Have You Ever Bought Anything From A Comic Book Ad? 6 6

[marvelmaniac]

I keep seeing all the neat ads when the back covers are shown and it got me wondering how many people actually purchased something from a comic book ad.

Back in 1970 (I was 14/15) I did purchase the Charles Atlas Course.

It was Isometric exercises dedicated to specific muscle groups with tips on eating/drinking/sleeping properly.

Each month you would get a new booklet for a specific part of the body.

Did I turn into a "muscle man"?...

No, I was too lazy and had other things on my mind that were more important at the time...

Girls, Friends, Girls.

[Ken Aldred]

Many threads like this one, but I was always disappointed that I couldn’t import a decommissioned, fully- functional Polaris nuclear submarine into England back when I was a kid in the 70s.  I always wanted to run silent and deep in the local angling reservoir.

The Americans here claim that it was only made of cardboard, but I suspect that’s disinformation to keep the good stuff for themselves.

Edited August 2, 2018 by Ken Aldred

[Mercury Man]

Of course:  

[Photoc]

I'm still pissed about my "sea monkeys". 

[Bird]

I bought my first piece of published OA (a Sandman page in about 1992/1993) from a blind auction ad in the back of Comic Buyer's Guide if that counts. It was $125 and I was in college (grad school) and was terrified how I would scrape up the money. No I don't have it anymore.

[Octavius]

The "x-ray" specs were a lie!!!!!

Edited August 3, 2018 by Octavius
Spelling

[Tony D]

16 minutes ago, Mercury Man said:

Of course:  

I bought these, also. Iwas so disappointed with them because they were almost two dimensional, thinner than a dime.

[Von Cichlid]

I participated in this one in the early 90's.  I was 13 at the time and I remember my dad having to search all around a pretty large city to even find a place that sold the candy.  After finally finding the candy, I sent in the wrappers and there was no telling how long I actually had to wait before the comic came in the mail.  It was so long that by the time time it finally arrived, I was well into puberty and out of comic collecting by the time I got it.  I still have it though!

[SteppinRazor]

Marvel had a limited signed copies of 'Fatal Attractions' comics promo w/COA in one of the X-titles, my brother and I ordered 3.  Two Fabian Niciezas and an Al Milgrom came in the mail. 

And once when we were little, my brother got some sea monkeys

[SerialGrape]

I love seeing the ad's in the 60s Marvel comics for actual live monkeys. 

I really dont understand how this was a thing. I'd love to hear from somebody that ordered one.

[Larryw7]

From Marvel I brought a membership to FOOM.

From DC I purchased through the mail Superhero Stick Ons, the Mego Batmobile, almost all of the Limited Collectors Editions and Famous First Editions, and my first back issue catalogue from a guy named Dave Hunt(I think) from Lexington, NY. Got some 80 Page Giants in nice shape from that catalogue.

From Warren I used their Captain Company ads to get Super 8 movies like Son of Frankenstein, The Omen, The Bride of Frankenstein and many others. I bought back issues of Famous Monsters, Monster World, and Creepy. I also purchased the album Famous Monsters Speak!, which included the voices of Karloff and Vincent Price, along with the worst monster of all, lecherous Forry Ackerman.

 

[Larryw7]

44 minutes ago, SerialGrape said:

I love seeing the ad's in the 60s Marvel comics for actual live monkeys. 

I really dont understand how this was a thing. I'd love to hear from somebody that ordered one.

https://boingboing.net/2008/11/03/mans-account-of-orde.html

[Kramerica]

30 minutes ago, Larryw7 said:

https://boingboing.net/2008/11/03/mans-account-of-orde.html

That's good stuff. I can picture the whole scene unfolding - especially his friend laughing his socks off. You know they were both high as a kite. I always wanted to order the monkey but couldn't find the nerve. I figured my Mom would catch me, the monkey'd go to the pound and they'd put him asleep,

True story: Years later I remember reading how there was a whole community of these monkeys in the sewers underneath NYC. Turns out everyone ordered one of those friggin' marsupials, let them go/they escaped and they were breeding rather quickly. By 1990 or so it had become a real problem and gangs of these monkeys would come up at night looking for food. That's the real reason the city started releasing alligators in the sewers - to control the population of wild monkeys that had been ordered from comic books and magazines. Decades later and they still have a problem with those darn alligators.

[kav]

I ordered the flashing eyes.  Had visions of girls going crazy as I shot sparks out of my eyes.  Turns out it was instructions to glue foil on eyelids so when you are onstage the lights will make it seems as if your eyes are 'flashing'.  Stage and lights and audience were not included, though.

[NoMan]

2 hours ago, Von Cichlid said:

I participated in this one in the early 90's.  I was 13 at the time and I remember my dad having to search all around a pretty large city to even find a place that sold the candy.  After finally finding the candy, I sent in the wrappers and there was no telling how long I actually had to wait before the comic came in the mail.  It was so long that by the time time it finally arrived, I was well into puberty and out of comic collecting by the time I got it.  I still have it though!

Tony Isabella ran a comic shop in Cleveland. He took over writing on Moon Knight (1982) around issue 32 once Doug M. left. His stories suck. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

I was a frequent customer of American Comics/Entertainment in the very early 90s, from their ads in comics.

[SerialGrape]

4 hours ago, Larryw7 said:

https://boingboing.net/2008/11/03/mans-account-of-orde.html

This is pretty much what I expected hahaha.

That or an account of a monkey showing up dead on arrival.

[Tec-Tac-Toe]

I recall that a cousin and I purchased the "Life-Size Ghost" when we were both either 6 or had just turned 7 years old. My parents gave us a dollar and we cut the add out of a beat up (as in, at best, FA/1.0) copy of, if I recall correctly, an Amazing Spider-Man issue. I do not recall the issue number so I will ask my cousin if he does.

As you may imagine, the Ghost was less than we expected, consisting of a white balloon and a white plastic sheet that was likely a plastic table cloth.

As they say, "good times!"

 

 

 

[NoMan]

I believe there is a book about the history of the Johnson  Smith Co. Also the book Mail Order Mysteries is of interest. 

Edited August 3, 2018 by NoMan

[Ken Aldred]

8 hours ago, Larryw7 said:

almost all of the Famous First Editions,

Yup. That was my first comic book obsession as a kid when I saw them advertised in DCs.  I couldn’t figure out a way to send off to the States for them and, strangely enough, neither did the adults I spoke to, including a couple of my school teachers that  I asked as well, even about the existence of International Money Orders.  I was absolutely elated when I had a pleasant surprise, eventually finding them distributed to the UK.