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Armada UK PAPERBACKS
CLASSIC SERIES
I have identified 5 distinct formats for the Armada paperback
releases from the classic series, each of which I have given a
nickname to quickly describe each cover or spine style.
| Format A - PHOTO These were the first paperbacks issued in the U.K., and they would have been available contemporaneously with the Collins picture covers. They feature a photograph which recreates an event from the book; these should not be confused with the books which have a photo of Pamela Sue Martin (TV's Nancy Drew) on the cover, which came later. The volume number for Format A books appears on back cover, rather than on the spine. Although the book lists indicate that volumes 1-10 were published, I have never seen examples of #3 or #8. These were in print from 1973-1975. |
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| Titles available: 1-10?, possibly 11 |
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| Format B
- YELLOW BOX These are the most commonly found Armada paperbacks, and they made their appearance just as the Collins hardbacks were being phased out. They feature a cartoon-like illustration confined in rectangular box, surrounded by yellow trim. The spine is also yellow with colored rectangle at base with volume number - this rectangle flows into the lower left corner of the front of the book, which reads "Nancy Drew Mystery No. XX" (or sometimes just the "No. XX" and "A Nancy Drew Mystery" in a starburst at the top right of the illustration). Occasionally an eye-catching banner will appear in the lower right corner of the cover, for special marketing purposes. Often the banner will indicate that the story is "New in Paperback," but I have also seen "The Thrilling Adventure Series" or "TV's Girl Detective."
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| Titles available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11,
12, 13,14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26,
27, 28, 29, 51,
52, 53, 54 Titles indicating "New in Paperback": 16, 22, 23?, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 51, 52, 53, 54 |
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| The Yellow Box books were being published during the time that the television series starring Pamela Sue Martin was airing. As a tie-in to the TV show, Armada issued two of the stories with the actress on the cover, The Mystery of the Tolling Bell and The Haunted Showboat. These would have been marketed side-by-side with the yellow box books; however I have found a copy of Haunted Showboat with both an illustrated cover and yellow box format. Probably the yellow box version was replaced by the TV cover format in 1981. |  |
| Titles available: 15, 19; ND&HB Meet Dracula; #19 comes with three banners: "Now on TV" , "As Seen on TV" and "A Thrilling Adventure" |
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| Format C
- ONE STAR I like to call this style "one star" because of the single star at the base of the spine which houses the volume number. This is to easily distinguish it from Format D "multi-star." This format features the new Nancy Drew logo in dramatic lettering on a red-to-yellow gradient. The illustration is quite stylized and spills out from a circle or half-circle. Most of the covers appear to be executed by one artist, whose name never indicated. On these covers, Nancy usually has a shag haircut and there are abstract symbols representing different facets of the storyline. This artist's style is very easy to identify. A few of the covers from this period have been done by a different artist (also unattributed) and are more representational and illustrate a scene from the story - they are not as stylized and often the perspective is somewhat distorted. Nancy often appears harsh and ugly in these - can you tell I don't like them as well? There is a variety of banners which appear on the covers, including: "A Thrilling Mystery," "An Exciting Adventure," "A Thrilling Adventure Story" and "Another Thrilling Mystery Story." The
"one star" books have a spine which is a solid color
with a
single star containing volume number at the base.
Some volumes came
with both white background and colored background.
The
white spine books are the earlier versions. These
were in print
between 1983 - 1988. |
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| Titles available (white spine): 5, 6, 8,
10, 11, 12, 13,
15, 23, 30, 31, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62 Titles available (colored spine): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 51, 52, 53, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, SuperSleuths, Ghost Stories, Be A Detective #s1-6 Titles indicating "New in Paperback" (white spine):
30,
31, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62 |
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| Format D
- MULTI STAR The "multi star" format features an illustration under an arch with a white background, decorated with many colored stars. The color of the stars on the front is the same as the color of the spine, which in turn displays the repeated star pattern (stars now in either white or black), with volume number at the top of spine, below Armada ship logo. The "NANCY DREW" logo is similar to the lettering on the Format C editions, but now the color has shifted to being more golden in tone, with a darkened area in the center. There appears to have been a variety of artists (mostly unattributed, except for 4 covers by Mike Adams) contracted during this period, as many styles are in evidence. Nancy ranges from being a frizzy blonde to having very dark red hair. These were in print from 1988 - 1991. |
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| Titles available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48,
49, 50, 61, 62,
71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 Titles available indicating "New in Paperback": 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 |
The Mystery at Lilac Inn. Artwork by Mike Adams, copyright © 1991, Armada, London. |
| Format E
- CIRCLE ON SPINE These were the most recent Armada paperbacks available, but they too have since gone out of print. These books feature the volume number in a circle, found at the middle of the spine, between "NANCY DREW" and the title. The circle is also repeated on the front cover, usually to the right of the blurb.
This logo of Nancy reading her "case notes" appears on the back of all the Format E books. |
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| Titles available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 77, 78 | The Clue of the Broken Locket. Artwork unattributed, copyright © 1992, Armada, London. |
All the illustrated
artwork appears to be the work of one
Peter
Archer, who also did the covers for the Hardy Boys
paperbacks of this
era. Although Archer is not credited in the Armada
books, his same
illustrations were also used on the earlier 
The
"circle on spine" books feature illustrations of
Nancy looking
very young beneath "NANCY DREW" in big blocky,
semi-transparent
letters. Many folks have noticed that Nancy doesn't
quite look 18,
and in fact she somewhat resembles the TV actress
Tina Yothers who
appeared on Family Ties. The same artist
does all the covers.
These books had a short life span and were
available from 1992 -
1993.
