Mudcats’ Bronze Age JLAs
Justice League of America 158
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COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Justice League of America 158 Modern
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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2029887005
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Owner:
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Mississippi Mudcats
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
This is the single highest graded copy of the Whitman Variant of Issue #158 and one of just three 9.8s overall. We acquired the book from an E-Bay listing in August 2021.
Whitman variants were published by Western Publishing for a variety of publishers. They were produced so comics could be sold at outlets other than convenience stores. They were sold in bagged sets in department stores, pharmacies etc…Retailers were able to purchase these at a discount, but they were non-refundable, unlike their newsstand counterparts. They were able to differentiate them by adding the Whitman logo to the cover. They were initially created as direct market versions of Western’s own Gold Key line, but then expanded to print and distribute bagged sets for D.C. They also printed Treasury comics for both Marvel and D.C. Contrary to popular belief, outside of the treasuries, there are no Marvel Whitmans. Western bagged sets of direct market/subscription copies of Marvel titles (with large diamonds/starbursts price) so they could also be sold in non-traditional outlets. There are no Whitman variants published after 1980.
Whitman Variants are far rarer than their newsstand counterparts, and ut us very rare to find one in 9.8. I believe this is the only one we own in our entire collection.
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