L. Miller & Son
| L. Miller & Son L. Miller & Co | |
 
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| Biographical information | |
| Founded: | 1943 |
|---|---|
| Country: |  UK
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| Website: | |
History
In 1940, Leonard Miller (born 1899) launched his first comic book: "Tip Top Comics", a black and white version of the American comic book published by "United Features" that was reprinting the Sunday pages of popular comics of the time ("Tarzan," "Li'l Abner," "Captain & the Kids," "Broncho Bill" and others). In 1943, Leonard Miller began publishing black and white versions of the American publisher "Fawcett Comics". After "Wow Comics", the publisher released titles revolving around "Captain Marvel": in 1944, "Captain Marvel Adventures", "Captain Marvel Jr.", "Mary Marvel", and" Whiz Comics" and in 1946, "The Marvel", all publications released sporadically and without numbering. But the publisher, short of funds, had to reconsider his production strategy.
*An astonishing French connection... The French "Fawcett Comics" (1950-1953):
Failing to increase the company's capital, Leonard Miller and his son Arnold were looking for a partner, whom they found not in Great Britain but in France. The "Agence Française de Presse" (="French Press Agency"), located at 76-78 Champs-Élysées in Paris, acted as the publishing director, with the magazines being printed by the "Crété", a printing Company in Corbeil near Paris, or by the "Châteaudun printing house", located at 59-61 rue de Lafayette, Paris.
Due to this rather improbable joint venture, the Miller's titles were able to continue in United Kingdom and were also available in American military bases in France and Germany.
Example: Capt. Marvel Adventures #68 (1951):
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see lower frame: "Edited by "Agence Française de Presse", Paris" and "Printed in France by Crété" -
lower frame detail.
During this period - and always printed in France by Crété - "L. Miller & Son Ltd." also publishes in English versions French material, such as the monthly "Robin, Gunga the Giant" (French comic "Robin l'intrépide" by André Oulié) and "Captain Tornado" (French comic" apitaine Tornade" by Claude Henri Juillard).
After 1953, Leonard Miller continues his normal activity (= UK printing only) with a number of Western comics and other series introduced in the 50's, until 1959 "L. Miller & Son" when most of their titles were cancelled as the company changed its name to "L. Miller & Co.".
The change in name can been seen on the covers from the "Mandrake the Magician" series, The first issues have the trialgel logo with L. Miller & Son and later on L. Miller & Co.
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ad, 1950s -
ad, Mystic #30 (1963)
L. Miller & Co left the comic publishing business in 1966 and sold their printing plates to Alan Class Comics.
Mandrake publications published by L. Miller & Son/Co
| Title | Year(s) | Issues |
|---|---|---|
| Four Aces Comic | 1954-1954 | 7 (?) |
| King Comic/Comics | 1954-1954 | 14 + 1 Annual |
| Mandrake the Magician | 1959-1964 ? | 24 |
Release date
The Mandrake comics were published without the publication date being written on the cover, or on the inside.
L. Miller & Son vs L. Miller & Co
The change of the company name is seen at the covers on several of the Miller's series, like in this list made using the covers at GCD:
| Series | Start year | issues | Miller & Son | Miller & Co | note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action Series | 1958 | 1-12 | 4 | 8 | |
| Black Fury | 1957 | 50-62 | 58 | 59 | |
| Cheyenne Kid | 1957 | 1-15 | 14 | 17 | |
| Colorado Kid | 1954 | 1-84 | 71 | 73 | |
| Confidential Stories | 1957 | 16-40 | 18 | 22 | |
| Daniel Boone | 1957 | 1-35 | 24 | 26 | February 1957 - December 1959 |
| Davy Crockett | 1956 | 1-52 | 45 | 48 | |
| Gunsmoke Western | 1956 | 1-24 | 17 | 19 | |
| Hopalong Cassidy | 1950 | 50-153 | 147 | 149 | |
| Ken Maynard Western | 1959 | 1-3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Kid Dynamite Western Comic | 1954 | 1-65 | 52 | 54 | |
| Kid Montana | 1959 | 50-60 | 55 | 56 | |
| Lash Larue Western | 1950 | 50-125 | 120 | 123 | |
| Mandrake the Magician | 1961 | 1-24 | 3(*) | 4 | |
| Marvelman | 1954 | 1-346 | 293 | 294 | February 3, 1954 - February 1963 |
| Marvelman Family | 1956 | 1-30 | 24 | 26 | October 1956 - November 1959 |
| Masked Raider | 1957 | 50-67 | 58 | 60 | |
| Maverick Marshal | 1959 | 50-55 | 51 | 52 | |
| Outlaws of the West | 1958 | 1-13 | 8 | 9 | |
| Pancho Villa Western Comic | 1954 | 1-64 | 50 | 52 | |
| The Phantom | 1959 | 1-18 | 3 | 4 | June 1959 -1962 |
| Private Lives Romances | 1957 | 1-40 | 19 | 24 | |
| Rocky Lane Western | 1950 | 1-139 | 135 | 136 | |
| Rocky Mountain King Western Comic | 1955 | 1-65 | 51 | 55 | |
| Six-Gun Heroes | 1951 | 50-114 | 109 | 110 | |
| Tex Ritter Western | 1951 | 50-99 | 95 | 96 | |
| Texas Rangers in Action | 1959 | 1-17 | 12 | 13 | |
| TV Heroes | 1958 | 1-26 | 9 | 10 | July 1958 - August 1960 |
| Young Marvelman | 1954 | 25-370 | 291(*) | 294 | February 3, 1954 - February 1963 |
Interesting the one marked with (*) have & Son on the cover but & Co inside.
Looking at the "Tarzan Adventures" series, published weekly by Westword Publications and distrubuted by L. Miller at this time, the Miller company changed its name in January 1959. Vol. 8 no. 42 (week ending 17th January 1959 - Sunday to Saturday!) has the & Son, and Vol. 8 no. 43 (week ending with 24th January 1959) has the & Co.
The "Young Marvelman" series was like the "Marvelman" released with 370 issues from February 3, 1954 to February 3, 1963. The "Young Marvelman" seried had the publication date printed on the cover up to issue 229 (the week ending with January 4, 1958). The series is said to be weekly from issue 25 to issue 332, and then monthly up to issue 370. If this is correct, then the issue 291 was sold the week ending with 14th March 1959.
Ads
The ads found inside the Mandrake issues are similar to ads found in other titles by Miller, like in the "Young Marvelman", "Marvelman" and other series.
The ads from Broadway Approvals, for start packages for collecting stamp, in particular stand out. These full page ads were made with different layouts and in Miller comics they have a Lot code starting with W1, W2 and on. The corresponding ones in other comics and magazines by other publisher follows a similar pattern, like: "Tarzan Adventures" - Lot Y1, Y2 and on; "Meccano Magazine" - Lot MC1, MC2 and on; "War Picture Library" - Lot AL1, AL2 and on.
For the Miller comics it looks like the W lot numbers are identical for different series in the same month they were released. Although the number did not necessarily change every month.
The fourth Mandrake issue has the W5 lot number for the Broadway Approvals ad. This lot number is the first with the companys new address, 50 Denmark Hill. This address is first seen in the March 1959 issue of "Meccano Magazine", so Miller's lot numbers W1 to W4 (with address 486 Old Kent Rd) was likely printed before March 1959.