I think any kid who has ever read comic books has fallen into the trap of the nefarious COMIC BOOK MAIL IN AD'S.
Even I have fallen victim. As a kid I had seen scissors based on Daffy Duck and Sylvester the Cat. Two of my favorite Looney Tune characters. So my Grandmother had sent away for some.
When they arrived, not only were they the most crappiest renderings of the characters but the scissors were completely useless to cut with. I think I gave myself blisters trying to cut something.
And I'm not alone. My buddy Andy Fish has mentioned on his own blog being duped by an ad for a life size Frankenstein's Monster. So imagine his horror thinking that this life sized version of Karloff's creature would be arriving in a crate, only to find it being delivered in a tube.
Instead of a larger than life replica, he had actually ordered a six foot tall poster of the monster. WITH A DOPEY GRIN!!
There are a lot of ads which make me just shake my head and think, "Did people actually fall for this??" The Polaris Nuclear Sub which two kids can ride in and the Sea Monkey's usually tops my list.
But sometimes I come across old ad's and I think to myself: "HOW DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS???" The ad above is one of them. Even though this ad was printed in the 1970's and the rules were a bit less stringent than they are now. Still!! This seems more suited for Playboy than the latest issue of Billy the Kid.
Especially if you consider who the target audience of most comics books back then. Young boys either just about to or had already hit puberty.
Then again I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by an ad like that in comic books. I'm reminded of Marvel's decision that it seemed like a great idea to "sex up" Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four's costume in the 1990's.
For those of you who were either very young or not born yet. This was a time in comic books when the most important accessory on a female superheroes costume was a painful looking wedgie.
But it still makes me shake my head that they were able to get away with selling what is technically a blow up doll!! I can't imagine a parent entering their son's room and finding the doll on the floor with her wig a mess, her clothing in disarray and Jr. sitting on his bed with a deer in the headlights look gripping the deflating doll saying: "This is not what you think."
Has anyone ever bought this? That's my question? If you have, please leave a post on this blog. You will not be laughed at since we've all bought something crappy out of a comic book at one time or another.
But given the history of false advertisement in these ads, I am very curious what these things actually looked like when you got them.
