Introduction

Thrilling Wonder Stories was reprinted in Britain in two editions

and there was a Candian edition, WON3

WON1 - 1st British edition

Atlas published three issues in 1949/50, then there was a long gap before they produced seven more in 1952-3 on a roughly bi-monthly schedule. These followed the standard pattern of British reprints of the period, being pulp-sized but greatly slimmed down versions of the original, drawing most of the stories from a single US issue but with occasional substitutions to make up the length.

It is very hard to be sure whether the original artwork has been used or not. The British reprints certainly look like the originals but there are occasional variations in fine detail that make me wonder whether or not the covers have been repainted. It is possible, though, that these differences can be accounted for by the printing process and differences in paper and ink. In the index, I have given them the benefit of the doubt and attributed them to the original artists.

WON2 - 2nd British edition

There is little to be said about the four issues from Pembertons that differs from what has been said about the first series. Like WON1, they are 64-page cut-down versions of the US originals with occasional substitutions from other US issues. The British issues of both series correspond to their US originals as detailed below.

BRE #
BRE issue date
pp*
Equivalent US cover
pp*
First series
v1#1
1949/12
64
1949/08
160
v1#2
1950/05
64
1949/12
160
v1#3
1950/06
64
1949/10
160
v1#4
1952/05
64
1950/02
160
v1#5
1952/07
64
1952/04
144
v1#6
1952/09
64
1951/10
144
v1#7
1952/11
64
1952/06
144
v1#8
1953/01
64
1951/12
144
v1#9
1953/03
64
1952/08
144
v1#10
1953 Summer
64
1952/12
144
Second Series
101
1953/10
64
1953/08
144
102
1954/01
64
1953/11
128
103
1954/04
64
1954 Winter
128
104
1954/07
64
1954 Spring
128
*excluding covers
WON3 - Canadian edition

Tuck reports a Canadian edition in three series, just like the Canadian edition of Startling Stories and by the same three Toronto publishers over approximately the same time period. He gives the following dates:

Unfortunately, that adds up to 25 issues (7 quarterly and 18 bi-monthly), not 23, and I can't say where the discrepancy lies. I have seen all of the Pines issues and a handful of the later Better Publications issues from 1950. Tuck states that the Canadian magazine was identical to the US magazine except that the pages were half an inch longer. On the Pines issues, an example of which is shown here, this is taken up by a blue band advertising government savings bonds. The later covers, though, show no such band and they look absolutely identical to me, even down to the page length.