Redartz: Hello everyone; thanks for 'tuning in' today! For your approval and assessment, we are looking at 'house ads'. You remember them: the frequent advertisements that Marvel and DC stuck in their comics during the Silver and Bronze ages. Actually, they are found in comics going back to the Golden age; but I don't know if they are seen much now. Anyway, house ads would feature illustrations of then-currently available comics that the 'house' hoped would entice you into purchasing. Sometimes partial page, sometimes full page, they usually depicted covers; with some sales hype added in. Some were pretty straightforward "now on sale", others (especially DC's late Silver Age house ads) could be pretty well designed and artistically pleasing.
These ads , from today's vantage point, also have a nostalgic appeal: looking at one old comic can, by seeing a vintage book in a house ad, trigger yet more memories. Or generate a bit of historic interest. It was one such ad that inspired today's post: recently I acquired a stack of old coverless comics. In the course of scanning them and loading them on my tablet, I found a particularly interesting house ad in Batman 130. The ad depicted Brave and the Bold 28, with the very first appearance of the Justice League! It seemed odd, yet fascinating, to see such a prominent book advertised so mundanely. Ah, if only there had been a copy (even coverless) of that book in the stack I bought...
And now, here is a selection of those classic bits of advertising, from Marvel, DC and a few others. Enjoy!
Here's a before and after pair; the left ad from 1965, the right from 1980...
12 comments:
Keeping in mind there was no internet i.e., no way at all to see covers of past and present issues, these house ads were gold! It was the Marvel house ad for Avengers King size 2 that blew my mind in a big way (Black cover with old versus new Avengers by John Buscema!). This was the first back issue I subsequently bought from an advertiser's catalog (Richard Alf). Cost like $2 and I still have it 43 years later.
My very first Marvel comic was Planet Of The Apes No.5 which featured the apes (obviously), Ka-Zar and Gullivar Jones, Warrior Of Mars. But there were also house ads for Marvel UK's other weeklies - The Mighty World Of Marvel, Spider-Man Comics Weekly, The Avengers and Dracula Lives which were all completely new to me. There was also an ad for the 1974 'Giant Superhero Holiday Grab-Bag' which had a cover featuring the Hulk, the Thing, the Human Torch, Captain America, Thor and Spider-Man - I can remember staring with fascination at that ad and wondering who they all were, especially the orange creature made of stones...was he a goodie, a baddie...what was he ??
Charlie- yes, that Avengers Annual had a dynamite cover ( and black, too!). Annuals seemed to be frequently shown in those house ads. They must have been successful at convincing some of us to pick those pictured books up...
Colin J- Many US Marvel comics carried that ad for the Holiday Grab Bag. The holiday theme made it all the more eye appealing. And it was a great Treasury edition, I'd like to reacquire it.
By the way, speaking of the Marvel UK weeklies, we have something in mind regarding that subject. Would you mind emailing us at backinthebronzeage@gmail.com ; we're looking for some input. Thanks!
Love the house ads. I remember Spider-Woman's "ain't she sweet", the "old X-Men/new X-Men" ad from the 70s, and the classic Power Man/Iron Fist series, one with Iron Fist sheepishly asking the reader to buy the book, and another with Power Man yelling at the reader. I also liked when they zeroed in on specific issues or events: "one of these heroes dies in Alpha Flight #12" or "the saga of the Hobgoblin explodes in '86!".
I honestly can't think of many of the ads directly working on me, i.e. me buying something I wouldn't have anyway...but they sure made the Marvel Universe look busy (speaking of M.U.: how about the Watcher's OHOTMU ad: "I didn't know that...I must have blinked!" ?
-david p.
I can't quote all the issues I've bought due to vintage ads over the last 10yrs or so, but they've been both Marvel and DC. It's just kinda neat to recall me staring at this or that 'house ad' when I was 7-8yrs old, and soooo curious about what's inside this issue with the iconic cool cover.
For instance, I just bought Marvel's Doc Savage ish 6 (1973), recalling it had such a memorable ad in some other Marvel comic I bought.
The trouble is.., I don't even LIKE or know anything about Doc Savage..., seriously. Just grew to love that cover from my childhood.
I'm SUCH a sucker for great house ads. BUSTED.
Oh yes, magical pages posted today. I hadn't appreciated just how pretty the in-house DC ads could be.
In-house ads can join the ranks of editorial footnotes, Bullpen Bulletins/DC Currents, publication checklists and even subscription ads as the special sauce that kept us coming back for more.
One downer, though, did anyone else feel deprived if a letters page was sacrificed to make way for an in-house ad?
Colin, sooo right. As a Zuvemie, I eagerly bought into the Silver/early Bronze Age Bullpens, the letter pages, you name it.
It was that 'total experience' I enjoyed the most, from cover-to-cover. So while I'll buy Masterworks editions every so often, I'm more a devoted floppie fan, undeniably.
I read some late '70s Marvels the other day and had a tough time with all the pages of ads..., much more than just a few years prior.
Colin, David, you are spot on about the joy the non-comic pages added! Heck I even enjoyed the pages of ads because I was always looking for back-issue vendors. And that is why I don't really enjoy masterworks and archives and am selling them off on eBay now. I'd rather have a dog-eared reader copy!!!
Charlie Horse 47 in his very first comment listed the house ad that always sticks in my mind... Avengers King Size Annual #2. You are correct that the black cover and the John Buscema face-off between old and new Avengers just blew my mind at that young age. That was the first time I realized the Hulk had been in the Avengers. I believe I saw that in a ragged copy of Silver Surfer #2; that is what I "remember" and I am curious to dig out a copy and see if I was right. Like others, I then targeted the annual as a back issue purchase so the advertisement must have worked. Other ads like that one that I recall well are the Sub-Mariner issue where he is being sacrificed on a slab and the Hulk issue where Maximus the Mad has the Hulk on his knees. And of course the Steranko Hulk Annual may have been advertised right along with the Avengers that I mentioned.
I liked all of the ads. A small ad depicting the new and old X-Men was my first glimpse of the new team and I remember trying to match their names with the images. I thought Nightcrawler was Storm because of the "bamf" cloud.
Colin mentioned the letter pages, and yes I looked forward to those too. I preferred the letter page to an ad, but particularly liked when the letter page had some images included and perhaps a small house ad at the bottom. It is funny how I am nostalgic for all of that stuff -- subscription forms, checklists, ads for X-Ray glasses and Sea Monkeys and a trunk of army men...
For a short time, Marvel did half-story pages. About midway through a book only the top half of two pages had the issue's panel art. The bottom half of both pages was either letters or advertisements. For some reason I really liked that but it was odd and didn't last long.
It's the cover images in particular that are still distinct in my mind's eye.
Hawk & Dove, Dove crouching over Hawk's body, face contorted in tears and rage-- talk about "cover made me want to buy this book!"-!
Brother Power: The GEEK #1
The Flash issue where some kids are about to discover Barry's costumed skeleton in a vacant lot (man, that image gave me nightmares!)
Micronauts #. . . 7? With Man-Thing?
That first issue of "Mod" Wonder Woman, in the nifty jumpsuit?
Although a Marvel Zuvembie myself, it's funny how many of these images are from Silver Age DC for me. . .
HB
Colin and David_b- you both nailed it, the "whole experience " of a comic includes ads, lettercols, everything. And it all felt so friendly, like a club.And David, We both share a love for 'floppies'. I'm replacing many with collected editions, but there will always be a shelf with newsprint.
Marti- good anecdote about your Silver Surfer. Let us know if your memory was correct!
HB- good observation; many of the most memorable ads were DC. Man,those Silver Age DC's were loaded with house ads. Usually with the strikingly effective lettering of Joe Shiff...
HB, that Flash issue with the bones found is such a popular issue, it was also one of my first ones, and it gave me the willies as well. I still have the original copy I wrote on, but later bought a VF copy.
Soooo funny you mentioned that particular issue.
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