What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

[geoff42]

hi, dandy, your info crystallizes my point more intensely. From a quarter of a million copies of Beano no. 1, only one free gift that came with it survives! And it wasn't edible either. Currently, as I type, a copy of Cor!! no. 1 with its free gift (an unopened sachet of powdered drink) is going for £250. I know, I hear you squawk: WHAT! But, just think for a moment, only one known mask is known to exist with the Beano. no.1 issue. What if that free gift had been a sachet of powdered drink? The likelihood is that no free gift would be possible to collect along with Beano no. 1. The Cor!! issue originates from 1970 (44 years ago) which, if you are really canny, demonstrates the true rarity of such a gift. Phils Auctions, the sellers, who sell many first issues along with free gifts have stated that they have only seen the availability of such an offer once before. To the bidder who successfully wins this rare commodity, I would like them to think about placing this item to an organisation that would nurture its true value after their life, inevitably, fades. These are the rare commodities that I'm talking about. We have to preserve these rarities!

[philcom55]

Theoretically the British Library were supposed to receive a copy of every publication ever released in Britain, including comics. Unfortunately some titles seem to have slipped through the net, while others have been stolen over the years. Nevertheless, they still have a pretty impressive collection; maybe we could use their current high-profile 'Comics Unmasked' exhibition as an excuse to start a campaign to plug the gaps?

If nothing else they could issue a list of what is currently missing.

- Phil Rushton

[dandy mad]

the ones that survive, you say. That's got me thinking. Just think: how many Beano no.1 issues survive now in very fine condition, never mind the free gift that came with it. Not many. Is it 25 known copies? How can that be allowed? I know we're a small community that exists, but surely, with a combined effort such a community can keep alive the history of comics. And I don't mean in the way of cyber means, I mean in the sense of the physical comic that you can hold in your hands and read. Surely, among us purists, we can keep that dream alive: have a centre wherein any British comic that was ever published is available to physically read - a library of some kind that's accessible to any body in the world. Am I being too ambitious to realize a great museum dedicated to British comics where any one could access any British comic that was published from the beginning? My ambition is to collect every known comic that was published in the 1970's (purely for nostalgic reasons) but then someone will have the same ambition for the 60's, 50's, 40's, 80's and so on. So, together, such individuals or groups may meet up and arrange such a fantastic combination of British comic publications that would transcend any comic fair that's ever been known. But, what after my death? What happens to my vast collection? I would love no other than it to be transferred to some organisation that would nurture it and integrate certain rare items into its great museum for prosperity. Just think, I reiterate, how many Beano no. 1 issues were published? Was it quarter of a million? And, now, only 25 copies are known to exist!! How many with their original free gift? Let's be proactive about this passion in our lives, don't let comics die.

There are more than 25 that exists DC Thomson the publishers have at least 5 and all the original artwork from the first Beano too plus this figure of 25 can't be concrete can it? What about the ones in private collections and the ones still in lofts and cellars etc waiting to be discovered?

[philcom55]

I seem to remember that for quite some time Denis Gifford was under the impression that there were no copies of Dandy no.1 in existence (though I don't know if that applied to Thomson's own files). Then they began to turn up one by one - though I'd guess that they're still rarer than the first issue of Beano. Also, bearing in mind that people are much more likely to hold on to first issues, it'd be interesting to know how many copies of Dandy (or Beano) no.2 have survived.

And what about titles from the more obscure publishers? I'm pretty sure there must already be some British comics that don't exist anymore.

- Phil R.

[Digifiend]

Theoretically the British Library were supposed to receive a copy of every publication ever released in Britain, including comics. Unfortunately some titles seem to have slipped through the net, while others have been stolen over the years. Nevertheless, they still have a pretty impressive collection; maybe we could use their current high-profile 'Comics Unmasked' exhibition as an excuse to start a campaign to plug the gaps?

If nothing else they could issue a list of what is currently missing.

- Phil Rushton

And weren't some destroyed in the war?

[dandy mad]

Theoretically the British Library were supposed to receive a copy of every publication ever released in Britain, including comics. Unfortunately some titles seem to have slipped through the net, while others have been stolen over the years. Nevertheless, they still have a pretty impressive collection; maybe we could use their current high-profile 'Comics Unmasked' exhibition as an excuse to start a campaign to plug the gaps?

If nothing else they could issue a list of what is currently missing.

- Phil Rushton

And weren't some destroyed in the war?

DCT never lost any during the war the British library lost some during the German bombing in 1940 but had more printed for them after the war plus some early Dandy and Beano books went missing in the early 2000s from the BL and haven't been recovered as far as I'm aware

[geoff42]

i didn't buy Cor!! issue one with free sachet of powdered drink. I bid over £300 and was left way behind. The final winning bid was £659. I am gobsmacked. Is that the highest bid for a 1970's comic with free gift? I've seen a pristine copy of 2000 ad with free gift go for £500, but this... I'm lost for words.

[philcom55]

Now I know why they called it Cor!!

As a matter of interest was the free sachet specifically marked as a gift with Cor!!, or was it indistinguishable from a brand that could have been bought separately?

- Phil R.

[aurelius]

£659!! That might qualify as the most expensive sachet of orange drink mix in history.

There is another on eBay currently for £150, but the sachet is empty. To be honest, I'd rather just have a nice copy of issue one, sans free gift, and pay £20 (or something) for it.

Edit to add: The free gift was not Cor!-specific, it was a normal brand (Gulp!!) with no Cor! references on it.

[dandy mad]

£659!! That might qualify as the most expensive sachet of orange drink mix in history.

There is another on eBay currently for £150, but the sachet is empty. To be honest, I'd rather just have a nice copy of issue one, sans free gift, and pay £20 (or something) for it.

Edit to add: The free gift was not Cor!-specific, it was a normal brand (Gulp!!) with no Cor! references on it.

Much cheaper and about right for a number 1 from this era
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COR-1-First-i ... 1105033112

[Lew Stringer]

Is that the highest bid for a 1970's comic with free gift? I've seen a pristine copy of 2000 ad with free gift go for £500, but this... I'm lost for words.

I sold a copy of 2000AD Prog 2 with unused free gift a couple of years ago for £621.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-AD-Prog- ... 7675.l2557

[Digifiend]

Theoretically the British Library were supposed to receive a copy of every publication ever released in Britain, including comics. Unfortunately some titles seem to have slipped through the net, while others have been stolen over the years. Nevertheless, they still have a pretty impressive collection; maybe we could use their current high-profile 'Comics Unmasked' exhibition as an excuse to start a campaign to plug the gaps?

If nothing else they could issue a list of what is currently missing.

- Phil Rushton

And weren't some destroyed in the war?

DCT never lost any during the war the British library lost some during the German bombing in 1940 but had more printed for them after the war plus some early Dandy and Beano books went missing in the early 2000s from the BL and haven't been recovered as far as I'm aware

Not sure why you brought up DCT there - the post I quoted doesn't mention them, and by "some", I meant some of the British Library's collection. In any case, thanks.

[George Shiers]

I seem to remember that for quite some time Denis Gifford was under the impression that there were no copies of Dandy no.1 in existence (though I don't know if that applied to Thomson's own files). Then they began to turn up one by one - though I'd guess that they're still rarer than the first issue of Beano. Also, bearing in mind that people are much more likely to hold on to first issues, it'd be interesting to know how many copies of Dandy (or Beano) no.2 have survived.

And what about titles from the more obscure publishers? I'm pretty sure there must already be some British comics that don't exist anymore.

- Phil R.

If anything it would be those one-off comics that popped up in the wars. I think what at some point needs to happen is every page of every comic to be scanned and saved digitally - those paper copies aren't going to last forever.

[felneymike]

There's plenty of ebay pirate disk makers working on that!

As for the late 40's, "one-off" and "short run" comics, the copyright status of a lot of them is effectively in limbo. A lot of them were published by "companies" as short-lived as their comics, quite a few of which were set up by spivs wanting to make some quick cash, rather than people with any interest in publishing (or keeping decent archives and records). If they did keep records, those were probably lost long ago, so we don't know if the copyright was left with the artists and writers, or sold to the companies. Add to that the fact that a lot of the 'players' will probably be dead by now, and an extensive reprint of those comics is a proposition no major publisher would touch. Plus they'd have to find copies of the super-rare comics to begin with, and they were all different sizes, making a compiled book tricky to make.

So, I just "pirated" a couple of them myself: http://blog.crystal-knights.co.uk/2012/ ... sh-comics/

At least I'm not charging people to see them, though, in fact it's costing me money!

[Lew Stringer]

Plus they'd have to find copies of the super-rare comics to begin with, and they were all different sizes, making a compiled book tricky to make.

Quite a few were collected in this huge volume a few years ago:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/ ... -book.html