What are the most rare Whitman Comics from Aug to Dec 1980?

The Whitman comics published between August 1980 and December 1980 were only available in pre-packs, three comics in a package sold through department stores and non-traditional locations.  Many collectors and dealers consider the comics published during this period rare.  As an example, the following can be found on Doug Sulipa’s Comic World Website[1]

November / 2005 Rarest Whitmans; Revised RARITY CHART;

Based on CURRENT Market Supply, Demand & Prices;>> Based on CGC Census, Highest Graded copies observed, the collection of Top Whitman Collectors, previous items in stock, current items in stock, eBay observations & recent histories; >> [ Higher prices have brought some RARE issues into the Marketplace; Some of the secondary ignored issues have now become the toughest issues on the CURRENT Marketplace & Least contained within major collections]; **** LOW Values in OVERSTREET prevent the TRUE value & Scarcity from being known, as most collectors & dealers do not consider slabbing comics that guide under $50.00; Those that list HIGHER in OVERSTREET are now becoming easier to locate. When ALL the 8-12/1980 Whitman's guide at a $60.00 MINIMUM (as they should) the REAL RARITY will become more apparent and STABLE. HIGH PRICES make Pooh #22, Scrooge 179, Lulu 260, Donald 222 WDCS 480 & others, show up more &look MORE common than they actually are. If these books still listed at $25 each, they would be at the top of the Rarity chart. Thus i moved them back up the list a bit.

(A) >> 19 x RAREST; (Lowest CGC Quantity;Rare in High Grade Condition; Most difficult to find issues; Estimated that 25-50 copies each exist in the current marketplace); In approximate order of Rarity (beginning with the current VERY RAREST); (1) Woody Woodpecker #191; (2) Bugs Bunny #221; (3) Popeye #158; (4) Beep Beep Roadrunner #92; (5) Looney Tunes #35; (6) Tom & Jerry #332; (7) Super Goof #61; (8) Daffy Duck #130; (9) Little Lulu #260 (10) Super Goof #62; (11) Huey Dewey Louie #66; (12) Yosemite Sam #68; (13) Black Hole (Beyond the...) #4; (14) Winnie the Pooh #20; (15) Tweety & Slyvester #105; (16) Mickey Mouse #208; (17) Beep Beep Roadrunner #93; (18) Winnie the Pooh #22; (19) Battle of the Planets #7,

(B) >> 22 x RARE ; (Low CGC Quantity; Estimated that 51-75 copies each exist in the current marketplace); Beep Beep Roadrunner #91; Chip N Dale #69; Daffy Duck #131; Daisy & Donald #47; Donald Duck #222; Huey Dewey Louie #65; Little Lulu #261; Looney Tunes #34; Mickey Mouse #209; Pink Panther #76; Popeye #159; Super Goof #60; Tom & Jerry #330, 331; Tweety & Sylvester #106, 107; Uncle Scrooge #179,180; Walt Disney's Comics & Stories #480; Winnie the Pooh #21; Yosemite Sam #69; Woody Woodpecker #190;

(C) >>15 x SCARCE; (Scarce issues; Estimated that 76-100 copies each exist in the current marketplace); Battle of the Planets #9, Beep Beep Roadrunner #93; Bugs Bunny #222;Chip N Dale #67,68; Daisy & Donald #46;Donald Duck #224; Looney Tunes #33; Mickey Mouse #207; Pink Panther #75,77; Porky Pig #97,98; Uncle Scrooge #181; Walt Disney's Comics & Stories #482, Yosemite Sam #70;

The Appendix lists all of the issues published between 8/80 and 12/80 with additional columns for Sulipa’s rarity ranking, CGC census data, and Overstreet Price Guide (2007) NM prices.  Each of these pieces of data provides an indication of how rare these comics are, or at least are thought to be rare.  There have been blog reports that have repudiated some of the rarity claims, citing strong distribution in Australia and Canada.

Sulipa’s Top Ten

Doug Sulipa’s ten rarest Whitman comics are found in Table 1, listed from most rare to tenth-most rare.  As Doug states above, these rankings are “based on CGC Census, Highest Graded copies observed, the collection of Top Whitman Collectors, previous items in stock, current items in stock, eBay observations & recent histories.”  Given Doug’s long history as a comic dealer and his amazing stock of Dell, Gold Key and Whitman comics, I would tend to hold Sulipa’s Top Ten in the highest regard.

Table 1.  Doug Sulipa’s Ten Rarest Whitman Comics

Rank	Title	#	Date Code	Date
1	Woody Woodpecker	191	011	11/80
2	Bugs Bunny	221	009	09/80
3	Popeye	158	009	09/80
4	Beep Beep, The Road Runner	92	009	09/80
5	Looney Tunes	35	012	12/80
6	Tom and Jerry	332	012	12/80
7	Super Goof	61	009	09/80
8	Daffy Duck	130	010	10/80
9	Marge's Little Lulu	260	009	09/80
10	Super Goof	62	011	11/80

CGC’s Top Ten

Using CGC census data is another way to look at the rarity of Whitman issues.  Over the past five years, there has been a great deal of interest in Whitman issues published between 8/80 and 12/80, with some impressive prices seen for many eBay auctions.  This level of interest typically fuels a surge in CGC comic submissions.  As such, it is expected that the CGC Census data would be a good indicator of scarcity (Table 2).

The CGC census reports for the Whitman comics published between 8/80 and 12/80 found that Black Hole #4 and Beagle Boys Versus Uncle Scrooge #11 did not have any submissions, placing them tied as the two rarest according to CGC. There was one submission for Buck Rogers #8, ranking it third, and there were several submissions of 2 and 3 issues, creating ties for 4^th and 8^th. 

OPG’s  Top Ten

Another way to look at rarity is the Overstreet Price Guide (OPG) Near-Mint (NM) values.  Although not a clear indication of scarcity, there is typically a correlation between the rarity of a comic and its value.  This is skewed by the popularity of the title.  Uncle Scrooge and Little Lulu are favorites to many and will garner higher values, but they might not be as rare as some of the others.  Regardless, it is another indicator and the top ten are listed in Table 3.

Table 2.  CGC’s Ten Rarest Whitman Comics

Rank	Title	#	Date	CGC
1	Beagle Boys Vs. Uncle Scrooge	11	11/80	0
1	Black Hole	4	09/80	0
3	Buck Rogers	8	10/80	1
4	Beep Beep, The Road Runner	93	10/80	2
4	Beep Beep, The Road Runner	91	08/80	2
4	Mickey Mouse	209	12/80	2
4	Winnie the Pooh	20	08/80	2
8	Beep Beep, The Road Runner	92	09/80	3
8	Bugs Bunny	222	11/80	3
8	Chip 'N' Dale	67	08/80	3
8	Daisy & Donald	45	08/80	3
8	Huey, Dewey, and Louie	65	09/80	3
8	Super Goof	62	11/80	3
8	Tom and Jerry	330	08/80	3
8	Tweety and Sylvester	106	10/80	3
8	Uncle Scrooge	180	11/80	3
8	Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	482	11/80	3
8	Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	479	08/80	3
8	Woody Woodpecker	191	11/80	3

Table 3.  OPG’s Ten Rarest Whitman Comics

Rank	Title	#	Date	NM OPG
1	Uncle Scrooge	179	09/80	$ 675.00
2	Donald Duck	222	10/80	$ 285.00
3	Marge's Little Lulu	260	09/80	$ 250.00
4	Walt Disney's Comics & Stories	480	09/80	$ 150.00
5	Mickey Mouse	208	10/80	$ 110.00
6	Daisy & Donald	47	12/80	$   75.00
7	Donald Duck	224	12/80	$   65.00
7	Donald Duck	221	08/80	$   65.00
7	Donald Duck	223	11/80	$   65.00
10	Uncle Scrooge	180	11/80	$   60.00
10	Uncle Scrooge	181	12/80	$   60.00

DellComicFan’s Top Five

In the absence of actual publication data for each issue, the scarcity of the Whitman comics during this period is admittedly subjective.  With this in mind, I proffer my five most rare Whitman comics (Table 4).  This ranking is based upon how difficult it was for me to locate these issues and how often I find them offered for sale through web sites, mail-order catalogs, and eBay.

Based on my experience, the rarest Whitman comic is clearly Black Hole #4.  The first three issues, which are all based upon the movie, are easily found, but I have only seen the fourth issue offered on two occasions.

Table 4.  DellComicFan's Five Rarest Whitman Comics

Rank	Title	#	Date
1	Black Hole	4	09/80
2	Buck Rogers	9	12/80
3	Beagle Boys Vs. Uncle Scrooge	11	11/80
4	Super Goof	62	11/80
5	Winnie the Pooh	22	12/80

50-Cent Price Variants

Note that there are also some 50-cent price variant issues that were published during this period.  There are 50-cent issues of Bugs Bunny 222 and Flash Gordon 30 confirmed.  CGC has second listing for Donald Duck 223, Donald Duck 224, Mickey Mouse 208, and Woody Woodpecker 190.  It is possible that these second listings by CGC are also 50-cent issues, but this remains to be verified.  If these are 50-cent variants, it would make these issues the rare of the rare, as there were not nearly as many 50-cent issues published during the 40-cent to 50-cent price transition period.  If not, it is not clear why there are two separate entries for these four issues.

What is Truly Scarce?

Although there is a scarcity of Whitman comics published between August and December 1980, there has not been a survey of all Whitman comics that have been published.  To date, I am not aware of a list of all the Whitman comics that have been published.  It is possible that some of the earlier Whitman comics that were published as counterparts to the Gold Key comics might be as scarce as the pre-pack comics.  It remains an open question whether there are other Whitman comics that might be considered scarce as well.

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[1] http://www.dougcomicworld.com/INVENTORY-WhitmanComicsSite.html