More Coastal Comics

January 1998

Thunderbolts #10

Yeah, I know ads like this aren’t super exciting, but I’m a historian and a completist, so I feel compelled to share all the ads from the books I’ve scanned.

Anyway, here we’re visiting East Coast Comics again, almost a decade after the last ad I published from them. And I thought I had a lot of tags last time – well, I think I broke my record again, because in addition to all the regular series, they also listed all sorts of limited series and special sets!

I’m sure a lot of these titles can be found in quarter bins today, but I wonder just how many of them have skyrocked in value.

 

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It’s the Space Age – 20 Years Later!

May 1986

Masters Of The Universe #1

Everyone thinks of The Jetsons as a classic, but did you know that its original run back in the ’60s was only one season of 24 episodes? Hard to believe, huh? Then the run advertised here added another 41 episodes, and 10 more were produced in 1987. Notable in this ad is the addition of Orbitty, Elroy’s little alien friend. Is it just me, or does he look super out of place here?

And then we’ve got Galtar And The Golden Lance. I don’t remember this show at all from back in the day, but something about it seems kind of familiar… hmm… a strong, blond warrior, holding obviously powerful swords above his head, riding a large, green animal… I’m just not sure where I’ve seen something like that before…

Apparently Galtar only lasted 21 episodes, so with a short run like that, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that I don’t remember it.

 

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Big News?

January 1978

The Secret Society of Super-Villains #12

Big news! It’s the Huntress! And Shade, the Changing Man! Most of you probably know the Huntress as Helena Wayne (or Kyle), the daughter of Batman and Catwoman from an alternate universe.

But what about Shade? I’d never heard of him before, which I was kind of surprised by – I mean, if he starred in his own series, he must’ve been at least somewhat of a big deal, right? Well, it turns out that this was an original character created by Steve Ditko (which is pretty cool), but his series only lasted eight issues (which is not so cool). Apparently Shade was a casualty of the “DC Implosion” where, due to financial troubles, DC canceled 40% of its titles! In fact, All-Star Comics and The Secret Society of Super-Villains (the comic this ad was printed in) also got the ax. 1978 must’ve been a sad time indeed for DC fans!

 

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The Science of Gross

January 1998

Thunderbolts #10

Since last week we had “GROSS!” Madballs, I thought this would be an appropriate followup: Grossology. This is software (based on a book) that tries to teach kids about biology by presenting it as something gross – and therefore fun. So if you want to learn about snot, pee, pimples, scabs, or other sorts of bodily substances and/or functions, this is the place!

Just in doing a quick search on this, I found out that there’s an official website for Grossology that’s still active… and while it says that it was last updated in 2010, it looks more like it was last updated closer 2001! This is a seriously vintage website, and great for a walk down memory lane to the good (?) ol’ days of dialup. It’s also great for showing to the kids/grandkids so you can tell them, “Back in my day, this was what our internet looked like! It took five minutes to load, and we were grateful for it!” (and feel free to add “you young whippersnappers!” for extra effect).

 

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GROSS!

May 1986

Masters Of The Universe #1

Like so many other things from the ’80s, I remember Madballs being around, but didn’t have any or really pay that much attention to them. Upon looking up some info on them, I was kind of surprised to learn that they actually each had names. Fun fact: The guy with the exposed brain was originally named Crack Head… but they later changed it to Bash Brain – I can’t imagine why! ;D  I’m not sure at what point they changed his name, but if they produced any toys in packaging labeled “Crack Head,” I’m sure those would be worth quite a bit now!

Surprisingly, Madballs are still around! Or, more accurately, they’re around again. In 2006 American Greetings teamed up with Art Asylum and began producing the toys (as well as other Madballs-themed products) again under the Just Play brand. And there’s even a new Madballs YouTube channel! I guess all things old are new again…

 

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