What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

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steelclaw
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What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by steelclaw »

That is if you did being a poor boy I had to do a paperound (Arhhhaaaa)

I usesd to deliver TV Comic,Tiger, and Look-In, and used to flick through them before I posted them though the letter box.

I used to be quite jelaous, as I never had any delivered.

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philcom55
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by philcom55 »

I got really addicted to the Russ Manning 'Magnus Robot Fighter' reprints while delivering somebody's copy of TV Tornado. Unfortunately the @!X*%$!! swine cancelled his order right in the middle of a particularly gripping cliffhanger! :(

Oddly enough I don't remember delivering many comics apart from that. Presumably most kids were like me in that they couldn't wait for the paperboy and so collected their copies directly from the shop instead (my own proprietor had an annoying habit of waiting for the 'on sale' date before sending anything out! ).

- Phil Rushton

STARBOY
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by STARBOY »

Same here I don't remember delivering many comic at all apart from Mighty World Of Marvel & Spider-Man Comics Weekly (as I delivered them to my own house for about 6 weeks as part of my route lol- after that I just picked them up in the shop but most were magazines like Look and Learn, Shoot and the odd nursery comic - in the newsagent there were loads of comics "kept" for folk, but not delivered for some reason

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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by Lew Stringer »

STARBOY wrote: in the newsagent there were loads of comics "kept" for folk, but not delivered for some reason
A) You had to pay extra to have them delivered, and B) the paperboy would read/damage them before you'd seen them, so reserving them was far better.

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Niblet
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by Niblet »

I never did a paper round or had comics delivered, but to avoid the 'disappointment' that the editors always warned us about, I did have comics on order from my local newsagent. What I never understood is why they wrote my surname on the back of the comic, thus defacing it. Wouldn't it be easier to have cardboard folders with the orderer's (is that a word?) name on, and slip a comic in the folder to await the appearance of the eager reader in the shop, rather than having to write it out on the comic every week? I suppose I should have been grateful they wrote my name on the back rather than the front cover.

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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by Lew Stringer »

Niblet wrote:I never did a paper round or had comics delivered, but to avoid the 'disappointment' that the editors always warned us about, I did have comics on order from my local newsagent. What I never understood is why they wrote my surname on the back of the comic, thus defacing it. Wouldn't it be easier to have cardboard folders with the orderer's (is that a word?) name on, and slip a comic in the folder to await the appearance of the eager reader in the shop, rather than having to write it out on the comic every week? I suppose I should have been grateful they wrote my name on the back rather than the front cover.

Some shops did use folders, but they cost money of course. WH Smith still use folders (although they charge £10 to set up a reservation order). I didn't mind having my name written on top of the comic, as long as the comic wasn't torn. Here's one I had in 1967:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_448y6kVhntg/ ... h/expx.jpg

I had Beano and Pow reserved from my corner shop, which my Mum would collect, and Fantastic and Terrific reserved from a shop in town which my Aunt would buy me when she finished work on Saturdays. The town shop, although busier, never wrote names on the comics as the proprietor always remembered I had those comics.

The other comics I had seemed plentiful so there was no need to reserve those. At least that's how it was around here.

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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

I had a paper-round on a Sunday for 5 years, but it was just for beer money. Many of the actual rounds done by me were done under the handicap of a self-inflicted hangover.

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Jay
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by Jay »

I'm another that had mine reserved at the newsagents rather than have them delivered. Transformers, Real Ghostbusters, Beano, Dandy, Topper and Beezer. My mums name was written on the top of them which annoyed me at the time but I wouldn't swap them for anything now.

There was those cut-out bits you got in the comics which always said at the top "Dear Newsagent, please reserve my copy of..." and then the bit where you filled in your name.

steelclaw
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by steelclaw »

Lew Stringer wrote:
STARBOY wrote: in the newsagent there were loads of comics "kept" for folk, but not delivered for some reason
A) You had to pay extra to have them delivered, and B) the paperboy would read/damage them before you'd seen them, so reserving them was far better.
That's tosh I never used to damage a comic and as it was inside the paper they wouldn't get damaged. You wouldn't have time to read a comic and it would be dark most of the time.

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philcom55
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by philcom55 »

Jay wrote:There was those cut-out bits you got in the comics which always said at the top "Dear Newsagent, please reserve my copy of..." and then the bit where you filled in your name.
Apparently that's the main reason why so few copies of Eagle's first issue survived in mint condition!

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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by Lew Stringer »

steelclaw wrote:
Lew Stringer wrote:
STARBOY wrote: in the newsagent there were loads of comics "kept" for folk, but not delivered for some reason
A) You had to pay extra to have them delivered, and B) the paperboy would read/damage them before you'd seen them, so reserving them was far better.
That's tosh I never used to damage a comic and as it was inside the paper they wouldn't get damaged. You wouldn't have time to read a comic and it would be dark most of the time.
I didn't say you damaged any comics.

Sheesh. The internet eh? :roll:

steelclaw
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by steelclaw »

Lew Stringer wrote:I didn't say you damaged any comics.

Sheesh. The internet eh? :roll:
I know you didn't.
I was saying for all paper boys, I very much doubt a paperboy would damage a comic risking having to pay for it or the sack if someone complained, a comic was more likely damaged being diverered to the shop from the string if they were on top of the bundles.
Starboy did you damage any comics?

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swirlythingy
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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by swirlythingy »

Niblet wrote:What I never understood is why they wrote my surname on the back of the comic, thus defacing it.
Wait - so that's always been a problem, then? Oh, dear - I might have to have a word with my newsagent.

This week I picked up my first reserved copies of both the Beano and the Dandy, and I was not best pleased to discover this on the front (not back) cover of the former:
Image0.png
And in pen, too!

Fortunately she didn't do it all over the Dandy as well.
Help! Help! We're being held prisoner in a signature factory!

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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by STARBOY »

Steel' I certainly never intentionally damaged any comics (or papers) but I certainly didn't go out my way to shield them from the rain etc and I may have rolled a few comics up with the papers on a few occasions to get them though a letter box can't thin k of any time I ripped a comic (I did (minor) tear a few papers like the Glasgow Herald and Scottish Express which were big awkward papers) - I did read them sometimes but mostly I did that in the shop. When it came to magazines we were told to be careful as they cost a bit more and we generally delivered them in the afternoon with the Glasgow Evening Times which was a less heavy route etc so I was especially careful with Shoot, Angling/film mags etc

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Re: What comics did you deliver as a paper boy?

Post by Lew Stringer »

STARBOY wrote:Steel' I certainly never intentionally damaged any comics (or papers) but I certainly didn't go out my way to shield them from the rain etc and I may have rolled a few comics up with the papers on a few occasions to get them though a letter box can't thin k of any time I ripped a comic (I did (minor) tear a few papers like the Glasgow Herald and Scottish Express which were big awkward papers) - I did read them sometimes but mostly I did that in the shop.

I rest my case m'lud. :lol:

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