Thorpe & Porter

Thorpe & Porter
Company type	Private
Industry	Publishing, distribution
Founded	1946
Founder	Fred Thorpe, Porter Group
Defunct	c.1979
Fate	Acquired by Gilberton (1959), then Independent News Distributors/DC Comics (1966), later sold to W. H. Allen & Co. (1977), closed 1978
Headquarters	Leicester (initially), later London, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Products	Magazines, comic books, paperback books
Parent	Gilberton (1959–1966), Independent News Distributors/DC Comics/Warner Communications (1966–1977), W. H. Allen & Co. (1977–1978)

Thorpe & Porter (often abbreviated as T & P) was a prominent British company engaged in publishing, importing, and distributing magazines and comic books. The firm initially focused on adapting American comics and pulp magazines for the UK audience before branching out into producing original material. Over its operational years, it released more than 160 UK comic series, including well-known titles such as Classics Illustrated, MAD UK, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes, Larry Harmon's Laurel & Hardy, House of Hammer, and Forbidden Worlds. Its principal imprints were Top Sellers Ltd. and Brown Watson. Thorpe & Porter functioned from 1946 until approximately 1979.

Origins

Businessman Fred Thorpe began his venture operating a newsagent's shop in Leicester, taking advantage of the demand for American pulp magazines and comic books. Following World War II, UK regulations limited direct imports of American periodicals to protect domestic publishers. In 1946, Thorpe joined forces with a local builders merchant company known as the Porter Group to form Thorpe & Porter, establishing it as a publishing enterprise.

Relationship with Arnold Book Company

In 1953, T & P acquired the Arnold Book Company (ABC), which was owned by Arnold L. Miller of British reprint publisher L. Miller & Son, Ltd., operating ABC as a distinct imprint. ABC branding appeared on several T & P publications including Justice Traps the Guilty, Kid Colt, Outlaw, Young Brides, and Young Romance until the imprint ceased operations in 1958. Subsequently, T & P issued a second run consisting of 13 issues of Justice Traps the Guilty.

Marvel and DC distributor

Following the UK's removal of restrictions on importing American periodicals in 1959, Thorpe & Porter became the exclusive distributor within the UK for major US publishers such as DC, Marvel, Dell, Charlton, and American Comics Group. The comics were printed in the United States with covers adapted to reflect UK pricing instead of US cents before being shipped overseas. Marvel covers underwent modifications prior to export, whereas DC comics received UK price stamps upon arrival. The indicia inside these publications identified Thorpe & Porter as the sole distributor in the UK, enabling British readers to access first editions of titles like Fantastic Four #1 and Amazing Spider-Man #1 printed in America.

To facilitate distribution, Thorpe & Porter provided newsagents with spinner racks branded with the T & P logo.

Sale to Gilberton

In the autumn of 1959, US publisher Gilberton, known for producing Classics Illustrated—a title that T & P had been distributing in Britain since 1951—purchased Thorpe & Porter from Fred Thorpe. Gilberton had already established its European division, Gilberton World-Wide Publications, in 1956, incorporating T & P into its continental publishing network. After the acquisition, T & P moved its headquarters from Leicester to London.

By 1962, responsibility for creating new issues of Classics Illustrated transferred from Gilberton’s New York offices to Thorpe & Porter, with William E. Kanter, son of Gilberton’s founder, supervising operations from 1963 onward. Among the 181 British editions released, 13 were unique to the UK market and never published in America; some featured cover art variations indicative of localized production efforts.

Bankruptcy and Acquisition by DC/Warner

In July 1966, Thorpe & Porter filed for bankruptcy, resulting in numerous unpaid accounts among its clientele. Subsequently, the company was taken over by Independent News Distributors (IND), the distribution division of National Periodical Publications (DC Comics). From 1957 until 1969, IND primarily handled the distribution of DC Comics titles as well as those from competitors like Marvel Comics, in addition to various magazine publications.

By 1967, both DC and IND came under the ownership of Kinney National Company, which expanded further in 1969 by acquiring Warner Bros.-Seven Arts and rebranding as Warner Communications. Following this corporate consolidation, Thorpe & Porter's comic production by 1969 concentrated almost entirely on reprinting DC properties alongside Larry Harmon's Laurel & Hardy, a color comic adaptation of the animated television series.

In 1971, Warner's international distribution operations merged with those of Columbia Pictures, creating Columbia-Warner Distributors. At this time, Thorpe & Porter moved to the Columbia-Warner House located in Soho, London. Under Warner Communications’ umbrella, the Thorpe & Porter name was largely phased out in favor of Williams Publishing. Williams managed European-language branches across countries including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden; most of these divisions were sold off circa 1979.

In 1976, British editor Dez Skinn was hired to develop Williams Publishing’s comics sector. His portfolio included overseeing titles such as MAD UK, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Korak, Son of Tarzan, and Laurel & Hardy. Skinn also launched the new series House of Hammer.

Sale to W. H. Allen and Closure

In 1977, Warner divested its publishing division—including Thorpe & Porter—to W. H. Allen & Co., which subsequently shuttered the company in 1978. This closure terminated most T & P publications except for MAD UK and the Brown Watson line. Ron Letchford, former production editor at T & P, acquired the rights to MAD UK, establishing Suron International before transferring the license to London Editions, which later merged with Fleetway Publications. The run of MAD UK concluded in 1994. Meanwhile, the Babani brothers of Brown Watson retained licenses for their hardcover annuals and founded Grandreams in 1979 to continue publishing these through at least 1996. After his tenure at Marvel UK, Skinn founded Quality Communications in 1982, reviving House of Hammer under the title Halls of Horror until its end in 1984.

Paperback Books

Thorpe & Porter ventured into publishing sensational paperback books, initially producing digest-sized editions before transitioning to conventional formats. They utilized several imprints—including Hermitage Publications, Knole Park Press, Beacon Publishing Co. Ltd., Strato Publications, and Jewel Books—issuing over sixty titles between 1947 and 1953 by writers such as Frank Fawcett (under the pseudonym "Ben Sarto") and Paul Renin. Additionally, T & P distributed comparable paperback titles from other publishers like Muir-Watson and Robin Hood Press. However, from 1951 to 1953, the paperback market declined sharply due to Home Office regulations targeting "obscene and objectionable publications," prompting Thorpe & Porter to withdraw from the paperback sector by 1953.

British Pulp and Digest Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazines

Thorpe & Porter (T & P) concentrated on pulp and digest-sized science fiction and fantasy periodicals, acquiring licenses from American firms such as Ziff-Davis, Columbia Publications, Galaxy Publications, and editor Quinn. Between 1949 and 1960, under the Strato Publications label and later Thorpe & Porter, they issued British reprints of titles including Amazing Stories, Fantastic Adventures, Beyond Fantasy Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, If, as well as the well-established fantasy title Weird Tales.

Significant publication runs were:

Weird Tales: 23 issues from November 1949 to December 1953, followed by five bimonthly editions between November 1953 and July 1954.
Amazing Stories: 32 undated reprint editions from June 1950 through 1954, transitioning from pulp to digest format with a consistent bimonthly release schedule until February 1955.
Fantastic Adventures: 24 undated reprints published June 1950 to February 1954, abridged versions of American originals.
Future Science Fiction and Science Fiction Stories: Fourteen undated issues spanning November 1951 to June 1954, aligned closely with U.S. editions.
Second series of Science Fiction Quarterly: Ten issues from February 1952 until August 1955, selectively reprinting content from the U.S. versions.
Fantastic: Eight bimonthly issues between December 1953 and February 1955, mirroring American editions.
Galaxy Science Fiction: The most commercially successful British reprint, beginning January 1953 with a complex volume numbering system; it maintained monthly publication through issue 94, gradually synchronizing more closely with U.S. content except for minor omissions.
In the 1960s, T & P distributed British magazines such as New Worlds and Science Fantasy (also known as SF Impulse), published by Roberts & Vinter. After T & P declared bankruptcy in July 1966 with debts owed to Roberts & Vinter, the latter ceased publication of SF Impulse in February 1967 but continued New Worlds with financial support from the Arts Council.

Comics

During the 1940s and 1950s, due to restrictions on importing American comics into the UK, these titles often arrived as ship ballast.

Thorpe & Porter entered the British comics sector in the 1950s mainly through black-and-white reprints of American romance, western, and war comics sourced from publishers like Gilberton, American Comics Group, Atlas Comics, Crestwood Publications, Dell Comics, and National Periodical Publications (now DC Comics). T & P was among the pioneers in Britain to produce sanitized versions of these comics by utilizing printing blocks derived from imported American matrices.

Their flagship title was Classics Illustrated, along with its derivative series Pixi Tales (previously known as Classics Illustrated Junior). From 1951 to 1963, T & P released both reprints and original stories under the Classics Illustrated banner; meanwhile, Pixi Tales issued 87 editions between 1959 and 1963. Unique British issues featured adaptations such as The Aeneid, The Argonauts, and a James Bond film tie-in for Dr. No, which was subsequently sold to DC Comics for inclusion in their anthology series Showcase. Several literary adaptations were crafted by Mick Anglo for T & P’s publications.

Between 1951 and 1953, T & P acquired reprint rights for titles formerly published by Arnold Book Company including Justice Traps the Guilty, Young Brides, Young Eagle, and Young Love. The Strato imprint released thirteen black-and-white issues of a reprint magazine titled Mystery in Space between 1954 and 1956, followed by a hardcover annual in 1968 compiling various comic stories.

Additional notable reprints included series such as Blackhawk, Gene Autry Comics, Forbidden Worlds, Kid Colt, Outlaw, Tomahawk, and Young Romance. In October 1959, T & P introduced a British edition of MAD UK, adapting the American magazine into a monthly format of 32 pages with localized material. This publication remained under T & P’s management until 1979 and produced a total of 290 issues.

The Brown Watson imprint was established in the early 1950s focusing on genre paperback books before shifting towards publishing T & P’s war comic series like Conflict Picture Library (which ran for 200 issues) and Romance in Pictures (235 issues), featuring translated Spanish romance comics. Other enduring series included the Pocket War Library alongside Gilberton reprints such as World Illustrated.

In 1966, T & P released an original-art Avengers comic spanning 68 pages and adapted television series including Charles Rand and Danger Man. Between 1967 and 1970, they produced the innovative ‘’Double Double’’ line—128-page comics that combined four remaindered DC titles glued together under new covers—featuring characters like Superman and Batman. Occasionally, Marvel comics were mixed into these compilations.

Throughout the 1970s, Brown Watson gained recognition for hardback annuals based on popular films, TV shows, cartoons, and comic franchises. Prominent annuals included Hanna-Barbera's ‘’Scooby Doo Where Are You’’ (eight editions), ‘’Tarzan’’ (seven), ‘’Laurel and Hardy’’ (six), Superman/Batman (five), and ‘’Planet of the Apes’’ (three). Artists such as John Bolton, Ian Gibson, and David Lloyd contributed artwork. The imprint was managed by brothers Brian and Peter Babani.

Most other Thorpe & Porter publications during the same decade appeared under the Top Sellers Ltd. imprint. These were styled similarly to American comics with approximately 32 pages per issue. Successful titles encompassed ‘’Funny Half Hour’’, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and Korak series, along with several Pocket Library lines such as Western Library, Chiller Library (horror), and Romance Library. The horror-themed magazine ‘’House of Hammer’’, which combined textual articles with original comic strips, played a role in launching careers of creators including Steve Moore, Brian Bolland, John Bolton, and David Lloyd. It earned the Eagle Award in 1977 for "Favourite Specialist Comics Publication – Pro". Concurrently, ‘’MAD UK’’ received that year’s Eagle Award for "Favourite Black & White Comicbook – Humour."

Magazines for Men

Beginning in the 1950s, Thorpe & Porter released a variety of magazines aimed at male readers, including titles like Clubman and Comic Cuties. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, both T & P and later Williams issued softcore adult magazines such as Sex International News, True Love Stories, Cinema X, Cinema Blue, Parade, Game, Blade, Voi, and Sensuous. After police interventions in 1972 and 1975, Williams launched the General Books Distribution (G.B.D. Ltd.) imprint in 1976 specifically to handle its adult-oriented publications.

Publishing Imprints

Arnold Book Company (1953–1958) – specialized in comics
Beacon Publishing Co. Ltd. (1948–1951) – focused on paperback books
Brown, Watson Ltd. (circa 1956–circa 1979) – produced the Conflict Picture Library and Romance in Pictures series during the early 1960s; transitioned to standard format paperbacks after discontinuing the Digit Books imprint; issued hardcover annuals throughout the 1970s
Digit Books (a wholly owned subsidiary of Brown, Watson Ltd.) (1956–1966) – published general and genre fiction as well as some non-fiction; offered standard paperback formats
General Books Distribution (G.B.D. Ltd.) (1977–1978) – distributed men's magazines including Cinema X, Parade, and initially The House of Hammer
Hermitage (1947–1948; 1952–1953) – started as a paperback imprint, later expanded into comics
Jenson (1952–1953) – comic book publisher
Jewel Books (1949–1954) – paperback book imprint
Knole Park Press (1948–1949) – released paperback books
Strato Publications (1949–1962) – began with paperback books; later issued science fiction and fantasy digest magazines; reprinted sci-fi, superhero, and western comics
Thorpe & Porter (circa 1951–1965) – reissued pulp magazine content; after Strato's closure, continued sci-fi and fantasy digest reprints until bankruptcy in 1966; also published the Classics Illustrated comic series
Top Sellers Ltd. (circa 1956–circa 1979) – main publisher of comics and magazines
Williams Publishing and Distributing Co. Ltd. (1971–1977) – focused on men's magazines; published licensed comics such as Tarzan and Korak, along with other comic titles

Pulp Magazines

Title	Number of Issues	Publication Period	Issues Reprinted	Additional Information
Amazing Stories	32	1950–1954	June 1953, December 1952, January 1954	Initial 24 issues were pulp-sized; final eight issues were in digest format.
Dynamic Science Fiction	3	1954	June 1953, December 1952, January 1954
Fantastic	8	1953–1955	Sept./Oct. 1953–Dec. 1954
Fantastic Adventures	24	1950–1954	Mar. 1950–Jan. 1953
Fantastic Novels	1	1954	May 1949	Published by Pembertons; distributed by Thorpe & Porter.
Future Science Fiction and Science Fiction Stories	14	1951–1954	Mar. 1951–Mar. 1954
Marvel Science Stories	1	1951	Feb. 1951
Science Fiction Quarterly	10	1952–1955	May 1951–May 1954
Super Science Stories	3	1949–1950	Jan. & Nov.1949, Jan.1950
Weird Tales	28	1949–1954	July1949–May1954 (with skipped issues)	Published in two volumes.

T & P Comics

Series with more than 30 editions.

Benjy and His Friends (Thorpe & Porter, 30 editions, 1971–1972) – translated European children's comics
Blackhawk (Thorpe & Porter, 37 editions, 1956–1958)
Classics Illustrated (Thorpe & Porter, 181 editions, October 1951–June 1963)
Fox and Crow (Thorpe & Porter, 31 editions, early 1970s)
Gene Autry Comics (Thorpe & Porter, 36 editions, 1953–1954)
Edgar Rice Burroughs Korak, Son of Tarzan (Thorpe & Porter, 71 editions, 1971–1976)
Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes [1st run] (Thorpe & Porter, 7 editions, 1970–1971)
Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes [2nd run] (Thorpe & Porter, 116 editions, March 1971–1975)
Forbidden Worlds (Thorpe & Porter, 145 editions, 1950–1969)
Funny Half Hour (Thorpe & Porter, 171 editions, 1970–1979)
Golden Hours (Williams, 31 editions, 1972)
House of Hammer (Top Sellers/General Books, 23 editions, October 1976–July 1978) – later relaunched as Halls of Horror by Quality Communications
Kid Colt Outlaw (Thorpe & Porter, 58 editions, 1950–1960) – black-and-white reprints from Atlas Comics and DC Comics
Larry Harmon's Laurel & Hardy (Thorpe & Porter, 142 editions plus eight oversized issues, 1969–1974)
Mad (Thorpe & Porter, 290 editions, October 1959–June 1986)
Pixi Tales (Thorpe & Porter, 87 editions, 1959–1963)
Pocket Chiller Library (Thorpe & Porter, 137 editions, 1971–1977) – reprints of Italian and Spanish horror comics along with original European and British content
Pocket Detective Library (Thorpe & Porter, 67 editions, early 1970s)
Pocket Romance Library (Thorpe & Porter, 113 editions, 1971–1974)
Pocket War Library (Thorpe & Porter, 229 editions, 1965–1972)
Pocket Western Library (Thorpe & Porter, 188 editions, throughout the 1970s)
Tomahawk (Thorpe & Porter, 41 editions, 1954–1957)
World Illustrated (Thorpe & Porter, 34 editions, 1960–1963)
Yogi and His Toy / Hanna-Barbera's Fun Time (Williams, total of 60 issues between 1972 and 1973)
Young Brides (Thorpe & Porter, 38 editions, 1953–1955)
Young Love (Thorpe & Porter, 46 editions, 1953–1955)
Young Romance (Thorpe & Porter, 39 editions, 1953–1955)

Brown Watson annuals

Batman & Robin Annual (1972)
The Bionic Woman Annuals (2 issues released between 1977 and 1978)
Casper's Ghostland Annual (1973)
Charlie Chaplin Annual (1974)
Flash Gordon Annuals (two issues in years:1968 and1981)
The Flintstones Annual (published in1976)
The Funky Phantom Annual edition for the year1974
The Gemini Man Annual released in1978
The Great Grape Ape Annuals, two issues from1977 to1978 – included Hong Kong Phooey and Boss Cat
Hanna Barbera's Scooby Doo Where Are You... Annual series with eight issues spanning from1973 to1980
The Harlem Globetrotters Annual featuring Dastardly and Muttley and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, published in1973
Annual combining Inch High Private Eye and Pixie & Dixie, released in1977
Six issues of the Laurel and Hardy Annual from1969 through1980
The Logan's Run Annual appeared in1978
One issue of the The Magician Annual from the year1975
The Marvel Presents the Superheroes Annual was published in1978
A single issue of the The Muppet Show Annual appeared in the year1978
Two issues of the The New Avengers Annual came out during the years1977 to1978
The The Pink Panther Annual was issued in the year1976
Three installments of the Planet of the Apes Annual were published between years:1975 to1977
Popeye Annual saw two issues released between years:1972 and1976
Science Fiction in Pictures Outer Space had two issues appearing in1963
The Six Million Dollar Man Annual comprised three issues spanning from 1977 to '79
Star Wars Annual was published in '78
Superman Annual appeared in 72
Superman/Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder Annual included five issues between 74-78
Sweeney Annual] issued twice during 77-78
Tarzan Annual had seven issues from September 72 through September 79
Wacky Races Annual included three issues from 73-76 – also featured Motormouse/Autocat and Harlem Globetrotters

External links

"Thorpe and Porter," The Magic Robot blog
"Additional Thorpe and Porter information," The Magic Robot blog
Overview of Thorpe & Porter on ComicVine