How Many 16-Page Fun Catalog variants exist?

For three consecutive years, several Gold Key and Whitman comics included a “16-Page Fun Catalog” in the comic during the holidays.  These 16-Page inserts were only included in the December and January publications for the following three years:
·         Year 1: 12/72 and 1/73,
·         Year 2: 12/73 and 1/74, and
·         Year 3: 12/74 and 1/75.
Over these three years there were 62 titles published in 135 different issues (see Appendix for complete listing).  During these three time periods there were an additional 51 Whitman issues published.  Of the 135 different issues, 69 issues included a 16-Page Fun Catalog.  Of the 62 different titles published during these three time periods, 31 included the 16-Page Fun Catalog and 31 had no occurrence.


Examples of 16-Page Fun Catalog Banners for all Three Years, Including the Corner Banner Variant Used on Some Issues during Year Three

Examples of the banners on the four different types of banners used to announce the 16 page fun catalogs (“16-Pagers”) are shown above.  Each year there was as a slight change to the banner style.  Also, during Year Three there was a corner banner variant used to announce the inclusion of the 16-Page Fun Catalog.  Ranking in the minutia is the note that Years 1 and 2 included a hyphen between “16” and “Page” and Year 3 did not.

Occurrence with titles

During each of the three time periods when the 16-Pagers were inserted into the issue, it was inserted into all of the issues from that title, with only two exceptions.  Table 1 lists those titles that included 16-Pagers with the number of occurrences of a 16-Pager and the number of opportunities that one could have been inserted.

Table 1.  Number of Occurrences of 16-Pagers by Title
Title
# Occurences
# Possible
Addams Family
1
1
Aristokittens
1
1
Beagle Boys
3
3
Beep Beep, The Road Runner
3
3
Boris Karloff
3
3
Bugs Bunny
1
3
Bullwinkle
2
2
Daffy Duck
3
3
Dagar The Invincible
2
3
Dark Shadows
3
3
Fun-In (Hanna-Barbera ...)
1
1
Harlem Globetrotters
3
3
Inspector
1
1
Jungle Twins
3
3
Magnus Robot Fighter
1
1
Mickey Mouse
2
2
Moby Duck
2
2
Mod Wheels
3
3
Occult Files of Dr. Spektor
2
2
O'Malley and the Alley Cats
1
1
Porky Pig
2
2
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
3
3
Scooby Doo… Where Are You?
3
3
Space Family Robinson
2
2
Super Goof
1
1
Tom and Jerry
3
3
Uncle Scrooge
2
2
Wacky Witch
3
3
Walt Disney Showcase
3
3
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories
3
3
Yosemite Sam
3
3
The two exceptions, which are emboldened in Table 1, are Bugs Bunny (BB) and Dagar the Invincible (DI).  There was one issue of Bugs Bunny, BB146, that included the 16-Pager, but BB154 and BB161 did not.  There were two issues of Dagar that included the 16-Pager, DI02 and DI06, but DI10 did not.  It is difficult to infer why these two titles were not as consistent as the other 29, and I am unable to offer a plausible explanation.


Titles without 16-Pagers

The remaining 31 titles that did not include any 16-Pagers are listed below in Table 2.

Table 2.  Titles that Did Not Include 16-Pagers
Title
Adam-12
Adventures of Robin Hood
Boris Karloff
Brothers of the Spear
Chip 'N' Dale
Daisy & Donald
Donald Duck
Fat Albert
Funky Phantom
Grimm's Ghost Stories
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Lidsville
Little Monsters
Little Stooges
Lone Ranger
Marge's Little Lulu
Mighty Samson
Movie Comics - Gay Purr-ee
New Terrytoons
Pink Panther
Raggedy Ann and Andy
Scamp
Smokey Bear
Star Trek
Tom and Jerry
Turok
Tweety and Sylvester
Twilight Zone
Wacky Adventures of Cracky
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories
Woody Woodpecker

Issues With and Without 16-Pager

There are some titles that have been published with and without the 16-Pagers included.  The variant issues where the “16-Page Fun Catalog” banner section does not include a banner and is left blank, or with the one known case of the corner banner, the banner is left off completely.  Examples of these 16-Pager variants are shown below.

MM146 – With Banner
MM14- Bannerless
BK58 – With Banner
 BK58 – No Banner



There are currently 8 issues that have been confirmed that are isses without 16-Pagers (Table 3).  With the exception of BK58, all of these issues included a blank location at the top the comic with the banner missing like that shown for MM146.  It is possible that more of these issues exist and their existence should be considered rare.


Table 3. Issues With and Without 16-Pagers
Title
#
Date Code
Date
Boris Karloff
58
412
12/74
Bullwinkle
10
401
01/74
Jungle Twins
12
501
01/75
Mickey Mouse
146
312
12/73
Mod Wheels
15
501
01/75
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!
44
312
12/73
Scooby Doo… Where Are You?
22
312
12/73
Uncle Scrooge
109
312
12/73

Corner Banners
During Years 1 and 2, all of the 16-Pagers used a top banner to announce the inclusion of the fun catalog.  During Year 3, most of the 16-Pagers included the top banner, but a few were published with the corner banner like that shown above.  The five issues that were published with a corner banner are included below in Table 4.
Table 4. Issues With a Corner Banner
Title
#
Date Code
Date
Boris Karloff
58
412
12/74
Daffy Duck
91
412
12/74
Dark Shadows
29
412
12/74
Fun-In (Hanna-Barbera ...)
15
412
12/74
Walt Disney Showcase
26
412
12/74


An Unusual Early Banner Variant
Although it does not fall within the same date ranges as the 16-Pagers described herein, there is a variant issue that involves a banner that is similar in nature.  Figure 3 shows two versions of Fantastic Voyage 2.  One issue has the announcement for the “SWEEPSTAKES” and a second version covers the announcement with a banner saying “Civilian Miniaturized Defense Force.”  It is theorized that the sweepstakes ended and a second printing occurred that required the publisher to remove the announcement.



Variant Cover to Fantastic Voyage 2, With and Without “Sweepstakes” Announcement