Business Opportunities Weblog

Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads

By on April 22, 2013 in Books / Featured

Generations of comic book readers remember the tantalizing promises of vintage novelty advertisements that offered authentic laser-gun plans, x-ray specs, and even 7-foot-tall monsters (with glow-in-the-dark eyes!). But what would you really get if you entrusted your hard-earned $1.69 to the post office? Mail-Order Mysteries answers this question, revealing the amazing truths (and agonizing exaggerations) about the actual products marketed to kids in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.

Collector’s Weekly has more on the book:

Amazing! Incredible! Unbelievable! Eyeglasses that let you see through clothes. The secrets to super-human strength. Scary seven-foot tall ghosts that do your bidding. All of this could be yours for a dollar or two. At least, that’s what vintage comic-book ads would have you believe. Six years ago, artist and historian Kirk Demarais, who runs the brilliant Gen X nostalgia site, Secret Fun Spot, became determined to uncover the truth behind these comic-book ads published between the 1950s and late ’80s. Last fall, he published “Mail-Order Mysteries,” a book that reveals what you really got when you ordered any one of 150 supposed marvels.

collectibles comic books sea monkeys

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,198 posts to the site.

Another Idea: How to Start a Book Business

  • http://n.a. cindy hawkins

    Anybody remember the ’100 Real Dolls” ad? My sister and I ordered them, I guess I was 12 and she was 8. And two weeks later, in a sort of cookie box, came these tiny plastic molded dolls, each one about two inches tall – all one hundred of them. The ad didn’t exactly lie: (as the ad stated) There were ‘soldier dolls, dancing dolls, clown dolls’. But I still remember how disappointed we were to open the box and find NOT what we thought of as dolls, (dressed in cloth, stuffed, etc) but miniature plastic figurines, which would have been a more accurate description.

Today's Posts