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Classic Comic Ads (are awesome too)
ChrisBeckett
Posts: 535
I've been reading more "older" comics than newer ones, lately, digging into my longboxes for some serious nostalgia, and something I've (re)discovered are the awesome ads you could find in these comics--both the outside advertisements and the house ads. Couple that with the great "Comic Cover a Day" thread on here, and I thought it might be cool to have a place for sharing some of these ads. Hopefully you'll all join in, too.
The first one is a favorite of mine, a Mike Zeck-drawn ad for the Secret Wars toy line. It's special for two reasons. One, issue #4, with that great cover of the Incredible Hulk holding up a mountain so that it would not crush all the heroes, was my first Marvel Universe comic. Two, I believe there are 27 Trademarks in this ad. I've uploaded a copy where I circled all of them in red.
And here's an unadulterated copy:
-chris
The first one is a favorite of mine, a Mike Zeck-drawn ad for the Secret Wars toy line. It's special for two reasons. One, issue #4, with that great cover of the Incredible Hulk holding up a mountain so that it would not crush all the heroes, was my first Marvel Universe comic. Two, I believe there are 27 Trademarks in this ad. I've uploaded a copy where I circled all of them in red.
And here's an unadulterated copy:
-chris
Comments
I also was fond of the GRIT Newspaper route ads and the live monkey with cage and leash ads for $14.95. I never knew anyone that had a GRIT route or even what was in those papers but I always dreamed of Trump-like fortunes if I could have had my shot or lived in a town with more than 50 households.
Crummy toys. Incredibly cool ad.
@WetRats I never saw that one, I always saw the same type of ad for the green armymen that came in a "pasteboard" footlocker. They were the worst and smaller than even the normal crappy green army men. They were such a letdown, but they taught me the valuable lesson of not trusting advertisements!
The only thing I ever ordered were iron on transfers that would wash off in just a couple of weeks.
But I had several bags of them SEA-MONKEYS.....
I always wanted the 8ft. Frankenstein, which was probably a cut out, but I thought would look like a full size statue.
I did buy quite a bit of superhero merch from those ads, and some of the old fluorescent iron-ons. Always seemed like it took a year to arrive.
In fairness they did state the size of the box so I guess the buyer could have figured out that 100 armymen could not have been crammed in there let alone tanks and planes and battleships (oh my!). But that is not the kind of clarity the average kid has when busting open their piggybank for $1.75 with dreams of a footlocker at the foot of their bed filled with a green plastic bounty of war machines and soldiers. That was my Little Orphan Annie decoder ring moment as a child.
I think a lot of is due to the fact that this ad was on the back of pretty much every comic book for what seemed like 3 or 4 years, though it was probably less than 1. But regardless, I remember seeing this everywhere, and even at a young age I recognized Jack Davis's artwork from Mad and my older brother's Superfan paperbacks, so that was another huge draw. I love the way he draws Dr. J in this.
He sold me the oldest comic I ever owned, from 1946. I think I paid six bucks, which was a fortune to me. It was probably in Fine condition:
http://images.comiccollectorlive.com/covers/77d/77d9826d-cac9-438f-a738-947c872b925b.jpg
What was wrong with me? Guess I really liked those ads...especially the one with the living building. That one was the best.
Also, I know I pimped this book on the old forums, but if you haven't read Mail Order Mysteries, check it out. Got it for christmas and it is a fun read.
http://www.amazon.com/Mail-Order-Mysteries-Real-Stuff-Comic/dp/160887026X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335549287&sr=1-1
That is the story I'd love to know, the kids that had bought these things back then. I want to find a single GRIT newspaper boy!
How could you not trust Helen of Toy?