In 1979 Kirk Demarais bought a comic book at a neighborhood gas mart. It was a copy of Micronauts #9. Kirk was a kid at the time, and the comic book’s plot confused him. But he was drawn to the advertisements. Mark Frauenfelder over at Boing Boing interviews Kirk about his new book: Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads.
From amazon.com: 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. Pop-culture historian Kirk Demarais shares his astonishing collection, including:
100 Toy Soldiers in a Footlocker
Count Dante’s World’s Deadliest Fighting Secrets
GRIT
Hercules Wrist Band
Hypno-Coin
Life-Size Monsters
Mystic Smoke
Sea Monkeys
Soil From Dracula’s Castle
U-Control Ghost
Ventrilo Voice Thrower
