All Favourites The 100-Page Comic! #10: Comparing the Australian and New Zealand editions

Australia's K.G. Murray comics were printed and distributed in overseas markets such as the UK and New Zealand. These international editions varied from their Australian counterparts. For example, as noted on AusReprints, the first 20 issues of the UK edition of Super Adventure Comic (1950's series) were printed in Australia and distributed in the UK whilst the later issues were printed separately in either Australia or the UK for the UK market with an altered cover price.

New Zealand editions could be quite different from their Australian counterparts. For example, consider the Australian Mammoth Annual #NN and the New Zealand Mammoth Annual #2. 

However, the differences in regular, ongoing series and issues are less obvious to the naked eye, and I suspect many collectors may not be aware of the subtle - and indeed, the not so subtle  differences between them. The New Zealand issues differed in their size, binding, paper stock, advertisements, but they also differed in their comics content. 

I have two copies All Favourites Comic #10 as the basis for a sample comparison - the Australian edition is on the left, and the New Zealand edition is on the right:

The Australian edition is slightly taller and the new Zealand edition is slightly wider.

The rear covers carry different advertisements:

The date code on the rear cover of the Australian edition is F1/11/58. The New Zealand edition does not have a date code. It is likely that the New Zealand edition hit the stands a month or more after the Australian edition.

The inner front covers and splash pages differ:

The rear inner covers also differ:

It could be argued that the New Zealand edition offers more value for money for the young comic book reader, given the inclusion of the filler strips in lieu of stamp advertisements or the The Phantom's Skull Ring Offer, but this may depend on one's level of 'Phandom'. Note also that the New Zealand editions are more 'self-contained' or 'self-referential' -  the Australian distributor credit is omitted, the advertisements are inhouse productions for other K.G. Murray series, and the filler comics consciously replace references to external advertisers.

You can also see in the pics above how the binding differed - the Australian editions were stapled and the cover wrapped over the staples giving the spine a flat, squarebound appearance, whereas the New Zealand edition has the cover stapled directly to the book with a curved spine.

And of course the paper stock is different due to the different printers. In this instance the New Zealand paper is noticeably courser. In my experience, the New Zealand editions are also prone to rusty staples.

My collection of the core K.G. Murray super hero series from 1956 through to the Federal Comics era is almost complete. However there are quite a few placeholder New Zealand editions in the collection from the late 1950's/early 1960's. To this point I have not differentiated between them as far as the completist itch is concerned, but I admit that my attention has been turning lately towards replacing the New Zealand editions with upgraded Australian editions as the opportunity arises. (I hope I will never be tempted to complete a New Zealand collection of K.G. Murray editions. If I do, I daresay I'll be posting from a lunatic asylum.)

PS My link above to the post on the Mammoth Annual is from a long time ago and is overdue for revision. TBA.