World Distributors (known colloquially as "Pembertons") was a British publisher and distributor of

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

. The company was known for repackaging American comics and producing comic book annuals based on licensed properties. For a period, the company was the lone distributor of American comics in the UK. Pembertons was owned and operated by the brothers Alfred, John, and Sydney Pemberton, originally based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

History

The Pemberton brothers started out as second-hand booksellers in

. Around 1940, they began a book distribution business, T. A. & E. Pemberton.

1945–1952: Paperback books

In 1945, shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, they became a publisher of lurid and sensationalist

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

books; one series was known as "Thrilling Love." At this point the brothers created the company name World Distributors/Sydney Pemberton (the company was incorporated as World Distributors (Manchester) Limited on 2 May 1949).EGMONT PUBLISHING LIMITED: Company number 00468030
Companies House. Retrieved Jan. 3, 2021. The paperback craze died down in the period 1951–1952, partly as the result of

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

clampdowns on "obscene and objectionable publications;"Chibnall, Steve. "The Sign of the Tee Pee: The Story of Thorpe & Porter," ''Paperback, Pulp and Comic Collector'' Vol. 1: "SF Crime Horror Westerns & Comics" (Wilts, UK: Zeon Publishing / Zardoz Books, 1993), pp. 16–29
Archived
at Box.com. Retrieved Dec. 28, 2020. by the end of 1952, the Pembertons had mostly left the paperback publication business (though the company continued publishing books sporadically in the following decades).

1947–1959: Reprint comics

From 1947 to 1959, World Distributors published black-and-white ongoing comic book titles. These were mostly reprints of American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

titles, many from the

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

backlist A backlist is a list of older books available from a publisher. This is opposed to newly-published titles, which is sometimes known as the frontlist. Business Building a strong backlist has traditionally been considered the best method to produce ...

. The company's first foray into comics, however, was 1947's ''Super Thriller Comic'', an anthology comic of original stories by British creators (featuring " Ace Hart the Atom Man"), which was picked up with ''Superthriller'' issue #11 from the

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

-based printer/publisher Foldes. ''Super Thriller Comic'' ran for 22 issues until issue #33 (1950) when it became the cowboy comic ''Western Super Thriller Comics'', running an additional 49 issues to #82 before it was canceled. As ''Western Super Thriller Comics'', it featured the Rawhide Kid (not the same

Rawhide Kid The Rawhide Kid (real name: Johnny Bart, originally given as Johnny Clay) is a fictional Old West cowboy appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A heroic gunfighter of the 19th-century American West who was unjustly wanted a ...

published by Marvel). World Distributors' longest-running Western reprint titles included ''

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

Comics'' (100 issues and 12 annuals, 1951–1963), ''

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

Adventure Comics'' (82 issues and six annuals, 1950–1960), ''The

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'' (66 issues and 12 annuals, 1953–1976), and '' Red Ryder Comics'' (62 issues, 1954–1959). The few non-Western-themed comics titles which had extended runs during the 1950s were ''A Movie Classic'' (88 issues, 1956–1959), which featured

adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

of popular movies; and ''Walt Disney Series'' (52 issues, 1956– 1959), reprints from the Dell Comics title ''

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American Comics anthology, anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Micke ...

''. As Western comics faded in popularity, World Distributors had canceled most of their ongoing titles by 1959.

1950s–1980s: Annuals

World Distributors may be best known for the hardback annuals they published based on popular film, television, animation, and comics properties. The annuals generally contained comics (often reprints from American titles) mixed with illustrated text stories, word games, and puzzles. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into the mid-1980s, the annuals were published in the autumn of each year for the holiday gift-giving season, displaying next year's date (if any date at all) on the cover to prolong shelf-life. World Distributors shipped unsold copies to overseas markets such as

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where they still had the current year's date despite the time taken for transport. World Distributors' longest-running annuals included ''

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

'' (21 issues, 1951–1981), ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' (20 issues, 1965–1985), ''

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows, and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. He was created by Hanna- ...

'' (17 issues, 1961–1980), ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' (14 issues, 1967–1985), ''The

'' (13 issues, 1956–1976), and ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' (13 issues, 1969–1985). Other notable annuals published featured '' The Adventures of Champion'',

Gobots GoBots is a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Hasbro's Transformers. Although initially a separate and competing line of toys, Tonka's Gobots became the intellectual property of Hasbro after their b ...

, '' Thunderbirds'',

Top Cat ''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season ...

, ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Illya Kuryakin, p ...

'', ''

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' is a 1961 American science fiction disaster film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Robert Sterling. The supporting cast includes Peter Lorre, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden ...

'',

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...

, and UK television properties like ''

Basil Brush Basil Brush is a fictional fox best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts, books, annuals and comic strips. The char ...

'', ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'', ''

Just William ''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...

'', ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

'', '' TV Tornado'', ''

Terry Nation Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 19309 March 1997) was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for ''Doctor Who'', as well as the series '' Surviv ...

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...

, and ''

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...

1960s: Illustrated World Library, World Adventure Library, and Famepress titles

In 1965, the Pembertons returned to publishing ongoing comics series with the "Illustrated World Library" line, which featured

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

, horror-suspense,

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, and

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began inc ...

. The line started with ''Illustrated Romance Library'' and ''Thriller''; and increased in 1970 with three more ongoing titles: ''Picture Romance'', ''Sundance Western'', and ''War Hero''. A number of the "Illustrated World Library" titles lasted into the late 1970s. To augment the "Illustrated World Library" line, in 1966 the Pembertons launched the "World Adventure Library" line of titles, featuring action heroes like

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

Mandrake the Magician ''Mandrake the Magician'' is a Comic strip syndication, syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk before he created ''The Phantom''.Ron Goulart, ''The Encyclopedia of American Comics''. New York: Facts on File, 1990. . pp. 91, 249 ...

, the

Phantom Phantom, phantoms, or the phantom may refer to: * Spirit (metaphysics), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phanto ...

, and

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

; as well as comic book versions of ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' and ''

'' The "World Adventure Library" line, however, had petered out by the end of 1967. Also in 1966 World Distributors acquired a number of ongoing titles from Famepress, a UK publisher which began operating in 1960. Long-running titles picked up from Famepress included the Western title ''

Pecos Bill Pecos Bill ( ) is a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. These narratives were invented as short stories in a book by Tex O ...

Picture Library'', the romance comic ''Young Lovers'', the adventure comic ''Top Three Adventure Picture Library'', and the war comic ''Battleground''. World Distributors gave up on the Famepress titles after about two years, however; many of them were in turn acquired by Alex White in 1967/1968. (Alex White appears to have gone defunct shortly thereafter.)

1970s: American comics distributor

The company was for a time in the 1970s, the official distributor of American comics in the UK, an arrangement which ended in the early 1980s.

1980: World International

In 1980, the company became known as World International Publishing, Ltd., but due to falling sales limiting their publishing activities. In 1991 they moved to new offices in

Handforth Handforth is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population of the parish was 6,715 at the 2021 census. In the 1960s and 1970s, two overspill housing estates, Spath Lane in Handforth, and Colshaw ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, still operating as World International and publishing annuals in much lesser volume. The company went defunct in 1993; the Pemberton brothers were no longer affiliated with the company by this point. In mid-1995, the business was revived as World International Limited and moved offices to London.EGMONT WORLD LIMITED: Company number 02171929
Companies House. Retrieved Jan. 3, 2021.

1999: Sale to Egmont

The

Egmont Group The Egmont Group (officially Egmont International Holding A/S; known as Gutenberghus Group until 1992) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishi ...

acquired World International in early 1999, and it became known as Egmont World Limited, eventually becoming Egmont Children's Books (Egmont Books Limited). Egmont had previously purchased the

Fleetway Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. History It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies t ...

arm of

IPC Media TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it ...

and merged it with their existing comics publishing division, thus becoming Britain's largest comic book publisher. By 1999–2000 the resultant company was focusing on reprint and licensed material titles such as World produced. Annuals continued to be published, but by 2001 any mention of the old World name was removed from the company logos.

Titles published (selected)

Ongoing titles

* ''

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

Adventure Magazine'' (76 issues, 1953–1959) – reprints from the

Toby Press Toby Press was an American comic-book company that published from 1949 to 1955. Founded by Elliott Caplin, brother of cartoonist Al Capp and himself an established comic strip writer, the company published reprints of Capp's '' Li'l Abner'' str ...

title of the same name * ''Black Diamond Western'' (31 issues, 1949– — reprints

Lev Gleason Publications Lev Gleason Incorporated, formerly known as Lev Gleason Publishing, is a Canadian comic book company founded by Leverett Stone Gleason (1898–1971). They were the publisher of a number of popular comic books during the 1940s and early 1950s, incl ...

title of the same name * ''

Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Maga ...

'' (51 issues, 1952-1955) — reprints of the

title of the same name * ''

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

and Champion'' (34 issues, 1956–1958) — reprints of the Dell title of the same name * ''Indian Chief'' (featuring White Eagle) (31 issues, 1953–1954) — reprints of the Dell title of the same name * ''

Adventure Comics'' (82 issues, 1950– 1957) — reprints from the Toby Press title of the same name * ''The

'' (66 issues, 1953–1958) — reprints from the Dell title of the same name * ''A Movie Classic'' (88 issues, 1956–1959) — adaptations of popular movies * '' Red Ryder Comics'' (62 issues, 1954–1959) — reprints from the Dell title of the same name * ''

Comics'' (100 issues, 1951–1959) — reprinting the Dell Comic of the same name * ''Super Thriller Comic'' (22 issues, 1947–1950) — numbering continues from ''Superthriller'' ( Foldes); numbering continues with ''Western Super Thriller Comics'' * '' Tom Corbett, Space Cadet'' (11 issues, 1953–1954) — reprints from the Dell Comics title * ''

Tonto Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native Americans in the United States, Native American (either Tonto Apache, Comanche, or Potawatomi) Friendship, companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western (genre), Western character crea ...

'' (32 issues, 1953-1955) — reprinting the Dell Comics of the same name * ''

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

Series'' (52 issues, 1956– 1959) — reprints from the Dell Comics series * ''Western Classic'' (39 issues, 1950– 1952) * ''Western Roundup Comic'' (42 issues, 1955-1958) — reprints from the Dell title of the same name * ''Western Super Thriller Comics'' (49 issues, 1950- 1954) — continuing the numbering from ''Super Thriller Comic'' * ''

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier ...

's Stories of the West'' (31 issues, 1953-1954)

Illustrated World Library series

* ''Illustrated Romance Library'' (23 issues, 1965– 1970) * ''Picture Romance'' (198 issues, 1970–1975) * ''Sundance Western'' (117 issues, 1970–1979) * ''Thriller'' (86 issues, 1965– 1977) * ''War Hero'' (84 issues, 1970– 1977)

World Adventure Library

* ''

World Adventure Library'' (11 issues, 1966– 1967) * ''

World Adventure Library'' (3 issues, 1967) * ''

World Adventure Library'' (8 issues, 1967) * '' Man from U.N.C.L.E. World Adventure Library'' (14 issues– 1967) * ''

World Adventure'' (8 issues, 1967) — reprints from the newspaper strip by

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...

* ''

World Adventure Library'' (8 issues, 1967) * ''

World Adventure Library'' (4 issues, 1967) * ''

World Adventure Library'' (4 issues, 1967) — reprints from Dell/Gold Key series

Acquired from Famepress

; ''Many of the titles acquired from Famepress in 1966 were then taken over by Alex White in 1967/1968; some were canceled.'' * ''Attack!'' (14 issues, 1966–1967) — acquired with issue #37; continued by Alex White * ''Battleground'' (39 issues, 1966–1967) — acquired with issue #93; series continued by Alex White * ''Pecos Bill Picture Library'' (26 issues, 1966–1967) — acquired with issue #125 * ''Scotland Yard'' (20 issues, 1966–1967) — acquired with issue #5 * ''Top Three Adventure Picture Library'' (24 issues, 1966–1967) — acquired with issue #110 * ''Totem'' (26 issues, 1966–1967) — acquired (as ''Totem Picture Library'') with issue #77; series continued by Alex White * ''Undercover'' (38 issues, 1967-1968) — acquired with issue #45; series continued by Alex White * ''Young Lovers'' (31 issues, 1966-1967) — acquired with issue # 124; series continued by Alex White

Annuals

* ''

Annual'' (10 issues, 1971–1980) * ''

Annual'' (21 issues, 1951–1983) — reprints from the

''Bugs Bunny'' series * ''The Dr Who Annual'' (20 issues, 1965–1985) — contributors included Paul Crompton, Paul Green, and John Fasnacht * ''The

Annual'' (13 issues, 1956–1976) — reprints from the Dell Comics series * Marvel Comics superheroes — reprints from various

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

superhero titles: ** ''The Fantastic Four Comic Album'' (2 issues, 1969–1970) ** ''The Fantastic Four Comic Annual'' (2 issues, 1969–1970) ** ''Marvel Annual'' (2 issues, 1974–1975) ** ''Marvel Comic Album'' (1 issue, 1975) ** ''Marvel Comic Annual'' (3 issues, 1969–1971) ** ''Marvel Story Book Annual'' (1 issue, 1967) * ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Clouseau, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the fil ...

Annual'' (10 issues, 1973–1986) — reprints from the

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984. History Gold Key Comics was created in 1962, when its ...

series * ''

Annual'' (13 issues, 1969–1985) — reprints from the Gold Key series * ''

Annual'' (14 issues, 1967–1985) — reprints from the Dell Comics series * '' TV Tornado'' (5 annuals, 1967–1971) — contributions from

Denis Gifford Denis Gifford (26 December 1927 – 18 May 2000)Holland, Steve, Obituaries: Denis Gifford', ''The Guardian'', 26 May 2000. was a British writer, broadcaster, journalist, comic artist and historian of film, comics, television and radio. In h ...

and

Mick Anglo Michael Anglo (born Maurice Anglowitz, 19 June 1916 – 31 October 2011)Holland, Steve, "Who's Who in British Comics", ''Comics World'' No. 43, Aceville Publications Ltd (September–October 1995) was a British comic book writer, editor and arti ...

* '' Wild West Comic Annual'' (10 issues, 1951–1960) — reprints from a variety of Western comics, including many from Dell's ''

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

'' * ''

Annual'' (17 issues, 1961–1980) — reprints from the Gold Key series * ''

Annual'' (2 issues, 1979–1980)

Book series

Little Owl Books

Little Owl Superstars

= '' Gordon T. Gopher''

Mini World

= ''
BraveStarr ''BraveStarr'' is an American Space Western animated television series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' wa ...
''

= '' The Centurions''

= ''
Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' () is a British animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd and T ...
''

= ''
The Glo Friends ''The Glo Friends'' is an American animated television series that originally aired in 1986 as a segment of '' My Little Pony 'n Friends''. Produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with Toei Animation, the 26 segmen ...
''

= ''
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
''

= ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
''

= '' She-Ra, Princess of Power''

References

Citations

Sources consulted

* * *

External links

World Distributors
at Comic Vine

at Ash Rare Books {{DEFAULTSORT:World Distributors 1945 establishments in the United Kingdom Book distributors British companies established in 1945 Comic book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Comics industry Companies based in Manchester Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Privately held companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1945

History

1945–1952: Paperback books

1947–1959: Reprint comics

1950s–1980s: Annuals

1960s: Illustrated World Library, World Adventure Library, and Famepress titles

1970s: American comics distributor

1980: World International

1999: Sale to Egmont

Titles published (selected)

Ongoing titles

Illustrated World Library series

World Adventure Library

Acquired from Famepress

Annuals

Book series

Little Owl Books

Little Owl Superstars

= '' Gordon T. Gopher''

Mini World

= ''BraveStarr ''BraveStarr'' is an American Space Western animated television series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' wa ...''

= '' The Centurions''

= ''Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' () is a British animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd and T ...''

= ''The Glo Friends ''The Glo Friends'' is an American animated television series that originally aired in 1986 as a segment of '' My Little Pony 'n Friends''. Produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with Toei Animation, the 26 segmen ...''

= ''Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...''

= ''Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...''

= '' She-Ra, Princess of Power''

See also

References

Citations

Sources consulted

External links

= ''
BraveStarr ''BraveStarr'' is an American Space Western animated television series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' wa ...
''

= ''
Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' () is a British animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd and T ...
''

= ''
The Glo Friends ''The Glo Friends'' is an American animated television series that originally aired in 1986 as a segment of '' My Little Pony 'n Friends''. Produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions in collaboration with Toei Animation, the 26 segmen ...
''

= ''
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
''

= ''
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
''