COMIC DETAILS
|
Comic Description:
|
Action Comics 566 Modern
|
|
Grade:
|
9.8
|
|
Page Quality:
|
WHITE
|
|
Certification #:
|
2131367005
|
|
Owner:
|
13
|
SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
ACTION COMICS # 566 CGC 9.8- WHITE PAGES-CANADIAN PRICE VARIANT
THIS WAS THE FIRST BOOK THAT ADDED TO THIS SET
95 CENTS ISSUE
APRIL 1985
This book is from the CITY OF BRANTFORD in the CANADIAN PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. This is the FIRST BOOK that I added to this set on AUGUST 19, 2024. THIS IS A RARITY
TIMELINE OF EVENTS-CANADIAN PRICE VARIANTS
Before the publication window for CANADIAN PRICE VARIANTS opened, as we entered the 1980's both Marvel and D.C. sold their comics through two distinct distribution channels:
1. "DIRECT EDITION" copies were direct sold to comic shops on a discounted but non-returnable basis.
.
2. "NEWSSTAND" copies were meanwhile distributed to newsstands across North America, and there, the fate of unsold copies was completely different:
While comic shops that ordered DIRECT EDITION copies were stuck with any unsold copies, under the newsstand distribution model unsold copies could be returned (the newsstand was not on the hook if there was no sale).
Before October of 1982, all of North America got the same identical newsstand copies. But then in OCTOBER of that year, on account of sustained currency movement, publishers could no longer afford to charge customers the identical 60¢ price anymore on newsstands in population centers like TORONTO, VANCOUVER, and MONTREAL — i.e. locations where customers would be using Canadian currency to pay for their comics. And so, publishers started to require 75¢ from CANADIAN newsstand-goers.
The publishers might have elected to place both the US and CANADIAN price amounts on all newsstand copies — which is what they eventually did. But during an initial publication window starting in OCTOBER 1982 and going out to August 1986 for Marvel and out to September 1988 for D.C., these publishers actually produced two unique single-price batches of newsstand copies. They published a LOWER COVER PRICE BATCH of newsstand copies (such as the 60¢ copy), along with a HIGHER COVER PRICE BATCH (the 75¢ copy). The HIGHER COVER PRICE BATCH are called the CANADIAN PRICE VARIANTS
All three types were produced simultaneously on the same manufacturing equipment, so all are equally deemed to be 1st print copies (each batch involved only a change of the black/key plate, and the indicia and interior pages are fully identical). But while the three types are equally 1st print copies, THEY ARE NOT EQUAL IN RARITY. The number of copies created for each batch was UNIQUE to its corresponding target market, with the size of the Direct Edition batch informed by comic shop order levels; meanwhile the sizes of the two Newsstand batches would naturally have been informed by the size of each target market and newsstand sales trends.
The batch of newsstand copies today known as the CANADIAN PRICE VARIANT copies would have been the SMALLEST BATCH, making the CANADIAN PRICE VARIANT TYPE the MOST RARE TYPE of the three available choices: and that's why we collect them, because they were sold in VASTLY SMALLER NUMBERS, were purchased mostly by readers (keeping typical condition lower in grade), and have estimated survivorship of around 2% of copies (CGC census data for most issues shows variant rarity between 2-3% of census copies).
Cover art by Marshall Rogers and Jerry Ordway. Traumas in the Bahamas starring Superman, script by Craig Boldman, pencils by Ron Randall, inks by Karl Kesel; Superman battles Captain Strong, who resembles Popeye. With Love from Superman, script by Mindy Newell, pencils by Howard Bender, inks by Bob Oksner. 36 pgs. $0.75. Cover price $0.75.
Publisher: DC
Cover Date: April 1985
On Sale Date: January 24, 1985
Cover Price: $0.75 in the United States but this CANADIAN PRICE VARIANT had a cover price of 95 CENTS.
Page Count: 32
Editor: Julius Schwartz
Cover Credits:
Penciller: Marshall Rogers
Inker: Jerry Ordway
TWO Stories:
1.Superman: "Traumas in the Bahamas"
2.Superman: "With Love from Superman"
|
|
|