# Did you ever buy anything from those old 70s era comic book ads? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga\ **Created:** [June 1, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505 "2022-06-01T13:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/21 "2022-06-01T16:03:51Z")
> [@solost](#): > > And it was advertised as the Polaris _ **nuclear** _ sub. This wasn’t no Jacques Cousteau exploration type sub, this was a nuke-shooter, with “rockets that fire”. Kids were basically being encouraged to play Armageddon back then. Pretty dark if you think about it. Yeah. And I bet in real life it wouldn’t even do half of that stuff! Is this the archetype in anybody else’s mind when they think leering pervy dude? [![](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_1248,w_2220/f_auto,q_auto,w_1100/v1555928603/shape/mentalfloss/xray_5.jpg) ](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_1248,w_2220/f_auto,q_auto,w_1100/v1555928603/shape/mentalfloss/xray_5.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/22 "2022-06-01T16:12:52Z")
Yeah, I’m pretty sure this baby wasn’t capable of taking down Russky subs, but the lines are nice. (but $6.98 back then? holy cow that’s a lot of money) [![](https://misternizz.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/submariner.jpg) ](https://misternizz.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/submariner.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/23 "2022-06-01T16:14:30Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Yeah. And I bet in real life it wouldn’t even do half of that stuff! Even as a kid I knew it was just a toy-- an _ **awesome** _ sounding toy you could play with from the inside with a friend. But looking back as a 21st century adult, jeez-- “hours of imaginative fun playing nuclear war! Pretend to take out Moscow in a first strike and prevent retaliation in kind!” 😱 > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Yeah, I’m pretty sure this baby wasn’t capable of taking down Russky subs, but the lines are nice. (but $6.98 back then? holy cow that’s a lot of money) That actually doesn’t look half bad! I kinda pictured a simple corrugated box with some vague submarine-like markings printed on the sides. Fun fact: According to an online inflation calculator, $6.98 in 1972 is $48.28 in 2022 dollars. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/24 "2022-06-01T16:15:54Z")
Did anyone ever send off for _Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero_? [![](https://www.godsjukebox.com/images/post/large/1795702_10153821217005697_1130874413_n.jpg) ](https://www.godsjukebox.com/images/post/large/1795702_10153821217005697_1130874413_n.jpg) It got a (tongue-in-cheek) good review [here](https://comicsalliance.com/spider-man-rock-opera-rock-reflections/) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/25 "2022-06-01T16:19:51Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I didn’t, but my brother did I was the oldest, with one brother and one sister. When I saw something I thought would be cool, I’d tell my brother and sister about it, exaggerating just enough to make them really interested. Eventually one of them would buy it, or they’d pool their resources and buy it. Sea Monkeys were one of the items, also all kinds of models and games. I don’t think they ever caught on. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/26 "2022-06-01T16:24:25Z")
I had Sea Monkeys. They smelled bad. One day, while dusted, furniture polish spray accidentally finished them off. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/27 "2022-06-01T16:50:18Z")
Here is a related thread in FQ > [@Old Magazine Ad: Spider Monkeys Through The Mail](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-magazine-ad-spider-monkeys-through-the-mail/190855): > > This must have been 25+ years ago but there used to be an ad every month in the back of Boy’s Life magazine that advertised live spider monkeys you could purchase through the mail. The ad featured a picture of a little spider monkey sitting in a teaspoon. Does anybody remember this? I can’t imagine how it was shipped or how traumatized this poor monkey must have been upon delivery. What happened to all these monkeys? They couldn’t possible have made good pets. If they survived the shipping p… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/28 "2022-06-01T16:59:17Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Yeah. A periscope-like device billed as the perfect tool to enable precision drawing of anything in view. You were to look through it at the paper you were drawing on, and it would superimpose what was out in front of you (90° angle from looking straight down at the paper) but you could still see the paper as well, so all you’d have to do is trace. > **[Camera lucida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_lucida)** > > A camera lucida is an optical device used as a drawing aid by artists and microscopists. > The camera lucida projects an optical superimposition of the subject being viewed, onto the surface upon which the artist is drawing. The artist sees both scene and drawing surface simultaneously, as in a photographic double exposure. This allows the artist to duplicate key points of the scene on the drawing surface, thus aiding in the accurate rendering of perspective. > The camera lucida was patented in 1... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/29 "2022-06-01T17:05:36Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The solar balloon was just a very thin giant bin liner, but it worked as advertised. I had one once (not from a comic ad). It was a black tube, I think 10 feet long? Came with two twist ties. You tied off on end, then ran with the other “mouth” to open and partially fill it with air, then quickly tied off that end. Then you waited for the sun to heat the air inside to expand and lower the density. IIRC, mine did heat up and float away, so that was that. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/30 "2022-06-01T18:22:57Z")
When I was in high school in the late 1970s, another guy had a t-shirt that had “WE PRINT ANYTHING” on it. I was amused by that. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/31 "2022-06-01T18:48:08Z")
I was a voracious comic book reader and the math never added up for me: Was a pair of $1.00 X-Ray Specs in 8 weeks really worth 5 more comic books now? I had two friends who ordered stuff, though. A whole Roman army with working catapults was probably worth $2, but _Grit_ was just the worst kind of child exploitation. [![](https://blogintomystery.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/romansoldiers.jpg) ](https://blogintomystery.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/romansoldiers.jpg) [![](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/7/70215/3352498-grit%20003.jpg) ](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/7/70215/3352498-grit%20003.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/32 "2022-06-01T18:51:05Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I got the 100 pc Toy Soldier set and I was a bit disappointed. The scale was off on everything and the soldiers were all two dimensional. I liked the planes and ships though. Do you remember how tall a typical soldier was? A standard plastic green army man back in the day I would guess was maybe two inches. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/33 "2022-06-01T18:58:21Z")
I bought a bar of soap with a lady on it. I think it was a comic ad or one of the True Detective pulp magazines. It revealed printed layers as it is used. The last layer was the skeleton. I thought it was cool at 11. None of the art work went beyond pinup art. I was lucky that the product wasn’t a rip off. It was under whelming but worked as advertised. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/34 "2022-06-01T18:58:52Z")
The Roman soldiers were about an inch high, I think, but actually 3 dimensional. The catapults were more substantial and worked as advertised. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/35 "2022-06-01T19:42:40Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > _Grit_ was just the worst kind of child exploitation. I had my eye on Grit but never pulled the trigger on that. I did get into a deal selling seeds door to door. Don’t remember how exactly I signed up, may have been through a comic book ad, or Boy’s Life, I don’t remember. But it was a lot of schlepping a box of seeds round the neighborhood for not much payoff. Think I made about a grand total of $6 before I quit. > [@aceplace57](#): > > I bought a bar of soap with a lady on it…t revealed printed layers as it is used. The last layer was the skeleton. Wild guess…was the layer between the clothing and the musculature the layer you were most interested in? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/36 "2022-06-01T19:51:47Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > Sea Monkeys were also a disappointment. If the internet existed they would have lasted for about a week. [It’s taking longer than you might have thought…](https://www.sea-monkeys.com/) They’re still out there preying on the gullible, though I don’t know where they’re advertising now. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/37 "2022-06-01T19:53:48Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Wild guess…was the layer between the clothing and the musculature the layer you were most interested in? Yes. But in that regard it was a let down. Very basic black and white graphics. The pulp Detective mags sell had better pinup pics. Pinup = provocative and non-nude ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/38 "2022-06-01T20:26:16Z")
(deleted for failed formatting) ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/39 "2022-06-01T20:53:41Z")
I had the skeleton. It was totally worth the 99 cents. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505/40 "2022-06-01T21:01:23Z")
I wanted to get the Charles Atlas program for building muscles, but my mother strictly forbade it, reasoning that it must be connected with taking some drugs or similar dangerous substance. I did get the book second-hand when I was 24 (and skinny). From it I confirmed that it was NOT about buying any drugs, supplements, or what have you, but about establishing a rigorous physical exercise regimen and developing good habits (avoiding white bread, getting enough sleep, etc). I started doing the exercises, but gave up after what, a few weeks, a month, because it was just too demanding a regmen. The comic book ads promising that you would have an Atlas body in a month or what have you were simply promising too much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-ever-buy-anything-from-those-old-70s-era-comic-book-ads/965505.md?page=3)