Superman is a buzzkill

Click for wet blanket-size

I can honestly say I don't remember ever seeing these PSAs before. Apparently this is the fifth in a series, but who knows how many there actually were.

The weirdest thing about this is the idea of Superman casually strolling down the street asking people where they're going.

Oh, Mr. Banner, you are a delight!

Back in the old days, both of the Big Two used their characters to sell their books and subscription services (and in DC's case, delicious creme-filled snack cakes) pretty regularly. But where the DC ads were generally of the paste-the-hero-in-and-insert-corny-sales-pitch variety — with optional thumbs-up — Marvel often had some fun with their characters.

Like so:

Click to Banner-size

The Hulk's face in that last panel kills me. It's too bad, but neither company really do in-house ads like this anymore. Oh, well, at least they're not blatantly and almost contemptuously undercutting the competition by ... oh.

Kiiii-yaaah!!

Originally, this post was going to be a better-late-than-never pull list, but since there are only a couple of titles I'm definitely picking up this week (Green Lantern #46 and Unknown Soldier #12) ... well, it seemed kind of silly to call it a "list."

But there are a couple of other comics that are calling out to me this week, namely the Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu one-shot and the Justice League of America 80-Page Giant. Both feature old favorites, and it'll come down to taking a look at both of them in the shop before I can decide on either one. But since the Shang-Chi title reminded me of this incredibly awesome house ad ...


I think you can tell which way I'm leaning, Grasshopper.

What are you picking up this week?

I would have killed for the Spidercopter

As a young Maxo, I was lucky enough to own this:

Click to radioactive spider-size

If you're thinking to yourself, "Wow! That is radically awesome!" you're absolutely right. Of course, being young I was also stupid and abused the hell out of this toy, and I'm not lucky enough to still own Energized Spider-Man today.

I do have fond memories, though. Energized Spidey ran on a big ol' C battery, heavy enough that Charles Bronson could have put it in a sock and cleaned up the neighborhood, no problem. As a result, the toy was heavy. Wait, I need more type styles to properly convey the weight: It was heavy. And, as you might guess by looking at it, articulation was not a big selling point. The arms went up and down (or not — that could be just wishful thinking), and the legs were rigidly frozen in place. And the whole thing was made of a hard, shiny plastic.

That motorized "Pull! Lift! Climb!" bit, by the way? It did work, in the way a string attached to a slowly grinding miniature motor works, glacially dragging an action figure across the floor or laboriously moving Spider-Man himself from floor to door knob.

As you might've guessed, batteries didn't last long.

But, oh, man, did I love this toy. It was a giant among puny Han Solos and Ben Kenobis, and it actually did something. The only thing missing was the highly coveted Green Goblin toy, which I would have put on the bookshelf right next to his heroic nemesis, where he, too, could have pitched forward into battle at the slightest bump thanks to that top-heavy battery.

Hey, Ben Franklin!

The Independence Day festivities have already begun here at GCP HQ, but that doesn't mean we can't share a refreshing glass of Kool-Aid with our favorite Founding Father, does it?


Hot and thirsty ... for liberty!

Marvel's license to shill

Flipping through an old comic earlier, I came across this:


It's weird, but along with Marvel's Rom, Micronauts and (arguably) GI Joe, the Shogun Warriors is an example of comic characters that lasted as long — or longer — than the toy lines that inspired them.

I never owned any of the toys or comics myself, but those 5-inch die-cast versions sound pretty sweet. Unfortunately, I must have ignored this ads' urging because I actually did end up missing it.

Anybody remember this comic or the toys they were hawking? If you do, share your Shogun memories in the comments!

Someone will die!

I've been slacking a little with the updates, but when I see a beloved hero on the verge of being wiped out because of some arbitrary editorial edict — well, there's no time to waste. Consider this a call to action! A call to arms! We cannot, we will not, stand for this!

Oh. Well. At least we know this won't end up with some lame resurrection story or something.

And worth every sheckel!

Click to giant-size!

So I guess we can assume Stan the Man was writing the ad copy, too. But y'know, if you want to get readers interested in a new line of comics, cramming in Spider-Man, the Human Torch and Dracula is exactly how you do it.

Help! Cooky La Moo's escaped from the movie sign!

I know I've gone on about Gail Simone and the good job she's been doing on Wonder Woman, but I jumped the gun when I said she was the first writer to really make Diana an interesting and accessible character. I completely forgot about the unknown copywriter for Hostess Twinkies and the breakout villain of 1977 — Cooky La Moo!

Funny, I never realized 60 foot-tall, leggy blondes were considered "grotesque." The whole skinny model thing has finally gone too far when giant mockeries of life are considered icky.

Who the hell's Steve Howard? Still, at least three people are shouting out the same complex phrase in unison, and that's awesome.

Whoops!

Heeyyyy, wait a minute! It was actually STEVE who saved the day, him and his ginormous Twinkies! Which is a good thing, because judging by her last bit of dialog Wonder Woman must be completely wasted.

Just like that guy in the corner talking to his Twinkie.

Hulk rehydrate puny human!

Earlier today, I was sitting at my desk contemplating Spider-Man.

It wasn't about the implications of the One More Day storyline, or how off the mark the last movie turned out. Mostly, it was along of the lines of, "They put that little figure in a cool pose." And then, as I glanced at a plastic Green Lantern ring while reaching for my drink I thought, "I've got a lot of superhero crap in here."

And I keep adding to it. Because I wasn't reaching for just any cup — I was reaching for a Hulk Slurpee cup. Last week I rediscovered the movie-related cup waaaay in the back of one of my kitchen cabinets, where I'd tucked it away the last time my wife threatened to throw it away, and decided to bring it to work. I can't really blame my wife for wanting to throw this cup away; it's unwieldy and there's always been an aftertaste that's best described as "funky."

But it's a Hulk cup and I've refused to give it up. Plus, it's a COLOR-CHANGING cup. OK, it really only changes from a light green to a darker green, but mainly that's to show the transformation of Bruce Banner to the Hulk with some nifty overlay, shading and the application of ice-cold slush. (Though I may have — ahem — ruined that by running it through the dishwasher too many times.) If you look closely, you can still see the Hulks' face hidden in Banner's chest and hip.

Man, I cannot wait to see what kind of search results that turns up.

I've tried to my desk at work from overflowing with comic book stuff, but it tends to creep in until, like memos and take-out menus, they seem to be everywhere. I know I'm not the only one, so let me know in the comments what kind of comic book ephemera you have littering your work space. And if you post about it I'll update here with the links.

Blech. That water really does taste funky.

Cheaper than a doctor bill!

Wow, no Pull List this week, and then no WTF Wednesday? What's going on here at the Post, anyway?!?

Eh, slackin', mostly.

But to make up for it, I give you this pair of ads from 1983 promoting Power Man and Iron Fist, which are obviously awesome! Both ads manage to be funny and sum up the characters really well, not to mention they're rockin' classic Bill Sienkiewicz art. You have to give credit to whatever unnamed shlub in the Marvel marketing department came up with the idea of running the ads in separate, consecutive issues — it was a cute and clever way to reward regular readers with an old-fashioned "a-ha!" moment.


Continuity in house-ads — exactly the crazy-great kind of thing that made me love comics in the first place.

To make the Earth a living TOOOOOMB!

Click to SAVE THE WORLD!!

Hey, man - even Doctor Doom has bills to pay.