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What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 30 May 2012, 16:09
by philcom55
A great big box of Dandys, Beanos and Hoots in a local charity shop, randomly arranged into bundles of six at £1 each.

Unfortunately they were all from the 1980s, ranging from about '82 till '89. I know there are members of Comics UK who weren't even born when the first of those came out, but for me I'm afraid they're far too recent to justify the cost and (more importantly) the space they'd take up. Even so, I'd be interested in hearing if anybody can recommend particular issues from this run that might be worth picking out.

- Phil R.

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 30 May 2012, 16:41
by Digifiend
For Dandy, the 1984 issue when Dan takes over the cover, and the 1983 issue when he comes out of reprints and extends to two pages. And the first Dandy and Hoot from 1986, as that would have the first combined Cuddles and Dimples strip.
For Beano, the debut issues of Calamity James (#2311, November 1, 1986) and Ivy the Terrible (#2233, May 4, 1985), and the issues when Gnasher was missing (1986).
For Hoot, issues 1 and 53, which are the first and last issues, plus the Christmas issue, which has a pantomime featuring the comic's entire cast.

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 30 May 2012, 16:57
by philcom55
Thanks Digi - I'll look out for them (though the random bundles make it hard to spot individual issues).

Sadly, at my advanced age (57) I've had to accept that you can't collect everything you'd like to. Even so, looking through them I must admit to having been tempted. I particularly liked the Dandy cover where Eric became too full to eat another banana, leaving Desperate Dan to become Bananaman in order to defeat Appleman! :)

Who were the star Beano and Dandy artists during that period?

- Phil R.

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 30 May 2012, 17:32
by Jon
Great idea for a discussion - so many times I've let comics go simply because I thought they weren't interesting enough, too much money, or too scared to ask the price!

On Sunday I let a huge pile of late 80s/90s Dandys go. The shop seemed the type of place where everything would be out of my price range.

A lady at Greenwich market had a huge pile of Beano and Dandy comic libraries - I'd estimate about 100 of each - but she declined my offer, so I had to let them go.

And of course, in "Reading Collector's Centre", Jim in there always has a vast selection of comics, from a pile of about 200 Beanos and Dandys from the 50s, to very early annuals. It truly is a comic heaven, but despite being from Reading originally, I very rarely pay a visit, because he has a tendency to overprice things. The 50s Beanos are £10 each. You need deep pockets. The stuff he has in there is amazing though. One time I was in he showed me the first issue of Magic comic, which he was saving for one of his regular customers. He also has two, yes TWO copies of the first ever Dandy Monster Comic - one on permanent display and one for sale.

I've rambled quite a bit now but as you can see my main reason for letting comics go is generally because I can't justify paying so much for them!

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 30 May 2012, 19:14
by felneymike
I was chasing the 1919 Chums volume a while ago, thinking it'd be interesting to see what the story papers were saying at the end of the World War 1, but I got sniped at the last minute!

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 30 May 2012, 21:58
by Tin Can Tommy
Digifiend wrote: For Hoot, issues 1 and 53, which are the first and last issues, plus the Christmas issue, which has a pantomime featuring the comic's entire cast.
The pantomime one is actually the issue after the christmas issue with the Christmas Issue being issue 10 and the pantomime one being issue 11. It also doesn't contain the entire cast missing off Jim Petrie's strip called Charli which was only an occassionally appearing half-pager which was in my opinion not a very good strip and often got replaced in the comic by an advert (hence being occassionally appearing).

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 30 May 2012, 22:03
by Digifiend
philcom55 wrote: Who were the star Beano and Dandy artists during that period?

- Phil R.
Dave Sutherland (Dennis and Gnasher, Bash Street, Gnasher's Tale/Gnasher and Gnipper, The Germs)
Robert Nixon (Roger the Dodger, Ivy the Terrible, Korky)
John Geering (Bananaman, The Snobbs and the Slobbs, Number 13)
Jim Petrie (Minnie the Minx)
Ken Harrison (Desperate Dan)
Barrie Appleby (Cuddles and Dimples)
Jimmy Hughes (Bully Beef and Chips)

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 31 May 2012, 00:10
by Peter Gray
Don't forget Tom Paterson!!! Calamity James... The Dandy's Laughing Planet

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 01 Jun 2012, 13:53
by dandy mad
I once saw a Magic Beano Book 1944 in the mid 90s for £25! Still kicking myself after letting that one slip away :|

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 11 Jun 2012, 09:32
by TwoHeadedBoy
Peter Gray wrote:Don't forget Tom Paterson!!! Calamity James... The Dandy's Laughing Planet
And also the Dandy's Hyde & Shriek!

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 11 Jun 2012, 12:45
by Digifiend
^Wrong era. That started in 1991, and he was referring to the 1980s.

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 12 Jun 2012, 15:15
by jakob1978
Went into an oxfam bookshop today in York, and they had a pile of beanos from the mid 80s to early 90s...Id have been interested but not at the price of 99p per comic :|

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 12 Jun 2012, 16:28
by Jon
jakob1978 wrote:Went into an oxfam bookshop today in York, and they had a pile of beanos from the mid 80s to early 90s...Id have been interested but not at the price of 99p per comic :|
Entirely the problem I've found with charity shops! While it's great that more and more charity shops seem to be receiving individual comics as well as just annuals, they're not going to shift them at £1 each! One down my way is trying to sell Beanos from 2011 - yes, 2011 - for £1 each.

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 12 Jun 2012, 19:24
by Phoenix
Jon wrote:While it's great that more and more charity shops seem to be receiving individual comics as well as just annuals, they're not going to shift them at £1 each!
I don't really understand this. How can 99p be an unreasonable price for a second-hand comic? That's the price they would start at on eBay. In any case, charity shops are not unlike car boot stalls. Why don't you just pick up a dozen or so and ask the volunteer assistant if he/she will take £6 the lot? Don't tell me that in this day and age your offer would be turned down. After all, they didn't pay for them in the first place so your £6 would immediately be seen as 100% profit, and they love to hear the sound of their tills ringing.

Re: What comics DIDN'T you buy today?

Posted: 12 Jun 2012, 20:48
by Jon
You make a very valid point that in car boot sales, of course you'd be able to make an offer. But I have never ever seen haggling in a charity shop and certainly don't ever expect to. Charity shop volunteers are mostly elderly, without a huge amount of training. They are, in most cases, not up to dealing with customers who try to get discounts - especially not to the degree of the aggresive type of haggling you often get at car boot sales.
Also, the whole point of a charity shop is to try and raise money for a charity. Yes, most goods are donated anyway but I expect it can even be viewed as unethical to try and get discounts in a charity shop.

99p is a fair price for a second hand comic, but obviously it depends what it is.... the 2011 Beanos I used as an example were not worth that much. Also, if there's a whole pile of them for 99p each, my collecting mania would go wild and I'd feel like I couldn't just buy one, I'd want the lot! In some cases I've walked away empty handed after experiencing this, telling myself I either buy the lot, or buy none. I couldn't afford, say, 50 comics, at £1 each. One Beano (let's say, from 1980) at £1 is reasonable - 50 '80s Beanos at £50 isn't. And, as I say above, I don't think haggling is appropriate in a charity shop.

I'm afraid I have to disagree completely - I think charity shops are completely different to car boot sales. Both great places to get comics though. :up: