World Distributors

Brothers Sidney, John and Alfred Pemberton, formerly sellers of second hand books in Manchester, England, set up World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd. just after World War II. Their principal product was hardback childrens annuals, typically published in the Autumn but displaying the following year's cover date (so purchasers buying them as Christmas presents could be assured that they would not appear "out of date" when unwrapped, and nor would unsold stock shipped abroad). The majority of their annuals were either related to TV shows such as Doctor Who, The Avengers and Tarzan, cartoons such as Laffalympics or sports, but they also published a number of annuals reprinting American comics material such as Superman and various Marvel Comics properties. The company was renamed World International Ltd. in 1981, but had ceased trading by 1990.