Friday, December 29, 2017

Groovy Posts of Christmas Past: Presents and the Comicbook Ads That Made Me Want 'Em

Happy Holidays, Groove-ophiles! For the rest of the week we're gonna be showcasing Posts of Christmas Past--in other words, re-runs or reprints of some of Ol' Groove's fave posts from Decembers other than this one. ;D Hope you enjoy 'em!

This one's from December 18, 2010!

Ho, ho, ho-wzit goin, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove spends a lot of time yakkin' about the covers, and splashes, and stories, and art in our beloved Groovy Age comics, but I don't seem to spend enough time on the ads. The ads were as much a part of the fun (sometimes more) of the comix experience as any of the rest of the aforementioned items. Heck, I remember buying a few comics just for certain ads! Crazy, huh? Crazy like a fox, baby, 'cause when you handled those ads the right way, you could lay some heavy hints on your parents for Christmas goodies! For example...









How 'bout you, Groove-ophile? Did you find any of these awesome items under your tree?

See ya Monday in 2018 for our first new post of the New Year!

17 comments:

  1. That ad for the Daisy BB gun struck a nerve with me as a kid, I remember keeping my room spotless (a big accomplishment for a young boy lol

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  2. Major Matt Mason was the toy of my boyhood. I still remember getting that case with Mason inside with the nifty Moonsuit and the Rocket Sled. I played with him until the wires in his little legs and arms broke. Just this Christmas I got word from one of my daughters that the other had remarked on Spirograph and I picked up one for her. The other daughter got a Lite*Brite and we've had tons of fun with these retro games. Who needs video games -- bah humbug!

    Rip Off

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    1. I started with Billy Blastoff and worked my way up to MMM. Man, I loved those toys. I had the big MMM spaceship/glider. Just got my grandkids a Lite*Brite. Next Christmas they're getting a Spirograph. We had cool toys in the 60s and 70s!

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  3. LOVE those vintage ads, looking back now it seems bizarre and extremely irresponsible to advertise a bb-gun in a comic book. The 70's truly were a strange time.

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  4. You'll shoot your eye out!

    M.P.

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    1. I had two Daisy bb-guns, actually, both a pistol and a rifle. Never shot my or anyone's eye out. In fact, most kids I knew had a bb-gun, but we never heard of any problems. Maybe we were taught to be careful back then...? ;D

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    2. Stupid me decided to shoot at a bug crawling along our driveway. Let me tell you a bb ricocheting and hitting me on the forehead was no fun. Sometimes you wonder how we survive our childhoods.

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  5. Hey Groovalo- I dig the nostalgia! No Johnny Lightning? Lol!

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    1. Nope, I was a strictly HotWheels kid. Well, and SSP racers. Rarely ever even got any Matchbox cars, either.

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  6. In kindergarten or first grade, I saw another child who had a stretch armstrong injury. I didn't see it happen, but I did see blood running down their arm.

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    1. Wow! Again, that's the first I've ever heard of a Stretch Armstrong injury. We had one; I'm pretty sure the only way anyone could have gotten hurt with it is if we smacked each other in the face with it--which come to think of it...

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    2. as I recall, as many as four small kids were pulling it in all directions when the arm tore off, snapped back and smacked the kid in the arm.

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  7. Wow. I remember that Ready Rangers ad and thinking how odd it was that they kept saying 'Ready Rangers' all the time.

    This brought back a memory of an advertising insert in a comic from sometime early in the Groovy age. Like another newsprint comic of all comic style ads in the center of the comic. I remember the Chip Away ad being in it. I have no idea what comic that was in, likely a DC or a Gold Key around the time of Superman 269. Odd that I just remembered that now.

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  8. The catalog I saw was probably either this http://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/kenner_1973_toy_catalog_1 or this http://www.ep.tc/kenner-catalog/

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  9. That Smash Up Derby with the Bug and the pickup was one of the greatest Christmas presents I ever got. I wish I could remember whether or not I first saw it in a comic ad.

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  10. I often wonder how many boxes of Chip Away were sold. When I saw the ads for it as a kid I thought it was a really poor concept for a toy (Much like how Lite-Brite could only be used once for each picture). If I could unburden myself of my deprived childhood. My parents didn't have much money when I was growing up. So there were no Rockem Sockem Robots, Zeroids or Aurora models with the cool comic inserts. Sob. I'm surprised I've grown up as well-adjusted as I have.

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