SUPER DC - HISTORY OR MYSTERY...?

I've read that SUPER DC came out in June 1969 and lasted

to July of 1970.  That may be true (in some parts of the country

anyway), but it's not the whole story.  When I bought issue #1, one

of the free gifts was a wristwatch calendar, consisting of three adhesive

strips (one month on each) to be applied to the strap of one's watch.  The

months on my calendar labels were November and December 1970, and

January 1971.  Not that they were any good to me, because I didn't wear

a watch then, nor do I wear a watch now.  However, this fact tends to

indicate that, at least in Scotland, the first issue didn't go on sale

until September or October of '70.

So what's the scoop?  You're asking me?  I can only speculate,

but here's what may have happened.  The comics were tried out in

England first, and unsold copies were then distributed to the rest of the

U.K. at a later date.  This would explain why all 14 issues bore the price

of 1/- (one shilling) even after decimalisation on February 15th 1971.  In

some (but not all) cases, issues on sale after this date had a 5p sticker

covering  the old price.  Or perhaps there was some kind of nationwide

delay between publishing and distribution, and the main reason that

people think the comic came out in 1969 is because of the

price and the copyright date in the indicia.

There's evidence to suggest that issue #1 (at least) was
reprinted, as the indicia is different in two copies I have in my

collection.  Take a look at page 39 (above) and spot the difference
between both versions.  I suppose this could perhaps merely be as a
result of the NATIONAL PERIODICALS copyright attribution being
added during a pause in the print run when it was noticed it was missing,
but that wouldn't explain why the comics are also slightly different sizes.
So it's anyone's guess as to the true history of this U.K. reprint monthly,
published by TOP SELLERS and edited by MICK ANGLO (who also
illustrated some covers and text stories).  If you feel you can help
clear up this minor mystery, feel free to chip in your two
cents (or pence) worth in the comments section.

Posted in: Cartoons