The Energon Pub

[zipper]

What's up with some Marvel G1 comics having a barcode and others with no barcode. Is one a second printing or a direct edition possibly? Is one more valuable then the other or does that not really matter?

[Lazerface]

I always assumed:

Barcode - Sold in stores
No Barcode - Subscription mailed direct to the reader

[Supreme Convoy]

Barcode editions were usually for supermarkets, drug stores, or places that uses scanners.

The non-bar code versions were direct market editions, i.e. sold in comic book shops (possibly subscriptions?)

Most of the time there's no difference. In certain cases, one of the other would be more rare thus being more valuable. This varies per comic. The most notable example is Star Wars #1.

[zipper]

Thanks guys. I've been buying a couple of the old comics, but I don't want to buy comics that are second prints or ones that aren't worth anything.