The images are blocked at my office (which is odd since so little is blocked here). But if they are just the direct editions, I don't think it really matters that they were also in Whitman bags. Should we have the same issue in three times - one that came out of a Whitman bags, the direct and the newsstand. Just once is enough per CCL's long standing policy.

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Has DC Done Something Stupid Today?

"The return of beards and 90's fashion makes hipsters and homeless people impossible to tell apart." - Woody, Quantum & Woody #5

Those pics look like foolproof evidence of variants to me.

Even the clear polybagged comics from the 90s, that have NO writing on them are considered variants in the database. So why wouldn't these OBVIOUSLY different looking bagged comics with "Whitman" writing on it not be considered variants?

And who cares if they're after 1979 or not. It's quite apparent they're different issues than the regular editions.

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Well you already have a policy of NO newsstands but yes they should be in twice. I can point out hundreds of comics that have bagged and unbagged. Ultimate spiderman #160 came bagged and is in DB a well as #160 unbagged.

But like I said that is for you guys to discuss in some dark sweaty scary hidden corner of this forum and come to a conclusion.

Like I said before I have probably added about 50% of all the spiderman variants, but if you were to say today DF is no longer allowable I wouldnt keep trying to add them. CCL needs to make a stand.

You can decide they have enough evidence for XXX number of issues being whitmans, IE till June 1979

You can say after June 1979 it wont be added unless bagged. As it is clear Whitman continued after June 1979 but maybe Marvel stopped giving them the exclusive diamond cover.

You can say only whitmans regardless of print date bagged are acceptable.

Or you can say NO whitmans too much trouble.

However a decision does need to be made. The ONLY reason I even started adding Whitmans was because you already had 2 in the DB under Spectacular spiderman so I figured might as well finish it off and make DB complete, just like I did with the Ultimate Spiderman #1s (adding 10+ #1 variants)

I am ok with whatever decision is made as long as it is concise so i know what to add and what not too.

Also on side note I apologize if I come off mean or abrupt sometimes, I just get frustrated and might post without thinking, lol. I mean no disrespect to any of the approvers but feel sometimes it is easier to discuss in open.

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Ah, I see. Like the old 3-pack comics they used to sell at Toys R Us and K-Mart. Then I guess, yeah, it would be hard to list these as individual issues.

Could we add a separate series for these, maybe? Or even separate entry within a series. Much like a Box of cards are done in the trading card part of the software.

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I can corroborate the broad strokes of what freakdylan is saying.

I bought comics from a direct-sales shop from Sept. 1977 thru April 1978, and again beginning summer 1979 (and continuing to the present). During 1977–78, I noticed no difference between direct-sales comics and newsstand comics. On my VERY FIRST VISIT to a direct-sales shop in summer 1979, the difference in direct-sales Marvels was unmistakeable (DC was to continue with identical newsstand and direct comics for about another year). I may have told this story before but, at that time, Whitmans were scorned by collectors, and these new Marvels looked much too much like Whitmans to be appealing to me. I remember talking with the store owner about the Marvels, and he didn't disagree with me. He said he had complained to his distributor, saying "our collectors don't want these." That didn't seem to matter to Marvel, and I think freakdylan's analysis of why Marvel made the switch is spot-on.

That same dealer later tried to sell me a fresh-off-the-press counterfeit Cerebus #1, and I now believe he did so knowingly. If he would try to defraud me, why wouldn't he try to defraud Marvel?

Hi again

Didnt want to bring up one of my rants again but I submitted another Whitman variant and got this reply



No obviously I am not privy to the dark corners the approvers discuss this stuff, but I have a few opinions on this.

If CCL wants to only include blank UPC covers then they shouldnt call them "Whitman Covers" but instead "Blank UPC Covers". Because if you add say issue 3 and 5 as whitmans because they have blank UPCs then you are going to have people argue issue #4 should be added even though it has a UPC.

Right now CCL adds price variants, 2nd prints, alternate covers etc.

So my suggestion would be to only list the "Blank UPC Covers" as variants and title them as such. This way you do away with the whole whitman argument, you are not pro or con whitmans, you are just pro blank upc covers. It is an obvious cover difference that no argument can be made otherwise.

I will be happy to go through all the spidey books and change to "Blank UPC covers" and only submit such as well, but only if the whitmans that might currently be listed but with no blank UPC are invalidated.

Dylan

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I wasnt ranting about changing everything just to rant.

Nobody has the history of Whitmans. Marvel to this day has not clarified which comics were exclusive to whitmans and which werent. Everything about Whitmans as of this second is just speculation. So unless somehow you are privy to information that no one else on this planet knows then nobody can state exactly which marvels are whitmans beyond a doubt and which arent.

It has been shown on numerous occasions where old store owners remember receiving diamond covers on certain comics even though they were supposedly only for multi packs.

Also I did reply to the CR with a reply, as requested. I was simply making an observation about how whitmans could be handled, but I guess since you know it all and know the true history of Whitmans then no need. I wont bother making suggestions or asking questions since the all powerful Swiftman knows it all. I apologize for ranting but assumed when the title of this forum section is "Change request discussion" I could discuss a change request, guess not.

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Well your correct I wasnt discussing anything since it takes 2 people to discuss something and your reply was essentially dont ask questions, dont make suggestions simply post info on CR and (banned) off.

I was not ranting about the approver or what he/she said. All I was doing was giving my 2 cents about a way to handle Whitmans. As I stated in my last post there is no definitive proof of what comics are marvel whitmans and which ones arent. Even though by your post here, obviously people who DO know the whitman history and know the true facts (YOU). So i suggest you make those FACTS available in the change request guidelines.

All I did was offer a suggestion, only list the blank upc ones, since they could not be sold in stores, newsstands etc simply because they had no UPC.

You however chose to ignore this suggestion or discussion and instead told me to shut up and only reply in CR's. you didnt say no we either want all whitmans or none, etc etc, just shut up and post in CR.

Now to this part


I have gone out of my way to reply to any questions asked with my CR's. I even unbagged a madengine comic so I could take scans of the back cover and insert to help with the approval. So dont try to make it look like I post a CR then run away and (banned) about it. Sometime I have no info other then the comic itself which I always give. Maybe you should read some of my old emails I had lengthy discussions with another approver about all those USM #1s! Or maybe I should have linked to those emails so as not to ruffle your feathers since you seem to only want info in CRs and no questions asked.

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