Learn about Price Variants

Newsstand Editions

Comic books for sale in the 1970's and 1980's were available via Direct Edition (directly from the publisher/distributor) or from a Newsstand, or a corner store near your home.

A full searchable list of Canadian price variants can be found here: Canadian Price Guide https://www.cpvpriceguide.com/

Official Type 1 and 1A Variants

 

Approximate Distribution Rates in North America

 

Timeline of Distribution

 

Price Box Differences

35¢ Newsstand Editions

As a result of an letter sent to Marvel concerning the 35¢ price of a copy of Star Wars #1, Marvel's circulation department confirmed that there were six test cities for the 35¢ price variants, including Memphis, Tennessee. However, these generally seem to be rarer than the 30¢ price variants (which also had six test areas) and there is speculation that there were in fact only four test cities for the 35¢ price variants although there does appear to be 5 sets of distribution marks (but these are likely not 100% reliable to determine the point of distribution). Possible areas:

    Alabama: Tuscaloosa area
    North Carolina: Wilmington area
    Ohio: Toledo area (original purchases confirmed by local collector; distribution marks also seem to match)
    Tennessee: Memphis (confirmed by original purchaser and Marvel)
    Texas: San Antonio area (quoted as a possible area; no direct evidence cited

How to tell the difference

35¢ price variants are very rare, and some unscrupulous actors will attempt to create fake versions.  Use the guide below to ensure you have a legitimate copy.

List of 35¢ Marvel Price Variants

Issue	June	July	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.
2001: A Space Odyssey	#7	#8	#9	#10
Amazing Spider-Man	#169	#170	#171	#172	#173
Avengers	#160	#161	#162	#163	#164
Black Panther		#4		#5
Captain America	#210	#211	#212	#213	#214
Captain America Error Ed.			#212
Captain Marvel		#51		#52
Champions		#14		#15
Conan	#75	#76	#77	#78	#79
Daredevil	#146	#147		#148
Defenders	#48	#49	#50	#51	#52
Dr. Strange	#23		#24		#25
Eternals	#12	#13	#14	#15	#16
Fantastic Four	#183	#184	#185	#186	#187
Flintstones					#1
Ghost Rider	#24		#25		#26
Godzilla			#1	#2	#3
Howard the Duck	#13	#14	#15	#16	#17
Human Fly				#1	#2
Incredible Hulk	#212	#213	#214	#215	#216
Inhumans	#11		#12
Invaders	#17	#18	#19	#20	#21
Iron Fist	#13		#14	#15
Iron Man	#99	#100	#101	#102	#103
John Carter	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
Kid Colt Outlaw	#218		#219		#220
Kull the Conqueror	#21		#22		#23
Logan's Run	#6	#7
Marvel Premiere	#36		#37		#38
Marvel Presents	#11		#12
Marvel Super Action		#2		#3
Marvel Super-Heroes	#65			#66
Marvel Tales	#80	#81	#82	#83	#84
Marvel Team Up	#58	#59	#60	#61	#62
Marvel Triple Action		#36		#37
Marvel Two In One	#28	#29	#30	#31	#32
Marvel's Greatest Comic		#71		#72	#73
Master of Kung Fu	#53	#54	#55	#56	#57
Ms. Marvel	#6	#7	#8	#9	#10
Nova	#10	#11	#12	#13	#14
Omega the Unknown		#9			#10
Power Man	#44	#45	#46		#47
Rawhide Kid		#140		#141
Red Sonja		#4		#5
Scooby Doo					#1
Sgt. Fury		#141		#142
Spectacular Spider-Man	#7	#8	#9	#10	#11
Star Wars		#1	#2	#3	#4
Super Villain Team Up	#12		#13		#14
Tarzan	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
Thor	#260	#261	#262	#263	#264
Tomb of Dracula	#57	#58	#59	#60
X-Men	#105		#106		#107

List of 30¢ Marvel Price Variants

Series	Apr.	May	June	July	Aug.
Adventures on the Planet of the Apes	#5		#6		#7
Amazing Adventures		#36	#37
Amazing Spider-Man	#155	#156	#157	#158	#159
Astonishing Tales		#35		#36
Avengers	#146	#147	#148	#149	#150
Black Goliath	#2		#3		#4
Captain America	#196	#197	#198	#199	#200
Captain Marvel		#44		#45
Chamber of Chills		#22	#23
Champions	#5		#6		#7
Conan	#61	#62	#63	#64	#65
Daredevil	#132	#133	#134	#135	#136
Defenders	#34	#35	#36	#37	#38
Doctor Strange	#13	#14	#15	#16	#17
Eternals				#1	#2
Fantastic Four	#169	#170	#171	#172	#173
Ghost Rider	#17		#18		#19
Howard the Duck		#3		#4
Incredible Hulk	#198	#199	#200	#201	#202
Inhumans	#4		***		#6
Invaders		#6		#7
Iron Fist	#4		#5		#6
Iron Man	#85	#86	#87	#88	#89
Jungle Action		#21		#22
Ka-Zar	#15	~~~	#17
Kid Colt Outlaw	#205	#206	#207	#208	#209
Kull The Destroyer					#16
Marvel Adventure	#3		#4		#5
Marvel Chillers	#4		#5		#6
Marvel Double Feature	#15		#16		#17
Marvel Feature		#4		#5
Marvel Premiere	#29		#30		#31
Marvel Presents	#4		#5		#6
Marvel Spotlight	#27		#28		#29
Marvel Super-Heroes		#57		#58
Marvel Tales	#66	#67	#68	#69	#70
Marvel Team-Up	#44	#45	#46	#47	#48
Marvel Triple Action		#29		#30
Marvel Two-in-One		#15	#16	#17	#18
Marvel's Greatest Comics		#63		#64
Master of Kung Fu	#39	#40	#41	#42	#43
Mighty Marvel Western			#45
Omega the Unknown		#2		#3
Power Man	#30	#31	#32	#33	#34
Rawhide Kid		#133		#134
Ringo Kid		#27		#28
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos		#133		#134
Skull, The Slayer		#5		#6
Son of Satan	#3		#4		#5
Strange Tales		#185		#186
Super-Villain Team-Up	#5		#6		#7
Thor	#246	#247	#248	#249	#250
Tomb of Darkness		#20		#21
Tomb of Dracula	#43	#44	#45	#46	#47
Two-Gun Kid	#129		#130		#131
Warlock	#12		#13		#14
Weird Wonder Tales	#15		#16		#17
Werewolf by Night		#38		#39
X-Men	#98		#99		#100

 

List of Marvel Australian Price Variants

Australian Price Variants are nowadays known as “APVs” by collectors.  These are very rare, low print runs of specific comic book titles from Marvel for collectors in Australia.  These books were printed in the 1990's for the Australian market.

1. APVs were exclusive to Australian newsstand distribution only
2. Australia represents just 5.8% of the newsstand market size by population using 1990 population data for the USA, Canada, and Australia
3. In the 1990s, the vast majority of Marvel’s sales were Direct Edition copies as opposed to Newsstand copies.
4. The actual print run numbers for APV variants according to Joseph Italiano (Alternate Worlds) are approximately between 2000 and 4000 copies per book

Aliencomics is proud to source these rare books on our store!  Is there a particular book you are looking for?

Title / Expected Australian Issue Range	Confirmed Price Variants
2099 Unlimited (1-3)	1-2
Adventures of The X-Men / Adventures of Spider-Man (Flip-Book) (1-8)	3, 6
Alf (34-50)	35, 37-46
Amazing Spider-Man (340-385, 408-417)	341-384, 408, 410-417
Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1993 Only) (27)	27
Avengers (325-370, 395-402)	325-363
Avengers (1996) (1)	1
Avengers West Coast (63-102)	63-92
Barbie (1-35)	1, 3, 11-19, 21-25
Barbie Fashion (1-35)	1-3, 12-13, 35
Blaze: Legacy of Blood (1-2)	1
Bruce Wayne: Agent of Shield (1)	1
Cable (1-7, 28-37)	2-6
Cable – Blood and Metal (1-2)	1
Cage (1-20)	3-12
Captain America (378-423, 448-454)	378-423
Captain America (1996) (1)	1
Clive Barker – Ectokid (1-5)	1-2, 4
Clive Barker – Hokum & Hex (1-5)	1-3
Clive Barker – Hyperkind (1-5)	1-3
Clive Barker – Saint Sinner (1-4)	1-2
Conan The Barbarian (237-275)	237-248, 250-251, 253-254, 256-275
Conan Saga (43-82)	43-45, 47-49, 52, 55, 57-73, 75, 77-81
Conan the Savage (7-10)	7-10
Daredevil (285-324, 349-358)	285-314
Darkhold – Pages From the Book of Sins (1-16)	1-5
Disney Comic Hits (5-14)	13
Doom 2099 (1-13, 38-44)	1-12
Elektra (1)	1
Fantastic Four, The (345-384, 409-416)	345-367, 369, 371-374
Fantastic Four, The 1996 Series (1)	1
Gambit (1-2)	1
Generation X (12-21)	12-21
G.I. Joe (105-144)	105-143
Ghost Rider, The (6-45, 70-75)	19-29, 31-44
Ghost Rider Annual (1)	1
Ghost Rider / Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance (1-18)	1-12, 14-16
Incredible Hulk, The (374-413, 438-447)	374-412, 447
Incredible Hulk Annual, The (19)	19
Independence Day (0-2)	1
Infinity Crusade (1-6)	1-6
Infinity War (1-6)	2-6
Iron Man (261-300, 325-332)	261-299
Iron Man 1996 Series (1)	1
Lethal Foes of Spider-Man (1-4)	1-4
Marvel Tales (242-281)	242-280
Marvel Versus DC (2-3)	2-3
Midnight Sons Unlimited (1-4)	1
Morbius The Living Vampire (1-17)	1-12
New Mutants, The (94-100)	94-100
Nightstalkers (1-15)	1, 3-5
Night Thrasher (1-6)	1, 3-5
Night Thrasher: Four Control (1-4)	2-4
Punisher, The (41-86)	41, 43-81, 84
Punisher 2099, The (1-12)	1-10
Punisher Annual, The (6)	6
Punisher Holiday Special (1-2)	1
Punisher: The Origin of Microchip (1-2)	1-2
Punisher Summer Special (1-3)	3
Ravage 2099 (1-14)	1-12, 14
Ren & Stimpy Show, The (1-14, 39-44)	12-13
Sabretooth (1-4)	1, 3
Savage Sword of Conan (178-217)	178, 180-188, 190-216
Secret Defenders, The (1-11)	1-10
Sensational Spider-Man, The (1-10)	4-10
Silver Surfer (42-88, 113-122)	42-87
Silver Surfer Annual (1993 Only) (6)	6
Silver Surfer / Warlock: Resurrection (1-4)	1-4
Spectacular Spider-Man (169-208, 231-240)	169-207, 231, 234-238, 240
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual (1993 Only) (13)	13
Speed Demon (1)	1
Spider-Boy (1)	1
Spider-Man 1990 (3-42, 65-74)	32, 34-37, 39, 41, 65, 67-74
Spider-Man 2099 (1-15, 40-46)	1-15, 42-46
Spider-Man Classics (1-10)	1-9
Spider-Man Unlimited (1-3, 11-14)	1-3
Star Trek Voyager (1)	1
Stryfe’s Strike File (1)	1
Tekworld (1-17)	1-4, 7
Thor, The Mighty (424-470, 495-502)	425-469
Thor, The Mighty Annual (18)	18
Thunderstrike (1-4)	1-3
Transformers (71-80)	71-80
Transformers: Generation 2 (1-3)	1
Uncanny X-Men (269-308, 329-338)	269-307, 329-338
Uncanny X-Men Annual (17)	17
Venom, Funeral Pyre (1-3)	1-3
Venom, Lethal Protector (1-6)	1-6
Venom, The Madness (1-3)	1-2
Warlock Chronicles (1-6)	1-6
Web of Spider-Man (69-108)	69-108
Web of Spider-Man Annual (9)	9
What If… (18-57, 82-91)	18-39, 41-56, 84-91
Wolverine (32-77, 98-107)	48-56, 58-76, 98-107
Wolverine and The Punisher: Damaging Evidence (1-3)	1-3
X-Factor (59-98, 119-128)	59-97, 119-128
X-Factor Annual (8)	8
X-Force (1-30, 51-60)	1, 3-29, 51-60
X-Force Annual (2)	2
X-Man (12-21)	12-21
X-Men (1-28, 49-58)	1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2-26, 49-58
X-Men Annual (2)	2
X-Men 2099 (1-4, 29-35)	1-3
X-Men Adventures (1-15)	1-14
X-Men Unlimited (1-3, 10-12)	1-2
X-Patrol (1)	1