Comic Book Ads / Scams

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From the 40s through the 80s, it was common for comic books to advertise all sorts of amazing items. Gags, magic tricks, and novelty items filled the pages and fascinated young readers. But the ad copy and illustrations were often fraudulent at best and hilarious in retrospect. I take a look at the history behind some of the more obvious scams that were advertised in comics.

[@Clell65619]

I actually bought the 'Atomic Sub'. (I was 6, sue me) When it arrived, my father laughed long and hard at me as he helped me assemble it. It lasted a week before the morning dew finally killed it. The Missile launched once. The Torpedo never launched. The 'control panel' actually lit up (thanks to a D cell battery) and I salvaged the wires and flashlight bulbs for future projects after the sub died... Never saw them again. I suspect my mom tossed them out. The Periscope outlasted the Sub by months. The Joke was on the manufacturer though. Only 14 years later I stepped onboard a real atomic sub for my first Navy Command, where I discovered substantially less cardboard was used in the construction.

[@ericlikestowander7510]

Nevertheless, this all brought great memories of our childhood.

[@andrewball9855]

I had just posted before reading this about my laughing father and Sea Monkeys turned fish food

[@budlewis721]

@Aussie Cockatoo It had to. The sub was fake but mail fraud is real.

[@orbyfan]

And now we know The Rest of the Story.

[@ccchhhrrriiisss100]

Amazing story! Go Navy (my dad was in the Navy)!

[@princetolstoy]

I never bought the x-ray glasses, I just didn’t trust myself with that much power

[@romulusnuma116]

No man should have that much power

[@bubbadagger]

Theyve destroyed many a marriage with their unholy power

[@TheFriendlyAnarchist]

It’s for the best. If you’d bought them your money would’ve gone to fund hate groups (no seriously): www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/the-terrible-secret-of-sea-monkeys-53130938/

[@OKTANE0]

I always thought that I'd forget to take them off and fall down the stairs or something

[@geraldfriend256]

Absolutel power corrupts absolutely

[@DichotomousRex]

The Calvin and Hobbes run that has him waiting for his propeller beanie really captured the excitement and let-down of these products.

[@andrewball9855]

Ren and Stimpy had a try, too. Angry Beavers, eh?

[@randymagnum143]

Chocolate frosted sugar bombs? Or were they sugar frosted chocolate bombs? "I don't eat cereal unless it turns the milk pink"

[@paulhare662]

I've been wearing one of those beanies when out and about since the Kung Flu started. I'm 63, high risk and have not caught the flu. Science be damned, wear a beanie!!

[@edwatts9890]

@@paulhare662: Excellent choice to encourage social distancing!

[@hortondlfn1994]

Although not comic related, the Little Orphan Annie decoder ring featured in A CHRISTMAS STORY is another brilliant example.

[@EddyMetal60]

As an avid comic book reader in the 60's and 70's, I remember all of these ads. What a trip down memory lane.

[@jeffelliott999]

You said it man! I actually fell for the "throw your voice" thing.

[@wildercerrate7295]

Interesting story about the Count Dante scam: He played a major part in the chicago dojo wars where he ended up killing a guy and they all had fights with actual bladed weapons and other crazy shit. I highly recommend looking into it as its an insane real life story that you would not expect from some comic book ad. Dudes a Lunatic

[@Short_Stories-q5e]

Yup!!!

[@SammEater]

That looks like the plot for a cheesy action movie from the 80s, or a plot for a Double Dragon game. Lol

[@Bootleg666]

There's an excellent episode of The Dollop podcast about this guy. His life was NUTS

[@k1dn1ce76]

Along with being a hairdresser the guy really could fight and supposedly had devastating hand speed. True story.

[@BoleDaPole]

Count Dante wasn't a scam, dude was the real deal.

[@chriscaldwell4482]

My dad said he would help me pay for art school. When he asked me where I wanted to go, I showed him the ad for the Joe Kubert school in the back of a comic book. He said I’m not sending you to a school that has an ad right next to the X-ray glasses. Lol 8 months later I was going to the kubert school.

[@sethleoric2598]

How was the Kubert art school?

[@chriscaldwell4482]

Seth Leoric it was a great experience, graduated in 97, so luckily I got to have Joe as a teacher. I never made a name for myself in comics but was able to make a living as an artist. It was great being around so many people with like interest.

[@ridhosamudro2199]

Do you got the X-ray glasses tho?

[@jopica30]

those kubert adds were fun, so I always wondered if people actually went to that school now that I have seen someone who did, I can rest in peace

[@antiquityvarmintwesleyhoag2909]

@@jopica30 Many well known comic artists went to the Kubert art schools and worked for comic

[@hyperion3145]

"How are the Soviets getting so many nuclear subs?" Marvel:

[@simonpeteradkins]

Getting scammed by the "7-foot ghost with REAL glow-in-the-dark eyes that really FLIES" taught me that there are adults who would gladly steal money from gullible children and other adults would let them.

[@kevinfinnegan310]

That was a very astute observation my good man... and f****** hilarious!

[@onemariobro]

It appears that’s still the case it’s just with Video game companies with micro transactions

[@adrianpetyt9167]

A valuable lesson to learn!

[@lindamaemullins5151]

Yep

[@urgemore]

I also bought that and was sadly disappointed. It included--or maybe it was a separate ad, but I don't think so--some skeleton hands that allegedly crawled out of your shirt pocket. Those turned out to be some little flat plastic skeleton arms and hands that basically clipped onto your pocket and didn't move or anything.

[@thundarrisaboss2725]

i always wanted the "fire fingertips". the add shows a kid shooting flame out like human torch. i was like "once i get those, ill be a real superhero." lol

[@throughthoroughthought8064]

Well you gotta work out, and hang by your fingertips. (Also helps to get some Xray specs.)

[@vidvicious]

I remember these ads in the back of Boy’s Life magazine ( The official magazine of the Boy Scouts of America) back in the 80s. Interesting that an organization devoted to teaching boys the concepts of honesty, trustworthiness and integrity would allow scam advertisements like that.

[@justanotherguy469]

Wow! I remember boy's life. It was a great time to be a boy. Did you have the Evil Knievel motorcycle? Or the Steve Austin doll, where you could look through the back of his head through his eyes, for close-ups?

[@divinityd662]

"Polaris Nuclear Sub, only for $6.98!" Cold war powers: Write that down! Write that down!

[@adamwhite9330]

Now I'm imaging KGB spies trying to order one of these...

[@kellyrestiaux9846]

Goes to show the Military-Industrial-Complex markup.

[@dieseldragon6756]

@@adamwhite9330 „It should be easy, Sir! All we need to do is find a way around this _rather inconvenient_ trade embargo...“ 🙃

[@sambas9257]

Scams for kids just moved. They don't disappeared. What else are microtransactions, gambling and loot boxes in videogames?

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Good point

[@viscountrainbows6452]

Online targeted ads

[@TheDastardlyV]

Still, at least you're getting what is advertised, even if it's a BS business model. If lootboxes were like comic book ads, I'd pay money for "5 lootboxes", and I'd get a box in the mail with 5 printed pictures of skins that I could tape to my monitor to pretend my character was wearing it. Microtransactions and lootboxes are more like cereal box toy rackets, when they still had those. You could collect 5 different GI Joes in Frosted Flakes, but its random so you have to buy like 15 boxes to get all 5. Or, have to buy a ton of boxes for UPC codes to get the toy mailed.

[@Vulspyr]

Surprise mechanics obviously.

[@TWH442]

These days instead of advertising in comic books they advertise online, social media and youtube etc. For example them mobile game ads you get on youtube, a lot of which are aimed at younger children, are very misleading. They show some good graphics, open world type game with multiple choices etc.... and in reality when you download its just some candy crush type rip-off.

[@Orlor]

It always amazed me that Johnson & Smith never got sued out of existence.

[@sunsparkle8443]

I remember that company's ads. I bought a rubber thingy from them that was supposed to make you look bald. That was almost 50 years ago.

[@Orlor]

@@sunsparkle8443 - Yeah, I remember getting my parents to buy me all kinds of useless crap from them.

[@Orlor]

@@sunsparkle8443 - Yeah, I remember getting my parents to buy me all kinds of useless crap from them.

[@thewurm9177]

I lived for their catalogs! I must've sent them a couple hundred dollars in quarters for rubber bats, lizards, skeletons, gorillas, smoking monkeys, vampire blood, fangs, eyeballs...

[@garyfrancis6193]

@@thewurm9177 No ant farm or amazing fairy like creatures by just sdding water?

[@josephcamhi5676]

I got the ghost. I was so excited waiting for it to come, and when it turned out to be a garbage bag, balloon, and string, it was hilarious. Of course it didn't work like a kite like it said in the directions. My stepbrother bought Sea Monkeys. They looked like bugs. He loved them but his mother hated them and flushed them down the toilet.

[@fakeplaystore7991]

Those little creatures actually protagonize one of the most heartwarming moments in the Non-Non Biyori anime. I'm serious.

[@thewurm9177]

I fell for that one too. I was really looking forward to it as well, and when I saw what it really was, and the Caspar-looking balloon, I was so disappointed and angry. I got rid of it immediately but I kept the cute free small pocket skeleton. I enjoyed it for years

[@josephcamhi5676]

@@thewurm9177 Oh, yeah, was that the pocket skeleton that was crawling out of the pocket, and it was only the top of the skeleton? Did that come with the ghost balloon?

[@thewurm9177]

@@josephcamhi5676 Yup, a sort of small clip-on half skeleton, "FREE with puchase!" 💀

[@MalachiWhite-tw7hl]

Now they're fanged predators the size of humans and prey on anything and anyone, down there.

[@fredsalter1915]

I was also thralled by the ads in old comics when I was a boy. Does anyone remember the ad that wanted you to sell "Grit" magazine for them?

[@stevebradley4885]

Yea...I filled it out and sold grit to like two old people...Grit actually sent me a stack of newspapers and they were real...I was supposed to send the money back to them after selling them, but I only sold two and realized it was more fun to play after school than have a job. I wish I would have kept a copy or two..And I never got sued...LOL

[@markmcgee2417]

Yeah I remember those. You could earn prizes the best ones being a bicycle and I think a stereo system. Lots of sports equipment and stuff so it seemed cool. Never knew anyone who actually answered the ad and got prizes though.

[@stevensica5918]

What was that? I never saw a copy.

[@em6680]

Haha.. grit... rhymes with shit. The little white with the plaid shirt.

[@billhodgson4105]

I’m 65 and can say yes-I sold Grit ha ha

[@aikisteven0616]

So many of these looked cheesy and fake even to 10-year-old me, but I would have KILLED to get that nuclear sub. Unfortunately, $6.95 in 70's money was just too much (not that my parents would have ever let me throw away my cash for it!). Thanks for the nostalgia trip! Great episode as always - keep up the great work!

[@garyfrancis6193]

So you missed sailing under the polar ice cap in it then.

[@MichaelCarroll]

American comics were fairly rare here in Ireland in the 1970s, so while everything about them was exciting, the ads in particular were a glimpse into a world that seemed very remote and different and fascinating, which made them even more enticing! Aside from the actual products -- silent dog whistles, Grit, magic soap powder, see-behind glasses -- the ads mentioned strange, incomprehensible concepts like C.O.D. and Zip codes, and they spelled "cheque" the easy way, and often they promised we could get their products by Sending No Money Now! Well, I sent them no money lots of times... never received a thing.

[@robynvorsa9283]

As a kid growing up in early sixties Sydney Australia, the ads fascinated me, being able to own a real monkey was amazing. I did read an article about a man who as a kid actually did get a live monkey. The ads were as entertaining as the comics themselves.

[@carsonojenic3593]

I had the big Frankenstein poster mentioned. Put it on my bedroom door. The next morning my father was shaving, bathroom door open, when he caught a glimpse of Frankenstein behind him and almost cut his throat. Loved the video!

[@RandomShapeless]

For my 11th birthday I asked for a "how to draw comics" art instruction book from an ad. Several months later it finally arrived. Wasn't the best step by step instructional guide like "draw comics the marvel way", but I did sketch the images from sight and not really follow the directions. Years later in my 20's, I went back to it and was actually able to grasp the text and what it was really trying to explain. It really helped me get back in to drawing and develop some real fundamentals. And in a real way, the concept of technically visualizing things I wanted to create really helped when I worked making haunted houses for a large company, and even in my work now in custom carpentry.

[@MrClawt]

As a kid the only toy store my parents every took me too, had a whole rack of the novelty/joke toys and I got the money maker toy full well knowing it was a prank. I loved that thing, I would load it to do the trick where a dollar would become a five dollar bill and show any relative that came over that it worked, but then the next one to pop out would be a blank paper so when they put their dollar in, they would get a scrap of paper and I would run away and try to keep their dollar.

[@dieseldragon6756]

I never had one (I don't know if they were ever offered in the UK market) but if I had one now, I would not be able to resist setting it up to „turn“ a £20,- note into a €5,- one... 😉 Hey! As a currency exchange device set at post-Brexit rates, it sounds like it'd do the job fairly well...At least for changing a single note! 🙃

[@GirlWhoCriedAardvark]

I recall a friend at school had one. It was fun to work out how the trick worked.

[@kevinkatz7027]

I bought a hermit crab out of the comics when I was a kid - took a couple weeks to get to me and when dad brought it home from the post office, he walked through the door and tossed the box across the room to me. I was sure it was going to be dead when I opened the box, but the little guy was ok and made a great pet - had him for quite a few years...

[@atdynax]

In the #1 issue of Futurama Fry buys those sea monkeys. Because theydidn't do anything he dumped them in atomic waste and they grew to gargantuan size.

[@michaelfuria4257]

brine shrimp

[@PensiveLobster1]

Just like in martin mystery.

[@mpatrickthomas]

😂😂I remember that.Funny episode.

[@madmagazine1483]

There’s a Superman club in Superman Squate

[@TCBulldog2016]

They didn't ship outside of the U.S. but as an Australian kid, we got access to alot of these items in toy stores and magic shops. My sister and l fantasized about the submarine in our pool, it would have been a massive disappoint. The Simpsons scene of Bart hitting the foam dinosaurs with water perfectly sums up child expectations vs disappointment.

[@SonnyGTA]

Great vid!! I remember ALL of these ads. They were mainly Johnson Smith Co. I was attracted by the low price. My dad and I would order a bunch of stuff and were always disappointed. I remember him writing a check for $5 or $10. We’d order all this stuff. I was around 8. I bought that book as well! Great to actually see what ALL these items actually were. Seems like a lifetime ago and on another planet!!

[@marcuswalters8093]

Interesting fact: my mate's dad used to work for an authority that made lists of what was illegal to ship, things like drugs etc. He added kryptonite to it. His boss argued with him about it, but his point was that it killed superman. In the end, they compromised and red kryptonite was allowed to be shipped. To this day, green kryptonite is illegal to ship.

[@Whydoyoureadme]

Donh ship stuff that will kill superman, only the stuff that will make him angry lol

[@johnzeszut3170]

Somehow this comes as no surprise.

[@nomadpi1]

And Lex Luther curses about it.

[@r0kus]

A type of ad which caught my attention in the '60s and '70s was the self-employed opportunities. Two companies in particular ran ads for years. First was _Grit,_ a weekly newspaper they wanted to get kids to sell door to door. Second was seed packets, like flowers and vegetable bushes. Again, the opportunity was for kids to sell these door to door. I don't remember the company (or companies?) that ran the seed ads. Sadly, I never tried either of these opportunities. Some go-getter kids probably did earn enough to buy themselves a bicycle, etc.

[@faelwolf1177]

It was Burpee seeds. At least that was the brand name of the seed packets I received, pretty sure it was the same company running the ads, or their distributor. They were legit, I earned a nice chemistry set by selling seeds one summer back in 1970 if I recall the year correctly. and yeah, I had to hustle to get my prize, but to me it was well worth it, we didn't have much disposable income in those days. We were too rural to try to sell papers, but it did make seeds an easier sell. Her husband might be planting 200 acres of corn, but she still wanted flowers for the garden, after all. :)

[@adamsmashups4839]

I remember those Grit ads.The funny thing is,i never actually a Grit newspaper until maybe 10 years a go.

[@parimabartender]

I used to sell shit for Olympia

[@67amiga]

I tried to sell Grit and seeds. I don't remember if anyone ever bought a subscription to Grit, but I know I did sell some seeds. I guess I bought the seeds outright, but it's been too many years to remember details. I have recently seen a couple of issues of Grit at a Doctors office.

[@budlewis721]

I used to see the Grit pitch in Boy's Life Magazine.

[@bmljenny]

I got the Magic Rocks and they were actually pretty cool. Some kind of crystal growing thing with a salt solution. I was sadly unsuccessful in convincing my parents to let me sell Grit.

[@faelwolf1177]

I did the "sell Burpee seeds" thing, and sold enough to get a rather good quality large chemistry set. I think the BATF or DEA would kick my door in if I had the same set these days. It's amazing what they let kids play with in the late 60's/early 70's. But then, in the 50's (a bit before my time) they did let kids play with radioactive materials..........

[@ZlothZloth]

Oh yeah! I had some of those! Kept them in a fishbowl near my window for a long time. Got one of those magnets that could "lift 200lbs," too. That did well until I... uhhh... went fishing with it. It kinda fell apart after that.

[@kirbyculp3449]

@@faelwolf1177 I discovered some National Rifle Association 'American Rifleman' magazines from about 1960-1962. In the advertisements was a full page ad for a Boys' Anti-Tank Rifle, priced at $57.00, shipped to your home, in the mail, a complete anti-tank rifle in, IIRC, 0.55 caliber. That is a lot of risk and responsibility and yet I do not recall reading about tragic incidents in that time. Maybe people at that time had more respect. Yes,

[@budlewis721]

I'll be dipped in buttermilk! Jenny, I haven't thought about those stinkin' "crystals" for 58 years. The instant I read your comment - SHIM-SHA-LA-BIM! - Magic! The image of my jar of affordable prestidigitation popped into my head. In my case the colorful miniature spires actually were stinkin'; they sat on my desk for so long they started to slowly emit a stench that grew so loud my mom threw them away one day while I was at school. Nostalgia envelops me. Thanks.

[@hebneh]

The photo of what the rocks were going to grow into showed a miniature wonderland / grotto...the actual things "grew" into small jagged shapes while lying on the bottom of whatever glass container you put them in. And the chemical you had to put them into (mixed with water) was poisonous to boot.

[@Dallas-Nyberg]

Yep... even here in Australia, we had these comic ads. I do not know if anyone purchased any of these scams....back then, to us Aussie kids, America seemed like it was a million miles away. Comics that were published in Australia, had similar adverts. I recall a page full of sneezing power, rubber vomit, etc, that were actually available at a real shop. It was called. "Weirdo's Magic Shop", located in Sydney, New South Wales. I bought quite a few interesting things from there. I still have one, a rubber vomit, complete with rubber carrots and peas embedded in it! I was about 15 when I bought it, I am now 72 - ah those were the days.

[@MukiBlalock]

Bro! I was 8 years old, 1991, Christmas, the ground was frozen solid as a hockey rink! I was in the back of my Mom's 70's gas guzzler waiting for my sister to hurry up so we could go to Grandma's for X-mas! My mom was outside the car and I couldn't see my older sister 12 (?) Apparently she slipped on the ice and my mom goes "aww and you dropped the sea monkeys too?!" I busted out in hilarious laughter not seeing that my sister could have been seriously hurt ( along with the now frozen sea monkeys!😂) ANYWAY MY MOM BEAT MY ASS FOR LAUGHING SO HARD IN THE BACK SEAT OF THE CAR!!!😂😂😂😂

[@RonMilesLokheed]

I totally bought the plastic army men in the mid-70’s, and I was legitimately excited when they arrived. Worth every penny to nine-year-old me, no matter how thin they were.

[@Oddball5.0]

I did exactly the same! Was disappointed at first, but still had fun with them.

[@milesdufourny4813]

Oh yeah, my twin brother and I bought those back in the early Sixties. Big disappointment. Later that year got the 3 dimension ones at a department store along with vehicles to put them in. Never got Sea Monkeys though, bummer!

[@ottoneiii4353]

as a kid i paid 1,000 lire (in italy, nowadays 50 cents) for 100 photos of animals, at the end of the day it was a good deal

[@367jima]

I got the Roman Legion, yeah they were thin but still had fun with them. That was about 1962

[@stevencorsoe9575]

I was totally disappointed with all of it...Do you remember the tanks?

[@hubmacfan]

And who can forget the a Hostess snack cake ads that were on almost every back cover.

[@josephcontreras8930]

Dont forget the snack ads like the jerky ads that the ec comics artist drew.

[@brooklyngal6334]

Those were fun! Love the fruit pies.

[@dieseldragon6756]

Oh aye, *those* ones. I tried that product for the first time on my last trip to the U.S, and had to run several city blocks the following day just to get my calorie count back down to a healthy level. 😳 It's not a wonder they're very hard to come by in these parts... 🇬🇧

[@daemonofdecay]

It says something that even though I’ve never purchased a single comic book, I knew exactly what two advertisements those were in the thumbnail. Advertising is a super power. A dark one.

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

Ah but remember it was a different time back then. I'm 65 and remember all of this.

[@tom2point0]

This is one of your best videos ever! I feel so much better now knowing I didn’t miss out on any of these “deals!”

[@DougShoeBushcraft]

I had the Roman soldier toys when I was a boy. They looked nothing like the art in the ad, of course. But I loved them. It still brings a smile to my face as I think about it now.

[@calvinkatt662]

I wanted that 7 foot Frankenstein poster when I was a kid.

[@josgretf2800]

I want one as an adult.

[@FlamingoKicker]

I bought one. If your idea of "horrifying" was a very very thin sheet of crappy green plastic then it was worth $1.

[@DasKame]

Which Kid dosent want a 7 Foot Frankenstein....Poster?

[@ridhosamudro2199]

You mean Frankenstein's monster. Unless they're lying about that too

[@FlamingoKicker]

@Frizzurd I did learn to "throw my voice" as the ad says from buying that hunk of plastic gadget and then practicing hours and hours.

[@paulh2981]

Some magazines ran an ad claiming you could "Make 1000s of dollars stuffing envelopes!" You'd send them a dollar for "complete plans" and they'd send you an envelope with a photocopied paper that said take out an ad in a magazine selling plans to "make 1000s of dollars stuffing envelopes" and send them a photocopy of that paper when they send you the money.

[@IronDiva]

Remember Don LePre?

[@richardcoleman3425]

This was a great episode! Growing up in East London in the 60s and 70s we never had comic shops back then, though there was one old guy at our local indoor market that just sold American comic books. If you were lucky, you'd pick them up at a local Newsagent, but you could never order issues or titles; a rubber-banded, random bundle would just appear each month on the lowest shelf - a mix of Marvel and DC. But as much as the wonderful stories, I so looked forward to seeing all these wonderful items advertised each month. I clearly remember the Sea Monkeys, the 100 toy soldier ads, ape masks, giant monsters, and all the other things you covered, as well as the later Twinkies comic strip ad at the back of some issues, and the Superhero shop ad about 4 or 6 pages into the comic. Great stuff! Thank you for this. Be safe, Chris. :)

[@kirkwatson-ye2957]

When I was a kid back in the 60s and was deep into comic books, I cut grass, washed cars and did what I had to do to buy these gadgets. I got every stinking one of them and though they were mostly junk, I was the cool kid because I had them

[@lipstickprincess1]

I totally loved watching this. I’m a kid from the 60’s and I remember all of these ads.😊👍🏼

[@nomadpi1]

I'm a kid from the 40s and 50s. I enjoyed watching this video.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

I'm surprised this didn't include the "build your own hover craft" one.

[@jackpijjin4088]

I was hoping somebody else remembered that! It was like a triangle of plywood with 3 vacuum cleaner motors on!

[@AustynSN]

They did a build of that one on Myth Busters

[@lindamaemullins5151]

Ikr and the hypnotic swirly thing😂😂

[@timjester8555]

Hah! I forgot about that one.

[@176questions]

They talked about that one in diary of a wimpy kid 3

[@ScipioAfricanusI]

I was enticed by the army men toys. Never bought them though. Thank you for covering this. Now I can rest easy. Thank you Chris. I felt the same way. I never bought any of these, but I was curious. This was a public service.

[@stevenroetzel4470]

Had some friends who bought some, and I was never tempted again. Lol.

[@brettrichardson7924]

The biggest scam in comics is and always has been "FIND OUT THE THRILLING CONCLUSION IN THE NEXT ISSUE"

[@RockandrollNegro]

Now it's "Read a three issue story spread out over six bloated issues so we can sell a trade paperback"

[@greenmushroom2587]

And then the cliffhanger gets solved in a really stupid way on the first page and the rest of the comic is a totally different story.

[@raidenstark315]

Today isn't worth it anymore

[@kevinm5940]

That's still a thing. Remember the Captain America 'Hail Hydra' controversy from a couple years ago?

[@real_nosferatu]

@@greenmushroom2587 incredibles 2.

[@gregoznowich5196]

I absolutely adored this. Thank you. As a comic book collector, I have numerous books on this ad "art" and I truly think it is a form of art... of some kind. Seeing this exploration in video form had me hooked. I am now subscribed.

[@stevecline5102]

What memories! I have several large cardboard boxes of comic books that I had in the 50s and 60s… including issue number one of the fantastic, four, and issue number one of the avengers, plus several other single digit number issues of both titles… that carry the same advertisements that I saw in your video. I had no idea that Joe Orlando was the artist for the sea monkeys, however. The advertisements always said, “Send cash , check or money order. Expect 6 to 8 weeks for delivery.” Great video!

[@NateNintendo]

God I remember the ads for shit like x-ray glasses and sea monkeys when digging through my dad’s old comic collection. I honestly remember a lot of the ads more than the comics themselves lol

[@dolenzmcqueen8316]

NateNintendo I loved the ads...the best part of the comics.

[@Remholder]

seeing ads in older comics always gets my goat, its some of the funniest shit ive ever seen

[@dieseldragon6756]

I saw ads for Monkeys (Sea and land), and baby Alligators (Damn, that one makes me bawl my eyes out! 😢) but I don't remember ever seeing ads for Goats... 🙃

[@nomadpi1]

How many "shits" have you seen?

[@jamesdlin7]

I miss the ads. I assume lack of advertising revenue is one reason why modern comic book are so ridiculously expensive. My favorite ads from 1970s comics were the Hostess ones.

[@kellyrestiaux9846]

Yes ! Thor & some a*****e in a metal suit duke it out for five panels then enjoy m.f.-ing fruit pies. A wonder MARVEL never made a $300 million movie based on this.

[@pauldavidartistclub6723]

One long running advertiser that I had a connection to was Toyotaro Miyazaki, who ran Learn Karate By Records ads. When my dad took me to the local karate school in Flushing, NYC, to enroll in classes circa 1973 or 74, to my wonderment it turned out to be Sensei Miyazaki’s dojo! Not only was he legitimate, but was a world renown master (as was his assistant Sensei Masakazu Takahashi). Not that he became a real friend of the family, he was gracious enough to attend my Bar Mitzvah 3 or 4 years later. I studied with him until 1979. Decades later when I had a used book store in NYC’s Long Island suburb Rockville Centre, I was surprised to find out that Mr. Miyazaki had moved his famed school from Flushing to the same town, though I never did drop in to say hello (he wouldn’t have remembered me, I thought). Miyazaki died in 2021, having retired back in Japan (he had moved to the US in 1966).

[@aussiecoastie72]

Great video… I have a lot of vivid memories of being a child looking through the comic books and just being fascinated by all of those wonderful gadgets ! But because they were advertised in American magazines, I couldn’t really send away for any of them living here in Australia. But as an adult , I now realise this was a blessing in disguise 😂😂😂

[@legatomodi3522]

You could probably make a whole episode on those insane hostess fruit pie advertisements

[@legatomodi3522]

@King PeppyXavier: "Cyclops, you couldn't have saved Jean. You know she loved you... i know she loved you".... [dramatic music] Cyclops: i cant lead the xmen anymore....i can't keep doing this. I cant keep losing everything I loved [pounds fists into desk] Xavier:.... Scott..... [momentary sad gloomy pause] [Xavier pulls out a hostess fruit pie] Xavier: you still love these dont you? Cyclops: Hostess Fruitpies?!?! Now THATS something worth fighting for. Hostess makes the best, and with real fruit filling and a cream glazed shell, its so good even magneto would take a break on destroying us for a minute to eat it! Xavier: You bet! You can find hostess fruit pies at your local grocery or convenience store in all 5 flavors. Hostess Fruit Pies saves the day again! EPILOUGE In the background, in shadows, Mr Sinister is there watching and scheming "yes..... waitaminute, what the fuck... are they talking about pies?

[@yannickgrignon2473]

YES. I loved those! So insane to see these incredibly popular and successful franchise characters suddenly just espousing the values of Hostess Fruit Pies.

[@TheDjcobra2001]

This brings me back. Remember the adamantium gum that used to come in baseball card packs?

[@mpatrickthomas]

😂😂😂.And YEARS later when you look at your cards...STILL smelled like that gum.lol

[@dheritagememory603]

I loved my sea monkeys when I was a kid. My sister and I both ordered some and couldn't wait for them to arrive. I was initially disappointed but ended up loving them all the same lol. I might have to get some for my son one of these days 😂

[@rmas32]

More than anything as a kid I enjoyed reading all the ads. (not more than the actual comic of course) Naturally I was super interested in the ads for things to see through women’s clothing! The build your own hover craft was a fun one to imagine. Fortunately both parents were teachers and had a great way of explaining things to a young lad so I never fell victim. But I did once purchase a, “Jungle Blow Gun” that turned out to be pretty cool! You’re 100% correct. A lot of the fun with the ads was using your imagination about the product. Thanks for the upload. ✌️

[@Monkofmagnesia]

I grew up in Neptune, NJ, where the S.S. Adams Novelty Company is located. They manufactured many of the items that were featured in comic book ads. I was given the Money Changer as a birthday gift, but was told that it was a magic trick to fool your friends with.

[@dieseldragon6756]

A lot of these novelties and the descriptions for them also match novelty products sold under the „Smiffy's“ brand in the UK. I wonder if that's also owned by the same company? 😇

[@AgentOfShockUranus]

Count Dante has to be the most insane story I've ever heard of.

[@99baji99]

THE BEST

[@seanledig1431]

He was a real black belt under Robert Trias, a respected American karate master. He earned it at a time when sport karate was a blood-and-guts sport practiced mostly be ex-servicemen. But Dante (real name, John Keehan) was also a real-life asshole. He did a lot of other scams, like walking a live bull down a busy street in Chicago, promising that he would kill it with a karate punch at a tournament he was promoting. (He never did.) He also worked as a bouncer at the Chicago Playboy Club. He often went to work dressed in leotards and a cape hoping that someone would make fun of him so he could have an excuse to beat up that person.

[@spooky6703]

You can still buy his book on Amazon for $40+ Canadian

[@SuperFunkmachine]

The man had a pet lion, fought in the Chicago dojo wars, tried to bomb a rival school too.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Don't forget his disciples, Ashida Kim and Frank Dux!

[@lucasmcraeevans4445]

I love this channel. I feel it's the best of KZbin, lo-fi yet lovingly made. Chris, you are a treasure.

[@christopherw.griffin3768]

This episode is so funny. I ordered stuff from comic book ads when I was living on Guam back in the mid seventies and even as a kid I instinctively knew the products were going to be crap but I did it anyway because it was just too entertaining. Thanks Chris, your show is the greatest.

[@westsidesmitty1]

Ah, the memories! I was a child of the 70's and most all of these were aimed my way. My mother used my requests to send away for them as invaluable lessons in critical thinking and ''if it sounds to good to be true....''. I remember wanting the ''amazing x ray vision'' glasses @ 15:54. She pointed to the fifth line of the ad, where it noted ''illusion''. However disillusioned I was by the sellers mendacity (and that they hit on children), she used their schemes to (gently) clue me in to the ways of the world (or at least the US, for having survived hundreds of hours of Saturday morning cereal commercials and Christmas time ad blitzes , I was amazed to learn, decades latter, that in more progressive countries it is ILLEGAL to aim advertising specifically at children!). But hey, I am so old that I remember alcohol and cigarette commercials on television. At least we don't have that, anymore. Now it is all Big Pharma advertising (which is also banned in many other countries). Thanks for the memories! Being a kid in the late 60's early 70's was probably the real golden age- G.I. Joe came about a foot tall, and one could durn near kill the playground bully with any Tonka Toy. The stuff today cannot compare. Liked and subbed.

[@AlexFlockhart]

"Hitler just got bad press" - Gee, I wonder what he could have done to deserve that.

[@creamcannon825]

I think he yelled a bit much for the public's taste

[@RawrX32009]

​@@creamcannon825he was a little bit unpolite

[@daviddubois3196]

the more stuff i hear about the guy, the less I like him.

[@Florida_Cracker]

Who owns the press? 🤔 ✡️

[@BurgerSliderMan]

Older Japanese magazines were full of stuff like this too. Funny to think of the strange things youd find in those.

[@feelingevaporated2912]

@Frizzurd you can buy live octopus from a market, it’s very common to eat them that way. No need for a novelty product lol

[@princetolstoy]

Love this Chris! For the record I bought the money maker, spy camera, seamonkeys, (I actually bought seamonkeys on three different occasions) The 100 two dimensional army men, joy buzzer, magic kit- n more!

[@orbyfan]

And that little boy grew up to be...P.T. Barnum.

[@AlohaBlade]

I’ve listened to this many o time but this time I saw the intro, one of your best! I loved seeing the bunko ads!!! Have not read comics since this era but absolutely love your channel.

[@josephanthonypuccio4704]

Thanks for the memories! I as a young boy bought many of these things from the comic book ads… Dang I wanted those X Ray glasses to actually work… I still do!! Thanks

[@foffingCh.]

When I was reading my dad’s old comics, I’d see these ads, and go “pssssh, of course this stuff isn’t real, how many poor saps fell for these?... they aren’t real right? I wish I had that thing...”

[@robertroberts5090]

One of my fondest comic memories was dreaming of buying the armies of Roman soldiers. I once phoned the 1 800 number in the add showing all the prizes you could earn for being a paper boy, only to find out, like hundreds of thousands of other young boy readers, that American 1 800 numbers don't work in Canada!

[@BenFrayle]

You have disrespected the memory of The Deadliest Man Alive - Count Dante. The Black Dragon Fighting Society will now track you down and use the Dim Mak Death Touch upon you.

[@Udgrasil13]

They might touch you weirdly at your neck and 59 Years later you will die. It is pure horror.

[@hayashikato6576]

Din Mok is real. I've mastered It a long time ago, It's aided me in many battles.

[@Udgrasil13]

@@hayashikato6576 Sure it did sweetheart ; )

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

Yes! Count freakin' Dante! If anyone doesn't know the story, Super Eyepatch Wolf did an amazing job here. It's fairly long, but I highly recommend jumping down this rabbit hole... m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZvFhHZ7ndKdgKM

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Ashida Kim himself will carry out the assassination, no doubt.

[@randysmith7045]

i WAS A KID IN THE 60'S AND FELL FOR THIS STUFF.

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

Same here!👋😂👍

[@DennisRay99]

Same

[@ritadaniels3175]

Been watching Leave It To Beaver on METV & the Boys would order this stuff! My FAVORITE is prob the alligator/crocodile & they named him Captain Jack & ended up giving him to Edgar Buchanan who played the ACTUAL Captain Jack & owned an Alligator Farm in town🤣😫

[@needleman08]

Bull

[@SonnyGTA]

You should have bought their hearing aides!!

[@Ghostshadow714]

Awesome! I too grew up reading comics and would often wonder what the products in some of those adds really looked like.

[@sdaniels160]

I ordered those thin little soldiers as a child and I was very surprised. I wasn't upset though because they were much cheaper than the soldiers you could buy in a store and you pretty much got the quality that you paid for.

[@geoffshaw346]

Those ads for whole armies of Roman soldiers,or Civil War ones,and so on, let my imagination expand to a backyard battlefield transformed.There is no way what you actually were to get could match that.

[@rickmiller1840]

Actually bought and received the “soldiers” who were indeed flat as paper, and complete crap. Wow, I was disappointed. I never had the coin for the masks for sale in Famous Monsters of Film-land, they were some serious $$ back then. It would be fascinating to see what people actually got who shelled out the money for those amazing looking monster masks and fake hands etc. Awesome episode.

[@HSR107]

these ads are one of the reasons why slabbing books bothers me so. Letters and editorial pages too, of course.

[@josemontano7767]

I remember the Hostess cakes that Spider-Man and Thor use eat on the comic book commercials

[@ananominity]

Stumbled onto this video today with no prior knowledge of your channel and, wow, what a great introduction! I always wondered about those tricks, toys, and products but never bought any or knew anyone who did. Thanks for this video and for verifying all of that. My only regret is how I could have gotten rich from selling seeds...

[@psychomar]

"you were much more likely to choke to death on it" this was a hilarious episode. Thanks.

[@56postoffice]

😂That intro.....In the late 70s when I first bought comics, I remember these ads. Being a UK fan, years later I always wondered how the hell they got away with this for so long. They were obviously con merchants peddling potentially dangerous and pervy stuff. To kids. Plus, being a kid at the time, I thought these ads were for American children only (what the hell is 'zip'!!? I know what it is now!) even though Marvel and DC comics were sold over here. This topic was touched upon on another channel but this is just as entertaining. Great synopsis. UK fan.✌

[@NeilBlumengarten]

I started reading in the early 90's at the tail end of the oddity age of advertising. But trips to the comic store for back issues always resulted in gold. Even if the comic wasn't great, the ads were! What about the Olympic "Sell for Prizes or Cash" ads? Tents, bikes, watches, and so much more!

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

I remember those.

[@perrybarton]

'60s kid, here. Nice job, but where's the practical joke chewing gum that blackened people's teeth? Where's the itching power? The joy buzzer and the whoopie cushion? 🤓

[@geoffshaw346]

Terrific! You are addressing the other exciting part of older comics-the ads pages.I used to look over these as much as any story. I dared to believe you would actually get some great deal for the price demanded.

[@ronplatz7202]

Excellent trip down memory lane. I remember being just a fascinated with the ads as the comics and got the sea monkeys and the spy camera. The "spy" camera was supposedly a camera, it was all plastic and fit in the palm of my hand as a kid. It was preloaded with film as far as I remember which could be developed by absolutely no one as I later found out. I wish I would have kept it, lol.

[@natanpierce495]

The book looks cool, but I really liked your dialog and how you flourished great sarcasm in the adds. I was laughing real good with that spy pen part, imagining my now (grown-up) home with my 8 year old drilling through the walls. Did the sea monkeys and loved them.

[@NickBartolo]

Good stuff! For comic book fans of a certain age, these are fondly remembered.

[@mpatrickthomas]

EXACTLY..👍👍

[@SillyReviews]

I forgot about this part of my childhood. I didn't even like the comics.....but I LOVED all the ads for this stuff you cover in your video. Big time rush of nostalgia. Thanks!

[@robertfreestone414]

These videos are absolutely wonderful! I even teared up a bit. It's as these videos' content producers said, "Hey, Bobby. Take my hand and we'll visit your childhood."

[@gallowshumor1784]

Wish is essentially the second coming of this except a lot less interesting

[@DonVigaDeFierro]

... And without a comic book...

[@AlexR2648]

I don't think they ever sold glock auto sears in the back of comic books...

[@midnightAlchemistOfficial]

Ahhhhh, yes the 6 foot tall Frankenstein monster. I bought it when I was 8 (1972). I waited all summer and it came just before school started and I was so excited thinking how cool it would be to keep my 6 foot tall monster. I got a flat brown 8.5 x 11.00 envelope in the post. Puzzled as to why I'd get post from New York. My heart hit the floor when I pulled out two folded plastic sheets and a small sticker with two glow in the dark dots. Yeah, it was a two piece plastic poster with the two glow in the dark stickers to apply to the eyes so when you turn out the lights the eyes would glow. So much for my mail order big brother. ;)

[@dieseldragon6756]

Having light Dyspraxia, I misread your second sentence as „I bought it when I was 9 (1872)“. You were still alive and commenting here in 2021, 158 years after your birth... You haven't ever woken up in the middle of a stormy night feeling like a million volts, have you?... ⛈⚡😉

[@Hugme778]

The fitness ad was also parodied in the tf2 comics. I believe it was a sniper vs spy comic and it even redraws some panaels with tf2 characters

[@PatrickRsGhost]

I remember seeing some of these ads in what few comic books I owned. I also remember a page of novelty items advertised by the Johnson Smith Company. We used to get the actual catalog that had tons of cool items that actually worked. I remember getting the joke garlic gum, which lost its flavor after maybe a few minutes, the hand buzzer that didn't electrocute you, but just buzzed, some glow-in-the-dark stars, glow-in-the-dark modeling clay, and a few other items.

[@DugEphresh]

I'm glad this stuff stays up for years, love the nostalgic quality.

[@GabezPolanski]

Hi Chris, I do really enjoy comic tropes, and in all the time that I've been watching it, I think this has been the funniest intro ever. Thanks man. Keep making more videos.

[@guyo68]

Had a silly smile on my face throughout... Thanks for clearing up this lifelong mystery for me!

[@yehudadavis3235]

Are you really going to make me watch a twenty-five minute video past 1:30 AM, Chris? Update: I regret nothing

[@antonydrossos5719]

Hell, I watching this at 3:40am!

[@rubewaddell1704]

@RockManLP guess he was doing his own scam

[@randallkoch6183]

This was TOO GOOD. They are probably real collectors' items now. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[@DAquingil]

I really enjoyed this. I found myself laughing out loud seeing the x-ray specs my brother bought, and the flat army men that my best friend ordered when we were in 6th grade. The soldiers were supposedly packaged in an authentic military footlocker which was in reality a small cardboard box. My brother Steve had the miniature spy camera, and we all ordered the 200 Revolutionary War Soldiers. My brother Roger got the Sea Monkeys. These ads were also in Boys Life magazine in a section called Gifts and Gimmics.

[@dukinhower]

Everyone knows these ads only work in The CREEPSHOW Universe...

[@leetri]

The Team Fortress 2 promo comic for when they released the Jarate item makes much more sense now, it's a parody of that Charles Atlas ad.

[@Halbmond]

1970ies: Scam ads in comic books advertising X-Ray glasses (to see through clothes) 2010s: Scam Apps in the App Store claiming to give your phone X-Ray abilities (to see though clothes) Some things never change

[@kronemerj]

They Just evolved

[@NightBazaar]

One comic book ad that frequently showed up was the "Smoke From Your Fingertips" ad. You could WOW your friends with your magic powers! I never bought it from comic book ad, but I did find it at Novelty/Gag/Magic shop back in the late-1950s/early-1960s. What you got was tube of a sticky substance that you would apply to your thumb and forefinger, rub them together and PRESTO! Fine, wispy material would float in the air, just like smoke! Or more like fine, wispy sticky stuff. Another popular item that showed up in comic book ads was the Jivaro Shrunken Heads. They were made out of molded rubber, had fake hair, string stitches on the lips, and a string loop on top of its head to hang from the rearview mirror of a car. If you had a scary shrunken head hanging from the mirror, teenagers knew you must be someone extra cool.

[@victorglemberg3359]

Thanks for the belly laughs, back in the 70's I envied the kids in America who could buy submarines and seven foot monsters. Thank you for bringing back happy memories.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

I still collect any old issues as I could. I really like reading those ads, the bulletin board, editorials, list of weekly issues released, letter-replies, and the feel of the paper whenever I turn the page.