Winnie the Pooh #20
Winnie the Pooh #22
Woody Woodpecker #191
Yosemite Sam #68[/quote]

You would think that most of those would be sets of three...since that's the way they were bagged. For instance on the Battle of the Planets...#7, #8, & #9 were all bagged together (that's where my #7 is from)...and should all be of the same rarity. If they were only sold in bags...;)...but they also issued a #10 which was sold solo to shops...so they could have sold #8 & #9 on a solo basis also, which would account for more being available.

I have several of the Whitman bags...some are one title, some are a mix of titles...but when I had my shop in the late 1970s, I don't remember any of the distributors offering the "bagged" books, but many of the solo issues were available from direct distributors and through the jobber agencies...:hmmmm:

RE: The Whitman rares...

Earl Davis — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:19:34 GMT

You are probably remembering the list by that fantastic dealer Doug Sulipa that appeared in the Overstreet Guide several years back now. Two initial points, the list was the (very well informed) opinion of a single dealer and the article prompted many of the issues on the list to come to market after it was issued so more are now 'out there' than would have been had the article not been published.

Some think the following are the most rare of the cartoon titles...

The Whitman rares...

gallyangel — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:59:06 GMT

So, the question is: how many whitman rares are there?
I can remember reading an article on them, probably published in an old CPG, which, of course, I no longer have.

I know of the five disney (because I have them):

Super Goof 61
Uncle Scrooge 179
Mickey Mouse 208
Donald Duck 222
Comics and Stories 480

So, are there more whitman titles of that era, which are considered rare?

Bugs?
Tweety?
Little Lulu?
Chip n Dale?

I'm guessing here.
I figure the Disney are the most sought after, but what else is there?