1975 Comic Book Ads

[Ji'dai]

In honor of the official release of the new GI Joe movie toys (maybe.. unless it's been changed by Hasbro again) here are a few advertisements for some vintage (as in 1980s) stuff:

Action Force was the UK version of GI JOE: A Real American Hero. The figures and vehicles were the same but the names were sometimes different. This spot features the AWE Striker and Cobra Stinger. From Action Force #14, June 1987.

I never understood the appeal of professional wrestling, but I did get the Sgt. Slaughter mail-away figure. This ad is not for the GI JOE fig, but the 8” wrestling one. From GI JOE Magazine, Fall 1987 issue.

I never understood the appeal of professional football either, yet I did get the “Fridge” mail-away figure. I didn’t call him to find out his “combat specialty” though. From GI JOE Magazine, Winter 1987 issue.

Get six GI JOE vehicle drivers Thunder, Frostbite, Crankcase, HISS driver, Stinger driver, and Copperhead for $16 a set plus $1.50 shipping and handling in this Hasbro mail-away offer. Hurry, offer expires August 31, 1988, or while supplies last. From GI JOE Magazine, Winter 1988 issue.

Remember those transforming robots that could turn into planes, cars, trucks, or guns and boom-boxes? Here is an ad for two of the good guys, called “Autobots.” I still have Rodimus Prime. From Action Force #10, May 1987.

[Ji'dai]

I had a Super NES. I loved the Star Wars games and Donkey Kong Country was really fun. This ad is for two new controllers for that system. For some reason, “asciiPad” sounds really wrong. From the newsletter Ultra Monthly #1, June 1993.

My favorite store-bought brand of cookies was Devil’s Food. My mom didn’t like buying them because they were expensive, there wasn’t many cookies in the package, and they tended to disappear relatively quickly. Chip’s Ahoy chocolate chip cookies was a more common staple. Later I learned that you could put them in the microwave and heat them slightly, which makes them even better. This page, for a new striped variety, is one of several advertisements for Chip’s Ahoy that were pretty common in the late ‘80s. From Strikeforce: Morituri #11, October 1987 (Marvel Comics).

I wasn’t very familiar with Gumby so this page for Brachs’ bubble-gum lipops didn’t resonate with me. I was sold on the candy though, putting gum in a sucker was a no-brainer. I much preferred Gum Dingers to the Tootsie Roll pop. From Mark Hazzard: MERC #5, March 1987 (Marvel Comics).

Remember “Sniglets?” If you don’t, then your username is probably Mr.JabbaJohnL or LtBasker. They were created by comedian Rich Hall for the HBO series “Not Necessarily the News” that ran in the late ’80s. This ad is one of several for OXY 10 that uses sniglets. I used Stridex a lot but probably had this stuff too. From D.P. 7 Annual #1, 1987 (Marvel Comics).

Great fake ad from Marvel for the Mutant Registration Act. The mutant superhero titles were some of the hottest books in the 1980s. This ad predates The Fall of the Mutants cross-over storyline. From D.P. 7 #13, November 1987 (Marvel Comics).

I vaguely remember Hasbro’s Battle Beasts. I think they even had a cartoon of their own. I never collected them though. From Action Force #19, July 1987 (Marvel Comics).

[El Chuxter]

Did the Battle Beasts have a cartoon? I just remember them being really cool-looking armored animals with no storyline.

[Ji'dai]

You're right, Battle Beasts didn't have a cartoon. According to the Wikipedia entry, in Japan Battle Beasts were a spin-off of Transformers and appeared in an episode of that cartoon. Hasbro marketed them as a separate toy line in the US.

[Ji'dai]

Today I’ll return the thread back to its roots with these ads from 1975. All three come from the same issue: Superman #293, November 1975 (DC Comics).

Mattel’s Heroes In Action figures are a bit unique from the little army men most of us had. Put the figure on its display stand and push the lever to make gunfire sounds and watch the soldier move. The toy looks kind of cool, so the ad works. I’d be interested to see what these figures actually looked like in person.


The CBS Saturday Morning cartoon line-up for Fall 1975 - page one and page two. The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Hour was long-running so I remember watching that on Saturdays. I also remember the live-action Shazam and Isis half-hour shows. We’d go outside afterwards and act out the Shazam episode. I watched Fat Albert, but only if I was really bored. I didn’t live in the city so I didn’t identify with the problems they had. The others I don’t recall at all: Far Out Space Nuts… Ghost Busters… Valley of the Dinosaurs…


Monogram’s “Pop” art - build a model car in a soda bottle. 7-UP and Pepsi are shown. I wonder if they offered Coke bottles too. I remember the days of returning cartons of empty glass bottles to the grocery store for a deposit. Man, that part of the store was always a mess, especially on weekends. Stores usually had a long conveyer with rollers that you slid your carton of bottles down behind the counter. Then you got your deposit back from the pay window. On weekends there’d be so many returns the conveyer would be full and people would just start stacking their empties in carts all over the place. I don’t miss that at all.

[Ji'dai]

Pair of half page ads from Archie’s Christmas Stocking #6, 1959 edition (Archie Comics). Record your voice at home with this machine that cuts real records. Only $6.98 plus .45 cents shipping. Fun for the whole family! And check out that exact replica of an exploding army hand grenade. Only a $1.25 to see your friends scatter in utter terror. Ten-day free trial and money back if not completely satisfied!

As seen on your TV screen, it’s G.I. Joe, the greatest soldier a boy ever owned. From Justice League of America #34, March 1965 (DC Comics).

A 23rd Century Odyssey now - coming this Christmas to a theater near you - it’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Rated “S” for sucks. I bet this ad got the Trekkies hot and bothered. From The Pink Panther #66, July 1979 (Whitman / Western Publishing).

LEGO Expert Builder Dune Buggy - now you’re building for real. The Expert Builder series was the forerunner of Technic and was targeted at older kids interested in building miniature toy models with real working gears and parts. From The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #3, January 1983 (DC Comics).

[Ji'dai]

Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids! I loved this cereal. It first appeared in 1954. From Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge #53, October 1964 (Gold Key Comics).

Great moments in sport: Johnny Unitas leads the Baltimore Colts to victory over the New York Giants to clinch the 1958 NFL championship. Recreate the excitement with these Aurora model kits. All your favorite sports stars are here: Jack Dempsey, Babe Ruth, Jimmy Brown, and Jerry West! From the Brave and the Bold #63, December 1965-January 1966 (DC Comics).

In the days before Hubba Bubba and Bubble Yum, Life Savers’ Fruit Stripe Gum was my chew of choice. I wonder if it’s still around. From Wonder Woman #260, October 1979 (DC Comics).

Bring the battle home in Parker Brothers Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back video game cartridge. For your Atari Video Computer System and Sears Video Arcade. This was the first Star Wars home video game and was super hard. I had it for the Atari 2600 - still have it actually. I could never make it beyond the first level or two - which were all the same, just harder to beat. From Star Wars #64, October 1982 (Marvel Comics Group).

[JediTricks]

I had a Super NES. I loved the Star Wars games and Donkey Kong Country was really fun. This ad is for two new controllers for that system. For some reason, “asciiPad” sounds really wrong. From the newsletter Ultra Monthly #1, June 1993.

I had a magazine with that ad AND both those controllers. They were great controllers, I think I still have them in storage somewhere.

My favorite store-bought brand of cookies was Devil’s Food. My mom didn’t like buying them because they were expensive, there wasn’t many cookies in the package, and they tended to disappear relatively quickly. Chip’s Ahoy chocolate chip cookies was a more common staple. Later I learned that you could put them in the microwave and heat them slightly, which makes them even better. This page, for a new striped variety, is one of several advertisements for Chip’s Ahoy that were pretty common in the late ‘80s. From Strikeforce: Morituri #11, October 1987 (Marvel Comics).

I remember that ad too! I think I had it in an Archie comics. At the time, striped cookies seemed like genius.

I wasn’t very familiar with Gumby so this page for Brachs’ bubble-gum lipops didn’t resonate with me. I was sold on the candy though, putting gum in a sucker was a no-brainer. I much preferred Gum Dingers to the Tootsie Roll pop. From Mark Hazzard: MERC #5, March 1987 (Marvel Comics).

Cartoon drawings of Gumby are boring, and Pokey shouldn't be used to pimp products, he's too good for that.

Remember “Sniglets?” If you don’t, then your username is probably Mr.JabbaJohnL or LtBasker. They were created by comedian Rich Hall for the HBO series “Not Necessarily the News” that ran in the late ’80s. This ad is one of several for OXY 10 that uses sniglets. I used Stridex a lot but probably had this stuff too. From D.P. 7 Annual #1, 1987 (Marvel Comics).

I not only remember Sniglets, I owned several of the books, but man are those super lame!

Monogram’s “Pop” art - build a model car in a soda bottle. 7-UP and Pepsi are shown. I wonder if they offered Coke bottles too. I remember the days of returning cartons of empty glass bottles to the grocery store for a deposit. Man, that part of the store was always a mess, especially on weekends. Stores usually had a long conveyer with rollers that you slid your carton of bottles down behind the counter. Then you got your deposit back from the pay window. On weekends there’d be so many returns the conveyer would be full and people would just start stacking their empties in carts all over the place. I don’t miss that at all.

Kids, this is why model building is as popular as it is today.

Pair of half page ads from Archie’s Christmas Stocking #6, 1959 edition (Archie Comics). Record your voice at home with this machine that cuts real records. Only $6.98 plus .45 cents shipping. Fun for the whole family! And check out that exact replica of an exploding army hand grenade. Only a $1.25 to see your friends scatter in utter terror. Ten-day free trial and money back if not completely satisfied!

Dude, there was an ad in Archie for a hand grenade?!? KICK ***! I want an Archie-approved grenade replica damnit!

LEGO Expert Builder Dune Buggy - now you’re building for real. The Expert Builder series was the forerunner of Technic and was targeted at older kids interested in building miniature toy models with real working gears and parts. From The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #3, January 1983 (DC Comics).

Man, that ad was in a lot of my comics as a kid, and I totally loved those original Technic designs. Now it's all "build from the center out" which sucks.

In the days before Hubba Bubba and Bubble Yum, Life Savers’ Fruit Stripe Gum was my chew of choice. I wonder if it’s still around. From Wonder Woman #260, October 1979 (DC Comics).

Yeah buddy! Fruit Stripe is indeed still made, and still has the best fruit flavor... for the 20 seconds that it actually carries flavor.

Bring the battle home in Parker Brothers Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back video game cartridge. For your Atari Video Computer System and Sears Video Arcade. This was the first Star Wars home video game and was super hard. I had it for the Atari 2600 - still have it actually. I could never make it beyond the first level or two - which were all the same, just harder to beat. From Star Wars #64, October 1982 (Marvel Comics Group).

Dang, even the ad for that game looks like crap, and I hated that game too, way too hard, too repetitive as well. In my whole life, I probably downed less than 10 of those AT-ATs in that game.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Dang, even the ad for that game looks like crap, and I hated that game too, way too hard, too repetitive as well. In my whole life, I probably downed less than 10 of those AT-ATs in that game.

Back and forth... wait, too fast, come back again, firefirefire, too far, come back, fire, back again... oh no, the sky in the background is changing colors.

[JediTricks]

Back and forth... wait, too fast, come back again, firefirefire, too far, come back, fire, back again... oh no, the sky in the background is changing colors.

So sadly true.