A Touch of Evel

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

I saved the best (at least in my opinion) for last – here’s the last ad I’ve got from Claw The Unconquered: Evel Knievel! He was huge in the ’70s, with all sorts of stunts, TV appearances, and – most importantly – merchandise!

This line of toys ran from 1972 to ’77, and after releasing the Stunt Cycle in ’73, became Ideal’s best sellers! Despite being so popular, the line was dropped (along with most of Knievel’s other sponsorships) when Knievel assaulted the writer of an unflattering book about him. But the really interesting part about that? Knievel managed to beat the guy to a pulp while still recovering from a stunt gone bad, and both of his arms were in casts at the time! Now that takes determination! (Not that I’m endorsing assault or anything, but still, wow!)

Classic Revivals

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

I wasn’t very familiar with either of these titles, so had to look up info on both of them. It turns out that they both began in the 1940s, were canceled, and then revived in the ’70s. Both of the comics advertised here are the first in their new series.

Interestingly, even though they’d been out of print for a while (in the case of All Star Comics, 25 years!), DC decided to continue the issue numbering where it left off.

Personally, I Prefer the B-52s Over the B-17s

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

You can build this cool model plane! And then you can win a trip to see cool planes in person! Pretty cool, huh?

So first prize is a trip to London to see an air show. But then the second prize winner gets the choice of: A) a trip to Disneyland and the Boeing plant in Seattle, or B) a trip to Disney World and an air museum in Dayton, OH.

Is it just me, or do these seem like really odd trip combinations? I mean, Anaheim and Seattle aren’t exactly neighbors, and neither are Orlando and Dayton. I get that Disney is the prize kids actually want, and the plane-related stuff is to tie in with the model planes, but couldn’t they have found some aviation-related attractions a little closer to Disney?

 

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Is That a Gun in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

I find it kind of ironic that they’re so thoroughly emphasizing the manliness of a product called Daisy – trying to compensate, hmm?

“Maybe Dad can help,” “handsome,” “man-sized,” “heft you can handle”… except for the “Dad” part, that sounds like it could be from gay porn! “Hey, handsome, I’ve got something man-sized with heft you can handle!” 😉

 

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I Don’t Think Whiz Comics Would Go Over as Well Today

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

Comics! And lots of them! But rather than subscriptions, here we’ve got reprints and collections of some of the biggest, most influential characters of all time!

I would certainly pick up most of these if I found them in the quarter bin… except for the Bible one, that is… unless it had some fantastic ads!

This Con Is Super, Thanks for Asking!

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

OK, I know that I should have an ad from the ’80s this week, but I just finished the ads I’d been posting from G.I. Joe, and now I can’t get my scanner to work, so we’re stuck with ’60s and ’70s for the time being.

Anyway – It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Super DC Convention! Lots of great stuff, with no real specifics – they don’t name a single guest or panel that will be there – hardly adequate by today’s con standards! 😉

I think it’s interesting that they mention Superman’s birthday – he was created in 1938, which means that in 1976 he would’ve been 38 years old – not exactly a notable milestone.

Don’t Use Your Karate Skills on the Seahorses!

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

It’s another random grab bag of mini ads!

The one that strikes me the most here is the one for live seahorses – they’ll send you two “freshly caught” mated pairs, with at least one pregnant. OK, I have two main thoughts on this:

1. Sending live, pregnant seahorses through the mail seems like it would be prohibitively difficult/risky.
2. Capturing seahorses from the wild and then sending them through the mail seems rather cruel… and seems like it should be illegal.

At least Sea Monkeys are in a type of suspended animation when they’re shipped, but live, conscious animals is a whole different story!

 

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Snap Into A Smoked Beef Snack!

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

I’m not really sure what the deal is with talking about werewolves here – the publishing date is February, and if things were the same in 1976 as they are in 2017, that means this was probably actually published in December, so it’s not like this was around Halloween.

Based on the way they’re marketing this (comparing it to unsatisfying sugary and crunchy snacks), I was wondering if maybe Slim Jims were a new product, but it turns out I was way off – apparently they’ve been around since 1929!

And I had no idea there were so many varieties – I’ve only ever seen original and mild. Where are the pizza Slim Jims now? I want to try those!

Tough, Menacing Men of Action!

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

“Nothing can stop the smashing assault of Big Jim’s P.A.C.K.”

Umm… do we need to get Spider-Man and the Power Pack back here so they can give us tips on preventing sexual abuse again? Because that’s kind of where it sounds like this is heading!

I think they’re stretching it a bit with the acronym – “Professional Agents/Crime Killers” – so… they kill… crime? And while I can see how Dr. Steel’s steel hand could come in handy (Ha! Handy!) in battle, that can’t be the best possible prosthetic for everyday use – just think how impractical something like that would be!

 

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It’s a Sure Thing!

February 1976

Claw The Unconquered #5

Personally, I don’t know a whole lot about flying remote control planes, but judging by this, I’m going to assume that they’re generally rather challenging. Well, no more! Because Cox now makes planes with Automatic Pilot!

With Sure Flyers™ you’ve got the choice of Auto Pilot or Hand Control, so it’s easy for beginners! Sounds like a winner to me!