How many 30 cent Gold Key variants exist?

Between December 1977 and March 1978 Gold Key published 88 issues of 41 different titles. During this time period, Gold Key (Western Publishing) was making the transition from 30-cent prices to 35-cent prices.  Several of these issues were published with both a 30¢ and 35¢ cover price.  I will refer to these as “30-35 price variants.”  In the appendix, a full list of these issues is included.  Of the 88 issues, to date there have been 46 30¢ issues confirmed, 68 35¢ issues confirmed, ten 50¢ 48 page giant comics, one treasury sized issue, and 29 Whitman issues.

Of the 77 30¢ and 35¢ issues published during this period, to date there have been 37 30-35 price variant issues confirmed.  An example with both prices for a single title is shown below with The Inspector #19, published in February 1978. 

Example of Two Variations of a title, 30¢ and 35¢ Gold Key;

The Inspector #19, Pub 2/78

Anchoring a Variant

To determine variance, it is necessary to determine what the norm is.  Although Whitman comics are considered variants themselves, they have been completely uniform in their cover pricing.  With the exception of the 40-50 and 60-75 price variants that occurred when there was only Whitman comics published, I am not aware of any examples of a Whitman price variant.  As such, I have decided to use the Whitman label, when it exists, to anchor the price.

All of the Whitman comics that have been confirmed to exist during the 30¢ to 35¢ price transition between December 1977 and March 1978 have a 35¢ cover price.  As such, for the purposes of this discussion, the 30¢ cover prices will be considered the price variants and the 35¢ cover priced comics will be considered the norm.  Further validating this premise, with the exception of the Giant comics, there are no comics during this time period that do not have a 35¢ cover price.

Missing 30¢ Cover Price

From December 1977 through March 1978, there are fifty-five 30¢ cover price variants that have been confirmed.  The following table summarizes the number of comics with 30¢ and 35¢ cover prices by month for this time period.

Date	Data	Total
12/77	Count of 30¢	17
	Count of 35¢	18
01/78	Count of 30¢	19
	Count of 35¢	20
02/78	Count of 30¢	16
	Count of 35¢	19
03/78	Count of 30¢	3
	Count of 35¢	20
Total Count of 30¢		55
Total Count of 35¢		77

Note that large difference in counts for March 1978, indicating that many of the 30¢ cover price variants likely do not exist for this month as they were never published.  However, it would seem that the following five comics might exist with 30¢ cover prices.  If these were to be confirmed, they should be considered very rare and should be priced accordingly.

Issues from December 1977 through Feb 1978 that do not have 30¢ price covers

Title	Issue No.	Date
Fat Albert	22	12/77
Fat Albert	23	02/78
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!	75	01/78
Underdog	17	02/78
Woody Woodpecker	163	02/78

50¢ Gold Keys

During the 30¢ to 35¢ price transition period, there were ten 50¢ issues published (shown in table immediately below).  All of these issues are Gold Key; there are no known Whitman counterparts.

Gold Key 50¢ Issues Published during 30¢ to 35¢ Transition Period

Title	Issue No.	Date
Boris Karloff	80	02/78
Donald Duck	192	02/78
Gold Key Champion	1	03/78
Grimm's Ghost Stories	43	03/78
Mickey Mouse	179	01/78
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!	74	12/77
Tom and Jerry	302	01/78
Turok	114	03/78
Twilight Zone	83	01/78
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	447	12/77

APPENDIX

Gold Key 30 cent, 35 cent, 50 cent, 30-35 Price Variants, and Whitman Issues, December 1977 through March 1978

Title	Issue No.	Dt Code	Date	30c	35c	30-35	50c	W
Beagle Boys	39	712	12/77	x	x	x		x
Boris Karloff	79	712	12/77	x	x	x
Bugs Bunny	191	712	12/77	x	x	x
Bullwinkle	18	712	12/77	x	x	x
Daffy Duck	112	712	12/77	x	x	x
Donald Duck	190	712	12/77	x	x	x		x
Fat Albert	22	712	12/77		x			x
Huey, Dewey, and Louie	47	712	12/77	x	x	x		x
Inspector	18	712	12/77	x	x	x
Little Monsters	43	712	12/77	x	x	x
Looney Tunes	17	712	12/77	x	x	x
Mickey Mouse	178	712	12/77	x	x	x		x
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!	74	712	12/77			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Space Family Robinson	54	712	12/77	x	x	x
Tom and Jerry	301	712	12/77	x	x	x
Tweety and Sylvester	76	712	12/77	x	x	x		x
Uncle Scrooge	147	712	12/77	x	x	x		x
Underdog	16	712	12/77	x	x	x
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	447	712	12/77			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Yosemite Sam	49	712	12/77	x	x	x
Beep Beep, The Road Runner	69	801	01/78	x	x	x
Buck Rogers, Giant Movie Edition	No #	801	01/78			x		x	$1.50 Treasury
Bugs Bunny	192	801	01/78	x	x	x
Chip 'N' Dale	50	801	01/78	x	x	x		x
Daisy & Donald	28	801	01/78	x	x	x
Donald Duck	191	801	01/78	x	x	x		x
Marge's Little Lulu	243	801	01/78	x	x	x
Mickey Mouse	179	801	01/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Moby Duck	29	801	01/78	x	x	x		x
New Terrytoons	48	801	01/78	x	x	x
Pink Panther	49	801	01/78	x	x	x
Porky Pig	79	801	01/78	x	x	x		x
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!	75	801	01/78		x
Scamp	39	801	01/78	x	x	x
Star Trek	50	801	01/78	x	x	x
Tom and Jerry	302	801	01/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Turok	113	801	01/78	x	x	x		x
Tweety and Sylvester	77	801	01/78	x	x	x
Twilight Zone	82	801	01/78	x	x	x
Twilight Zone	83	801	01/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Uncle Scrooge	148	801	01/78	x	x	x		x
Walt Disney Showcase	42	801	01/78	x	x	x		x
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	448	801	01/78	x	x	x
Walter Lantz Andy Panda	23	801	01/78	x	x	x
Beagle Boys	40	802	02/78	x	x	x
Boris Karloff	80	802	02/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Bugs Bunny	193	802	02/78	x	x	x
Daffy Duck	113	802	02/78	x	x	x
Donald Duck	192	802	02/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Fat Albert	23	802	02/78		x			x
Gold Key Spotlight	11	802	02/78	x	x	x
Huey, Dewey, and Louie	48	802	02/78	x	x	x		x
Inspector	19	802	02/78	x	x	x
Little Monsters	44	802	02/78	x	x	x
Looney Tunes	18	802	02/78	x	x	x		x
Mickey Mouse	180	802	02/78	x	x	x		x
Ripley's Believe It Or Not!	76	802	02/78	x	x	x
Tom and Jerry	303	802	02/78	x	x	x		x
Tweety and Sylvester	78	802	02/78	x	x	x
Uncle Scrooge	149	802	02/78	x	x	x
Underdog	17	802	02/78		x
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	449	802	02/78	x	x	x
Winnie the Pooh	5	802	02/78	x	x	x		x
Woody Woodpecker	163	802	02/78		x			x
Yosemite Sam	50	802	02/78	x	x	x		x
Beep Beep, The Road Runner	70	803	03/78		x
Bugs Bunny	194	803	03/78		x			x
Bullwinkle	19	803	03/78	x	x	x
Chip 'N' Dale	51	803	03/78		x			x
Daisy & Donald	29	803	03/78		x			x
Donald Duck	193	803	03/78		x			x
Gold Key Champion	1	803	03/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Grimm's Ghost Stories	43	803	03/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Marge's Little Lulu	244	803	03/78		x
Mickey Mouse	181	803	03/78		x			x
Moby Duck	30	803	03/78	x	x	x
New Terrytoons	49	803	03/78		x			x
Pink Panther	50	803	03/78		x			x
Porky Pig	80	803	03/78		x			x
Scamp	40	803	03/78		x			x
Star Trek	51	803	03/78		x			x
Super Goof	45	803	03/78	x	x	x		x
Tom and Jerry	304	803	03/78		x			x
Turok	114	803	03/78			x	x		Giant Comic, 48 Pages
Tweety and Sylvester	79	803	03/78		x			x
Uncle Scrooge	150	803	03/78		x			x
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	450	803	03/78		x			x
Woody Woodpecker	164	803	03/78		x			x
TOTALS				55	77	66	10	39