Comics UK

Yes, LEW...... much larger print-runs in the 60s/70s meant true mass-production, and therefore comics could afford to command a lower asking price in the old days.

As much as I loved these [now] vintage comics, the paper they were printed on in many cases [especially by DCT ] were poor-standard newsprint, which apparantly will start to disintigrate after 100 years!

Today's improved paper stock, and advanced colouring techniques are welcome, however, but I feel the larger-scale artwork prevelant in the 50s-70s offered more spectacle [and value] for the reader, giving comics a more 'cinematic' look than today's more 'zippier' condensed-format strips that demands a different approach from the artist.....

------some things have undoubtedly improved, other elements of quality have fallen by the wayside........ah, progress...............

Knowsnowt wrote:All them tacki toys supposed to be free are getting payed for when you buy there not free at all AND Your comic gets all torn up when you take them off I bin them anyway

Yep, cover price includes "free" gifts. Always has. Would you expect a manufacturer to produce them for nothing?

As most comics are bagged these days the gifts are not taped to the cover on those issues. (Unfortunately collectors then moan about the bags! Publishers can't win. )

Lew

PS: Why have your literacy skills suddenly declined, compared to your previous posts?

Lew Stringer wrote:Publishers know that the days of producing a sort of "big five" line of comics that many kids would avidly buy are long gone.

I'm not sure that many kids could ever manage to buy as many as five weekly titles Lew. In my own case I was lucky that my parents agreed to pay for one title as they believed that reading anything was better than sitting in front of TV all day; even so, if I spent all that week's pocket money on comics I could still only stretch to two more comics (three in a pinch if they included Dandy and Beano!). What's more, this meant going without sweets, pop or ice cream for seven days!

By contrast the average child today seems to have vastly more disposable income in real terms - the only problem being that they also have so many other things to spend it on. Where we tended to win out was the fact that our lack of money ensured we became really good at swapping stuff in the playground, so that one original purchase could open the door to countless other books. As a result I regularly managed to read dozens of different comics each and every week (including lots of American ones) ...and still had time for an Aztek bar and a SkyRay!

- Phil R.

philcom55 wrote: I'm not sure that many kids could ever manage to buy as many as five weekly titles Lew.

You're probably right. Thinking about it, most of my friends only had one comic a week, if they bothered reading anything.

I had about four a week on average. The preferred comics would change as I'd drop some in favour of others of course, as we all did I suppose. (40 years ago this week I was reading Fantastic, Jag, Beano, and Dandy, plus an occasional Marvel comic. I'd dropped Pow! for Jag a few weeks earlier.) Comics were my only interest, so it wasn't like I was spending money on footie gear or anything.

I never see kids buying comics today. Some 4 year old might claw at a copy of Windowcleaner Will or whatever the latest pre-school title is, but I never see any kids older than that with a comic. God knows how they discover them these days. I suspect most don't.

Lew

In the late 60s, you could probably buy 5 comics for around 2/6, [12-and-a-half pence in today's money, if only halfpennies were still legal tender] which was about the same price as a MATCHBOX car [in box] at around the same time.

Some kids probably spent their 2/6 on a toy car, but I preferred the greater mileage out of 5 comics......looking at the prices on some of my old early 70s comics, prices were still far lower [in real terms] than today: 'BEANO' went up to a 'whopping' 2p in 1971, [the time of decimalization]------IPC titles like 'BUSTER' were always a bit more expensive, but contained considerably more pages [if also dotted with non-comic adverts]--------'TV21', I remember, was fairly pricey in the mid-late 60s at around 7d, but this was offset by superior printing values.

At the height of my comic consumption as an early eighties whippersnapper I had Beano, Dandy and Topper on regular order. There came a point where my mother would only let me carry on buying on condition that I gave away the previous week's buys to a friend . Comic collector's nightmare!

I also used to like to rummage through a box of half price comics on the newsagent's counter which was a cheap way of trying out some sci fi, adventure or superhero titles I wouldn't normally buy at full price.

Only a few of us were regular comic readers at my school and that was nearly thirty years ago.

I used to regularly change the UK comics I got when I was a kid (1968- 71 being the height of my UK comic purchases) I was lucky as I had a brother and we shared comics (and my mum and Dad encouraged us to read anything as long as we read) so I used to get about 5- 7 comics some weeks, mostly containing titles like the Beezer, Lion, Valliant, Victor, Smash and Wham they weren't a lot of money for the time (we didn't have a lot of money then, not many folk did) plus we swapped comics with friends (2 Lions for a Justice League etc) and there was always the 2nd hand bin where you could swap and buy older comics cheaply and bring them back for a 1(old)penny refund ( mostly US or Commando Alan Class/Miller type comics). The early - mid 70s was the height of my personal comic buying when I was totally in awe of the US comics - I regulary got Mighty World of Marvel, Spider-man Comics Weekly and Avengers I think they were around 5p at the time - I also picked up most of the other Marvel weekly's on a semi regula basis(about 7 of them all in tillI got scunnered by them all) it also wasn't a lot of money at the time , plus I regularly got lots of US monthly's every week (it was really cheap US comics were for a time as cheap as UK ones I think 5-6p in th emiod 70s - things like records were costly .) I even remember buying every one the the (mostly really awful) ATLAS comics (colour and B&W) when they first came out for wehat seemed very little money - what a wasted, but fun, youth lol

THE MOOSE wrote: I even remember buying every one the the (mostly really awful) ATLAS comics (colour and B&W) when they first came out for wehat seemed very little money - what a wasted, but fun, youth lol

I was so excited to see the arrival of a brand new comics company that I bought every issue that Atlas put out! (Except for Vicki, the Archie-like girl's comic.) They were indeed mostly awful, derivative, sleazy (in places) and directionless, but I found their appeal was because they WERE so trashy and eager to jump on any bandwagon. Give me a trashy comic to a pretentious graphic narrative any day.

After flooding the market with about 20 titles they folded after six months. Not surprisingly.

Steering this thread back on topic, I guess the recession just means we have to live within our means, which I've always tried to do anyway. Credit crunch? I pay off my credit card in full every month. (It's never much anyway.) I don't believe in getting in debt or buying things on the "never never".

Lew

Lew Stringer wrote:I never see kids buying comics today. Some 4 year old might claw at a copy of Windowcleaner Will or whatever the latest pre-school title is, but I never see any kids older than that with a comic. God knows how they discover them these days. I suspect most don't.

I try to buy the occasional comic for my 9-year-old god-daughter - in the past she's actively requested Spider-Man, but these days she's more likely to want Doctor Who Adventures or High School Musical. She also asks to look at my comics when she notices that I've bought some - the other day I let her have a flick through the latest Batman Legends (which, thankfully, had no All Star Batman & Robin for her to be corrupted by ) and gave her the stickers. Her parents also buy her the occasional comic too. Not sure if this is true of most parents. Possibly not.

Aside: I wish I had your attitude to credit, Lew... or rather, I wish I'd had that attitude ten years ago.

Lew - Oh I well remember the feeling when ATLAS starting publishing I was very excitied indeedl - I loved most of the titles at the time - as it happens I didnt get every issue, I also didn't buy Vicki, mostly as I never saw it (but got the set at a comic mart about 4 years ago for £3 the lot - some 30 years after they went bust) - some good titles like Grim Ghost, Iron Jaw, Son of Dracula etc and and good artists like Severin, Thorn, Adams etc - I sold most of them a few years ago for between 5p ad 10p each. Although I'm not as good with cash as you are (well done I admire that in people) but I pretty much clear the old credit card each month as well and more importantly (kinda back on topic) I no longer just buy comics because they're there on the shelf, I now budget - theres a DITKO book I really want (£26) but in order to justify this (to myslef) I need to make savings so a few weekends in and not out with my mates etc - its easy to just pick up a handful of comics ,they're relatively cheap at about £1.99 - £2:50 each but next thing you know you've bought 10 and spent £25 etc

Comics do seem more expensive, though some free gifts are pretty good. Whilst looking at a recent(ish) Dr Who Adventures, for my 5 year old nephew, I saw a free plastic sonic screwdriver - something that would have been fab in the 1970s for imaginary games!! And another issue had a metal pencil case.

Having said that in the late 1970s my Dad or Grandad would give me my brother and sister a choice of comic or a sweet (eg. Caramel / Walnut Whip etc) for about the same price. Usually went for the comic (which I could keep and still have almost all of them). By 1980 though, between me, my brother and sister - we were buying between us [with Dad and Grandad's help] virtually all of the IPC line up of comics (humour; Boys and girls); Beano; Dandy; plus about 4 of Marvel's UK line-up too - so lots of comics.

Did other peops prefer a sweet to a comic??

As far as I can tell kids today are encouraged to treat modern comics rather like an old-fashioned 'lucky bag': it's not that the comic comes with a 'free gift' anymore - rather that the gifts come with a 'free comic'!

- Phil R.

For purchases of Higher priced US stuff,I have been using Amazon,com.The Ditko book is £18 including postage.

Just a tip

brisey

Brisey - thats excellent thanks I never thought of that £18 is a fair price for that book(plus P&P)

It's also worth looking at American dealers on EBay. I've bought some of those Marvel Masterworks direct from the USA and even with postage they still work out about £10 cheaper than UK shops sell them for.

Lew