No-Frills Comics Subscriptions

December 1983

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi #3

This has got to be the most bland subscription ad I’ve ever seen! No characters, no fancy graphics, not even an interesting font! Come on, Marvel – you can do so much better than this!

However, one thing that caught my eye on this page was “Blip” – I’d never heard of that title before. Upon looking it up, apparently since kids at this time were spending more of their money on video games and less on comic books, Marvel decided to try cashing in on the video game craze by publishing a magazine about it! It only lasted 7 issues, but it looks amazingly geeky, and I’d love to get my hands on it!

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.

 

Do you enjoy reading Comic Book Ads? If so, please consider supporting me by clicking here for my Amazon link – I’ll get a percentage from everything you order! Thanks!

Wanna Join the Mile High (Comics) Club?

January 1998

Thunderbolts #10

So, this seems like it’s supposed to be a two-page ad, since it lists all of the Marvel Comics but only gets to C in DC, but I swear this is all there is! I guess since this was in a Marvel comic, maybe that’s why they focus so heavily on Marvel titles, and just use DC as space filler.

In going through and adding tags for all the different titles, I was surprised by how many I’ve never heard of – I mean, I expected there to be quite a few, but not this many!

So these comics are only 50¢ each – not a bad price! However, there’s a minimum order of $20, which means you’d have to order 40 books in order to get anything! I guess for hardcore collectors that probably wouldn’t be a problem, but when I go digging thorough a bargain bin, I usually only pick up a few issues – a couple times when I’ve really gone nuts, I might’ve gotten up to 20, but I don’t think I’ve ever bought 40 comics at a time!

 

Do you enjoy reading Comic Book Ads? If so, please consider supporting me by clicking here for my Amazon link – I’ll get a percentage from everything you order! Thanks!

Iron Santa!

March 1985

G.I. Joe #33

Hello, loyal comic book ad enthusiasts! Sorry I missed last week – I was busy with Christmas stuff. But you know who else is busy with Christmas stuff? Iron Man! Yes, he’s bringing folksy, outdated, generic toys to all the girls and boys! …Or maybe he’s just trying to get you to buy comics.

Only 42¢ per copy?! What I wouldn’t give for that price (or even the full cover price of 60¢) these days! Why/when/how did comics get so expensive? Most new issues I buy are $3.99 each! Oh, well – maybe if I’m lucky I’ll find some comics under the tree this year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone out there!

 

Do you enjoy reading Comic Book Ads? If so, please consider supporting me by clicking here for my Amazon link – I’ll get a percentage from everything you order! Thanks!

Tons of Newtons!

March 1985

G.I. Joe #33

Ah, the fun of a game included within an ad! Here we get to help a pirate through a maze to find a treasure chest full of tasty Fig and Apple Newtons! I’m sure that fun ads like this still exist, just in places I don’t see them – but I just always associate stuff like this with the ’70s and ’80s.

I’ve never really thought of Newtons as cookies, but that’s how they describe them here – huh, new perspective, I guess.

They Would Be a Mile High if You Stack Them Up!

March 1985

G.I. Joe #33

If you want comics, here’s the place to get them! If you’ve ever read comics, you’ve probably seen ads for Mile High Comics – well, here’s the first of mine for you to check out!

SO! MANY!! COMICS!!! This has to be my listing with the most tags – I’ve actually learned quite a bit about comics just by typing all the titles!

 

Do you enjoy reading Comic Book Ads? If so, please consider supporting me by clicking here for my Amazon link – I’ll get a percentage from everything you order! Thanks!

An All-Star Lineup!

March 1985

G.I. Joe #33

Star Comics was a division of Marvel that printed comics aimed at young kids, and mostly titles based on TV shows. I remember a few of these shows from my youth, but Ewoks was the only one that really stands out to me.

You may notice “Peter Porker” as one of the titles – although this could very well be taken in a decidedly non-child-friendly direction, the full title of this is actually “Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham” – yep, a pig as Spider-Man!

Spider-Man vs. Molestation?

March 1985

G.I. Joe #33

I’ve seen Spider-Man fight a lot of evil over the years, but this is the first time I’ve seen him target sexual abuse (and just for the record, I’ve never actually read any Power Pack comics, but I imagine this would be a bit out of the norm for them too).

I was actually pretty surprised by the forwardness of this ad, especially for something aimed at kids, but it certainly gets the point across!

I love that you can order a special Marvel comic about sexual abuse prevention – I sure hope that turns up in a bargain bin I’m browsing through someday!

UPDATE: I actually did find the comic in a bargain bin! Check out the CBA IRL post here!

This same ad was also found in Masters Of The Universe #1, May 1986. 

 

Do you enjoy reading Comic Book Ads? If so, please consider supporting me by clicking here for my Amazon link – I’ll get a percentage from everything you order! Thanks!

Taking Quite a Risk

March 1985

G.I. Joe #33

I’ve never actually played Risk – it seems like it would be too complicated to be any fun (for me, anyway) – but it’s been around for decades, so I guess they must be doing something right!

“[I]t’s just like the game the big boys play” – so here they are, quite literally, calling war a game! Sorry, Parker Brothers, but I think quite a few people would disagree with that sentiment.

The Creation of Creation Cons

March 1985

G.I. Joe #33

Considering how huge and insane comic conventions have become in the last decade or so, sometimes it’s hard to imagine that they haven’t always been gigantic media spectacles. This simple list of upcoming events from Creation almost seems quaint.

I wish they had prices listed – I’d love to be able to compare it to today’s tickets!