Gladstone Canadian Price Variants

By Benjamin Nobel, January 11, 2019

Hi everyone! My fellow price guide collaborators and I are hoping to expand our guide’s “coverage universe” in the future to include other publishers beyond Marvel & DC; we are very fortunate to be working with Toronto-based researcher Salvatore Miceli, who has been investigating other publishers including Gladstone. This post is to share Sal’s Gladstone research — a huge thanks to Sal for his efforts on this! 🙂

Readers of our Marvel & DC guide are already familiar with how those two publishers produced three versions of each issue during their cover price variant windows: a direct edition version (direct-sold to comic dealers/shops at a discount but on a non-returnable basis), and two newsstand versions (copies sold to the general public on newsstands, where unsold copies were returnable by the newsstand for refund/credit) — the two newsstand types were a higher cover price version and a lower cover price version.

While Gladstone followed this same pattern of publishing three versions, they were fond of placing their bar codes (and corresponding logos for the direct editions) on the back covers, making it all the more challenging to spot these differences online (most online sellers only bother to picture the front cover when listing these comics). To show you what I mean, here below are the three versions Gladstone produced for Donald Duck #246:

Donald Duck #246 – 95¢ Newsstand

From a distance, at first glance these look like they are identical, but if you know in advance that the cover price boxes differ, you can discern that they are different — here is a close-up on those three price boxes:

The first price box shown above is the direct edition, carrying a large print “main” price of 75¢ with a smaller-print CAN 95¢ price beneath it; the second price box shown above is the single-price 75¢ newsstand edition distributed in the U.S., and the final price box shown above is the newsstand price variant carrying a single-price of 95¢ — such cover price variant copies are the subject of Sal’s research. Below is an example indicia page for Donald Duck #246 — as you can see these were printed and published in the USA:

I mentioned before that Gladstone liked placing their UPC codes (and corresponding logos) on the back covers… here below are the three back covers side-by-side, for the three Donald Duck #246 copies you saw earlier:

As you can see, looking at the bottom left corner, the direct edition copy has a “logo box” instead of a bar code (in this case it isn’t a graphical logo but instead has words that tie in to the poster advert), while the two newsstand copies have identical bar code boxes. Here below is another back cover comparison, this time where the logo box contains a graphical logo — Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #546:

And here are the front covers for the above — pictured at left is the direct edition (cover price box reads $1.95 in large print, with “CAN $2.50” in small print), and pictured at right is the single-price $2.50 Canadian price variant exclusive to newsstands in Canada (Canada has on the order of one tenth the population of the USA which drives the price variants to be the most-rare of the three types by a long-shot — read more here for a detailed rarity walkthrough with graphics from the Marvel & DC guide — the same basic big-picture concepts apply to the Gladstone situation as well):

So as you can see from the above examples, with the logo-boxes/bar-codes on the back covers, spotting the variants in the marketplace (and researching them in general) is all the more difficult a task (thanks again to Sal for taking on that task!). Below are a few more cover price variant examples, followed by a full “Issue Guide” for the Gladstone Canadian Price Variants.

Gladstone Canadian Price Variant Issue Guide:
15 regular titles (Oct 1986-July 1991) + 4 digest titles (Dec 1986-Sep 1987)
262 total issues

Donald Duck
Oct 1986-May 1990
34 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#246	$0.95	Oct ’86		$ 26
#247	$0.95	Nov ’86		$ 16
#248	$1.00	Dec ’86		$ 16
#249	$1.00	Jan ’87		$ 16
#250	$2.00	Feb ’87	64 Pages	$ 18
#251	$1.00	Mar ’87		$ 16
#252	$1.25	Apr ’87		$ 8
#253	$1.25	May ’87		$ 8
#254	$1.25	Jun ’87		$ 8
#255	$1.25	July ’87		$ 8
#256	$1.25	Aug ’87		$ 8
#257	$1.95	Sep ’87	Giant Summer Special	$ 8
#258	$1.25	Oct ’87		$ 8
#259	$1.25	Nov ’87		$ 8
#260	$1.25	Dec ’87		$ 8
#261	$1.25	Jan ’88		$ 8
#262	$1.25	Mar ’88		$ 8
#263	$1.25	Jun ’88		$ 8
#264	$1.25	July ’88		$ 8
#265	$1.25	Aug ’88		$ 8
#266	$1.25	Sep ’88		$ 8
#267	$1.25	Oct ’88		$ 8
#268	$1.25	Nov ’88		$ 8
#269	$1.25	Jan ’89		$ 8
#270	$1.25	Mar ’89		$ 8
#271	$1.25	Jun ’89		$ 8
#272	$1.25	July ’89		$ 8
#273	$1.25	Aug ’89		$ 8
#274	$1.25	Sep ’89		$ 8
#275	$1.25	Oct ’89		$ 8
#276	$1.25	Nov ’89		$ 8
#277	$1.25	Jan ’90		$ 8
#278	$2.50	Mar ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 9
#279	$2.50	May ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 9
Donald Duck Comics Digest
Nov 1986-July 1987
5 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.65	Nov ’86		$ 10
#2	$1.65	Jan ’87		$ 6
#3	$1.65	Mar ’87		$ 10
#4	$1.95	May ’87		$ 6
#5	$1.95	July ’87		$ 6
DuckTales
Oct 1988-May 1990
13 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.95	Oct ’88	Giant Size Issue	$ 6
#2	$1.95	Nov ’88	Giant Size Issue	$ 4
#3	$1.25	Jan ’89		$ 4
#4	$1.25	Feb ’89		$ 4
#5	$1.25	Apr ’89		$ 4
#6	$1.25	May ’89		$ 4
#7	$1.25	July ’89		$ 4
#8	$1.25	Aug ’89		$ 4
#9	$1.95	Oct ’89		$ 4
#10	$1.95	Nov ’89		$ 4
#11	$1.95	Jan ’90		$ 4
#12	$2.50	Mar ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 5
#13	$2.50	May ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 5
Haunt Of Fear
May 1991-July 1991
2 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$2.50	May ’91	EC Reprint	$ 4
#2	$2.50	July ’91	EC Reprint	$ 4
Mickey Mouse
Oct 1986-Apr 1990
38 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#219	$0.95	Oct ’86		$ 20
#220	$0.95	Nov ’86		$ 10
#221	$1.00	Dec ’86		$ 10
#222	$1.00	Jan ’87		$ 5
#223	$1.00	Feb ’87		$ 5
#224	$1.00	Mar ’87		$ 5
#225	$1.25	Apr ’87		$ 5
#226	$1.25	May ’87		$ 5
#227	$1.25	Jun ’87		$ 5
#228	$1.25	July ’87		$ 5
#229	$1.25	Aug ’87		$ 5
#230	$1.25	Sep ’87		$ 5
#231	$1.25	Oct ’87		$ 4
#232	$1.25	Nov ’87		$ 4
#233	$1.25	Dec ’87		$ 4
#234	$1.25	Jan ’88		$ 4
#235	$1.25	Mar ’88		$ 4
#236	$1.25	Apr ’88		$ 4
#237	$1.25	Jun ’88		$ 4
#238	$1.25	July ’88		$ 4
#239	$1.25	Aug ’88		$ 4
#240	$1.25	Sep ’88		$ 4
#241	$1.25	Oct ’88		$ 4
#242	$1.25	Nov ’88		$ 4
#243	$1.25	Dec ’88		$ 4
#244	$3.75	Jan ’89	60th Anniversary Special	$ 5
#245	$1.25	Mar ’89		$ 5
#246	$1.25	Apr ’89		$ 4
#247	$1.25	Jun ’89		$ 4
#248	$1.25	July ’89		$ 4
#249	$1.25	Aug ’89		$ 4
#250	$1.25	Sep ’89		$ 4
#251	$1.25	Oct ’89		$ 4
#252	$1.25	Nov ’89		$ 4
#253	$1.25	Dec ’89		$ 4
#254	$1.25	Jan ’90		$ 4
#255	$2.50	Feb ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 5
#256	$2.50	Apr ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 5
Mickey Mouse Comics Digest
Jan 1987-Sep 1987
5 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.65	Jan ’87		$ 8
#2	$1.65	Mar ’87		$ 5
#3	$1.95	May ’87		$ 5
#4	$1.95	July ’87		$ 5
#5	$1.95	Sep ’87		$ 5
The Original Dick Tracy
Sep 1990-May 1991
5 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$2.50	Sep ’90		$ 4
#2	$2.50	Nov ’90		$ 4
#3	$2.50	Jan ’91		$ 4
#4	$2.50	Mar ’91		$ 4
#5	$2.50	May-91		$ 4
Tales From The Crypt
July 1990-May 1991
6 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$2.50	July ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#2	$2.50	Sep ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#3	$2.50	Nov ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#4	$2.50	Jan ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5
#5	$2.50	Mar ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5
#6	$2.50	May ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5
Uncle Scrooge Comics Digest
Dec 1986-Aug 1987
5 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.65	Dec ’86		$ 8
#2	$1.65	Feb ’87		$ 6
#3	$1.95	Apr ’87		$ 8
#4	$1.95	Jun ’87		$ 6
#5	$1.95	Aug ’87	Low print run per Overstreet	$ 9
Vault Of Horror
Aug 1990-Jun 1991
6 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$2.50	Aug ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#2	$2.50	Oct ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#3	$2.50	Dec ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#4	$2.50	Feb ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5
#5	$2.50	Apr ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5
#6	$2.50	Jun ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5
Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade
1988-1989
2 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$3.75	Winter 1988	Painted cover by Carl Barks	$ 12
#2	$3.75	Winter 1989		$ 9
Walt Disney’s Comics And Stories
Oct 1986-Apr 1990
37 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#511	$0.95	Oct ’86	Donald Duck by Daan Jippes	$ 32
#512	$0.95	Nov ’86		$ 18
#513	$1.00	Dec ’86		$ 18
#514	$1.00	Jan ’87		$ 12
#515	$1.00	Feb ’87		$ 12
#516	$1.00	Mar ’87		$ 12
#517	$1.25	Apr ’87		$ 6
#518	$1.25	May ’87		$ 6
#519	$1.25	Jun ’87		$ 6
#520	$1.25	July ’87		$ 12
#521	$1.25	Aug ’87		$ 6
#522	$1.25	Sep ’87		$ 6
#523	$1.25	Oct ’87	1st Don Rosa 10 pager	$ 15
#524	$1.25	Nov ’87	Don Rosa art and story	$ 15
#525	$1.25	Dec ’87		$ 6
#526	$1.25	Feb ’88	Don Rosa art and story	$ 15
#527	$1.25	Mar ’88		$ 6
#528	$1.25	Apr ’88	Don Rosa art and story	$ 15
#529	$1.25	Jun ’88		$ 6
#530	$1.25	July ’88		$ 6
#531	$1.25	Aug ’88	Don Rosa art and story	$ 15
#532	$1.25	Sep ’88		$ 6
#533	$1.25	Oct ’88		$ 6
#534	$1.25	Nov ’88		$ 6
#535	$1.25	Dec ’88		$ 6
#536	$1.25	Feb ’89		$ 6
#537	$1.25	Mar ’89		$ 6
#538	$1.25	Apr ’89		$ 6
#539	$1.25	Jun ’89		$ 6
#540	$1.25	July ’89		$ 6
#541	$1.95	Aug ’89		$ 6
#542	$1.95	Sep ’89		$ 6
#543	$1.95	Oct ’89		$ 6
#544	$1.95	Nov ’89		$ 6
#545	$1.95	Dec ’89		$ 6
#546	$2.50	Feb ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 6
#547	$2.50	Apr ’90	Double Sized Issue; Don Rosa art	$ 15
Walt Disney’s Comics Digest
Dec 1986-Sep 1987
7 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.65	Dec ’86		$ 8
#2	$1.65	Feb ’87		$ 6
#3	$1.65	Mar ’87		$ 6
#4	$1.95	Apr ’87		$ 6
#5	$1.95	Jun ’87		$ 6
#6	$1.95	Aug ’87		$ 6
#7	$1.95	Sep ’87		$ 6
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck Adventures
Nov 1987-Apr 1990
20 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.25	Nov ’87		$ 8
#2	$1.25	Dec ’87		$ 4
#3	$1.25	Feb ’88		$ 4
#4	$1.25	May ’88		$ 4
#5	$1.25	July ’88	Don Rosa cover and art	$ 5
#6	$1.25	Aug ’88		$ 4
#7	$1.25	Sep ’88		$ 4
#8	$1.25	Oct’88	Don Rosa art	$ 5
#9	$1.25	Nov ’88		$ 4
#10	$1.25	Dec ’88		$ 4
#11	$1.25	Feb ’89		$ 4
#12	$1.95	May ’89	Giant Size Issue; Don Rosa art	$ 6
#13	$1.25	July ’89		$ 4
#14	$1.25	Aug ’89		$ 4
#15	$1.25	Sep ’89		$ 4
#16	$1.25	Oct ’89		$ 4
#17	$1.25	Nov ’89		$ 4
#18	$1.25	Dec ’89		$ 4
#19	$2.50	Feb ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 4
#20	$2.50	Apr ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 4
Walt Disney’s Mickey And Donald
Mar 1988-May 1990
18 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.25	Mar ’88	Don Rosa art	$ 6
#2	$1.25	May ’88		$ 4
#3	$1.25	July ’88		$ 4
#4	$1.25	Aug ’88		$ 4
#5	$1.25	Sep ’88		$ 4
#6	$1.25	Oct ’88		$ 4
#7	$1.25	Nov ’88		$ 4
#8	$1.25	Dec ’88		$ 4
#9	$1.25	Mar ’89		$ 3
#10	$1.25	May ’89		$ 3
#11	$1.25	July ’89		$ 3
#12	$1.25	Aug ’89		$ 3
#13	$1.25	Sep ’89		$ 3
#14	$1.25	Oct ’89		$ 3
#15	$1.25	Nov ’89		$ 3
#16	$1.95	Dec ’89	52 pages	$ 5
#17	$2.50	Mar ’90	Double Sized Issue; Don Rosa art	$ 6
#18	$2.50	May ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 5
Walt Disney’s Pinocchio Special
1990
1 issue
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.25	Spring 1990	50th Anniversary Edition	$ 3
Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge
Oct 1986-Apr 1990
33 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#210	$0.95	Oct ’86	1st Gladstone Issue	$ 16
#211	$0.95	Nov ’86		$ 15
#212	$1.00	Dec ’86		$ 15
#213	$1.00	Jan ’87		$ 15
#214	$1.00	Feb ’87		$ 15
#215	$1.00	Mar ’87		$ 15
#216	$1.25	Apr-87		$ 15
#217	$1.25	May ’87		$ 15
#218	$1.25	Jun ’87		$ 15
#219	$1.25	July ’87	1st Comic Work Of Don Rosa	$ 25
#220	$1.25	Aug ’87	Don Rosa art and story	$ 8
#221	$1.25	Sep ’87		$ 4
#222	$1.25	Oct ’87		$ 4
#223	$1.25	Nov ’87		$ 4
#224	$1.25	Dec ’87	Rosa cover and art	$ 5
#225	$1.25	Feb ’88		$ 4
#226	$1.25	May ’88	Rosa art	$ 5
#227	$1.25	July ’88	Rosa art	$ 5
#228	$1.25	Aug ’88		$ 4
#229	$1.25	Sep ’88		$ 4
#230	$1.25	Oct ’88		$ 4
#231	$1.25	Nov ’88		$ 4
#232	$1.25	Dec ’88		$ 4
#233	$1.25	Feb ’89		$ 4
#234	$1.25	May ’89		$ 4
#235	$1.25	July ’89	Rosa art and story	$ 5
#236	$1.25	Aug ’89		$ 4
#237	$1.25	Sept ’89		$ 4
#238	$1.25	Oct ’89		$ 4
#239	$1.25	Nov ’89		$ 4
#240	$1.25	Dec ’89		$ 4
#241	$2.50	Feb ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 6
#242	$2.50	Apr ’90	Double Sized Issue	$ 6
Walt Disney’s Uncle Scooge Adventures
Nov 1987-May 1990
21 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$1.25	Nov ’87		$ 12
#2	$1.25	Dec ’87		$ 4
#3	$1.25	Jan ’88		$ 4
#4	$1.25	Apr ’88		$ 4
#5	$1.25	Jun ’88	Don Rosa cover and art	$ 5
#6	$1.25	Aug ’88		$ 3
#7	$1.25	Sep ’88		$ 3
#8	$1.25	Oct ’88		$ 3
#9	$1.25	Nov ’88	Don Rosa art	$ 5
#10	$1.25	Dec ’88		$ 3
#11	$1.25	Jan ’89		$ 3
#12	$1.25	Apr ’89		$ 3
#13	$1.25	Jun ’89		$ 3
#14	$1.25	Aug ’89	Don Rosa art	$ 5
#15	$1.25	Sep ’89		$ 3
#16	$1.25	Oct ’89		$ 3
#17	$1.25	Nov ’89		$ 3
#18	$1.25	Dec ’89		$ 3
#19	$1.25	Jan ’90		$ 3
#20	$2.50	Mar ’90	Double Sized Issue; Don Rosa art	$ 5
#21	$2.50	May ’90	Double Sized Issue; Don Rosa art	$ 5
Weird Science
Sep 1990-Mar 1991
4 issues
Issue	CPV Cover Price	Month / Year	Notes	Baseline (Non-Variant) NM- Issue Value
#1	$2.50	Sep ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#2	$2.50	Nov ’90	EC Reprint	$ 5
#3	$2.50	Jan ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5
#4	$2.50	Mar ’91	EC Reprint	$ 5

Happy Collecting! 🙂

Happy Collecting, everyone! As of this writing there are very few of these Gladstone variants on CGC’s census yet: I found one each on census for Uncle Scrooge Adventures #1, #2 & #5, Uncle Scrooge #218 & #221-226, and Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade #2. Thanks again to Sal Miceli for sharing his Gladstone research! 🙂

– Ben