New Discovery - Superman #50 (1990) 2nd Print Newsstand
Apr 13, 2017 16:27:51 GMT -8
Ditch Fahrenheit, steveinthecity, and 1 more like this
Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2017 16:27:51 GMT -8
So, with all the interest in the Batman #457 second print newsstand from the small niche markets that finds these things interesting, I've made a new discovery of which I'm pretty sure no one else is aware.
A little backstory: during the discussions of the Batman #457 second print, I realized that, since both Batman #457 and Superman #50 came out on the very same day back in October of 1990, and since Superman #50 was "the hotter" of the two, having a decidedly smaller print run than Bats #457, and since both of them were reprinted ("second printing") rather quickly by DC for the Direct market, and since it has subsequently been discovered that, for some reason, DC decided to reprint a newsstand version of Bats #457 as well as a Direct version, it stood to reason that they would do the same for Superman #50.
I contacted those in this niche who specialize in these areas, and they were unaware of such a book, and hadn't even considered the possibility of its existence. I knew, however, that theoretically the book SHOULD exist, so I did a search to see if anyone else had even considered the possibility. Google turned up nothing, but eBay...eBay turned up something.
I happened to find a listing with what looked like what I was looking for; a book buried in this listing for various random Superman books of the era. I took a shot, rolled the dace, and waited what would arrive.
So, I present here what is perhaps the discovery copy of this, the Superman #50 second printing newsstand version:
Notice the words "HISTORIC ENGAGEMENT ISSUE!" across the top. Like the Batman #457 "NEW ROBIN ISSUE!", this indicates a second printing of the book, regardless of Direct or newsstand. And, of course, the all important bar code. Note that the bar code for the second print is the same as for the first print.
The beauty of this book (as with the Batman #457 2nd newsstand) is that it has COVER text that indicate it's a second printing, as well as the words "2nd printing" in the indicia, which one would expect to find. That means that someone can't simply come along and attach a Direct second printing cover to it, to make a "hybrid."
I anxiously await further discoveries of this book, as well as an establishment of some sort of market value around them. As I've said elsewhere and elsetime, the early 90's may have been a period of unparalleled glut and overproduction, but it also led to some fascinating...and quite rare...hidden gems in many places, if one knows where to look. The thrill of the hunt is alive and well in 90's books.
What we know about these very strange books:
The most famous one remains Spiderman #1 Gold (2nd print) newsstand. This book has been known since about 1990, mainly because of the stark difference in appearance between the regular 2nd printing (all gold ink against a black background, including the UPC box), and the second print newsstand (which has a typical UPC box barcode of the era, black ink against a white background.)
According to reports, these were produced specifically at the request of Wal-Mart, to the tune of 10,000 copies. Both of those pieces of information are unconfirmed, but that's the story going back to that point, and they were obviously made for somebody.
This was the first known instance of a "newsstand second printing", because the newsstand didn't have any real mechanism in place to order second printings of "hot books." It's just not the way the system worked at that time.
The whole idea of a reprint based on sellout demand was also a relatively rare concept in comics up that point, as well, because of the long-ingrained habit of publishers to overprint, a function of the newsstand which required it, and so that "comics specialty stores" (as they were known in the 80's) could re-order as necessary.
The first reprints based on demand since the Golden Age were Star Wars #1-6, all of which are clearly marked "reprint", either on the cover, or in the indicia.
We don't see another sellout of this magnitude again until 1990's Ghost Rider #1. There had been other "hot books" in the meantime, but none of them had been reprinted based on initial demand. To be sure, there are second (and later) printings of many Marvel and DC books that occurred in the 80's; among them Secret Wars #1-3, GI Joe #2-27 (at least), Thundercats #1-4, Batman #401-432, Superman #18, 19, 20, etc., but these books were almost exclusively made for the non-comics market, made into special "collector's packs", for sale at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc., and not at all made because any particular issue was a sellout at the stands.
The three most notable examples of this are Thor #337 (1983), Amazing Spiderman #252 (1984), and Batman #426-429 (1988), all of which were monstrous hits, and near-instant sellouts...yet, no second (or later) printings were produced (and, in fact, DC opted to go the TPB route with Batman #426-429, announcing its coming production before Batman #429 was even printed.)
And, to be sure, Prestige format books like Dark Knight, Longbow Hunters, and others were reprinted based on sellout demand...but these were marquee "event books", and met with unanticipated demand that DC and Marvel believed would sustain immediate reprints.
Spiderman #1, however, proved to be the exception to the rule, and whoever asked Marvel for the second printing newsstand copies to be made...whether it was Wal-Mart or not...was asking for something that hadn't ever been done. And, since Wal-Mart (or whomever) wasn't a Direct market vendor, but rather a newsstand vendor...and since Spiderman #1 proved to be such a colossal hit for them...the gold 2nd printing newsstand was born.
This was followed, then, about 5 months later with Batman #457 and Superman #50. Lots of unanswered questions about these, but the fact is, these weird hybrid books DO exist, and were made at the request of someone. Who, we may never know. We do know that, because of the aforementioned lack of a mechanism for the newsstand distribution system to order "second printings" of any book, that these books had to have been made by special request...it's not something the normal newsstand distribution system would have even known how to do.
Now, we DO know that, back in that time period, "second (or worse) printing" was literally the kiss of death for the collectability of just about ANY comic. No one wanted "reprints". no one at all, a situation that wouldn't change for another decade, with the release of Batman #612. So, it's quite likely that the only people who bought these reprints were readers who then tossed the books when they were done. Collectors would have avoided the "HISTORIC ENGAGEMENT ISSUE!" and "NEW ROBIN ISSUE!" like the plague, because of the stink of "reprint." That goes a very long way to explaining why these books are so very rare today.
That, and the fact that, just about two years later, DC was met with the unprecedented demand for Superman #75, even from newsstand customers, that they quickly cobbled together a "2nd print newsstand" by slapping UPC code stickers on Direct second printings...and then managed to figure out that they'd already done this before, and simply send the order to the printers to print 3rd and 4th print newsstand copies.
Of note: there are several second printings (and even third and fourths) of many books from the early 90's. So far, the only confirmed later printing newsstand books are Spiderman #1, Superman #50, Batman #457, and Superman #75. But books like Robin #1 (which came out a month after Batman #457), Superman #53, Action #660, and others suggests that there may, in fact, be further second print newsstand copies of OTHER books lurking out there, hidden in long boxes.
Time will tell.
Pretty exciting, if you ask me.
A little backstory: during the discussions of the Batman #457 second print, I realized that, since both Batman #457 and Superman #50 came out on the very same day back in October of 1990, and since Superman #50 was "the hotter" of the two, having a decidedly smaller print run than Bats #457, and since both of them were reprinted ("second printing") rather quickly by DC for the Direct market, and since it has subsequently been discovered that, for some reason, DC decided to reprint a newsstand version of Bats #457 as well as a Direct version, it stood to reason that they would do the same for Superman #50.
I contacted those in this niche who specialize in these areas, and they were unaware of such a book, and hadn't even considered the possibility of its existence. I knew, however, that theoretically the book SHOULD exist, so I did a search to see if anyone else had even considered the possibility. Google turned up nothing, but eBay...eBay turned up something.
I happened to find a listing with what looked like what I was looking for; a book buried in this listing for various random Superman books of the era. I took a shot, rolled the dace, and waited what would arrive.
So, I present here what is perhaps the discovery copy of this, the Superman #50 second printing newsstand version:
Notice the words "HISTORIC ENGAGEMENT ISSUE!" across the top. Like the Batman #457 "NEW ROBIN ISSUE!", this indicates a second printing of the book, regardless of Direct or newsstand. And, of course, the all important bar code. Note that the bar code for the second print is the same as for the first print.
The beauty of this book (as with the Batman #457 2nd newsstand) is that it has COVER text that indicate it's a second printing, as well as the words "2nd printing" in the indicia, which one would expect to find. That means that someone can't simply come along and attach a Direct second printing cover to it, to make a "hybrid."
I anxiously await further discoveries of this book, as well as an establishment of some sort of market value around them. As I've said elsewhere and elsetime, the early 90's may have been a period of unparalleled glut and overproduction, but it also led to some fascinating...and quite rare...hidden gems in many places, if one knows where to look. The thrill of the hunt is alive and well in 90's books.
What we know about these very strange books:
The most famous one remains Spiderman #1 Gold (2nd print) newsstand. This book has been known since about 1990, mainly because of the stark difference in appearance between the regular 2nd printing (all gold ink against a black background, including the UPC box), and the second print newsstand (which has a typical UPC box barcode of the era, black ink against a white background.)
According to reports, these were produced specifically at the request of Wal-Mart, to the tune of 10,000 copies. Both of those pieces of information are unconfirmed, but that's the story going back to that point, and they were obviously made for somebody.
This was the first known instance of a "newsstand second printing", because the newsstand didn't have any real mechanism in place to order second printings of "hot books." It's just not the way the system worked at that time.
The whole idea of a reprint based on sellout demand was also a relatively rare concept in comics up that point, as well, because of the long-ingrained habit of publishers to overprint, a function of the newsstand which required it, and so that "comics specialty stores" (as they were known in the 80's) could re-order as necessary.
The first reprints based on demand since the Golden Age were Star Wars #1-6, all of which are clearly marked "reprint", either on the cover, or in the indicia.
We don't see another sellout of this magnitude again until 1990's Ghost Rider #1. There had been other "hot books" in the meantime, but none of them had been reprinted based on initial demand. To be sure, there are second (and later) printings of many Marvel and DC books that occurred in the 80's; among them Secret Wars #1-3, GI Joe #2-27 (at least), Thundercats #1-4, Batman #401-432, Superman #18, 19, 20, etc., but these books were almost exclusively made for the non-comics market, made into special "collector's packs", for sale at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc., and not at all made because any particular issue was a sellout at the stands.
The three most notable examples of this are Thor #337 (1983), Amazing Spiderman #252 (1984), and Batman #426-429 (1988), all of which were monstrous hits, and near-instant sellouts...yet, no second (or later) printings were produced (and, in fact, DC opted to go the TPB route with Batman #426-429, announcing its coming production before Batman #429 was even printed.)
And, to be sure, Prestige format books like Dark Knight, Longbow Hunters, and others were reprinted based on sellout demand...but these were marquee "event books", and met with unanticipated demand that DC and Marvel believed would sustain immediate reprints.
Spiderman #1, however, proved to be the exception to the rule, and whoever asked Marvel for the second printing newsstand copies to be made...whether it was Wal-Mart or not...was asking for something that hadn't ever been done. And, since Wal-Mart (or whomever) wasn't a Direct market vendor, but rather a newsstand vendor...and since Spiderman #1 proved to be such a colossal hit for them...the gold 2nd printing newsstand was born.
This was followed, then, about 5 months later with Batman #457 and Superman #50. Lots of unanswered questions about these, but the fact is, these weird hybrid books DO exist, and were made at the request of someone. Who, we may never know. We do know that, because of the aforementioned lack of a mechanism for the newsstand distribution system to order "second printings" of any book, that these books had to have been made by special request...it's not something the normal newsstand distribution system would have even known how to do.
Now, we DO know that, back in that time period, "second (or worse) printing" was literally the kiss of death for the collectability of just about ANY comic. No one wanted "reprints". no one at all, a situation that wouldn't change for another decade, with the release of Batman #612. So, it's quite likely that the only people who bought these reprints were readers who then tossed the books when they were done. Collectors would have avoided the "HISTORIC ENGAGEMENT ISSUE!" and "NEW ROBIN ISSUE!" like the plague, because of the stink of "reprint." That goes a very long way to explaining why these books are so very rare today.
That, and the fact that, just about two years later, DC was met with the unprecedented demand for Superman #75, even from newsstand customers, that they quickly cobbled together a "2nd print newsstand" by slapping UPC code stickers on Direct second printings...and then managed to figure out that they'd already done this before, and simply send the order to the printers to print 3rd and 4th print newsstand copies.
Of note: there are several second printings (and even third and fourths) of many books from the early 90's. So far, the only confirmed later printing newsstand books are Spiderman #1, Superman #50, Batman #457, and Superman #75. But books like Robin #1 (which came out a month after Batman #457), Superman #53, Action #660, and others suggests that there may, in fact, be further second print newsstand copies of OTHER books lurking out there, hidden in long boxes.
Time will tell.
Pretty exciting, if you ask me.
