Surveying the Gen X landscape and the origins of geek
Another shot starring the Death Star and the Daredevil Sports Van, not to mention all the major Battlestar Galactica vehicles, via Darrick Bachman. I also see a Tie Fighter, a die-cast X-Wing Fighter package, a Spider-Man Mobile Crime Lab (below, via Jon Knutson), and a Nylint Trail Blazer (below, via eBay).
What’s interesting about these books is that they were illustrated by comics legend Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange. It’s hard to believe now that someone like him would do art for a kid’s book about a second-rate transforming robot franchise, but comics artists and writers at the time held no rights to their work, and worship at the altar of pop culture was not a mainstream pursuit. Illustrators had to knock out an endless amount of pages to make a living. From a New York Post article from 2012:
To this day, Ditko has probably made very little off his billion-dollar co-creation [Spider-Man]. He has no ownership of the character and was paid a modest per-page rate at the time. He does collect royalties each time the comics are reprinted, but he says he has not earned anything off the films, despite his name appearing in the credits.
The covers of both books are illustrated by Jeffrey Oh and written by longtime Ditko collaborator and champion Robin Snyder.
(Images via eBay, Beer and Robots, and Life with Fandom)
Beautifully illustrated ads that originally appeared in the comics section of the Sunday paper. They sold recently on eBay for a large sum.
50 pieces of Bazooka bubble gum for 79¢? A Spider-Man costume for $1.98? Speaking of which, the Ben Cooper Spider-Man costume is probably the first Marvel licensed product, originally appearing in 1963, just a few issues into the comic’s run. It’s got a very interesting story that you can read at Hero Envy.
Awesome in retrospect, but probably annoying in action. If I want to do a puzzle, I’ll do a puzzle. I don’t want my Presto Magix action scene constrained by unnecessary borders.
The back of the box is blank. There was a hulk set as well.
(Image via eBay)
That “kid” is way too big to be sitting on Spidey’s lap. The boy on deck wearing the Spidey shirt looks profoundly bored. The kids deeper in line may be playing with a Spidey Mego doll.
Not sure what the Superman “head in the hole” is all about, but it’s sad-looking. The web I like.
The location is East Towne Mall in Madison, Wisconsin.
(Photo via Chuck Patch/Flickr)
More Secret Wars here. The toy line was generally hacky and cheap, but I love the look of these gliders. No doubt they were copped from Hasbro’s G.I. Joe equivalent.
(Images via Final Frontier Toys and BattleGrip)
Thundarr was #1. Spidey was #2. I always wondered: what happened to all those ice bridges after the friends beat the bad guys and went back to Aunt May’s? It’s better not to think about the answer as an adult.
Dusty Abell—holy shirtless wonder, Batman!—sent in this beauty last week. He says:
Best guess would be December 25, 1977. Star Wars [toys] had yet to hit, otherwise I’m sure we’d be seeing the Falcon and Star Wars figures in the shot! Ideal’s Star Team came out immediately following the release of Star Wars and filled the gap until those toys hit the following year.
Toys seen include Mego’s Batman’s Wayne Foundation, The Amazing Spider-Car, Batcopter, and Batman and Spidey figures; Ideal’s Star Hawk and Zem 21 (from the S.T.A.R. Team line); Hasbro’s Super Joe Commander and the Super Joe Rocket Command Center (see both here); and the Tomland Star Raiders figure Yog (between Batman and Spidey).
Try not to be too envious of Dusty’s righteous haul, people. He grew up to be a talented artist who focuses on geek pop culture of the ’70s and ’80s—so he’s giving back to the community! See a couple of my favorite works below (click to enlarge), and then check out lots more at his DeviantArt gallery.
2 Warps to Neptune 